TAMUC – Sports

 

MEN’S GOLF

Wilfredo Sanchez named LSC Men’s Golfer of the Week.

RICHARDSON – The league office Thursday announced that they named Texas A&M University-Commerce’s Wilfredo Sanchez as the Lone Star Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week.

Sanchez wins the award for the second time this season, as the Lions win the award for the fifth time in 12 awards this season.

Sanchez led the Lions to their third title of the season at the Arkansas-Fort Smith Hardscrabble Invitational. His score of 209 (-1) tied him for second place on the leaderboard with teammate Lucas McCubbin. Sanchez shot a 67 (-3) in the opening round of the event and carded 11 birdies over 54 holes. He shot 1-over par 71 in each of the last two rounds. It is Sanchez’ third top-five finish of the season and fifth top 10.

The Lions will now prepare for the Lone Star Conference Championship on April 23-24 at Diamondback Golf Club in Abilene.

LSC WEEKLY AWARDS

Men’s
S-14       Brayden Cruth, West Texas A&M
O-5         Blake Hartford, A&M-Commerce
O-19      Trip Hobson, Midwestern State
O-25      Clayton Keck, Midwestern State
N-2         Wilfredo Sanchez, A&M-Commerce
F-22       Lucas McCubbin, A&M-Commerce
M-8        Brayden Cruth, West Texas A&M (2)
M-14     Tate McVay, West Texas A&M
M-21     Blake Hartford, A&M-Commerce (2)
M-28     Ross White, Western New Mexico
A-5         Pedro De La Vega, Western New Mexico
A-12       Wilfredo Sanchez, A&M-Commerce (2)

Women’s
S-14       Kamryn Cummings, Angelo State | Sarah Gee, Tarleton State
S-21       Loukyee Songprasert, West Texas A&M
S-28       Sarah Gee, Tarleton State (2)
O-5         Kamryn Cummings, Angelo State (2)
O-12      Makena Thomas, A&M-Commerce
O-19      Emily Brennan, Midwestern State
O-25      Casey Wild, Tarleton State
F-15       Jelina Fernando, West Texas A&M
F-22       Casey Wild, Tarleton State (2) | Loukyee Songprasert, West Texas A&M (2)
M-1        Junie Khaw, Tarleton State
M-8        Lauren Leslie, A&M-Commerce
M-14     Loukyee Songprasert, West Texas A&M (3)
M-21     Junie Khaw, Tarleton State (2)
M-28     Sarah Moore, Midwestern State
A-5         Kaylin Milholland, West Texas A&M
A-12       Sarah Gee, Tarleton State (3) | Loukyee Songprasert, West Texas A&M (4)

 

MEN’S TRACK

Malcolm Woods named LSC Track Athlete of the Week.

RICHARDSON – Named the Lone Star Conference Men’s Track Athlete of the Week for his performance in last week’s David Noble Relays, is Texas A&M University-Commerce sprinter Malcolm Woods. The conference office Wednesday made the announcement.

Woods – a junior from Sachse HS – earned an automatic qualifying time in the men’s 100-meter dash at the David Noble Relays, with the third-fastest time in the nation this season at 10.24 seconds. He was just 0.04 seconds behind John Carlos’ A&M-Commerce record that has stood since 1967. He was also on the 4×100 meter relay team that earned a provisional qualifying time of 41.03 seconds, which ranks second in the LSC and 11th in the nation this season.

Woods’ performances helped pushed the Lions to the No. 4 ranking in the nation, as calculated by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Lions now host the East Texas Invitational on Saturday. Field events are scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by running at 5:30 p.m.

LSC WEEKLY AWARDS
Men’s Track
M-22 Charles Greaves, Texas A&M-Kingsville
M-28 Javier Lopez, Texas A&M-Kingsville
A-4 Marcus Parker, Eastern New Mexico | Rashard Clark, A&M-Commerce | Javier Lopez, Texas A&M-Kingsville (2)
A-11 Malcolm Woods, A&M-Commerce

Men’s Field
M-22 Trivett Jones, Angelo State
M-28 Nils Fischer, Angelo State
A-4 Florian Obst, A&M-Commerce | Richard Cervantes, Texas A&M-Kingsville
A-11 Nils Fischer, Angelo State (2) | Charles Greaves, Texas A&M-Kingsville

Women’s Track
M-22 Kara Bickham, Tarleton State
M-28 Minna Svaerd, A&M-Commerce
A-4 Kami Norton, Angelo State
A-11 Kami Norton, Angelo State (2)

Women’s Field
M-22 Kaitlin Lumpkins, Angelo State
M-28 Jasmine Roberts, A&M-Commerce
A-4 Daisy Osakue, Angelo State | Fatim Affessi, West Texas A&M
A-11 Daisy Osakue, Angelo State (2)

 

SOFTBALL

Softball dips one spot to No. 7 in NFCA Rankings.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.– The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team is ranked seventh in the latest coaches poll released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as announced Wednesday. The Lions moved down one spot from last week’s ranking. A&M-Commerce is still the highest ranked LSC team in the rankings. For eight consecutive weeks, the Lions are nationally ranked.

