ABILENE – Senior distance runner
Alexandria Hackett won her second Paul Goad Ward in three years, and junior Josh
Sheehy became the first Wildcat tennis player to be voted male athlete of the year Monday during the ACU Athletics Department's 2017-18 Student-Athlete Awards Banquet.
In her final triumphant season donning the purple and white, Hackett won two cross country races, including her second Southland Conference individual championship, and went on to receive NCAA All-Region honors following a sixth-place showing at Texas A&M. From there, she and her twin sister Michaela became the first Wildcats to represent ACU at a NCAA D1 Championship, going to Louisville to compete against more than 250 of the country's best runners.
Hackett later won the Texas A&M indoor 3,000-meter run and was the Southland Conference runner-up in both the 3 and 5K races. This past weekend, however, in San Antonio, she won her second conference 10K title and was second to her sister in the 5K, helping her team place fourth overall with 92 points.
Hackett is expected to compete again at NCAA regionals in the 10K during the weekend of May 24 in Sacramento, Calif. She has 24 career victories under her belt.
The Goad Award has been annually presented since 1979, and prior to Hackett there had been only eight double winners of ACU's most coveted individual prize. Tennis national champion Michelle King was the first to win this prize in back-to-back years in 1991 and 1992, and she was followed by two additional consecutive honorees in
Chelsa Lancaster (1993-94) and Jennifer Clarkson (1995-96).
Others to have won at least two Goad Awards include golfer Alex Carpenter (2011, 2013) soccer's
Andrea Carpenter (2011, 2014), basketball's Melanie Carter (2002, 04) and track and field superstars Bernard
Manirakiza (2004, 05) and Alfred
Rugema (2001, 03).
Tennis has won nine Goad Award but never on the men's side until this season despite boasting dozens of All-America talents including Hans
Hach, Matthias
Poth and Robby Scott.
Sheehy, however, was able to end this drought by winning 23 spring matches at the top line (singles and doubles) en route to receiving Second Team All-Southland Conference honors.
Sheehy went 15-7 in singles competition and was 4-2 against Southland opposition, including his 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Francois
Kellerman during their first-round match at the Southland Conference Championship.
Sheehy's win ledger additionally included a three-set victory over Arizona's Igor
Karpovets, a win over nationally-ranked Eduardo Mena of Tennessee Tech, and triumph over Rice's Eric Rutledge. After scoring the win over
28th-ranked Mena,
Sheehy cracked the Oracle / ITA Tennis rankings at No. 111.
A native of Arlington,
Sheehy twice was voted Southland Conference Player of the Week this spring – an honor he has won six times in his career. His fall season was headlined by a trip to Malibu, Calif., to represent the Southland Conference at the Oracle and ITA Masters alongside teammate
Lucile Pothier. He also reached the singles quarterfinals at ITA Texas Regionals and was a doubles finalist at the
Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational.
The complete list of tonight's award winners are listed below.
Paul Goad Award Winners
Presented to the top male and female athletes of the year at ACU
1978-79: Kelly Kent (football) and Kathy Moore (volleyball)
1979-80: Randall Moore (basketball) and
Perri Lou Short (track and field)
1980-81: Kenny Davidson (football) and Bonnie Buchanan (basketball)
1981-82: Billy Olson (track and field) and
Pennie Dacus (volleyball)
1982-83: Grant
Feasel (football) and Laurie Taylor (track and field)
1983-84: Mark Wilson (football) and Judy
Kniffen (tennis)
1984-85: James Wright (basketball) and
Deonna Moore (basketball)
1985-86: Freddie Williams (track and field) and Claudia
Schleyer (basketball)
1986-87: Eddie
DeShong (football) and Yolanda Henry (track and field)
1987-88: Chris
Goodspeed (golf) and Sylvia Dyer (track and field)
1988-89:
Emmitt Davis (basketball) and Donna Sykes (tennis)
1989-90: Bill Clayton (football) and Suzanne Johnson (basketball)
1990-91: Wendell Edwards (track and field) and Michelle King (tennis)
1991-92: Hunter Cooley (basketball) and Michelle King (tennis)
1992-93: Joseph
Tengelei (track and field) and
Chelsa Lancaster (track and field)
1993-94: Brian Amos (track and field) and
Chelsa Lancaster (track and field)
1994-95:
Savieri Ngihdi (track and field) and Jennifer Clarkson (basketball)
1995-96: Victor Randolph (football) and Jennifer Clarkson (basketball)
1996-97: Glenn Griffin (track and field) and
Delloreen Ennis (track and field)
1997-98: Musa
