Six Kats All-Academic, Whitson top honoree
6/18/2015 11:31:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
HUNTSVILLE – With a trio of top three finishes in the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships each of the last three years and a pair of athletes earning All-America status this season, the Sam Houston State women's track team has made its share of history.
On Thursday, graduate student pole vaulter Kara Whitson added to that acclaim, being named Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Student-Athlete of the Year, alongside Lamar's Sam Stabler. The Port Lavaca, Texas, native becomes only the fourth female in league history to earn indoor and outdoor student-athlete of the year in the same season.
“Those are the kind of people you build championship teams around,” sixth-year head coach David Self said. “As a competitor, she's tough as anyone out there. She climbed her way up the ladder. She wasn't a highly recruited athlete out of high school. She ended up being a two-time conference champ.”
Whitson earned her bachelors of science in food science and nutrition in three years with a 3.36 GPA and recently finished her master's in instructional leadership in one year, maintaining a 4.0.
“I've gotten tremendous help from my coaches, professors and (associate athletic director of student services) Ms. Thompson,” Whitson said. “Just being able to balance everything has been the most important part. Knowing that if I'm traveling Thursday through Sunday, for example, I need to take care of as much as I can in advance.”
Alongside Whitson, junior Ruth Amaku, senior Elizabeth Lyssy, senior Kaylynne Wright, junior Nicole Jenrette and junior Nicole Aponte were also named to the 2015 Women's Cross Country and Track and Field All-Academic Team.
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.
The all-academic selection was the second for Whitson, Amaku (3.47/biomedical sciences) and Wright (3.76/psychology) while Aponte (3.89/criminal justice) qualified for the third time in her career. The accolade was the first for Jenrette (3.17/kinesiology) and Lyssy (3.71/accounting).
In the conference outdoor championships, Amaku took first in the 400-meter hurdles (58.52) while Whitson (13 feet, 8.25 inches) and Jenrette (5,017) grabbed second in the pole vault and heptathlon respectively. Lyssy captured the bronze in the javelin (148 feet, 0.75 inches) as did Wright in the triple jump (40 feet, 2 inches). In November, Aponte secured 23rd in the 6K (22:02.06) at the cross country championships.
With a demanding schedule in place for student-athletes, Whitson credits Sam Houston with providing the assistance necessary to maintain the hectic athletic and academic workload.
“I think having facilities like the writing center and the Learning Enhancement Center here as well as tutors are great resources,” Whitson said. “With it being a smaller campus, the professors really get to know you and so do your classmates. They're all willing to help you.”
Since 2007, 19 Bearkats have been named student-athlete of the year a total of 23 times.
2015 Women's Cross Country and Track and Field All-Academic Team
| Name | School | Class | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| Kara Whitson^,2 | Sam Houston State | Gr. | Port Lavaca, Texas | 3.36 | Food Science and Nutrition |
| Ashley Aldredge1,2 | Northwestern State | Sr. | Natchitoches, La. | 3.57 | General Studies |
| Por'Sha Thomas1,2 | Northwestern State | Jr. | Pearland, Texas | 3.17 | Biology |