The No. 7 Lions went 1-2 last week against No. 13 West Texas A&M. The rankings do not take into account the Lions’ loss to WT on Monday. The Lions are the highest ranked team from the Lone Star Conference in the rankings. Angelo State is ranked 9th, West Texas A&M is ranked 13th, and Tarleton State is ranked 16th.

The Lions are also highly ranked in three other rankings. They are No. 2 in the current rankings done by Hero Sports, which also takes into account strength of schedule, offensive and defensive ranking. The Lions are ranked No. 6 in the Massey Ratings and are No. 6 in the rankings by Fastpitch News.

The No. 7 Lions are currently 32-5 with a 17-4 record in conference play, which has them in a tie for first place. A&M-Commerce returns to the diamond for a road series against Western New Mexico. The two teams will meet in a three-game series, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday at 1 p.m. MDT (2 p.m. CDT). The teams will then face off in a single game on Saturday at 10 a.m. MDT (11 a.m. CDT). All games will be at WNMU Softball Field in Silver City, N.M.

2018 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll – Apr. 11 (Week 8) 

Rank	Team	Points	Record	Previous
1	Colorado Mesa (16)	400	34-0	1
2	North Georgia	380	43-2	2
3	Chico State	369	35-3	3
4	Palm Beach Atlantic	342	27-3	4
5	Southern Arkansas	338	36-4	5
6	Dixie State	311	32-4	7
7	Texas A&M Commerce	302	32-4	6
8	North Alabama	296	34-4	8
9	Angelo State	260	33-6	10
10	Winona State	256	28-4	9
11	Lenoir-Rhyne	233	36-5	12
12	Grand Valley State	226	23-5	15
13	West Texas A&M	199	30-6	13
14	California Baptist	194	26-5	17
15	Indianapolis	159	26-8	11
16	Tarleton State	145	37-7	18
17	West Florida	141	22-13	14
18	Sonoma State	80	24-13	25
19	Arkansas Tech	76	31-11	RV
20	Saint Leo	74	31-10	24
21	Augustana	67	26-8	16
22	UAH	52	26-10	RV
23	Queens	49	31-9	22
24	UC San Diego	43	23-10	21
25	Illinois Springfield	39	27-10	RV

 

HONOR SOCIETY

Six Lions named to NFF Hampshire Honor Society.

IRVING – The National Champion Texas A&M University-Commerce football team has had six Lions named to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame’s 2018 Hampshire Honor Society, as announced Wednesday.

The Lions’ honorees are Jon Aguilar, Kieston Carter, Chochy Luce, Luis Perez, Javon Tillman, and Richard Whitaker.

College football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers comprise the 2018 NFF Hampshire Honor Society. An all-time high 1,253 players from a record 303 schools qualified for membership in the society’s 12th year.

Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must have:
– Completed their final year of playing eligibility in 2017;
– Graduated players, who have the remaining ability but will not return to collegiate play (e.g., declared for NFL Draft or retired from football), may also be nominated.
– Achieved a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study; and
– Met all NCAA- or NAIA-mandated progress toward degree requirements.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF’s National Scholar-Athlete program by significantly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization’s leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes at the 777 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide.

The Lions’ six honorees are tied with Rice University for the second most in the state of Texas, behind Houston Baptist University’s seven. A&M-Commerce’s selections comprise two-thirds of the Lone Star Conference’s honorees, as Tarleton State had one honoree and West Texas A&M had two honorees.

 

MEN’S GOLF

No. 23 Lions close out the regular season with a championship at UAFS Hardscrabble Invitational.

FORT SMITH, Ark. – The No. 23 Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team closed out the regular season with its third win of the campaign, holding off host school Arkansas-Fort Smith for the title in the Hardscrabble Invitational on Tuesday.

The Lions shot a three-round total of 846 (275-285-286, +6) on the par 70 course, beating UAFS by three strokes. The third-place school was 25 strokes back of the A&M-Commerce Lions.

A&M-Commerce won the WNMU Fall Intercollegiate and The Classic at Firewheel earlier in the season and claimed top-five finishes in eight of their nine regular-season events.

Three Lions placed in the top five of the event to claim all-tournament honors. Lucas McCubbin and Wilfredo Sanchez tied for runner-up honors at 209 (-1) in the tournament, each shooting 1-over par 71 in Tuesday’s round.

