Cowley Sports Teams
Excel In Classroom
Newkirk's Heidi Grace recently became a national champion
as a member of the Cowley College women's track and field team.
The Lady Tigers exceeded their efforts in competition with their
diligence in the classroom to earn the title of NJCAA National
Outdoor Women's Track and Field Academic Champions.
Grace, a 2006 graduate of Newkirk High School, recently completed
her freshman year at Cowley. On the track team, her specialty
is the pole vault event.
"Not only did we have our most successful year on the track,
but our ladies proved they can be successful student-athletes,"
Cowley Head Track Coach Mark Phillips assessed. "I am so
proud of the ladies and am honored to work with them. We stress
to our kids that they are a student-athlete. I love the fact
that we are doing well on the track and in the classroom."
Compiling an overall team grade point average of 3.78 on a 4.00
scale, the Cowley women were also named the NJCAA Track and Cross
Country Coaches Association Track and Field National Women's
Academic Team-of-the-Year for the second year in a row. The honor
capped a fruitful 2007 season for the Lady Tigers, who won both
the indoor and outdoor Jayhawk East Conference and Region VI
team titles and finished third at the NJCAA Indoor and Outdoor
Championships.
Five more Cowley athletic programs were named to the list of
Spring Academic Teams-of-the-Year. The Cowley women's indoor
track and field team nearly garnered the top Academic Team-of-the-Year
honor as they finished second to Colby Community College (3.35
GPA) with a 3.28 GPA. The Tiger men's outdoor track and field
team, fresh off winning the outdoor conference and region titles
and finishing third at the NJCAA Outdoor Championships, finished
fifth in the Academic Team-of-the-Year standings with a GPA of
3.17.
The Lady Tiger tennis team, which had four individual national
champions and finished fourth at the NJCAA National Tournament,
finished 10th in the Academic Team-of-the-Year standings with
a 3.36 GPA. The Lady Tiger softball team, winners of the last
four Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division titles, finished 25th
in the final standings with a 3.23 GPA. The Cowley baseball team,
which collected Jayhawk Conference and Region VI championships,
finished 21st with a 3.11 GPA.
Cowley recently placed second in the Pepsi/NATYCAA (National
Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators) Awards
standings, which recognizes excellence in athletic programs at
two-year colleges. Cowley College Athletic Director Tom Saia
stated, "Not only were we the second-best in athletics,
we had almost every one of those teams ranked academically, nationally.
We want to be strong in athletics and also excel academically."
Information provided by Cowley College.
|