Shantel Thomas Earns ASC Post-Season Honor

2017 Jul 27

Outstanding individual achievement in the classroom and within athletic competition earned McMurry University's Derek Gainey (Colorado City, Texas/HS) and Shantel Thomas (Highlands, Texas/Goose Creek Memorial HS) the American Southwest Conference student-athletes recognition as the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the sport of track and field, for men and women, respectively.

Shantel Thomas of Highlands, TX was one of 10 student-athletes honored by the American Southwest Conference for their respective winter or spring sport.

Thomas earned six gold medals in helping McMurry to the 2017 ASC women's track and field championship. Thomas scored 62 points to win the High Point Scorer award at the ASC meet. Thomas claimed three NCCAA Indoor Track and Field All-America honors in 2017, placing second in 60 meters hurdles and the 4x100m relay, and third in the 4x400m relay. A chemistry major and three-time ASC Academic All-Conference honoree, Thomas has twice been named a National Christian College Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete. Thomas served as the McMurry Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president and was a key organizer of the War Hawks Sports Clinic for special needs individuals. She is recipient of the 2016-17 McMurry Athletics Senior Scholar-Athlete award recognizing the top grade-point average among all four-year letter winners and is the McMurry recipient of the ASC Scholar-Athlete Medal of Honor.

In addition to Gainey and Thomas, six other War Hawks - Chris Baker (Jr./baseball), Nate Estrada (Sr./men's basketball), Haley Welch (Sr./women's basketball), Hunter Hughes (So./men's golf), Thierry Tchenko (Sr./men's tennis), Samantha Ritz (So./women's tennis) - have been recognized by the ASC as members of 2017 Winter-Spring Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams. The ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Team recognizes student-athletes who attain a high level of academic achievement while competing as a starter or important reserve on his or her athletic team.