9
Track Claims a National Champion, All-Americans
Four Saints earned All-America status
and one captured an individual championship at the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics Indoor Track
and Field Championships in February.
Junior runner Josh Wonders of Hudson
became only the third NAIA national
champion in Siena’s track and field
history by winning the men’s 1000meter run with an NAIA-record time
of 2:24:48. Wonders went on to earn
All-America honors in outdoor track and
field, as well, placing sixth in the 800
meters. Joining Wonders for indoor AllAmerica honors were juniors Jeff Marsh
of Waldron and Tina Richards of East
Jordan, and sophomore Jason Gurzynski
of Sylvania, Ohio. Marsh was runner-up
in the pentathlon, winning three of the
five events: 55-meter hurdles, high jump
and long jump. Richards placed third
in the women’s 1000-meter run, setting
a school record at 2:57.80. Gurzynski
finished sixth in the men’s 800 meters.
Two Spring Athletes Win
All-America Mentions
Senior centerfielder Josh Reeber of
Carleton and sophomore thrower Sara
Schaibly of Haslett were named to
the 1997 NAIA honorable mention
All-America teams in baseball and in
outdoor track and field, respectively.
Reeber, a two-time All-WHAC player,
led the Saints in batting, runs scored
and slugging percentage this season.
Schaibly took eighth place in the hammer throw at the NAIA Outdoor Track
and Field Championships in May,
bettering her own school record in the
event by over seven feet.
Baseball Pitches Martines
a Contract
Junior pitcher Jason Martines signed
a professional baseball contract June
5 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Martines, a righthanded pitcher from
Jackson, was drafted in the 24th round by
the MLB expansion club. Martines was
5-5 this season and was named WHAC
Pitcher-of-the-Week twice. He tossed a
one-hit shutout in a league win over TriState University in April. “Jason will be
an excellent prospect for the Diamondbacks because he is going to get stronger
and he’s extremely coachable,” said 10year SHC coach Gordie Theisen. “He
did it all for us on the field and now he
can concentrate solely on pitching... He
will do whatever it takes to be successful at the next level.” Martines reported
to the Diamondbacks’ rookie camp in
Lethbridge, Alberta, on June 9.
Indoor track and field All-Americans, from front
to back: Tina Richards, Josh Wonders,
Jeff Marsh and Jason Gurzynski.
(Photo courtesy of The Daily Telegram)
Gillin, Wonders are
Emmet Winners
Women’s soccer standout Amy Gillin of Adrian and men’s track and field
All-American Josh Wonders were this
year’s recipients of the Thomas A. Emmet Award, given annually to the top
male and female junior scholar-athletes
at Siena Heights. Gillin, a two-time
All-WHAC forward who led the ’96
Siants in scoring, is an art major with a
3.77 GPA. Wonders, a three-time NAIA
All-American and 1000-meter indoor
champion, carries a 3.23 GPA as a biology/chemistry major.