Men's All-Sports Cup Highlights Spring Success
6/8/2015 12:07:00 PM | Athletics
With the appearance of Danielle Demas, Matt Viverette and Ashley Jenkins at the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, another outstanding intercollegiate sports season closes for Sam Houston State University.
The highlight of the year is the addition of yet another trophy to the Bearkats' collection of Southland Conference “All-Sports” Cups. Sam Houston earned its fourth Southland Conference Men's All-Sports Championship Cup during the 2014-15 playing season.
Sam Houston previously won the men's all-sports title in 1999-2000, 2006-07 and 2013-14. The Bearkats stand as the only Southland member to earn five Commissioner's Cups symbolic of the combined men's and women's all-sports title. The Bearkats are one of only two current league member to earn four Men's All-Sports Cups.
Bobby Williams, director of athletics, was presented Sam Houston's latest cup trophy at the annual Southland Conference honors dinner in May in Frisco, Texas. Williams has brought home hardware from each of the last three Honors Dinners including the Commissioners' Cup in 2013 and 2014, the men's all-sports trophy in 2015 and the women's all-sports trophy in 2013.
“Winning Southland Conference All-Sports titles is important because each of our sports programs contributes to a Cup victory,” Sam Houston athletic director Bobby Williams said. “If every sport is important, then every student-athlete, coach, manager, trainer and administrative staff member is important. The pursuit of these Cup titles is something that has brought this department together as an athletic program.”
League championships in football and golf and runner-up finishes in men's basketball, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field were key to propelling the Kats to the Men's All-Sports Cup title. Both Southland first place teams advanced to NCAA post-season play.
The football team reached the FCS semifinals for the third time in the last four years with victories over three top 10 nationally-ranked opponents – Southeastern Louisiana, Jacksonville State and Villanova.
The 2015 spring semester was highlighted by a second consecutive men's golf league title and trip to the NCAA regional. J. T. Taylor, whose father Tommy Taylor won the Lone Star Conference championship in 1982, won the Southland individual medalist trophy. J. T. posted the team's top finish at the Washington Regional in Bremerton as the Kats placed 12th.
Men's basketball rolled to a 26-9 record, the program's highest victory total in 28 years at the NCAA Division I level. The Bearkats reached the Southland Conference tournament finals and advanced post-season play in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament for the second year in a row.
Jabari Peters earned All-Region honors and became only the second Bearkat to be twice recognized as Southland All-Tournament. Seniors DeMarcus Gatlin and Michael Holyfield joined Peters on the All-Conference honor squad.
Entering the event as the number five seed, Sam Houston baseball fought its way to the finals of the Southland Conference tournament in Sugar Land. The performance marked the sixth time in 14 trips to the tournament the Bearkats have already in the championship game.
Senior Colt Atwood completed his career as Sam Houston's all-time leader in career hits (294), at bats (987), games played (298) and games started (296).
Sam Houston's men and women each finished as team runners-up in both the Southland indoor and outdoor conference meets. Three of the 18 Bearkats who qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round earned berths in the national championships.
Other women's sports highlights this spring included Shernise Robertson leading Southland women's basketball in scoring; seniors Hillary Adams and Sara Allison becoming Bearkat softball's all-time leading home run hitters and Paige Nelson placing fourth at the league women's golf championship.
Bearkat student-athletes also recognized by the Southland for their efforts to serve the Huntsville community. Sam Houston won the league's annual Pop-Tab Collection drive which raises funds for the Ronald McDonald House at M. D. Anderson in Houston. The Kats also were the runners-up in the “Southland Strong Community Service Award” competition after logging 2,207 hours of work in the city.
“Giving back to the Huntsville community is so important to our student-athletes here at Sam Houston,” Chris Thompson, associate athletic director for student services, said. “The men and women who represent this university on the playing field and in the area well deserve this recognition.”
Other community service projects in which Sam Houston student-athletes participated included the Fight Hunger Drive in which Bearkats helped unload Houston Food Bank trucks, Backpack Buddies, appearances at the Huntsville Boys and Girls club, visits to area Huntsville Independent School District (HISD) locations to promote reading skills and drug awareness and the annual Christmas school supplies drive for local elementary children.
Sam Houston's student-athletes also achieved in the classroom, producing a spring semester grade point average of 3.06, highest in department history. The overall grade point average for the more than 375 Bearkat student-athletes stands at 3.11, a mark highest than the general student population at the university.
Two senior Bearkats earned Southland Conference “Student-Athlete of the Year” honors in their respective sports. Zach Cabra received the honor in men's golf while Kara Whitson was voted the award in women's indoor track and field. The pair become the 18th and 19th recipients of the prestigious award at Sam Houston. Those 19 individuals have received the honor a total of 22 times.
