Adams, Hackett Named Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athletes of the Year
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Sam Houston State senior decathlete Tyler Adams and Abilene Christian junior distance runner Alexandria Hackett have been named Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Student-Athletes of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday in conjunction with the 2015-16 All-Academic Cross Country and Track & Field teams.
Adams, a sophomore of Oakwood, Texas (Buffalo H.S.), is the second men’s outdoor track and field athlete to be student-athlete of the year, joining Chris Cralle who earned the honor in 2011. Holding a 3.46 grade point average as a computer engineering technology major, Adams earned all-conference honors in two outdoor events after winning the decathlon and placing second in the high jump. Adams took the decathlon crown with 7,259 points after winning three of the 10 events in the long jump, high jump and 1,500-meter run. His high jump mark of 6-10.75 was good for a second-place finish. In the NCAA West Preliminary Round, Adams finished 30th in the high jump with a height of 6-9.5. At Sam Houston, Adams has been named to the Dean’s List for six consecutive semesters and he is the track and field team’s representative for the Sam Houston Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Adams is the seventh track and field athlete from Sam Houston to be named the sport’s student-athlete of the year in either indoor or outdoor.
Hackett becomes the first ACU outdoor track and field athlete to be named the sport’s student-athlete of the year. The junior from Cranston, R.I. (Cranston West H.S.), posts a 3.96 GPA as a financial management major. Hackett was named the sport’s athlete of the year after breaking two long-standing conference marks at the outdoor championship with a 34:47.79 in the 10,000-meter and a 16:47.89 in the 5,000-meter. The previous marks were 35:35:.83 (10K) and 16:53.52 (5K), which were set in 1995 and 2002, respectively. The ACU runner also claimed the title in the 5K at the 2016 Texas Relays and set a school-record in the 5K at Mt. SAC with a time of 16:03.83. Hackett was a four-time conference champion and the winner of 13 races during the 2015-16 season. She was also voted the league’s athlete and student-athlete of the year for cross country.
The men’s all-academic team consists of 26 student-athletes including nine automatic selections while the women’s squad consists of 29 student-athletes including 18 automatic selections. Sam Houston led the league with a combined 14 student-athletes appearing on the all-academic teams, while ACU collected nine total honorees. Stephen F. Austin and UIW each earned eight spots on the two teams followed by McNeese with seven and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with six. Lamar had five total selections followed by Northwestern State with three and then Central Arkansas with two. Houston Baptist, Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana all landed one member on the all-academic teams.
Twenty-four student-athletes are making at least a second appearance on their respective teams, including two who made the all-academic for the fourth time. A&M-Corpus Christi’s Philipp Baar and Sam Houston’s Nicole Aponte are making their fourth appearance on the teams. Eight student-athletes appear for the third time with HBU’s Garrison Fick and ACU’s Luke Woods on the men’s side, and Northwestern’s Ashley Aldredge and Por’sha Thomas, Sam Houston’s Ruth Amaku, UIW’s Jasmine Waring and Lindsay Frost, and SFA’s Bria McIver on the women’s side.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 13 member institutions, votes for the student-athletes of the year. The student-athlete of the year award is presented to one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale, and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.
All-academic members earned at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale through the semester prior to the sports’ championship season, completed at least one full academic year at his or her institution prior to this season and participated in at least 50 percent of the school’s meets.