| Ruth Amaku1,2 | Sam Houston State | Jr. | Missouri City, Texas | 3.47 | Biomedical Science |
| Brarysheyia Simpson1,2 | Stephen F. Austin | Sr. | Marlin, Texas | 3.39 | Psychology |
| Shambrail Woods1,2 | Stephen F. Austin | Sr. | Trinity, Texas | 3.48 | Kinesiology |
| Courtney High1,# | Stephen F. Austin | So. | Inez, Texas | 3.91 | Food and Nutrition Dietetics |
| Alexandria Hackett1 | Abilene Christian | Jr. | Cranston, R.I. | 3.95 | Finance |
| Diana Garcia-Munoz1 | Abilene Christian | Sr. | Phoenix, Ariz. | 3.82 | Accounting |
| Taylor Thomas1 | Houston Baptist | So. | Waller, Texas | 3.74 | Kinesiology |
| Leigh Lattimore1 | Lamar | Gr. | Pinner, England | 3.41 | Kinesiology |
| Louise Webb1 | Lamar | Gr. | Southampton, England | 3.91 | Kinesiology |
| Maegan Moore1 | McNeese State | So. | Ville Platte, La. | 3.05 | Athletic Training |
| Lauren Thompson1 | McNeese State | Gr. | London, England | 4.00(G) 3.58(UG) | Health and Human Performance |
| Cierra Jefferson1 | Stephen F. Austin | Sr. | Arlington, Texas | 3.24 | Child Development and Family Living |
| Elizabeth Lyssy | Sam Houston State | Sr. | Los Lunas, N.M. | 3.71 | Accounting |
| Kryshell Rolle | Nicholls | Jr. | Nassau, Bahamas | 3.70 | Accounting |
| Kaylynne Wright2 | Sam Houston State | Sr. | Huntsville, Texas | 3.76 | Psychology |
| Michaela Hackett | Abilene Christian | Jr. | Cranston, R.I. | 4.00 | Finance |
| Brigette Carruthers | Central Arkansas | So. | Branson, Mo. | 3.95 | Health Science-Physical Therapy |
| Rakira Turner | McNeese State | Jr. | Westlake, La. | 3.55 | Elementary Education |
| Nicole Jenrette | Sam Houston State | Jr. | Los Lunas, N.M. | 3.17 | Kinesiology |
| Shaneve Swift2 | UIW | Sr. | San Antonio, Texas | 3.87 | Accounting |
| Melina Ortiz | A&M-Corpus Christi | Jr. | Port Lavaca, Texas | 4.00 | Biomedical Sciences |
| Shanice Prendergast | A&M-Corpus Christi | Jr. | Brampton, Ontario | 3.96 | Criminal Justice |
| Kenzie Walker | Abilene Christian | Jr. | Abilene, Texas | 3.83 | Nursing |
| Lindsay Frost2 | UIW | Jr. | Portland, Texas | 3.96 | Fashion Merchandising |
| Landa Dowdy | Abilene Christian | Sr. | New Braunfels, Texas | 3.90 | Social Studies for Teachers |
| Bria McIver2 | Stephen F. Austin | Jr. | Killeen, Texas | 3.76 | Fashion Merchandising |
| Jasmine Waring2 | UIW | Jr. | San Antonio, Texas | 3.50 | Rehabilitation Sciences |
| Gabrielle Estrada | UIW | So. | Boerne, Texas | 3.90 | Communications |
| Addison Martinez | Southeastern La. | Jr. | Jennings, La. | 3.55 | Management |
| Tessni Carruthers3 | Nicholls | Sr. | British Columbia, Canada | 3.80 | Communicative Disorders |
| Zariah Noyola2 | UIW | Sr. | Harlingen, Texas | 3.86 | Rehabilitation Sciences |
| Lauren Jones | Abilene Christian | Sr. | Forney, Texas | 3.53 | Nursing |
| Nicole Aponte3 | Sam Houston State | Jr. | Kingwood, Texas | 3.89 | Criminal Justice |
| Kerissa Wiley | A&M-Corpus Christi | So. | Elmaton, Texas | 3.48 | Communication |
| Carissa Hill | Lamar | Sr. | Sugar Land, Texas | 3.55 | Communication |
| Sharon Ourso | Southeastern La. | Sr. | Mandeville, La. | 3.19 | English Education |
| Stephanie Aguilar | Houston Baptist | So. | Orchard, Texas | 3.85 | Psychology |
| Macy Davis | Stephen F. Austin | So. | Wellington, Texas | 3.89 | Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Jasmine McCoy | A&M-Corpus Christi | Sr. | Long Branch, N.J. | 3.59 | Biomedical Science |
^2015 Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year
1Automatic Selection
2Two-time all-academic selection
3Three-time all-academic selection
#Capital One Academic All-District
