SWOSU Honors Top Athletes

May 5, 2006

Student-athletes recognized as Most Valuable Team Player at the Southwestern Oklahoma State University awards banquet Monday are as follows (front row, from left): Lonnie Cooks, Ft. Worth, Texas, basketball; Bandy Murphy, Punta Gorda, Fla., rodeo, Rachel Ingram, Springfield, Mo., cross country; Amy Snedeker, Broken Arrow, soccer; Megan Eichman, Guymon, golf (back row): Kasandra Gurtner, Cimarron, Kan. volleyball; Julie Dawson, Arnett, rodeo; Garion Davenport, Shawnee, baseball; Niki Sloan, Stigler, basketball; April Nash, Owasso, softball.

Weatherford, OK - Cross country runner Rachel Ingram and golf standout Greg Koch were the top award winners at the annual All-Sports Banquet held Monday on the Southwestern Oklahoma State University campus.

Ingram won the female athlete-of-the-year while Koch was the male honoree. The award is based on the student’s athletic achievement, academic standing, community and campus involvement and citizenship.

Ingram, a sophomore from Springfield, Mo, became the first-ever SWOSU cross country runner to compete in the NCAA Division II championships. She qualified for the Division II meet by finishing fourth out of a field of 147 runners at the regional. She finished 47th out of 180 runners at the NCAA championships. Throughout the season, she won overall meet titles at Oklahoma Baptist and at Oklahoma State. She maintains a 4.00 GPA in pre-pharmacy and was selected as the Lone Star Conference’s Top Female Scholar for cross country.

Koch, a senior from Burkburnett, Texas, combined talents on the course and in the classroom. He carries a perfect 4.00 GPA and will graduate in December with a degree in chemistry. He was chosen as the LSC’s Top Academic Golfer. On the course, he was SWOSU’s top golfer in four tournaments and had two Top 10 finishes which helped him earn a berth in the NCAA Division II South/South Central Super Regional.

The following is a list of other student-athletes that were recognized as their team’s MVP.

Julie Dawson, Rodeo
Sr., Arnett, Oklahoma
Dawson is a three-year member of the SWOSU nationally-ranked women’s rodeo team where she competes in breakaway roping and goat tying. She won the breakaway roping event at Garden City and finished as the All-Around cowgirl at Ft. Scott. She and the rest of her teammates will be competing later this year at the College National Finals in Wyoming.

Kasandra Gurtner, Volleyball
So., Cimarron, Kansas
In SWOSU’s first-ever season of college volleyball, Gurtner emerged as one of the league’s rising young stars. A transfer from Clarendon Junior College, she led the Bulldogs in kills, kills per game, attack percentage, block solos and block assists.

April Nash, Softball
Jr., Owasso, Oklahoma
Nash emerged as one the team’s top players in her first year at SWOSU. A transfer from Independence Community College, April finished second on the team in batting and was one of two players named to the LSC North Division Honorable Mention All-Conference squad.

Niki Sloan, Basketball
Sr., Stigler, Oklahoma
Sloan was one of the primary reasons SWOSU was able to win its first-ever outright LSC North Division women’s basketball title this season. Sloan was the starting guard and averaged over eight points a game. She was named to the conference’s All-Academic team and carries a 3.7 GPA while majoring in pharmacy.

Megan Eichman, Women’s Golf
Sr., Guymon, Oklahoma
Eichman was SWOSU’s top golfer in four events this year including a top 10 finish at the South Central Kansas Invitational in Winfield, Kan. She was also honored as to the conference all-academic squad for her 3.51 GPA in elementary education.

Michael Hart, Football
Sr., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Hart has been a four-year letterman and has started every game since his sophomore year. He finished his Bulldog career with 295 tackles and four interceptions. His 88 tackles were tops among all SWOSU players this year which earned him a berth on the LSC North all-conference second team.

Bandy Murphy, Rodeo
Sr., Punta Gorda, Florida
Murphy had one of the best seasons of any collegiate rodeo person this year. He was the top point producer in just about all of SWOSU’s rodeos with his top finishes in bull, bareback and saddle bronc riding. He was one of the key reasons why the Bulldogs finished as the Central Plains region’s top rodeo team and will be advancing to the CNFR.

Garion Davenport, Baseball
Sr., Shawnee, Oklahoma
Davenport was a two-year starter for the Bulldogs baseball team and finished this year hitting .364 and leading the team in home runs with seven. Later this week, he is expected to be voted to the LSC North Division All-Academic team with his 3.44 GPA in psychology.

Lonnie Cooks, Basketball
Sr., Fort Worth, Texas
Cooks was the senior captain on the Bulldogs basketball team and a key reason why SWOSU advanced to its third straight Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament. Lonnie led the Bulldogs in scoring, assists and steals and was named to the North Division all-conference first team.