Men's Track and Field Capital One All-Academic Teams Announced
FRISCO, Texas ? Cross country and track and field athletes from the Southland Conference were named to the Men’s Capital One All-Academic team today.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior Shadrack Songok was named 2008 Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Student Athlete of the Year, adding to his long list of accomplishments in the Southland Conference.
A chemistry major, the senior from Kapsabet, Kenya, was named Athlete of the Year after winning the 1,500 and 5,000-meter runs at the SLC Outdoor Championships, qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 10,000 and the NCAA Regionals in 5,000 and 1,500. In addition, he was named Scholar Athlete of Year in indoor track and cross country this past year and is a five-time All-American.
His grade point average is 3.215.
Joining Songok on the All-Academic team are Ewan Simpson (Lamar), Chris Cralle (SHSU), Tommy Wolfe (UTSA), Chad Leath (Northwestern State), Chris Pearson (Northwestern State), Cory Roberts (Southeastern Louisiana), Samuel Kosgei (Lamar), Luke Johnson (UTSA), Keith Mahipala (Stephen F. Austin), Chris Moody (Stephen F. Austin) and Justin Reyes (Stephen F. Austin).
Simpson, a senior from Kincardine, Scotland, is an Exercise Science major with a 3.46 GPA. He won the SLC Indoor Championship in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.27.
Cralle, a sophomore from College Station, Texas, is the SLC hammer champion, setting an SLC meet record of 200 feet, 2 inches to win the event. He is a history major with a 3.28 GPA.
Wolfe, a junior Kinesiology major with a 3.30 GPA, won the SLC Outdoor decathlon with NCAA provisional and career-best 7,395 points (No. 2 in UTSA history), in addition, he won SLC Indoor decathlon with 5.251 points ? becoming the first athlete to sweep both conference multi-events in league history.
Leath was ranked 18th nationally with a school-record 50.85 seconds 400-meter hurdles time that was second at the SLC Outdoors. The senior from Henderson, Texas has a 3.04 GPA in Health and Human Performance.
Pearson earned a 3.82 GPA in Business Administration while finishing in the top ten in every cross country meet for the Demons this season.
Roberts claimed all-SLC honors by finishing third in the decathlon at the 2008 SLC Outdoor championships with a school-record 7,123 points. The sophomore from Meraux, La., is majoring in Organismal and Integrated Biology with a 3.84 GPA.
Lamar’s Kosgei posted a third place finish in the Indoor 5,000 meter run with a time of 14:53.40 at the SLC Championships. Additionally, the sophomore Health major ran to a fourth place finish in the indoor 3,000 with a time of 8:31.09. He also notched a third place finish in the outdoor 10,000 meter run at the SLC Championships with a time of 31:28.55. His has a 3.20 GPA.
Johnson was a member of the UTSA men’s team that won the 2008 SLC Outdoor Championships, scoring 11 points in the throwing events. He took first at the Indoor Championships for the shot put and fifth in the weight throw. The Amarillo, Texas native is a senior Kinesiology major with a 3.57 GPA.
SFA’s Mahipala earned All-SLC honors with his third-place finish in the steeplechase at SLC Outdoor Championships, also taking 7th in the 5,000-meters. The Biology (Pre-Dental) major, with a 3.624 GPA, also finished fifth in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters at the SLC Indoor Championships.
Moody earned all-conference honors as a member of the Jacks’ 4x400-meter relay team that finished third at the SLC Indoor Championships (3:19.13) and SLC Outdoor Championships (3:11.60). The sophomore from White Oak, Texas has a 3.089 GPA in Kinesiology.
Reyes, a senior from Richland Springs, Texas, finished sixth with an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 6-10.75 at the SLC Outdoor Championships. He also earned All-SLC honors and was the SLC runner-up in the high jump at 2008 SLC Indoor Meet. He is a Physics major with a 3.08 GPA.
2007-08 Southland Conference Men’s Capital One Track and Field All-Academic Team.
Name -- School -- Class -- Hometown -- GPA -- Major
Shadrack Songok -- Texas A&M-Corpus Christi -- Sr. -- Kapsabet, Kenya -- 3.215 -- Chemistry
Ewan Simpson -- Lamar -- Sr. -- Kincardine, Scotland -- 3.46 -- Exercise Science
Samuel Kosgei -- Lamar -- So. -- Kapchorwa, Uganda -- 3.20 -- Health
Chad Leath -- Northwestern State -- Sr. -- Henderson, Texas -- 3.04 -- Health & Human Performance
Chris Pearson -- Northwestern State -- Jr. -- Mount Vernon, Texas -- 3.82 -- Business Administration
Chris Cralle -- Sam Houston State -- So. -- College Station, Texas -- 3.28 -- History
Cory Roberts -- Southeastern Louisiana -- So. -- Meraux, La. -- 3.84 -- Organismal Biology
Keith Mahipala -- Stephen F. Austin -- Jr. -- Plano, Texas -- 3.624 -- Biology (Pre-Dental)
Chris Moody -- Stephen F. Austin -- So. -- White Oak, Texas -- 3.089 -- Kinesiology
Justin Reyes -- Stephen F. Austin -- Sr. -- Richland Springs, Texas -- 3.08 -- Physics
Tommy Wolfe -- UTSA -- Jr. -- Raymondville, Texas -- 3.30 -- Kinesiology
Luke Johnson -- UTSA -- Sr. -- Amarillo, Texas -- 3.57 -- Kinesiology