Adams tabbed Indoor Student-Athlete of Year
3/28/2017 1:25:00 PM | Track & Field
HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston State junior heptathlete Tyler Adams has been named Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday.
“After we finished the conference meet, there was nobody that deserved it more than him,” head coach David Self said. “To do the things he did and the high-quality of the young man he is … what a wonderful honor for Tyler. He's just a great guy and I am very happy for him.”
Adams accumulated 22 points, finishing a half-point off the top score, while leading the Bearkats to their second-consecutive indoor conference title. He won the heptathlon (5,463 points) at the 2017 Southland championships in Birmingham, Ala. for the third-straight year and was named the Men's Outstanding Field Events Performer.
“He's there helping everyone else too,” Self said. “Everyone looks up to him. Tyler is going to do his part. A lot of people don't know how tough he really is. He did some things that you could tell they were hurting but he kept going. The things that we do as a team, he is a huge piece of that puzzle.”
The junior out of Buffalo, Texas, owns a 3.29 grade point average while majoring in engineering technology. Adams has made the dean's list seven consecutive semesters and served as the track representative on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
Adams joins Abilene Christian senior distance runner Michaela Hackett as the lone recipients for the award. He also becomes the 26th Sam Houston student-athlete to receive the award.
“First and foremost, it's about getting your degree,” Self said. “To have someone that excels at such a high standard like Tyler does in both the classroom and in the athletic arena, it goes to show it can be done if you're serious. He's one of many examples on our team but obviously the biggest one right now.”
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 13 member universities, votes for the student-athlete of the year. The Southland student-athlete of the year award is presented to one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees must have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale, and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.
