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Once again football is the least successful team on campus. That needs to change.
West Texas A&M University is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II, and the 2021-22 campaign continued to prove that.
Out of the 311 NCAA Division II athletic programs in North America, WT finished second overall according to the Learfield Directors Cup, highlighted by another national championship in women's track and field and half of our teams finishing in the Top 10 of their respective sports. This marks the second time that WT has finished second while also being recognized as the top Division II program in the State of Texas for close to the last decade.
Our student-athletes set new benchmarks in GPA and Academic Success Rates (graduation rates). This new standard saw more than 40% of our student-athletes make academic honor rolls for having GPAs above 3.3 while the Academic Success Rate went up another 8% this year.
Buff Nation turned out to support the efforts of our teams that indicate the return to pre-pandemic attendance numbers. WT ranked in the Top 10 in attendance in football, basketball, and women's soccer and all teams were in the Top 25 in attendance. In total, more than 100,000 fans attended games in person this year! WT also led the LSC with the most viewers for our road games on the LSC Digital Network.
WT is also incredibly blessed by the generosity of our donors, with several major gifts for facilities and new scholarship endowments that will benefit future generations of Buffs & Lady Buffs. Our Buffalo Club donors and Corporate Partners have allowed us to continue to invest in our teams and programs in ways that produce results on the fields and in the classroom.
The Lady Buffs are once again atop of the Division II Track & Field world as they secured the 2022 Outdoor National Championship in late May. WT claimed its second National Title in four years as the Lady Buffs tallied a program-record 77 points with 15 All-Americans and four individual National Crowns.
Zada Swoopes cemented herself as the top overall thrower in Division II track and field history as the senior from Whitewright, Texas scored 25 of the Lady Buff's 77 total points. Swoopes shattered her own school records and took it upon herself to improve in the hammer throw competition coming into national's ranked 15th yet finishing fourth overall.
Swoopes ended her prolific career in Maroon & White as a seven-time National Champion and 14-time All-American. She won three straight outdoor shot put championships, and back-to-back discusses outdoor titles while pushing her mark further each time. Swoopes will stick around Canyon as a graduate assistant coach for WT next year as she continues to pursue a master's degree.
The Buffs made some history of their own in Allendale, Michigan as they finished second overall at the DII Outdoor National Championships. WT finished on the podium for the second consecutive year, finishing with a program-high 61 points with 16 All-Americans and the 4x100-meter relay National Championship team.
Benjamin Azamati, the fastest man to ever walk the campus of West Texas A&M and all the Division II track world, has made the difficult decision to end his athletic career at WT focusing his energy on running pro and in the Olympics for his native Ghana.
Azamati busted the elite 10-second mark in the 100-meter dash several times and owns the Division II all-time record at 9.90. That time ranks him fifth all-time of college runners in any division and he holds Division II's top seven fastest times ever run in the 100. Taking it indoors, Azamati is tied for the all-time DII record in the 60-meter dash at 6.54 and ranks second in the 200 all-time Division II list at 20.57.
The baseball diamond saw one of the top individual single-seasons in program history as infielder Adam Becker was named the 2022 Lone Star Conference Player of the Year. The Midland native finished his junior campaign hitting .402 with 22 doubles, two triples, and 22 home runs to drive in an incredible 92 RBI for a slugging percentage of .803. The Buffs advanced to the NCAA Postseason for the eighth consecutive season, finishing with an overall record of 39-19.
Becker was named to the LSC All-Tournament Team after putting on a show in San Angelo with seven home runs and 15 RBI during the three-day event. Becker earned All-American accolades from three different publications as he and teammate Ryan Johnson became the 13th and 14th All-Americans in program history. Johnson was also honored for his efforts in the classroom as a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team.
WT Softball's Ruby Salzman continued her storied career in Maroon & White as the California product started all 45 games for the Lady Buffs in centerfield hitting .385 with 11 doubles and 10 home runs for 37 RBI. She moved to sixth on WT's all-time leaderboard with 47 career home runs, becoming the sixth Lady Buff to reach the 40-mark on her way to D2CCA Honorable Mention All-American honors.
Axel Ochoa has put the WT Men's Golf program on the map as the Buffs qualified for their first NCAA Regional Championship since 2015 following a run to the Lone Star Conference Medal Match Play Championship. Eemeli Jarvinen concluded his collegiate career with a three-under 68 during the final round as the Helsinki, Finland native finished tied for eighth overall (209, -4) just three strokes out of contention for a bid to nationals.