2016 Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field All-Academic Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Tyler Adams1,^ |
Sam Houston State |
So. |
Oakwood, Texas |
3.46 |
Computer Engineering Technology |
| Albert Maeder1,2,# |
Central Arkansas |
Sr. |
Norman, Okla. |
3.96 |
Biology |
| Garrison Fick1,3,# |
Houston Baptist |
Sr. |
Sugar Land, Texas |
3.93 |
Business Administration |
| Stu Ferguson1 |
Lamar |
Gr. |
Oxford, England |
3.66 |
Kinesiology |
| Alex Dunbar1 |
Lamar |
Gr. |
Barningham, England |
3.33 |
Kinesiology |
| Kalvin Singletary1 |
Sam Houston State |
Jr. |
Van Vleck, Texas |
3.34 |
Criminal Justice |
| Alexander Young1,# |
Southeastern La. |
Sr. |
Nashville, Tenn. |
3.81 |
Kinesiology |
| Lucas Akins1 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Sr. |
Grand Saline, Texas |
3.17 |
Kinesiology |
| Philipp Baar1,4 |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Gr. |
Schwerin, Germany |
3.71 (UG)
3.71 (G) |
Management |
| Luke Woods3 |
Abilene Christian |
Sr. |
Houston, Texas |
3.83 |
Engineering |
| Evan Arambula2 |
Sam Houston State |
Jr. |
Eustace, Texas |
3.72 |
Human Resource Management |
| Kerry Gleason |
Stephen F. Austin |
So. |
Justin, Texas |
3.45 |
Kinesiology |
| Oliver James2 |
McNeese |
Jr. |
Sunderland, England |
3.68 |
Biological Sciences |
| Kai Schmidt |
Abilene Christian |
So. |
Krefeld, Germany |
3.64 |
Financial Management |
| Daven Murphree2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Jr. |
Winnsboro, Texas |
3.72 |
Kinesiology |
| Reid Rivers2 |
Abilene Christian |
Jr. |
Juneau, Alaska |
3.96 |
Vocational Ministry |
| Jacob Ulbricht |
UIW |
Jr. |
Spring Branch, Texas |
3.73 |
History |
| Keaton Hart2 |
Abilene Christian |
Sr. |
Houston, Texas |
3.87 |
Kinesiology |
| John Lemke2 |
McNeese |
Jr. |
Lake Charles, La. |
3.23 |
Accounting |
| Enock Bor |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Eldoret, Kenya |
3.55 |
Mathematics |
| Dylan Elliott |
Sam Houston State |
So. |
Franklin, Texas |
3.87 |
Psychology |
| Grant Williams |
Central Arkansas |
Jr. |
Hot Springs, Texas |
3.59 |
Biology |
| David Carrillo |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Sr. |
Eagle Pass, Texas |
4.00 |
Kinesiology |
| Garrett Larson |
Sam Houston State |
Jr. |
Brenham, Texas |
3.11 |
Construction Management |
| Will Maraggia |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
So. |
Inez, Texas |
3.80 |
Business |
| Jelani Rainey |
Abilene Christian |
Sr. |
Fairview, Texas |
3.02 |
Engineering |
^2016 Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year
1Automatic Selection
2Two-time all-academic selection
3Three-time all-academic selection
4Four-time all-academic selection
#Capital One Academic All-District
2016 Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field All-Academic Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Alexandria Hackett1,2,#,^ |
Abilene Christian |
Jr. |
Cranston, R.I. |
3.96 |
Financial Management |
| Diana Garcia-Munoz1,2 |
Abilene Christian |
Jr. |
Phoenix, Ariz. |
3.79 |
Accounting |
| Myah Antwi1 |
UIW |
Jr. |
Huntsville, Texas |
3.83 |
Biology |
| Sarea Alexander1 |
UIW |
So. |
San Antonio, Texas |
3.08 |
Athletic Training |
| Alexandra Sokolova1 |
Lamar |
Jr. |
Moscow, Russia |
3.15 |
Communication |
| Jannika John1 |
Lamar |
Gr. |
Furstenfeldbruck, Germany |
4.00 |
Kinesiology |
| Verity Ockenden1 |
Lamar |
Gr. |
Shaftesbury, England |
4.00 |
English |