Gwanzura (track and field) and Caroline
Omamo (basketball)
1998-99: Jared Mosley (basketball) and Tracey Barnes (track and field)
1999-00: Nic Alexander (track and field) and Jackie Bucher (basketball)
2000-01: Alfred
Rugema (cross country), Leah
Ticer (tennis)
2001-02: Ryan Boozer (football), Melanie Carter (basketball)
2002-03: Alfred
Rugema (cross country), Lacey Johnson (tennis)
2003-04: Bernard
Manirakiza (track), Melanie Carter (basketball)
2004-05: Bernard
Manirakiza (track), Katie Bryan (softball)
2005-06:
Danieal Manning (football), Amanda Slate (volleyball)
2006-07: Nicodemus
Naimadu (track), Angie Aguilar (track and field)
2007-08:
Jerale Badon (football),
Abbie Lowry (volleyball)
2008-09: Jordan Schmitt (baseball), Irene
Squillaci (tennis)
2009-10: Aaron Oliver (baseball),
Shawna Hines (volleyball)
2010-11: Alex Carpenter (golf),
Andrea Carpenter (soccer)
2011-12:
Nick Jones (track and field), Jennie
Hutt (volleyball)
Julia Mongin (tennis)
2013-14:
John David Baker (football),
Andrea Carpenter (soccer) and Micah
Hermsdorf (tennis)
2014-15:
Tyler Eager (baseball), Peyton
Hedrick (softball)
2015-16:
Jaylen Franklin (basketball),
Alexandria Hackett (cross country / track and field)
2016-17:
Sam Denmark (football),
Suzzy Dimba (women's basketball)
2017-18: Josh
Sheehy (tennis),
Alexandria Hackett (cross country / track and field)
About Paul Goad
Paul Goad was a three-sport student-athlete at ACU in the
mid-1950s. Goad lettered in football, baseball and track and field for the Wildcats after transferring to ACU after his freshman campaign at Vanderbilt. He won the Texas Conference title in the shot put in 1954, and he was a member of
ACU's NAIA national championship track and field teams in 1954 and 1955.
Goad was
ACU's leading rusher and scorer in 1954, and in 1955 he was third team all-America. He went on to play professionally for one season (1956) with the San Francisco
49ers after being selected by the team in the
25th round of the 1956 draft.
Wildcat Club Student-Athlete of the Year
Presented to student-athletes who encompass ACU's mission for excellence in Christ through athletics, academics, service and faith
2015-16: Parker
Wentz (basketball)
2016-17: Kyle
Karnei (golf),
Kelsie Roberts (soccer)
2017-18:
Jaren Lewis (basketball),
Hannah Null (softball)
Horizon Award
Presented to student-athletes whose single-season efforts result in noteworthy career achievements.
2007-08: Nicodemus
Naimadu, Bernard Scott
2008-09: Bernard Scott, Billy Malone, Johnny Knox, Sam Collins, and Camille
Vandendriessche
2010-11: Amos Sang,
Nick Jones, Ramon Sparks, Desmond Jackson, and Edmond Gates
2011-12: None awarded
2012-13: Alex Carpenter,
Mitchell Gale
2013-14:
Andrea Carpenter
2014-15: None awarded
2015-16: None awarded
2016-17:
Lizzy Dimba,
Suzzy Dimba,
Alexis Mason and
Sydney Shelstead
2017-18: None awarded
2017-18 Fighting Heart Award winners (by team)
Awarded to unheralded student-athletes who are considered by their head coaches to be great teammates and competitors by maintaining a strong work ethic and positive attitude. The award is named after Abilene youngster Hudson Wade who died following a courageous battle with leukemia in February of 2016.
Baseball:
Seth Watts
Beach Volleyball:
Amy Weiss
Football:
Sam Denmark*
Golf:
Corry Donnell
Men's Basketball: Paul
Hiepler
Men's Cross Country:
John Baker
Men's Tennis:
Paul Michael Domanski
Men's Track and Field: Blaze
Brownlow
Soccer:
Samantha Vestal
Softball:
Hannah Null
Women's Cross Country:
Michaela Hackett
Women's Basketball:
Josie Larson
Women's Tennis:
Autumn Crossnoe
Women's Track and Field: Kayla
Melgar
Volleyball: Sofia
Resendiz
*Hudson Wade Fighting Heart Award
2017-18 Sports Medicine Awards
Comeback Athlete of the Year:
Sam Denmark, Football
Awarded to a student-athlete who returned to full participation and had a positive affect on those around them after suffering a traumatic injury.
Student Athletic Trainer of the Year: Trent Gardner
Awarded to an individual who showcases the true heart of a servant. This is someone who desires helping student-athletes any way they can without asking why – a true servant of Christ.
2017-18 Iron Cat Awards
Given to a male and female student-athlete who best exemplify the tenants of accountability, work ethic, positive energy, and constant improvement. Winners of this award have demonstrated that improving their overall speed, strength, power, flexibility and conditioning also translates to enhancing athletic performance in their respective arenas.
Morgan Knight, Track & Field
Breanna Wright, Basketball
2017-18 Academic Awards
Highest Team GPA: Women's Soccer (3.69)
Most Improved Team GPA: Women's Softball
Community Service Award: Women's Basketball