Women's Golf continued their consistency on the national level as Meredith James led the program to their sixth NCAA Division II National Championship, advancing to WT's first National Quarterfinal Medal Match Play. Gam Songprasert received First Team All-American honors, registering Top-25 finishes in all 11 tournaments including her first collegiate victory at the Tulsa Cup back in October.
Josh Prock guided Lady Buff Basketball to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight during his first season in maroon & white, finishing the campaign with an overall record of 26-11 as WT claimed the LSC regular season and tournament titles followed by a run to the South Central Regional Championship.
Buffalo Basketball finished the 2021-22 campaign 29-7 overall, winning their fifth consecutive LSC Tournament Title and making the program's 20th trip to the NCAA Tournament. Julius Brown was rewarded for his efforts on the hardwood as an Honorable Mention All-American.
For the first time in school history, WT claimed both men's and women's LSC Cross Country Runner of the Year honors with Innocent Murwanashyaka and Florance Uwajenza. The brother-sister duo each claimed the LSC Crowns while also earning All-America honors.
Lady Buff Volleyball under third-year head coach Kendra Potts as they went 26-5 overall with a run to the program's 14th NCAA Division II Elite Eight. WT went on the road and claim the Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship with wins over Oklahoma Christian, UT Permian Basin, and St. Edward's followed by wins over Colorado School of Mines, UT Tyler, and host Metro State to win the South Central Regional Championship. Chandler Vogel finished her career in Maroon & White as the program's all-time digs leader (2,961) to earn AVCA Division II All-American accolades alongside teammate Torrey Miller.
WT Football finished the campaign with an overall mark of 7-4 with five of those victories coming at the newly renamed Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium. JT Cavender and Tobias Harris claimed All-Region honors for their efforts in the gridiron while Brandon Blair was named an Academic All-American.
Hannah Kelley-Lusk was dominant on the pitch for Lady Buffs Soccer in 2021 as the senior was named the Ron Lenz National Player of the Year as well as the Academic Player of the Year. The Farmington, New Mexico, native led the nation in scoring, setting a new school record with 26 goals.
In his 31st year, soccer head coach Butch Lauffer guided the Buffs to the program's seventh trip to the NCAA Division II postseason, advancing to the regional quarterfinals with an overall record of 14-4-1. Giancarlo Saldana, Chris Palomino, Anthony Perea and Rotem Weiss earned All-Region honors.
West Texas A&M University is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II, and the 2021-22 campaign continued to prove that.
Out of the 311 NCAA Division II athletic programs in North America, WT finished second overall according to the Learfield Directors Cup, highlighted by another national championship in women's track and field and half of our teams finishing in the Top 10 of their respective sports. This marks the second time that WT has finished second while also being recognized as the top Division II program in the State of Texas for close to the last decade.
Our student-athletes set new benchmarks in GPA and Academic Success Rates (graduation rates). This new standard saw more than 40% of our student-athletes make academic honor rolls for having GPAs above 3.3 while the Academic Success Rate went up another 8% this year.
Buff Nation turned out to support the efforts of our teams that indicate the return to pre-pandemic attendance numbers. WT ranked in the Top 10 in attendance in football, basketball, and women's soccer and all teams were in the Top 25 in attendance. In total, more than 100,000 fans attended games in person this year! WT also led the LSC with the most viewers for our road games on the LSC Digital Network.
WT is also incredibly blessed by the generosity of our donors, with several major gifts for facilities and new scholarship endowments that will benefit future generations of Buffs & Lady Buffs. Our Buffalo Club donors and Corporate Partners have allowed us to continue to invest in our teams and programs in ways that produce results on the fields and in the classroom.
The Lady Buffs are once again atop of the Division II Track & Field world as they secured the 2022 Outdoor National Championship in late May. WT claimed its second National Title in four years as the Lady Buffs tallied a program-record 77 points with 15 All-Americans and four individual National Crowns.
Zada Swoopes cemented herself as the top overall thrower in Division II track and field history as the senior from Whitewright, Texas scored 25 of the Lady Buff's 77 total points. Swoopes shattered her own school records and took it upon herself to improve in the hammer throw competition coming into national's ranked 15th yet finishing fourth overall.
Swoopes ended her prolific career in Maroon & White as a seven-time National Champion and 14-time All-American. She won three straight outdoor shot put championships, and back-to-back discusses outdoor titles while pushing her mark further each time. Swoopes will stick around Canyon as a graduate assistant coach for WT next year as she continues to pursue a master's degree.
The Buffs made some history of their own in Allendale, Michigan as they finished second overall at the DII Outdoor National Championships. WT finished on the podium for the second consecutive year, finishing with a program-high 61 points with 16 All-Americans and the 4x100-meter relay National Championship team.
