INDIANA, Pa. – Return specialist Qashah Carter was named the 2018-19 IUP Men's Freshman of the Year, announced Thursday, June 20 by the IUP Athletic Department.
 
The award is part of the Crimson & Gray Awards, which recognize the top athletes, coaches, teams and performances of the IUP Athletics season. The Awards are in their third year of existence.
 
Carter was the top freshman specialist in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in 2018, earning first team All-PSAC West honors as a kick returner. After walking on in the fall, he finished 15th in Division II with a 28.6 kickoff return average, totaling 801 yards on 28 returns.
 
It didn't take Carter long to make an impression on IUP fans, as he returned the opening kickoff of the Crimson Hawks' first home game of the season 89 yards, missing out on a touchdown by one yard.
 
Three weeks later at rival Cal U Carter ended up with his first career touchdown, returning a kickoff 95 yards for a score. It marked the first kickoff return for a touchdown by an IUP player since 2012 and was the third longest in program history. With 163 total return yards on the night, Carter was named PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week.
 
Carter is the third straight football player to be named IUP Freshman of the Year, joining Samir Bullock and Justice Evans.
 
About the Freshman of the Year Award
The IUP Freshman of the Year Award is given each year to a true freshman or redshirt freshman men's and women's student-athlete, who put together the best all-around season for a first-year college player. The Freshman of the Year Award unofficially began in 2016 with fan voting and became official with the creation of the Crimson & Gray Awards in 2017.
 
About the Crimson & Gray Awards
The Crimson & Gray Awards are in their third year of existence and consist of 18 total categories - nine women, nine men - with top performers and performances from the 2018-19 year eligible.
 
Awards include: Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year, Performance of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, Postseason Performer of the Year, Senior of the Year, Team of the Year and Athlete of the Year.

The IUP Sports Information Office collected award nominations from its coaches, with those nominees voted on by a select panel to narrow each category down to finalists. That panel votes again to determine the winners.
 
Up next
The 2018-19 IUP Men's and Women's Breakthrough of the Year awards will be announced Friday.
 
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For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Athletics on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.