EVANS, Ga. | Young Harris College's Paco Craig has been named the Peach Belt Conference's Men's Soccer Player of the Year.
 
Craig was one of four Mountain Lions to be recognized by the conference at the tournament banquet Thursday (Nov. 5) evening. Along with Craig, Lewis Hilton and Macauley King were named to the All-PBC first team. Tim Mohlin Torringer received the PBC Elite 15 Award presented by GradesFirst.
 
Craig, a 6-foot-2 junior defender from London, England, becomes only the second PBC player to ever win the PBC Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year awards during their career, joining Lander University's Adam Arthur who won the Player of the Year in 2009.  The 2013 Freshman of the Year, Craig has been a central figure in Young Harris' run of three consecutive conference championships - including this season - that has seen the Mountain Lions go 26-1 in the PBC over that span.  The defensive midfielder is tied for sixth in the league in goals (six), seventh (five) in assists and seventh (17) in points.  He is also a leader on a defense that is tied for the league lead with six shutouts and is second in the league with 17 goals allowed and a 0.99 goals-against average.  Craig keeps the Player of the Year award at Young Harris for a third straight year after Ilija Ilic won it in back-to-back seasons in 2013 and 2014.
 
Hilton, a 5-8 senior midfielder from Newquay, England, becomes just the 10th player in the 25-year history of the Peach Belt to be honored as a four-time all-conference selection. Hilton is fourth in the YHC record books during the D2 era with 23 goals, 27 assists and 73 points to go along with six game-winning goals in an YHC record 76 matches. The 2012 PBC Freshman of the Year, who leads the Mountain Lions with eight goals, eight assists and 22 points in 2015, was named to NSCAA NCAA Division II All-America Second Team and to NSCAA College Division Scholar All-America Second Team in 2014. Hilton is ranked third in the lead in goals, assists and points.
 
King, a 5-10 freshman defender from Narborough, England, rounds out the all-conference team for the Mountain Lions. He scored twice, including the game-winning goal against then-No. 3 Saint Leo University, and assisted on two others for six points. He is also a leader on a defense that is tied for the league lead with six shutouts and is second in the league with 17 goals allowed and a 0.99 goals-against average. 
 
Torringer, a 5-9 junior defender from Svedala, Sweden, is the third YHC player to win the PBC Elite 15 Award in the four years it has been presented in men's soccer, joining Ilic (2013) and Wesley Barnard (2012). The award is modeled on the NCAA's Elite 90 and honors the student-athletes competing in the championship event with the highest cumulative GPA. Torringer has a 4.00 cumulative grade point average as a business and public policy major.
 
The Mountain Lions, who are 14-3-0, are the No. 1 seed in this week's 2015 Peach Belt Tournament. They will face No. 4 seed Francis Marion University in a 5 p.m. semifinal match Friday (Nov. 6) at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Georgia.