SHSU Sports
Gilchrist captures Southland gold in men’s long jump
NACOGDOCHES — Sam Houston State jumpers Chris Gilchrist, Henry Jordan and A.J. Edwards were hoping to finish 1-2-3 in the long jump finals at the Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Stephen F. Austin University on Saturday.
They didn’t quite get it done, but it was awfully close.
Gilchrist captured first with a leap of 24 feet, 1 3/4 inches, Jordan was right behind in second at 23-7 1/2 and Edwards came in fourth at 23-5 1/2 as the Bearkat men head into today’s running finals with 48 points and in third place behind Southeastern Louisiana (54) and Stephen F. Austin (50).
“We wanted to get one through fourth, something we really worked hard at, but we at least got first, second and fourth,” said Gilchrist, who’s teammate C.J. Patterson place 10th in the event. “I know the coaches are pretty pleased with that. I have been waiting for this for a while. I was hurt in indoors, so I’m glad to win this.”
Sophomore Dess Meek placed second in the high jump to highlight action for the SHSU women, who are currently in fourth place with 31 points. She finished tied with Texas State’s Valerie Hancock at 5 feet, 8 3/4 inches when both failed to clear the next height in three attempts. But because Hancock cleared 5-8 3/4 on her first attempt, Meek finished second.
“It was a bad day, I felt like everything was off,” said Meek, who also finished fifth in the long jump with a leap of 18-11 1/4. “There are no excuses, but I’m disappointed. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.”
Also earning points for the Bearkat women, who are in fourth with 31 points, were Jenny Zoch and Ebonee Stephens in the shot put. Zoch saved her best throw for last, hitting 43 feet, 4 1/2 inches to place fifth. Stephens finished sixth with a toss of 43 1/4.
The biggest surprise of the day was the performance of Matt Johnson. The freshman from Port Neches came out of nowhere to place second in the decathlon with 7,210 points in 10 events.
“Ten events is rough on everybody,” Johnson said. “But before each day of the events, I would look in the Bible in Romans and find a verse that would help me get through each day. It’s perseverance and making your body last through all those events. It’s not about doing great in everything, it’s about how good you can spread it across the board.”
Johnson trailed Texas-San Antonio’s Tommy Wolfe by 106 points heading into the final event Saturday afternoon, the 1,500-meter run. But Johnson turned it on down the stretch and was able to finish seventh, which was far enough ahead of Wolfe to make up the point difference.
“Matt Johnson has been out here the last two days all day and what he was able to do was impressive and one of the highlights of the meet for us,” SHSU head track coach Curtis Collier said.
“The 7,210 is the second-best score in our school history and is an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. That means he will get on a list and it probably won’t be good enough to get into the national championships, but we will wait and see.”
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Time to crank it up
Sam Houston State head coach Willie Fritz knew coming into the season that he was going to have his hands full turning around the Bearkats’ football program.
The rest of the coaches in the Southland Conference apparently agree.
Coming off a 5-6 season, a fifth-place finish in league play and the loss of 15 starters, Sam Houston State has been tabbed to finish seventh in the SLC preseason coaches’ poll, which was announced Wednesday during the Southland Conference Football Media Day at the L’Auberge du Lac Resort. -
Pitching dominates Triple-A All-Star Game
Like the Major League All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Anaheim, Calif., pitchers dominated the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday in Allentown, Pa.
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Almost there
After years of toiling in the minor leagues, Dustin Martin can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Rising through the ranks of the minor league system all the way from Rookie League, the former Sam Houston outfielder is playing some of his best baseball these days and will play in Wednesday’s Triple-A All-Star Game in Allentown Pa., which will be televised at 6 p.m. on the MLB Network. -
Gallant shining again in Cape Cod League
Maybe, just maybe, on the mound closing games is where Dallas Gallant needs to be if he’s going to make a name for himself.
For the second summer in a row, the Sam Houston State pitcher has performed marvelously when he finishes games for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, a member of the distinguished Cape Cod Baseball League. -
Bearkats enjoy banner year in classroom
With the release of grade point averages for the more than 400 Bearkats participating in varsity sports, plus the announcement by the Southland Conference office of the annual Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll, the 2009-10 season goes in the books as another banner academic year for Sam Houston State University.
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Belcher, Vilardi golf tournaments help rival football programs
Golfers in the Huntsville area can help the football programs at both Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, two longtime rivals that soon will be adding new excitement to their annual “Battle of the Piney Woods” when they kick off this fall at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
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Kelly ready for NCAA golf regional
When Sam Houston’s Scott Kelly tees off Thursday in the NCAA South Central Regional men’s golf tournament, his goal will be simple. He wants to become the first Bearkat golfer to earn a spot in the national tournament.
“As an at-large entry, it’s difficult to advance but it’s not out of the question,” Kelly said. “I’m going into the tournament with high expectations and will give it my best shot.” -
Dreaming big
His mind has been working overtime. Huntsville senior Quenntin Tucker has spent the past two weeks preparing for the Class 4A Region III track meet.
Tucker practices the discus by day, then dreams about it at night. Physically and mentally, he’s ready for the big meet.
“I had a dream about this,” Tucker said last week during a short break from practice. “In the dream I finished second in our region, then I finished second at state.
“I woke up that morning smiling.” -
Same old story
The Bearkats must’ve felt as if they had a little bit of déjà vu.
For the second straight Saturday, the Bearkats used a monster inning to climb out of a huge hole only to see it slip away.
This time, it was Stephen F. Austin, which rallied for five runs in the final two innings and held off Sam Houston for a 14-13 win. -
UCA has Bearkat softball team on ropes
The Bearkats saw the light dim on their Southland Conference tournament aspirations Saturday afternoon.
Desperately in need of a series win to gain ground in the chase for the sixth and final seed, the Sam Houston State softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to Central Arkansas. - More SHSU Sports Headlines
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