Bearkats name 2008-09 Most Valuable Athletes
4/25/2009 11:45:00 AM | Athletics
HUNTSVILLE – Eleven Bearkat student-athletes as well as one manager and one trainer were recognized as 2008-09 “Most Valuable” for their respective sports Monday night at the annual Sam Houston All-Sports Banquet at the Lowman Student Center Ball Room.
In addition, three student-athletes from sports who have yet to name their 2009 MVPs were honored for their accomplishments during the spring of 2008 and the outstanding male and female sophomore student-athletes and the top scholar athletes for were named.
Named as “Most Valuable Player” for the 2008-09 school year were Raquel Bueno (soccer), Bridget Costello (women's cross country), Adam Santos (men's cross country), Anna Ferguson (volleyball), Rhett Bomar (football), Dess Meek (women's indoor track and field), TyMagic Robinson (men's indoor track and field), Brittany Brooks (women's basketball), Barkley Falkner (men's basketball), Hailey Wiginton (softball) and Irina Sotnikova and Peta Taylor (tennis).
Randy Stewart (football) and Meek were named as the top male and female sophomore student-athletes. Falkner and Kendra Spivey (softball) were honored as male and female student-athletes of the year. Alex Gladstone and Jessica Pfannstiel were recognized as the outstanding student manager and trainer of the 2008-09 sports year.
Bueno, a senior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, led the soccer team to its first winning season in the six-year history of the program. She led the Kats with 11 goals, tying a school season record and earning her All-Southland honors. With 27 goesl during her four-year career, she stands as the program's all-time leading scorer.
Costello, a senior from Corpus Christi, served as captain for the women's cross country team, providing her squad with quality leadership. An outstanding student as well, she boasts a 3.67 overall grade point average as an education major.
Santos, a senior from Langham Creek, was an unselfish competitor in cross country who always put the team before himself, he helped pace the Bearkats to a top five finish in the Southland Conference.
Ferguson, a junior from Dallas, led the volleyball team with 356 kills to earn first team All-Southland Conference honors this fall. She produced double figure kills in 17 matches. She also was first team Academic All-Southland honoree, sporting a 3.35 GPA as an elementary education major.
Bomar, a senior from Grand Prairie, completed his football career as both Sam Houston's all-time leader in passing and total offense. His career totals including 5,564 yards passing and 6,159 total yards in 19 games. He is a two-time All-Southland Conference selection and ended the 2008 season ranked No. 2 in the nation in total offense.
Meek, a sophomore from Newton, became the first Sam Houston State athlete to earn a berth in the NCAA Indoor national track meet. She set a Sam Houston school record with a 6-foot high jump at the Houston Indoor and won the Southland title with a leap of 5' 8.75”. At NCAAs in College Station she placed 11th nationally.
Robinson, a sophomore from Robinson, Texas, blazed through the indoor season with a series of outstanding performances in the sprints. He won the 60 meter dash at the Houston Indoor and was runner-up in the event at the 2009 Southland meet.
Brooks, a junior from Spring, was the leading scorer for the 2009 Bearkat women's basketball teamwith a 10.7 average. She scored in double figures 18 teams including a career high 27 points in a victory over McNeese State. With a 3.20 cumulative grade point average as a business major, she earned second team Academic All-Southland Conference honors.
Falkner, a senior from Oxford, MS, earned All-Southland Conference honors as a post player. He averaged 8.7 points and ranked fourth in the league in rebounds. Also an outstanding student with a 3.91 grade point average as an accounting major, he was named as the Southland men's basketball student-athlete of the year.
Sotnikova and Taylor close our their tennis careers as Sam Houston's all-time winningest tennis players having paired for 145 singles wins between them the past four years. As a doubles team they stand 52-9 all-time and have led Sam Houston to its highest Southland Conference finishes ever.
Wiginton, a sophomore from Friendswood, is the top hitter for the Bearkat softball team during the past two seasons, Hailey earned All-Southland Conference honors as a freshman in the outfield and is a top candidate for a similar honor this season as a shortstop. She leads the 2009 Kats with a .351 batting average and has produced 13 multi-hit games.
Jessica Pfannstiel and Alex Gladstone were named as the program's “Most Valuable” student trainer and manager, respectively.
Alex Gladstone
Jessica Pfannstiel
Randy Stewart
Kendra Spivey
Gladstone has served the past two years as manager for the men's basketball team. Pfannstiel has worked as a student trainer with football, women's soccer, softball, track and field and baseball.
Meek and Randy Stewart, football player from Magnolia, were recognized as the outstanding sophomore student-athletes at Sam Houston State.
Stewart was awarded the “T” award by the Sam Houston Lettermen's Association as the outstanding sophomore male student-athlete. The award is presented annually to a sophomore male who excels both academically and athletically.
A two-year letterman as a safety, Randy has totaled 57 tackles for the Bearkats. Last fall he was an Academic All-Southland honorable mention selection with 3.41 grade point average. In 2008, he ranked sixth on squad in tackles with 41 including season best of 8 stops at Kansas. His father played football and mother ran track for Sam Houston State. He is a graduate of Magnolia High School.
Meek received the “SH” award which is presented each spring to the university's top sophomore female student-athlete.
The first Sam Houston athlete to earn a berth in the NCAA indoor track and field national meet, she holds the school record in the high jump with a mark of six feet even. During the 2009 outdoor track and field season last spring, Meek became only the second Bearkat to win an NCAA regional championship.
Baseball, golf and men's and women's track and field will name their MVPs at a later date. Todd Sebek (baseball), Lane Dennis (men's outdoor track and field) and Meek (women's outdoor track and field) were named as MVPs for the 2008 spring season.
Kendra Spivey of softball and Falkner from men's basketball were honored as the female and male student-athletes of the year for Sam Houston State.