Benjamin Azamati, the fastest man to ever walk the campus of West Texas A&M and all the Division II track world, has made the difficult decision to end his athletic career at WT focusing his energy on running pro and in the Olympics for his native Ghana.
Azamati busted the elite 10-second mark in the 100-meter dash several times and owns the Division II all-time record at 9.90. That time ranks him fifth all-time of college runners in any division and he holds Division II's top seven fastest times ever run in the 100. Taking it indoors, Azamati is tied for the all-time DII record in the 60-meter dash at 6.54 and ranks second in the 200 all-time Division II list at 20.57.
The baseball diamond saw one of the top individual single-seasons in program history as infielder Adam Becker was named the 2022 Lone Star Conference Player of the Year. The Midland native finished his junior campaign hitting .402 with 22 doubles, two triples, and 22 home runs to drive in an incredible 92 RBI for a slugging percentage of .803. The Buffs advanced to the NCAA Postseason for the eighth consecutive season, finishing with an overall record of 39-19.
Becker was named to the LSC All-Tournament Team after putting on a show in San Angelo with seven home runs and 15 RBI during the three-day event. Becker earned All-American accolades from three different publications as he and teammate Ryan Johnson became the 13th and 14th All-Americans in program history. Johnson was also honored for his efforts in the classroom as a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team.
WT Softball's Ruby Salzman continued her storied career in Maroon & White as the California product started all 45 games for the Lady Buffs in centerfield hitting .385 with 11 doubles and 10 home runs for 37 RBI. She moved to sixth on WT's all-time leaderboard with 47 career home runs, becoming the sixth Lady Buff to reach the 40-mark on her way to D2CCA Honorable Mention All-American honors.
Axel Ochoa has put the WT Men's Golf program on the map as the Buffs qualified for their first NCAA Regional Championship since 2015 following a run to the Lone Star Conference Medal Match Play Championship. Eemeli Jarvinen concluded his collegiate career with a three-under 68 during the final round as the Helsinki, Finland native finished tied for eighth overall (209, -4) just three strokes out of contention for a bid to nationals.
Women's Golf continued their consistency on the national level as Meredith James led the program to their sixth NCAA Division II National Championship, advancing to WT's first National Quarterfinal Medal Match Play. Gam Songprasert received First Team All-American honors, registering Top-25 finishes in all 11 tournaments including her first collegiate victory at the Tulsa Cup back in October.
Josh Prock guided Lady Buff Basketball to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight during his first season in maroon & white, finishing the campaign with an overall record of 26-11 as WT claimed the LSC regular season and tournament titles followed by a run to the South Central Regional Championship.
Buffalo Basketball finished the 2021-22 campaign 29-7 overall, winning their fifth consecutive LSC Tournament Title and making the program's 20th trip to the NCAA Tournament. Julius Brown was rewarded for his efforts on the hardwood as an Honorable Mention All-American.
For the first time in school history, WT claimed both men's and women's LSC Cross Country Runner of the Year honors with Innocent Murwanashyaka and Florance Uwajenza. The brother-sister duo each claimed the LSC Crowns while also earning All-America honors.
Lady Buff Volleyball under third-year head coach Kendra Potts as they went 26-5 overall with a run to the program's 14th NCAA Division II Elite Eight. WT went on the road and claim the Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship with wins over Oklahoma Christian, UT Permian Basin, and St. Edward's followed by wins over Colorado School of Mines, UT Tyler, and host Metro State to win the South Central Regional Championship. Chandler Vogel finished her career in Maroon & White as the program's all-time digs leader (2,961) to earn AVCA Division II All-American accolades alongside teammate Torrey Miller.
WT Football finished the campaign with an overall mark of 7-4 with five of those victories coming at the newly renamed Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium. JT Cavender and Tobias Harris claimed All-Region honors for their efforts in the gridiron while Brandon Blair was named an Academic All-American.
Hannah Kelley-Lusk was dominant on the pitch for Lady Buffs Soccer in 2021 as the senior was named the Ron Lenz National Player of the Year as well as the Academic Player of the Year. The Farmington, New Mexico, native led the nation in scoring, setting a new school record with 26 goals.
In his 31st year, soccer head coach Butch Lauffer guided the Buffs to the program's seventh trip to the NCAA Division II postseason, advancing to the regional quarterfinals with an overall record of 14-4-1. Giancarlo Saldana, Chris Palomino, Anthony Perea and Rotem Weiss earned All-Region honors.
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