| Nicole Casper1 |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Buna, Texas |
3.17 |
Health and Human Performance |
| Ashley Aldredge1,3 |
Northwestern State |
Gr. |
Natchitoches, La. |
3.56 (UG)
3.07 (G) |
Sport Administration |
| Por’sha Thomas1,3 |
Northwestern State |
Sr. |
Pearland, Texas |
3.22 |
Biology |
| De’Shalyn Jones1 |
Northwestern State |
So. |
Tyler, Texas |
3.10 |
Psychology |
| Ruth Amaku1,3 |
Sam Houston State |
Sr. |
Missouri City, Texas |
3.54 |
Health Sciences |
| Danielle Demas1 |
Sam Houston State |
Sr. |
Houston, Texas |
3.22 |
Health |
| Camry Grigsby1 |
Sam Houston State |
So. |
DeSoto, Texas |
3.16 |
Public Health |
| Briana McCall1 |
Sam Houston State |
Jr. |
Huntsville, Texas |
3.00 |
Public Health |
| Courtney High1,2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Jr. |
Inez, Texas |
3.93 |
Food and Nutrition Dietetics |
| Madeline Kaufman1 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Jr. |
McAllen, Texas |
3.03 |
Mass Media |
| Shelby Pesek1 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Gr. |
Corpus Christi, Texas |
3.37 (UG)
4.00 (G) |
Public Administration |
| Gemma Bridge |
McNeese |
Gr. |
Oxford, England |
3.41 (UG)
4.00 (G) |
Health and Human Performance |
| Michaela Hackett2 |
Abilene Christian |
Jr. |
Cranston, R.I. |
4.00 |
Financial Management |
| Marina Guerrero Puigdevall |
Abilene Christian |
Sr. |
Banyoles, Spain |
3.93 |
Animal Science |
| Nicole Aponte4 |
Sam Houston State |
Gr. |
Kingwood, Texas |
3.89 (UG)
4.00 (G) |
Victim Services Management |
| Hannah McWilliams |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Jr. |
Portland, Texas |
3.92 |
Marketing |
| Elizabeth Lyssy |
Sam Houston State |
Sr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
3.74 |
Accounting |
| Katja Woelfl |
McNeese |
So. |
Ellhofen, Germany |
4.00 |
Business Administration |
| Rainy Castaneda |
UIW |
Jr. |
Laredo, Texas |
3.56 |
Government |
| Katrina Fite |
Stephen F. Austin |
Sr. |
Hockley, Texas |
3.37 |
Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Jasmine Waring3 |
UIW |
Sr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
3.51 |
Rehabilitation Sciences |
| Kryshell Rolle |
Nicholls |
Sr. |
Nassau, Bahamas |
3.70 |
Accounting |
| Avery Zamzow |
Sam Houston State |
Jr. |
Goliad, Texas |
3.19 |
Computing Science |
| Regina Salinas |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Gr. |
Corpus Christi, Texas |
3.60 (UG)
4.00 (G) |
Political Science |
| Lindsay Frost3 |
UIW |
Sr. |
Portland, Texas |
3.96 |
Fashion Merchandising |
| Maegan Moore2 |
McNeese |
Jr. |
Ville Platte, La. |
3.34 |
Health and Human Performance |
| Ana Moreno |
Sam Houston State |
Sr. |
Magnolia, Texas |
3.37 |
Criminal Justice |
| Melina Ortiz2 |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Jr. |
Port Lavaca, Texas |
3.93 |
Biomedical Sciences |
| Olivia Olguin |
Sam Houston State |
Jr. |
Arlington, Texas |
3.13 |
Kinesiology |
| Keila Rodriguez |
UIW |
So. |
Brownsville, Texas |
3.92 |
Vision Science and Biology |
| Bria McIver3 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Gr. |
Killeen, Texas |
3.82 (UG)
3.82 (G) |
Business Administration |
| Gabrielle Estrada2 |
UIW |
Jr. |
Boerne, Texas |
3.88 |
Communication Arts |
^2016 Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year
1Automatic Selection
2Two-time all-academic selection
3Three-time all-academic selection
4Four-time all-academic selection
#Capital One Academic All-District