Athletics Highlights

Infiniti Coaches' Charity Challenge

For the third time in as many years, SFA men’s basketball was represented in the Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge. Head coach Kyle Keller was one of 48 NCAA Division I men’s basketball coaches competing for the ultimate $100,000 prize. Fueled entirely by fan voting, the competition will award the monetary prize to a charity of the winning coach’s choosing.

Keller advanced to the third round, raising $10,000 for his charity — the Nacogdoches Area United Way — by defeating coaches from other notable basketball programs, including Mike Krzyzewski from Duke University, John Calipari from the University of Kentucky and former SFA head coach Brad Underwood, who now leads the Oklahoma State University men's basketball program. Since 2015, the Nacogdoches Area United Way has received $35,000 thanks to top-tier finishes by SFA coaches. Final voting and the announcement of the winning coach takes place in March. To view updates, visit www.espn.com/infiniti.

Ladyjack Cross-Country captures Southland Conference Title

The SFA Women’s cross-country team captured the 2016 Southland Conference title in October by beating Sam Houston State University. Taylor Anderson, Mary Luster and Samantha Ottman all finished in the top 10, earning All-Southland Conference honors, while Taryn Surratt was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year, and head coach Cody Clark earned Coach of the Year honors. The Ladyjacks’ victory was the 86th overall Southland Conference title for SFA, ranking second alltime in conference history.

Dunnigan, Walls receive national academic accolades

Two SFA student-athletes were recognized with national academic accolades at the conclusion of their 2016 seasons.

Soccer’s Brooke Dunnigan was named a National Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American, becoming the second Ladyjack to earn the honor. It was the latest in a long line of accolades as Dunnigan also was a first-team All-Southland Conference selection and a first-team Academic All-Southland honoree.

Football’s Marlon Walls also earned his share of academic honors, being named a first-team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America, the first in Lumberjack football program history.

An engineering physics major with a 4.0 GPA, Walls also was named the Southland Conference’s Student-Athlete of the Year for football as well as a Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star, a finalist for the Football Championship Subdivision Doris Robinson Award and a nominee for the American Football Coaches Association Good Works team.