NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State University baseball player Cameron Parsons (Chesapeake, Va.) was the grand prize winner of a $10,000 scholarship in the Champs Sports Scholarship Challenge.

Parsons, a junior catcher, was one of three finalists invited to attend last week’s Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., which pitted Miami (Fla.) against Wisconsin. The contest required entrants to write an essay about what it means to be a part of a team. Parsons’ essay about his experience as a Spartan baseball player and a peer tutor at NSU earned him a trip to the bowl game and a $5,000 scholarship along with two other contestants.

At the game, Parsons and the other two finalists were escorted onto the field after the first quarter, which was when Parsons’ learned he was the grand prize winner and had his scholarship amount doubled to $10,000. Parsons plans to use the money to attend graduate school upon graduating from NSU.

The Spartans’ catcher batted .250 and started 23 games for NSU as a sophomore in 2009 and was a member of the 2008-09 NSU All-Academic Team.