SWOSU Honors Team MVPs
April 29, 2008
WEATHERFORD – Southwestern Oklahoma State University celebrated the success of its student-athletes, coaches and intercollegiate sports programs at the school’s annual end-of-year All-Sports Banquet. Each of SWOSU’s 12 sports teams and their coaches were in attendance to recap the previous year, hand out awards and select an overall Most Valuable Player.
Baseball player Chris Morrison and multi-sport star Grace Anne Fath were the big winners of the night as they were selected as the school’s Male and Female Athlete-of-the-Year, respectively. Both will have their names engraved on a permanent plaque that currently hangs in the athletic department main offices.
Morrison, a junior from Wolf City, Texas, began the season as the ace pitcher on the Southwestern baseball staff only to emerge as one of the team's top hitters as position player in right field. Morrison went 5-5 this year on the mound and led the team with 68 innings pitched and had an ERA of 6.49. He began playing right field in late March where in just 13 starts at the position, he batted .407 and finished second on the team with five home runs.
He was a two-year leader in the SWOSU Student-Athlete Advisory Council where he served in a leadership role helping craft policy. He has been active in the organization's community food drive and has been a representative for SWOSU at Lone Star Conference's Student-Athlete Retreat held each summer in the Dallas area.
Fath, a senior from Fort Smith, Ark., was a four-year starter on the SWOSU women’s basketball team and added cross country in her final year of competition. More than just a “fill in,” Fath had multiple top 10 finishes and earned all-conference honors by placing ninth at LSC Championships. Fath, along with her twin sister, Stefanie Jones, and Rachel Ingram led the Bulldogs to a fifth-place finish in the LSC Championships, their highest ever as a LSC school.
As a basketball player, Fath was a second-team LSC North Division selection and helped the Bulldogs to a 15-12 record. She finished second on the team in scoring, averaging just over 11.3 points per game and led in steals (50) and three-pointers made (44). She was named the women’s basketball MVP for the second straight year.
In the classroom, she carried a 3.59 grade point average and will graduate in May with a degree in biology. She was voted to the LSC North All-Academic team which recognizes the top five women’s basketball players in the division with academic and athletic achievement being considered equal.
Other sports and their MVP’s are as follows:
Stefanie Jones, a junior from Fort Smith, Ark., was the cross country MVP. Jones emerged as the team’s top runner this year, finishing sixth or better in five different meets. She won the East Central Tiger Chase and finished second at the Central Oklahoma Land Run. Her fourth-place finish at the LSC Championships won her a second straight all-conference certification.
Jamie Hilterbran, a Mustang senior, was the women’s soccer MVP. She led the team in points with seven. She had two goals this year and boosted her career assist total to 12 with three more added this season. Her most famous play was not an assist, but a goal, in which she scored on a penalty kick in the 86th minute to beat LSC power Texas A&M-Commerce in 2006.
Kasandra Gurtner, a Cimarron, Kan. senior, won her second volleyball MVP. Gurtner helped lead SWOSU in its third season to a 14-19 record and into an eighth-place tie in the LSC. She topped the team in kills per game (3.68), attack percentage (.227), service aces (41), and total blocks (114). She has been the team leader in most offensive categories since joining SWOSU in 2005 and holds the bulk of the school’s records in the sport.
Matt Wakefield, an El Reno senior, was the football MVP. Wakefield was a starting offensive tackle on SWOSU teams that had back-to-back winning records for the first time in 15 years. Wakefield was a first-team, all-conference lineman who along with guard Austin Ellis made for one of the most formidable front walls in the Lone Star Conference.
Nate Perry, a Racine, Wisc., senior won his second straight men’s basketball MVP. The 6-5 forward led the Bulldogs to a 21-7 record and their fifth consecutive berth in the LSC Conference Tournament. He led SWOSU in three offensive categories points (16.0 ppg.), rebounds (8.1 rpg.) and field goal accuracy (50.7%). He scored 20 or more points six times and had seven “double-doubles” in which he scored 10 or more points and had at least 10 or more rebounds in a single game.
Jenna Lee Hays, a senior from Weatherford, was the women’s rodeo MVP. Hays finished fifth in the Central Plains Region All-Around Cowgirl Competition where she was among the leaders in goat tying and breakaway roping. Hays was a member of the SWOSU team that finished among the region’s best and helped win SWOSU’s own rodeo earlier this month.
Tanner Houston, a senior from Tucson, Ariz., was the men’s rodeo MVP. Houston was one of the top team ropers in the Central Plains Regions where he partnered with Luke Jeffries to form a winning pair. Houston finished as the fifth-ranked team roper in the region and was the winner of the all-around cowboy competition at SWOSU’s own rodeo earlier this month.
Jaryn Rainey, senior from Burneyville, won her second straight women’s golf MVP. Rainey was SWOSU’s top golfer in eight of the 10 tournaments this year and led the team with an 80.0 stroke average. She was a second-team all-conference selection and had four top 10 finishes on the year.
Pat McCarthy, a senior from London, England, won the men’s golf MVP. McCarthy was a first-team, all-conference selection and had six top 10 finishes on the season. He had the lowest scoring average of any Bulldog at 73.2 strokes per round and is a member of a team that ranks among the top 25 in the nation.
Lacie Keplinger, a senior from Lawton, was the softball MVP. Keplinger started in 170s game for SWOSU primarily as catcher. Her senior year was her best when she ranked among the team leaders in batting average, hits, doubles, RBI’s and total bases.