SE Athletics
Matt Thomas, Sports Information Director
DURANT – Southeastern athletics held its annual awards banquet on Monday night at Paul Laird Field, handing out a series of honors ranging from team MVP’s and scholar-athlete honors to the naming of the finalists for the Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
Sports presented by Indian Nation Wholesale.
The event was organized by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and was emceed by the group’s president Grace Shehadeh and vice-president Colton Buckner.
A total of eight student-athletes were named as finalists for the Athlete of the Year honors, four women and four men.
Below are the women finalists:
Grace Shehadeh; HM All-GAC selection; Third in the GAC in Digs per Set with 5.84; Her 5.84 DPS ranks as the 2nd best single-season average in SE history; SAAC President
Rebekah Christman; Finished 2nd in the GAC 3,000 meter Steeple Chase; Set SE record in the 3,000 meter Steeplechase; Also set the SE record for 3,000 meter run and the 800 meter this season
Cheyenne Mahy; Hitting .325 with Team Best 9 HR, 26 RBI, 2 3B; Has a 15-2 record in the circle with a 1.75 ERA and 56 strikeouts; GAC Pitcher of the Wek (March 29); 2nd in GAC in 3B, 4th in HR, 6th in RBI; 1st in GAC in ERA and 2nd in Wins
Jessie Sanchez; Great American Conference Champion in 200M and 400M; SE’s first GAC T&F Individual Champion; Also Earned 3rd in the 4x400M relay and 4th in 4x100M relay; Earned a total of four All-GAC honors; First Runner to Win the 200M and 400M at same championship
And the men’s finalists:
Wyatt Rogers; Leads the Central Plains Region in Bull Riding; Won the All-Around Title at OSU Rodeo; Two Bull Riding Wins, Six total top-3 finishes; Two top-10 finishes in steer wrestling
Juan Scoppetta; Currently ranked No. 15 in singles; 10-6 in singles play, has 8 doubles wins; MIAA South Division Player of the Week (April 19)
Seth Morrow; Hitting .398 with 13 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, and 45 RBI; Ranked top-5 in the GAC in Average (3rd), Slugging pct (1st), on-base pct (5th), Hits (4th), RBI (2nd), 2B (2nd), HR (2nd); GAC Player of the Wek (March 8)
Adam Dworsky; First Team All-GAC; Led the GAC in Assists with 6.7 per game, ranked 3rd nationally; Became the GAC All-Time Leader in assists for a career; Owns single game, single season, and career assists record at both SE and GAC; Also 9th in GAC in scoring, 1st in free throw pct, and 1st in assist/turnover ratio
Southeastern named its top Scholar-Athletes as well. The women were led by softball’s Kamarie Wallace, while the men had a tie for the top spot between baseball’s Jacob Potter and men’s basketball’s Taylor Cox.
Below is the top-five ranking for both the men and the women:
Women:
1st – Kamarie Wallace, Softball
2nd- Cierra Doyal, Rodeo
3rd- Briley Moon, Women’s Basketball
4th- Sierra Parks, Women’s Track and Field
5th- Lindsay Klasek, Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country
Men:
T1st- Jacob Potter, Baseball
T1st- Taylor Cox, Men’s Basketball
2nd- Kellen Manek, Men’s Basketball
3rd- Spencer Wallace, Baseball
4th- Conner Priest, Baseball
5th- Adam Dworsky, Men’s Basketball
Each Savage Storm sports team also named its MVP’s on Monday night. Below is a list of Southeastern’s MVP’s by sport:
Men’s Basketball – Adam Dworsky
Women’s Basketball – Kamryn Cantwell
Cross Country – Skye Summers
Men’s Golf – Jordan Holifield
Football – Offensive Player of the Year – Daulton Hatley
Defensive Player of the Year – Ja’Lon Freeman
Men’s Tennis – Juan Scoppetta
Women’s Tennis – India Shiaelis
Women’s Track – Jessie Sanchez
Volleyball – Ruthie Forson
Rodeo – Men – Wyatt Rogers
Three sports, baseball, softball, and women’s rodeo, will hand out their MVP awards following the conclusion of their respective seasons.
Additionally, the SAAC recognized faculty and staff both within the athletics department and elsewhere on campus, honoring April Lehrling and SE’s Athletic Training Staff headed by Assistant Athletics Director Scott Willman for their tireless work throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The group also made special recognition of Bob Sullins and Jay Lindly from Mix 96.1 and the Southeastern Sports Network for their efforts in ensuring that fans were able to watch Southeastern events despite the inability to bring fans into the venues.
Director of Sports Performance Zach Fears recognized Ironman Award Winners Caleb High for the men and Amanda Rodriguez for their work in the realm or sport performance.