Newspaper Page Text
S P O RT S
INSIDE MOREHOUSE. APRIL/MAY 2009
Track and Field, Golf and Tennis Squads
WIN CONFERENCE TITLES
Dreyfus Clemons won two events during the SIAC Track and Field Championships
and was second in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
; f IK
1
v J|a i Sjk i
p
.3 fe I Ip... vj I
if L |
| if 1-
■T*
The Morehouse golf team won the College’s first SIAC Golf Tournament title
since 1980.
The Maroon Tigers Tennis squad celebrates after winning the 2009 SIAC Tennis
Tournament championship.
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
S pring 2009 turned out to be a banner season for Morehouse Maroon Tigers
spring sports teams as the golf, tennis and track and field teams each won
their respective Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament titles.
Several Maroon Tigers from each squad were named to All-Tournament teams and
each head coach was named the conference's best.
TRACK AND FIELD
The Flying Maroon Tigers did
what they have done for each of the
past four years - they won the SIAC
Track and Field championship.
In the championship meets 21
events held at Edwin Moses Track at
B.T. Harvey Stadium April 16-18,
Morehouse continued their SIAC
dominance by finishing first with
209 points. Albany State was a dis
tant second with 153 while Benedict
College had 145.
Top individual performers in
cludes Dreyfus Clemons who won
the 800- meter and 1,500- meter
runs and was second in the 3,000-
meter steeplechase; Abraham
Kiprotich who won the 5,000-meter
run and finished third in both the
10,000 meter run and the 3,000-
meter steeplechase; Barry Batson,
the SIAC’s Field Athlete of the Year,
who finished first in the long jump
and triple jump and Matt Tuffuor
who won the javelin and was second
in the decathlon.
Clemons was named first team
All-SIAC in three events while Bat
son, Tuffuor and Turner Coggins
were also named to the first team.
Khiry Lee, Steven Patterson, Norvell
Van were chosen for the second team.
The Maroon Tigers were also
honored for having the highest
team grade point average among
SIAC track and field teams.
Also, the U.S. Track & Field and
Cross Country Coaches Association
named sprinter Damian Prince the
South Region’s Track Athlete of the
Year and Batson as the region’s Field
Athlete of the Year.
TENNIS
Before the 2009 Maroon Tigers
tennis season started, head coach
Terry Alexander was hoping his
team would finish the season just as
the 2007 squad had done - with a
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference championship.
That is exactly what happened as
the Maroon Tigers netters defeated
regular season’s top team, Fort Val
ley State University, to win their sec
ond SIAC championship in three
seasons.
“Definitely it’s exciting for two
reasons,” said Alexander, who was
named the tournament’s most out
standing coach. “Historically we’re
still always a contender or the team
to beat. So that’s one thing to be able
to uphold that. But then this is one
of the first years the team didn’t win
just because we had superior play
ers. I feel like my actual coaching -
being able to strategize with the
lineup, being able to strategize
on the court - played just a big part
as the players’ ability did. Those
things make this one feel much
more special.”
Josh Harris and Tory Martin
were named to the All-Tournament
singles squad while Martin and Ben
Seagle were named to the All-Tour
nament doubles team.
Maroon Tiger tennis players also
won several regular season honors.
Harris and Martin were named first
team All-SIAC while Michael Stew
ard has a third-team pick. Steward
was also named SIAC Freshman of
the Year. Martin and Seagle were
named to the All-SIAC doubles
team.
GOLF
Philip Allen picked up where he
left off in 2008 as he helped lead
Morehouse to the 2009 SIAC Golf
Tournament championship.
Morehouse finished 28 strokes
ahead of Benedict College in win
ning the College’s second-ever con
ference tournament golf title and
first in 29 years when the Maroon
Tigers last won in 1980.
“It came around. When we first
started off in September, it wasn’t
good,” said first year head coach Bill
Lewis, who was named Coach of the
Year. “It definitely came together.
We definitely played better golf.”
Allen finished five shots ahead of
his nearest competitor and was
named the tournament’s Most Valu
able Player for the second year in a
row. He also earned a spot on the
SIAC All-Tournament squad.
“He’s the captain of the team and
he’s probably the best player, so he’s
leading by example,” said Lewis.
Two other Maroon Tigers fin
ished in the tournament’s top ten
players, Olajuwon Ajanaku (third)
and Thaddaeus Hill (10th).
Ajanaku joined Allen on the All-
Conference team.
Allen, Ajanaku, Hill and Bryan
McElderry were named to the
regular season All-SIAC team.
McElderry was named Freshman of
the Year while Hill, a business ad
ministration major with a 3.59
grade point average, was chosen for
the All-Academic team. ■
McCladdie, Wright and
McGowan Named All-
SIAC Baseball Players
Three Morehouse baseball
players have been honored by the
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference for their stellar play
or academics during the 2009
season.
Senior Hank McCladdie and
pitcher Joshua Wright were both
second-team, All-SIAC picks for
the 2009 season.
McCladdie, who hit .299 this
season, finished second in the
SIAC with 11 home runs during
the regular season. He also won
four games as a starting pitcher.
Wright picked up four wins from
the mound for the Maroon
Tigers, who finished 14-26 over
all, but had a .500 record in con
ference play.
Designated hitter/catcher Walter
McGowan was an SIAC All-Acade
mic team pick. The junior psychol
ogy major carried a 3.6 grade point
average this semester. ■