Bearkats recognize 2007-08 Most Valuable Athletes
4/22/2008 1:00:00 AM | Athletics
Fourteen Bearkat student-athletes and trainers were recognized as "Most Valuable" for their respective sports during the 2007-08 season at the annual Sam Houston State Athletic Banquet Monday night, April 21, at the Lowman Student Center.
Three sports (baseball, men's outdoor track and field, and women's outdoor track and field) have not completed their seasons and have not named MVPs. The "Most Valuable Players" for 2007 from those sports were recognized at the banquet:
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BASEBALL LUKE PRIHODA, senior from Weimer, brought national recognition to Bearkat baseball by earning both All-America honors and the NCAA “Stopper of the Year” award. He set a league and school record with 18 saves in 2007. He was SLC “Student-Athlete of the Year” and SLC tournament MVP. |
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WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD JENNIE SEWELL, senior from Rockwall, won 16 pole vault competitions during her Bearkat career including the Texas Relays, the NCAA Regionals, and seven Southland Conference championships. With a fifth place finish at NCAA nationals last June, she one of only three Sam Houston women to earn NCAA Division I track All-America honors. |
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MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD MATT ADKISSON, a senior from Wimberly, won the Southland outdoor pole vault championship for the second year in a row. He was a three-time All-Southland performer and capped his career with a 12th place finish at NCAA outdoor nationals. To reach the NCAA finals, Adkisson was the runner-up at the NCAA Regionals. |
The "Most Valuable" athletes for each of the other Bearkat sports for 2007-08 are:
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SOCCER ALISON OAKLAND, sophomore from Austin, helped lead the Bearkats to their second Southland Conference post-season tournament appearance in the program's five year history. She was one of the team's leaders in scoring with six goals and one assist. That included the game-winning goal in the victory over Southeastern Louisiana that clinched the Kats their playoff berth. |
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WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY WHITNEY RISTER, senior from Eula, was the top finisher for the Bearkats at the 2007 Southland Conference cross country meet with an 18th place performance. She was the race winner at the Northwestern State meet and finished among the top 25 in three other meets for the Bearkats. |
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MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY DUSTIN JOUBERT, senior from Coppell, led the Bearkats at the 2007 Southland meet with a 25th place finish. He placed among the top 25 in four other meets as well including a first place at the Northwestern State Demon Invitational. |
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VOLLEYBALL CYNTHIA YAROTSKY, senior from Montgomery, was a first team All-Southland Conference selection for the 2007 Bearkats. He led the Southland Conference in kills this season with a total of 431. The 5-11 outside hitter also ranked among the top 10 in the league in digs with 506. She twice was named as a Southland Conference volleyball "Player of the Week" during the season. |
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FOOTBALL BYRAN RICHMOND, senior from Humble, earned first team All-Southland Conference honors as a safety on the Bearkats' 7-4 league runner-up squad last fall. He was a two-time Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week and ended the season as the leading tackler in the Bearkat secondary with 86 stops. |
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WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD JESSICA FISHER, sophomore from Houston, won the 60 and 200 meter dash titles for the second year in a row and was part of the winning 4x400 relay to lead Sam Houston women to their second consecutive Southland Conference indoor team time. In only her second year as a Bearkat, Fisher already has earned All-Southland Conference honors in 10 events. |
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MEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD MICHAEL COURTNEY, junior from El Paso, won the 400 meter dash with a time of 48.27 seconds to highlight action for the Bearkat men's team at the Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field championship. Courtney is a six-time Southland Conference champion. |
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LYDIA GONZALES, junior from Round Rock, ranked second in rebounding and 13th in scoring in the Southland Conference this season. Gonzales scored in double figures in 21 games including a career high of 25 points twice. Her top rebounding performance was 18 boards against McNeese State. |
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MEN'S BASKETBALL SHAMIR McDANIEL, senior from Converse Judson, earned both All-Southland Conference and Academic All-Southland honors in 2008 after averaging 11.2 points per game. He also was recognized as Academic All-Region. Named Southland Conference “Player of the Week” after scornig 18 points the Texas Tech victory, McDaniel ranked among the league's top three point shooters. He scored in double figures in 21 games, helping lead Sam Houston to its third consecutive 20-plus victory season, a Bearkat first. |
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WOMEN'S TENNIS IRINA SOTNIKOVA, junior from Riga Latvia, has been a dominant player in Southland Conference the past three years. With another year of competition ahead of her, she already holds the Sam Houston career records for most singles victories (59) ? all at number one -- and most doubles wins (69). She and her doubles partner Peta Taylor are 25-7 at number one doubles this year, a new single season victory record. She has helped lead Sam Houston to its fourth consecutive Southland post-season tournament appearance this year. |
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WOMEN'S GOLF JENNIFER HEINZ, senior from Mounds View, MN, led the 2008 women's golf team in stroke average with a 75.8 mark. In 11 tournaments this year, she finish among the top 10 individuals seven times including winning the medalist championship at the Bobcat Invitational in Victoria. A four-year letter winner, she has played 102 rounds of golf in her career, the most ever by a Sam Houston women's golfer. Her career stroke average of 79.2 ranks her third all-time at Sam Houston State. |
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MEN'S GOLF SCOTT KELLY, freshman from Kingwood, became the sixth Sam Houston State men's golfer to win the Southland Conference individual medalist championship last week. Kelly first a one-under par 215 at Lake Charles to tie for the top individual spot, then birdied the second hole of the playoff to earn the trophy. Kelly compiled the golf team's top stroke average this year with a 74.1 mark, leading the Bearkat to two team titles and a runner-up finish at conference, Sam Houston's highest Southland finish since 1994. |
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SOFTBALL MORGAN MIKULIN, sophomore from Huntsville, has led the 2008 Bearkat softball team at the plate and in the pitching circle. She leads the Kats in home runs (7) and runs batted in (34) and sports a .343 batting average. As a pitcher, she owns a 1.77 earned run average and has struck out 85 batters in 170 innings pitched.
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STUDENT TRAINER OF THE YEAR STUART JACKSON, senior from Santa Fe, worked with the 2004 SLC champion football team, the 2005 league champion outdoor track and field teams, men's basketball, and, currently, the baseball team. He passed the Texas State Athletic Training Exam and will graduate in August with a Bachelor's in Kinesiology |
