Athletics Highlights

Women's basketball achieves 1,000 wins

With its 72-59 victory against Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on Feb. 13, the SFA women’s basketball team joined a very elite club. The Ladyjacks’ victory was the 1,000th in program history, becoming the sixth team in NCAA Division I to reach the monumental milestone. They join the University of Tennessee, Louisiana Tech University, James Madison University, Old Dominion University and the University of Texas at Austin. One of the top programs in the history of women’s basketball, SFA has appeared in 18 NCAA tournaments and advanced to five Sweet Sixteens, captured 17 conference championships and produced 66 all-conference performers and six All-Americans. The Ladyjacks have been ranked in the top 20 nationally in 13 different seasons, finishing among the nation’s top 10 four times.

Demi Payne becomes third woman to vault 16 feet

SFA senior pole vaulter Demi Payne continues to rewrite the record books. During the New Mexico Collegiate Classic on Feb. 6, Payne became the third woman in the world to clear 16 feet. After setting a pair of personal bests at 15 feet 7.25 inches and 15 feet 9.75 inches, Payne cleared the 16-foot bar on her first attempt, which moved her into the No. 2 rank in the world behind Team USA teammate Jen Suhr. The 2015 NCAA Outdoor National Champion, Payne continues to be one of the top vaulters in the world as she prepares for her final outdoor season at SFA. In December, Payne was recognized as one of three female finalists for the Bowerman Award, the highest individual award in collegiate track and field, and she is a preseason nominee for the 2016 award, as she continues her quest to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Men’s basketball claims fourth-straight SLC regular season title

A new chapter in Southland Conference history was penned at the Lumberjacks’ final home game against Houston Baptist University Feb. 27, as the team captured its fourth-straight SLC regular season crown. Led by its five-man senior class of Demetrious Floyd, Clide Geffrard, Jared Johnson, Trey Pinkney and Thomas Walkup, SFA became just the second team to win four consecutive regular season titles in the history of the 13-team conference. The win against the Huskies also ensured that none of the ’Jacks seniors lost a Southland Conference game at home in their careers.

Thomas Walkup continues to dazzle

SFA senior Thomas Walkup continues to rake in accolades for his play on the court, as the Pasadena, Texas, native recorded SFA’s first triple-double in 43 years against University of the Incarnate Word Feb. 29. Walkup notched 12 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the ’Jacks to their 16th-straight win. Additionally, Walkup was named the Sports Illustrated Mid-Major National Player of the Week on Feb. 10. Walkup recently became the third player in SFA’s Division I history to tally 1,500 career points and 500 career rebounds, and he and teammate Trey Pinkney surpassed former Lumberjack standout Jacob Parker to become the all-time winningest Lumberjacks.