The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.) 1997 Summer Edition Page: 4 of 6
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Page 4
Texan Sports
J-TAC
July, 1997
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Hope Ward
4X400 relay takes fifth
at NCAA championships
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By Chris McBride
Sports editor
In the last event of the NCAA
II Track and Field Championship
meet, the Tarleton State
University 4x400 meter relay of
Phillip Martin, Chris McBride,
Nathan Clay and Cade Tippett
became the first NCAA track
and field all-Americas in Tarleton
athletic history.
Needing to finish at least sixth
in the nation to earn all-America
status, the Texans relay took fifth
place just behind New York Tech
University who beat out the
Texans for fourth place with a
narrow finish line lean.
Tarleton's time of 3:10 just
missed setting a new school
record by a few tenths of a sec-
ond.
Also qualifying and compet-
ing in the national meet was
Tarleton's only female represen-
tative, Hope Ward. Ward fin-
ished tenth in the 400 meter dash
and 14th in the 200 meter dash.
Clay Meador qualified for
nationals in the discus and fin-
ished 11th in the nation. James
Dearth was TSU's representative
in the shot put where he finished
10th.
These were the final collegiate
appearances for Ward, Martin,
McBride, and Meador.
Texan football looks for new talent
By Chris McBride
Sports editor
In 1997, the Tarleton State foot-
ball team will look to continue the
success it found last season when it
rose from a, dismal 1-10 record to a
respectable 5-5 mark last year.
At the head of the ship will be
first year head coach Craig
Wederquist. Wederquist will be
taking over for last year's coach
Todd Whitten, who resigned to take
an offensive coordinator's position
at another university.
Serving as defensive coordinator
for the Texans last year, Wederquist
will look to bring his tough and
fiery type of coaching style in and
inject it into the entire team.
Leading the way for the Texans
in 1997 will be Tarleton's explosive
offensive backfield which features
quarterback Chad Cole and running
back Lamont Randle.
Randle, an honorable mention
ail-American last year, is being
highly touted as one of the top play-
ers in the nation entering this year.
Joining Randle in the backfield will
be talented full backs Justin
McDaniel and Tyrone Wall.
In order to improve on last
year's success, the Texans will also
have to heavily rely oh the new
crop of players brought in by the
TSU coaching staff to make the
team better.
Headlining the list of new
Texans Tarleton fans should look
forward to cheering for next year
are a pair of twins transferring from
Oklahoma State University.
Billy and Russell Ensey are two
Two Texans earn
all-America honors
special to J-TAC
Tommy Keeling and Rusty
Dunavant, senior baseball players
at Tarleton State, ended their
careers with all-America honors.
Keeling, an outfielder from Austin,
was selected to the 1997 NCAA
Division II Baseball All-America
Third Team by the American
Baseball Coaches Association.
Keeling becomes Tarleton's first
two-time all-America selection in
baseball, having been chosen to the
first team squad last year. Keeling
completed'the 1997 season with a
.416 batting average, hitting a
school record 25 doubles and also
slugging 12 home runs.
Dunavant, a second baseman
from Mt. Pleasant, was named to
the GTE Academic All-America
Baseball Team - College Division
Third Team, becoming Tarleton's
first academic all-America in the
sport.
Dunavant maintained a 3.60
grade point average in pre-
dental/biology studies.
A four-year letterman at
Tarleton, he finished the 1997 sea-
son with a .380 batting average, hit-
ting nine doubles, nine home runs,
and three triples.
The GTE Academic All-
America teams are selected by the
College Sports Information
Directors of America.
defensive linemen who were both
honorable mention all-state at
Lancaster High School near Dallas.
Billy Ensey is a 6'2", 265 pound
player who is expected to play
defensive end at Tarleton. He was
selected as a Top 100 High School
Prospect by the Dallas Moming
News in 1994. Russell Ensey is
6*3", 270 pounds. His likely posi-
tion for the Texans will be at defen-
sive end.
Russell was a two-time all-dis-
trict player in high school as well as
an Academic all-district choice in
1994. Both players are three-year
lettermen in football and four-year
lettermen in track.
Another big signing for the
Texans came at the quarterback
position where they received a
commitment from Jake Smith.
Smith is a honorable mention all-
state quarterback from Bells High
School.
Smith completed 51 percent of
his passes for 1,127 yards and 11
touchdowns last year. He also car-
ried the ball 185 times for 1,004
yards and scored 18 touchdowns.
Smith's numbers earned him MVP
honors in his district.
Other Tarleton freshmen signees
include Landon Kribbs and Bill
O'Dell from Stephenville High
School, Kent Speer, a 295 offensive
lineman from Leon, Kevin
Patterson, a 245 pound lineman
from Arlington Martin and Jeff
Patterson, a 175 pound punter from
Pflugerville. The other Texan
signees are junior and senior col-
lege transfers from all around Texas
and Oklahoma.
^ ' " ' • -
Tommy Keeling
Office of Multicultural Services
&
We are one, our cause is one, and we must help each other; if we are to succeed.
Frederick Douglass, 1847
Celebrating Diversity
Student Development Center-201A
Andra P. Madkins, Director
Mae Barree, Secretary
968-9488
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.) 1997 Summer Edition, newspaper, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth142220/m1/4/: accessed June 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.