ENMU Athletics News

Marcus Parker Is Male Indoor Track Athlete of the Year

By William McLaughlin

Entering the 2017-18 track & field season, it was not a question if Marcus Parker was going to be good, it was a question of how good he was going to be? Entering his sophomore year, the Phoenix, Arizona native was poised to do something special for the Greyhounds.

The indoor season was a solid one for Parker in a number of ways. He set new school records in both the 60m dash and the 200m dash. He ran 6.67 in the60m dash and 21.01 in the 200m dash at the Lone StarConference (LSC) Indoor Championships in Lubbock, Texas in February. His times were not just school records, but also the fastest times in LSC history and in the Championships meet history. His performances earned LSC Outstanding Male Track Athlete and FirstTeam All-LSC honors.

At the Indoor National Championships, he finished fifth in the 200m dash with a 21.37 second sprint. Parker was sixth in the 60m dash with a time of 6.76.

Parker’s record-setting accolades on the track earned him United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association First Team All-America honors, and he was named the LSC Male Indoor Track Athleteof the Year. He is the first Greyhound to earn the distinction since Isaiah Samoei (BBA 14) in 2014.

Parker posted an even better outdoor season as he qualified for the National Championships in both the 100m and 200m dash. He owns the school records in both events, which he set this season (100-10.17; 200- 20.43). He finished second in the 200 in a time of 20.54, while placing third in the 100 in a time of 10.34. The sophomore’s runner-up finish in the 200 is the highest finish for an ENMU athlete at the national meet for both the indoor and outdoor season since joining the NCAA.

Meet Hannah Cabeldue, Record-Breaking Freshman Pole Vaulter

By William McLaughlin

A homegrown product of Portales, Hannah Cabledue has been a top performer for Greyhound Track & Fieldin her first season of competition as a pole vaulter. The redshirt freshman, who was a three-time state champion for Portales High School, had a stellar indoor season, setting new personal bests and etching her name in the record books along the way.

While sitting out all of last season to adjust and be more prepared for the collegiate ranks, Cabledue used the year to hone her skills in pole vaulting. In her first career indoor meet, the redshirt freshman cleared the bar at 3.10 meters (10-2) at the Texas Tech Red and Black Open on Jan. 26. That was just the beginning for Cabledue, en route to her school record performance one month later.

At the LSC Indoor Championships, Cabledue not only looked to improve her mark, but wanted to score points to better help her team as a whole. In her first two heights, she cleared both marks on the first attempt.

The third height of 3.26 meters (10-8.25) was the one that entered her in the ENMU record books. She cleared the bar on her first attempt as she went on to finish sixth in the event.

A solid first year of competition in the indoor ranks has Cabledue positioned to do great things for the Greyhounds. Her outdoor season is going just as well.She already owns the school pole vault record with a height of 3.28 meters (10-9). Hannah is well on her way to being one of the best to compete at ENMU.

Chamber Names ENMU Volleyball Team “Volunteer of the Month”

By Desiree Cooper

The ENMU volleyball team received the “Volunteer of the Month” award from the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 27 at Greyhound Arena.

Coach Sia Poyer explained that volunteer work is "needed and vital in any community. We love Portalesand always want to give back as much as we can."

"Some of our players had never done community service. It is important for them to be selfless and understand why it's important to serve others and not expect anything in return,” Poyer added. “I really like how they all take ownership and pride in helping."

All of ENMU's athletic teams perform community service work. The volleyball team has completed over 250 community service hours every year since Coach Poyer became the head coach in 2014. “We're proud of our community and we want to help as much as possible,” he said.

The team has participated in many community service projects, including setting up and decorating for Holiday Happening, bagging items for the food distribution at Central Christian Church each month, helping with an auction at Yam Theater, serving food at the Spaghetti Dinner for Destination Imagination, volunteering at Eastern in Action, picking up trash for Adopt-A-Highway and spending time with children at the New Mexico Christian Home.

Baseball Team Achieves Second-Best Two-Season Run During NCAA Era

By Adam Pitterman

Since returning to action in the 1992 season, the Greyhound baseball team has had memorable years. The 2018 campaign will long be remembered for following in that tradition.

A senior on the Greyhound baseball team, Garlind Webster prepares to swing.

On May 10, the team faced a 4-3 ninth-inning deficit in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference tournament. Angelo State turned to All-LSC closer Kellen Rholl to face the eighth batter in the Greyhound lineup. Malcolm Smith led off with a single, before Nicholas Ankerman tied the game with his second double of the season. Zack Shank gave ENMU the lead for good with a RBI single to right field. The game marked the program’s first postseason win of the NCAA era as the Hounds were making their second LSC Tournament appearance and first since 2009.

The historic victory capped a banner year for the Hounds. Their 56 wins combined from 2017 and 2018 are the second most for the program in back-to-back years. The Hounds also swept a doubleheader against Angelo State for the second time in team history. The Hounds turned in an efficient season and shattered the team mark for stolen bases (153), on-base percentage (.427) and stolen base percentage (.884). Eastern also had itssecond-highest slugging percentage for a season.