Reflections Magazine Issue #77 - Fall 2012 | страница 14

Athletics News

saints highlights
Lloyd Carr Travels to
Siena Heights Campus
The Siena Heights football team had a special
guest this fall when former University of Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr visited practice.
Carr, who guided the Wolverines to a national
championship in 1997, was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame last year. Carr
was able to provide some feedback to the SHU
coaching staff as well as visit with longtime
friend, SHU head coach Jim Lyall. Carr finished
his visit by talking to the team before the Saints’
first game against Robert Morris (below).

Track and Field
Women: Lenzey Stidham won the women’s
pole vault (below) at the NAIA national championships with a vault of 12 feet, 7 1/2 inches.
Brianna Nordby was seventh in the javelin with
a distance of 140-7 to also earn All-American
honors. Phoenix Duncan, just a freshman,
was second in the women’s high jump to earn
All-American honors. She was also second in the
indoor national meet and is the school record
holder. Stidham (pole vault) and Duncan (high
jump), each won events and Taylor Byron set
a school record in the shot put as the women
placed second at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic
Conference outdoor championships. Byron was
also named the meet’s Most Valuable Performer
after scoring 24 points. She recorded a throw
of 43 feet, 7.75 inches in the shot put and was
third in the discus. Stidham took the pole vault
(11-11.75) and Duncan the high jump (5-7.75).
Cassie Keeping, a junior, and seniors Lyndsay
Payne and Morgan Choszczyk were each named
Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes.Bowling
Men: Rich DePalma and the men’s 4x400 relay
each finished second at the NAIA national
outdoor championships to cap off an impressive
effort. DePalma lost in a “vault off” to finish
second in the men’s pole vault, while the 4x400

Saints Second in WHAC
Directors Cup standings

The Saints finished 32nd in
the final NAIA Learfield
Sports Directors Cup
standings. The cup
was developed as a joint
effort between the National
Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics
and USA Today. Points are awarded based on
each school’s finish in up to 12 sports—six
women’s and six men’s. Siena Heights earned
the second highest score in the WolverineHoosier Athletic Conference, with Indiana
Tech finishing 22nd overall.

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Reflections Fall ’12

relay of Ryan McElyea, Anton Darby, Logan
Moore and Doug Dawson clocked in at 3
minutes, 10.86 seconds – a new school record
– to place second in the nation and also earn
All-American recognition. Others earning
All-American honors included Brett Smith in
the marathon (seventh, 2:34.43.3), Logan
Moore in the 110 hurdles (fourth, 14.36), Calvin
Sullins in the decathlon (eighth, 6,480 points)
and Will Hinton in the discus (eighth, 49.59
meters). Sullins’ effort was a school record.
The host Saints also dominated the competition
at Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
outdoor championships, winning several
events and breaking three school records in the
process. Sullins led the way, scoring 22 points
to be named the Most Valuable Performer.
The 4x400 relay of Anton Darby, Logan Moore,
Ryan McElyea and Doug Dawson earned the
Most Outstanding Performance, winning their
event in a then-school record time of 3 minutes,
12.29 seconds. Ryan Hopson set a school record
in winning the triple jump (47-7.25) and tied
another by taking the long jump (24-3.75).
Other event winners were Dawson in the 400
(47.44), Chris Schurr in the pole vault (16-0.75),
Moore in the 110 hurdles (14.44), Jesiah
Rodriguez in the 1500 (3:53.63) and Justin
Bateson in the 5000 (15:26.12).

Seniors Dawson and Kyle Armstrong and junior
Chris Schurr earned Daktronics NAIA ScholarAthlete recognition.
Baseball
The SHU Saints won 4-3 with two outs in the
bottom of the ninth on a single up the middle
by Kyle Benschoter to beat Indiana Tech, the
top seed and ranked 21st in the nation, in the
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference baseball
tournament championship (above right). Lefty
Matt King tossed nine innings of four-hit ball
and allowed just one earned run. Siena Heights
won its first conference tournament title
since 1994 and advanced to the NAIA national
tournament. The Saints (33-25) then completed
one of the most successful seasons in the
program’s history by placing third at the NAIA
bracket in Daytona Beach, Fla. SHU defeated
Southern Poly (Ga.) 8-4 for the second time in
as many days before falling to second seed and
15th ranked Auburn-Montgomery 9-8 in the
loser’s bracket final. Fifth seed Siena Heights
defeated Southern Poly (Ga.) 3-1 in the opener
before losing to eighth-ranked and top seed
and host Embry-Riddle 2-0. Senior shortstop
Cory Lehman was named the Wolverine-Hoosier
Athletic Conference Player of the Year as three
Saints landed on the conference first team.