LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- For the next two weeks, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will recognize and honor all of its senior spring sport student-athletes who had their final seasons cut short by the COVID-19 outbreak.
After the NCAA made the unprecedented decision on Thursday, March 12 to cancel all winter and spring championships due to the coronavirus pandemic, the SCAC Presidents Council decided to indefinitely suspend all regular season conference and non-conference competition.
"This was a heartbreaking decision we had to make," said SCAC Commissioner Dwayne Hanberry. "No one wanted it to come to this, but at the end of the day we are tasked with prioritizing the health and well-being of thousands of students and student-athletes on each of our campuses. That has to to be the focus above all else."
Although the league held out hope that by only suspeding play a window of opportunity may present itself for an abbreviated spring season with some form of tournament play the following month, with the virus continuing to spread throughout the country which has caused campuses who had originally hoped to remain open to close for the semester, the 2020 athletics season has effectively ended for over a thousand of the league's spring sport student-athletes along with the careers of 100+ seniors.
And even though some of the league's student-athletes may take advantage of a blanket waiver that would grant an additional season of participation, the SCAC office would like to honor and recognize all of its spring sport senior student athletes.
Today, the league turns the spotlight on its senior men's track & field student-athletes. Represented among these 21 student-athletes is:
- 28 SCAC All-Academic selections
- 3 SCAC All-Sportsmanship selections
- 48 All-SCAC selections
- 1 SCAC Athlete-of-the-Meet
- 1 SCAC Track Athlete-of-the-Year
- 1 SCAC Field Athlete-of-the-Year
- 21 SCAC Championship titles
- 13 NCAA Championship qualfication performances
- 18 USTFCCCA All-Region selections
- 4 USTFCCCA All-American selections
NOTE | If viewing from a mobile device, head shots are best viewed if device is flipped horizontal.
Favorite memory as a SCAC student-athlete:
Kevin McGuirk | Last year, breaking the school record for the 400-meter hurdles five meets in a row...winning at conference - its one of the greatest achievements of my life and one of my proudest moments.
Favorite memory as a SCAC student-athlete:
W. Bryce Moore | Earning SCAC All Conference at the 2019 SCAC Cross Country Championships
Favorite memory as a SCAC student-athlete:
Fred Banuelos | The XC/Track program has gone through a lot of changes during my time as a Pirate, but the best time I've had has been this last year thanks in no small part to the new faces, underclassmen athletes and coach. My favorite memory of us spans throughout two trips during cross country, the conference meet at Colorado and the regional meet at Tennesee. The reason these meets are important to me is that when I look back, I have no regrets and I accept the tough races along with the better ones. Colorado was beautiful and fun to visit, but the race itself presented a challenge and a chance for the team to grow. The results weren't up to our standards, but our season wasn't over just yet. Memphis presented another opportunity to finish the season with momentum going into the spring. Throughout the ride, we not only took the conference meet as an opportunity to test our grit but as a learning experience. Regionals allowed us to redeem ourselves as well as recommit to never to let a race bring us down and keep looking forward. The maturity the team showed and the optimism made me feel proud and glad to now the team is far from being complacent and will be in good hands well after I have left. The unique situation this season doesn't faze me because the boys are the future now, and as long as they keep moving forward so can I.
Mike May | Traveling to Gulf Shores for a spring break meet in 2019 was my favorite track memory. Having the opportunity to bond with my teammates at the beach for five days and competing against athletes from distant schools was a wonderful experience. We would start the day off with practice and then head to lunch as a group. Afterwards we went to the beach and played volleyball, football, and other games before exploring the peninsula we were on in the evenings. Experiences like that, getting to compete at unique locations while strengthening friendships with my fellow track athletes, will be the memories I take with me as I graduate from Southwestern.
Favorite memory as a SCAC student-athlete:
Garrett Garza | Winning Shot Put for the third year in a row. And breaking the Conference shot put record and winning by almost ten feet. Accepting my awards and then later going on to become the National Runner up in Shot Put at Nationals for my family, conference and school. Bringing that honor home to the Tlu community and Seguin community is something that i will never forget.
Darren Jones | Being able to help bring home our 3rd title home in 3 years not knowing it would be the last for us seniors.
Chad Wieland | My favorite memory would be all of the connections and friends I was able to make during my time competing.
Upcoming |
| March 23, 2020 | Men's Golf |
| March 24, 2020 | Women's Golf |
| March 25, 2020 | Men's Lacrosse |
| March 26, 2020 | Women's Lacrosse |
| March 27, 2020 | Men's Tennis |
| March 30, 2020 | Women's Tennis |
| March 31, 2020 | Men's Track & Field |
| April 1, 2020 | Women's Track & Field |
| April 2, 2020 | Baseball |
| April 3, 2020 | Softball |
