Athletics Awards Banquet

Top Cats honored

Hudgins, Toole, Powell and Russell are cited

WAXAHACHIE, Texas  --  The annual Athletic Banquet was held in a packed Mundt Room saw a spirited crowd of players, coaches, families and friends applaud the efforts of the teams that represented Southwestern Assemblies of God University during the past school year.

While only one team posted a winning record, the Women’s Basketball Lady Lions, there was plenty of praise and honors to be distributed! Outgoing Athletic Director, Dr. Jerry Boone, emceed the event, introducing each team’s head coach, who summarized their season.

A complete list of respective teams’ scores and statistics as well as individual player stats are available through the links on this site to the Red River Athletic Conference, the Central States Football League and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Here is a summary of the awards that were announced by each team and by various conferences and national affiliations:

Overall SAGU 2010-2011 Athletic Honor Roll

Jared Hudgins - Male Athlete of the Year

Brittani Toole - Female Athlete of the Year

Sarah Powell – Female Champion of Character, Women’s Soccer

Ryan Russell – Male Champion of Character, Men’s Basketball

Champion of Character Nominees:

Dustin Jett, Baseball

Michael Hendon, Football

Kaitlyn Weaver, Cheerleading

Brenden Kowalski, Men’s Soccer

Rachel Harris, Women’s Basketball

Tina Brown, Volleyball

Baseball Lions

Head Coach: Greg Hayes.  Assistant Coaches: Clay Scarborough, Brady James, Joe Ward.

Team Awards:

Patrick Wherland – Co-Most Valuable Player

Dustin Jett – Co-Most Valuable Player

Ben Chavez – Pride of the Lions Award

Jared Denton – Defensive Player of the Year

Patrick Wherland – Offensive Player of the Year

Cameron Ward – Co-Pitcher of the Year

Tim Kolczak – Co-Pitcher of the Year

Men’s Basketball Lions

Head Coach: Dr. Jerry Boone.  Assistant Coaches: Jimmie Williams, Gerren Hamilton.

Team Awards:

Ron Horne - Most Valuable Player

Ron Horne - Mr. Defense Award

Jared Gibson - Sharp Shooter Award

Craig Grigsby - Coaches Award

Nathaniel “Duce” Ward - Leading Rebounder Award

Special Recognition:

Ronald Horne:  RRAC - First Team All-Conference.  NCCAA – All-American First Team.

Nathaniel Ward:  RRAC - Second Team All-Conference.

Jared Gibson:  RRAC - Honorable Mention.

Women’s Basketball Lady Lions

Head Coach: Arlon Beadles.  Assistant Coach: Jacob Rodriguez

Team Awards:

Stephanie Hawkins - Most Valuable Player

Heather Jefferson - Outstanding Defensive Player

Sierra Hankins - Most Improved

Chelsea Jones - Leading Scorer

Gabby Bruner - Leading Rebounder

Special Recognition:

Chelsea Jones:  RRAC First Team All-Conference. RRAC – All-Tournament Team. NAIA – All-American Honorable Mention. NCCAA – All-American First Team.  MVP of Central Region.  

Stephanie Hawkins:  RRAC - Second Team All-Conference.  NCCAA – All-American Honorable Mention.  NCCAA Nationals All-Tournament First Team.

Heather Jefferson:  RRAC - Honorable Mention. NAIA - Scholar Athlete.  NCCAA - Scholar Athlete.

Gabby Bruner:  NAIA - Scholar Athlete.  NCCAA - Scholar Athlete.

Rachel Harris:  NAIA - Scholar Athlete.  NCCAA -  Scholar Athlete.

Coach Arlon Beadles:  NCCAA - Coach of the Year in the Central Region.

Cheerleading

Head Coach: Beverly Robinson.  Assistant Coach: Leslie Villarrial.

Team Awards:

Andrea Serros - Outstanding Leadership Award

Bianca Alarcon - Best Sportsmanship

Catherine Sullivan - Most Dedicated

Kaitlyn Weaver - Best All-Around

Football Lions

Head Coach: Jesse Godding.  Assistant Coaches:  John Allen, Shane Wheeler, Shawn Daniel, Anthony Saincilaire, Greg Timberman, Jeff Brantley, Danny Goodman.

Team Awards:

Isaac “Ike” Caston - Most Improved Player

Jared Hudgins - Defensive Player of the Year

Eddie Bailey, Jr. - Offensive Player of the Year

Michael Thomas - Lineman of the Year

Derek Brewer - Lions Pride Award

Special Recognition:

Jared Hudgins:  VSN (Victory Sports Network) NAIA All American Honorable Mention.  CSFL - First Team All-Conference. CSFL – Player of the Week. Pre-Season All-American (The Sporting News).

Darion Waits:  CSFL – Second Team All-Conference.

Eddie Bailey, Jr.:  CSFL – Second Team All-Conference.

Derek Brewer:  CSFL – All-Academic.

Nick Ekanem:  CSFL – All-Academic. Pre-Season All-American (The Sporting News).

Michael Hendon:  CSFL – All-Academic.

Jonathan Hulett:  CSFL – All-Academic.

Nathan Kallal:  CSFL – All-Academic.

Paul Sielski:  CSFL – All-Academic.

Michael Thomas:  CSFL - All-Academic.

Men’s Soccer Lions

Head Coach: Aaron DeLoach.  Assistant Coach: Corbin Waller.

Team Awards:

Cesar Galvan - MVP

Sam Cabrera  - Heart of the Lion

Joe Ballah - Offensive Player of the Year

David Flores - Defensive Player of the Year

Special Recognition:

Cesar Galvan:  NCCAA – All-Region Team

Joe Ballah:  NCCAA – All-Region Team

Women’s Soccer Lady Lions

Head Coach: Tim Grant.  Assistant Coach: Mandy Fortner.

Team Awards:

Jessica Powell - Heart of the Lion

Perla “Tiky” Acosta - 110th Minute Award

Noelle Pugliese - 110th Minute Award

Madison Wells - Outstanding Offensive Player of the Year

Natalie Horton - Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year

Shelby Morgan - Newcomer of the Year

Volleyball Lady Lions

Head Coach: Hank Moore.  Assistant Coaches: Jacob Rodriguez, Meredith Wendel.

Team Awards:

Brittani Toole - Most Valuable Player of the Year

Jordan Briggs - Most Valuable Defensive Player of the Year

Krystal Cisneros - Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Year

Laura Espinoza - Most Improved Player

Alissa Kirk - Heart of the Lion Award

Special Recognition:

Brittani Toole - RRAC – First Team All-Conference. Front Row Player of Year. NAIA – First Team All-Region; Honorable Mention All-American.     NCCAA – First Team All-Region, First Team All-American, First Team National Tournament. AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Assoc.) – First Team All-American.

Krystal Cisneros: RRAC – First Team All-Conference. NCCAA – First Team All-Region.

Jordan Briggs: RRAC – First Team All-Conference. NCCAA – First Team All-Region.

Taylor Calverley: RRAC – Second Team All-Conference. NCCAA – First Team All-Region.

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 469-658-2847.

NOTE: To view a full showcase of photos from the banquet, go to the SAGU Athletics page on FaceBook, where all Athletic Features are posted.