Eight to be inducted into Hall of Honor
10/5/2016 3:34:00 PM | Football, Men's Basketball, Cross Country, Track & Field, Softball, Women's Golf, Soccer, Women's Track & Field, Athletics, Bearkat Champions Fund
Eight Bearkat sports greats will be inducted into the Sam Houston men's and women's Halls of Honor at a special dinner at the Lowman Student Center Friday, November 4 at 6 p.m.
Raquel Bueno (soccer), Brandi Crnkovic (softball), Raman Saran (golf) and Susie Jones Turner (track and field) are this year's inductees for the Sam Houston Women's Letter Association Hall of Honor.
Chris Foster (football, track and field), Reginald Reddick (football), Robert Morris Sowers (basketball and football) and Raul Villarreal (track and field, cross country) are the inductees for the Sam Houston Lettermen's Association Hall of Honor.
The addition of the four 2015 inductees will bring the total Hall of Honor members to 43. The first five women were inducted in 2007.
Bueno ranks as the Sam Houston soccer program's all-time leading scorer with 27 career goals. A four-year starter from 2005 to 2007, eleven of her goals were game-winners. A three-time All-Southland Conference selection, Bueno was the “Most Valuable Player” after leading the Bearkats to the 2005 Southland Tournament finals.
Crnkovic stands as the Bearkat softball team's all-time strikeout leader with 528 in her career from 2006 to 2009. All-Southland Conference both as a junior and senior, Crnkovic was the “Most Valuable Player” in the 2007 Southland Conference tournament after leading Sam Houston to a post-season title and the program's first NCAA Division I regionals appearance.
Jones was a five-time All-Southland Conference multi-events student-athlete, participating indoors and outdoors from 1997 to 2001. She was an NCAA national provisional qualifier in the heptathlon in 1999, finishing as conference runner-up in the multi-events both as a junior and senior. She holds the school record and three of the top five marks in the heptathlon.
Raman Saran is one of only three Bearkat women golfers to earn All-Southland Conference in each of her four years of competition. Playing from 2002 to 2005 she was named as the team's “Most Valuable Player” three times. She led Sam Houston to a conference championship in 2004. Her career total of four tournament medalist titles ranks second all-time at SHSU.
The quartet of men being inducted in November will bring the total number of Bearkats in the Lettermen's Hall of Honor to 190. The first inductions were in 1971.
Foster was a standout performer in both football and track and field from 1997 to 2000. He earned All-Southland Conference in eight events (four indoors and outdoors. He was the runner-up in the 200 meters outdoors and the 60 meter dash indoors. On the gridiron, he led the 1999 football team in interceptions and the 2000 squad in kickoff returns.
Reddick earned All-Southland honors as a defensive tackle on three years in a row including his senior year on the 2001 conference championship squad that reached the NCAA playoff quarterfinals. He ranks third in Bearkat career tackles for losses with 36. He led the defensive line in tackles both as a sophomore in 1999 and a junior in 2000.
Sowers was the first Sam Houston men's basketball player to earn first team All-Lone Star Conference honors in 1933. The league's leading scorer as a senior, he also was an All-Texas selection. During Sowers' junior and senior He years, Sam Houston rolled up 25 wins in 37 games and dominated the new Lone Star Conference, winning 16 of 20 contests.
Villarreal stands as the only Bearkat to ever post four top 50 NCAA regional cross country performances. He earned All-Southland honors three times in cross country and in 10 races in indoor and outdoor track and field. Villarreal was the Southland men's high point scorer after leading the Bearkats to their first outdoor championship in 2005.
Tickets for the annual Hall of Honor Banquet are $50 per person. RSVP by October 28th by calling (936) 294-2415 or emailing events@shsu.edu.
