Ace Malone typically has no difficulties moving pretty quickly.
But on this particular Sunday in April, the record-breaking sprinter was weighed down by an armful of trophies that made it a bit tougher than usual for him to navigate his way through the ballroom at the Donna E. Shalala Center on Miami’s Coral Gables campus.
Malone, a junior from Colorado, was a three-time honoree at this year’s Hurricanes Honors, the athletic department’s annual awards ceremony celebrating the best and brightest among Miami student-athletes.
And Malone certainly fits that description.
The sprinter was an ACC Top Six for Service Award winner, was recognized as the male Comeback Athlete of the Year after returning from injury to put together a string of dominant performances and earned Miami’s Ibis Award, the department’s highest honor, which is given annually to the student-athlete that most embodies success across athletics, academics, community service and overall engagement.
“I’m just really thankful for everybody here and I couldn’t do this all if I didn’t feel supported, but I feel really supported every day,” Malone said. “Trying to help everybody out and do as much community service as I can is super easy. They make it easy for you here. They give us a lot of opportunities to do service, but I did not expect to get these. When I heard my name, I was really happy.”