Sanchez was solid all the way around the course, carding three birdies and four bogeys on the day. McCubbin had two birdies and three bogeys in his final round. It is Sanchez’ third top-five finish of the year, and the second top-five placement of the season for McCubbin.

Blake Hartford placed fifth at 213 (+3), shooting a five-over 75 in his final round. It is the third top-five placement of the season for the sophomore.

Garrett Landers placed 11th on the leaderboard at 219 (+9) for a career low. He carded two birdies Tuesday on the way to a 1-over par 71 for his best round of the season. Joe Wolcik placed 23rd at 224 (+14), carding a 73 with an eagle and a birdie to close out the event.

The Lions will now prepare for the Lone Star Conference Championship on April 23-24 at Diamondback Golf Club in Abilene.

Rank	Team	Scores			Total	Par
1.	A&M-Commerce	275	285	286	846	+6
2.	Arkansas-Fort Smith	283	284	282	849	+9
3.	Midwestern State	294	292	285	871	+31
4.	Rogers State	299	290	295	884	+44
5.	Cameron	290	305	293	888	+48
6.	Missouri Southern State	298	301	304	903	+63
7.	Northwestern Oklahoma State	300	306	304	910	+70
8.	Lubbock Christian	307	298	310	915	+75
9.	Central Baptist	305	305	309	919	+79

A&M-Commerce	275	285	286	846	+6	1st
Lucas McCubbin	68	70	71	209	-1	t-2nd
Wilfredo Sanchez	67	71	71	209	-1	t-2nd
Blake Hartford	66	72	75	213	+3	5th
Garrett Landers	76	72	71	219	+9	11th
Joe Wolcik	74	77	73	224	+14	23rd

 

OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

Men’s and women’s track both ranked in top 10 nationally by USTFCCCA.

NEW ORLEANS – After solid performances at the David Noble Relays on Sunday, the Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams are both ranked in the top 10 nationally by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, as announced Tuesday. The Lion men are ranked fourth in the nation, while the Lion women have achieved a program-best ranking of seventh nationally.

The Lion men were bolstered by 11 new or improved marks in the ranking last week, led by an automatic qualifying time of 10.24 seconds in the 100-meter dash by Malcolm Woods, which is the third-fastest in the nation this season. The Lions have eight marks that rank in the top 10 nationally, led by the nation’s high marks in the 4×400 meter relay (Jude Christine, D’Lance Sharp, Dedrian Windham, Rashard Clark – 3:07.91) and the decathlon (Florian Obst – 7,681 points). Sharp ranks second nationally in the 400 meters at 46.85 seconds, while Woods’ 100-meter time, Clark in the 200 meters (20.95 seconds), and DeVontae Steele in the triple jump (15.67 meters – 51-5) all rank third in the nation.

It marks the 21st time the Lion men have appeared in the outdoor top 10 team rankings since the USTFCCCA created the ranking system in 2010.

The Lion women had 15 marks from this season factor into the national rankings, and 14 of those were set or improved in last week’s action. It is the Lion women’s first-ever appearance in the top 10, eclipsing the previous program best of 11th. The women’s team had never been ranked higher than 15th before to this season.

Jasmine Roberts’ triple jump mark of 12.18 meters (39-11 ½) ranks third nationally, while the 4×400 meter relay team of Minna Svaerd, Joy Spann, Ro’Nisha Simpson, and Kamryn McKee ranks fourth nationally at 3:42.04. Svaerd also ranks fifth nationally in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:00.27. Hailey Wanoreck ranks seventh in the country in the hammer throw at 57.81 meters (189-8). Markie Abbott and Chelsea Cheek tied for eighth in the nation in the high jump at 1.70 meters (5-7), and Anitial’a Robins ranks 10th in the nation in the discus at 48.69 meters (159-9).

The Lions host the East Texas Invitational this Saturday, April 14, with field events beginning at 11:00 a.m. and running events scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.

MEN’S TOP TEN IN THE NATION

1.	Pittsburg State	235.00
2.	Texas A&M-Kingsville	187.87
3.	Angelo State	168.02
4.	A&M-Commerce	165.47
5.	Colorado Mines	139.94
6.	Chico State	107.60
7.	Colorado State-Pueblo	106.07
8.	Saint Augustine’s	98.22
9.	Adams State	92.18
10.	Grand Valley State	82.38

WOMEN’S TOP TEN IN THE NATION

1.	Angelo State	176.07
2.	Pittsburg State	153.74
3.	West Texas A&M	150.89
4.	Grand Valley State	125.21
5.	Alaska Anchorage	101.56
6.	San Francisco State	99.82
7.	A&M-Commerce	99.72
8.	Azusa Pacific	86.34
9.	New Mexico Highlands	85.42
10.	Colorado-Colorado Springs	81.38

 

Josh Manck

Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Communications | Texas A&M University-Commerce