FRISCO, Texas - Ten members of Lamar University have been named to the 2025 Academic All-Southland Conference Track & Field teams for both the indoor and outdoor seasons, announced the conference Wednesday afternoon. With six women (
Mariam Buenanueva Saleme,
Annabel Hobday,
Emma Powell,
Ashton Rainey,
Neelie Schiel,
Kayla Smith) and four men (
Thomas Knoop,
Anthony Oliver,
Freddy Richardson,
Lloyd Sheppard-Brown) honored, the Cardinals are tied with Northwestern State for the most in the conference.
To be considered for Academic All-SLC, student-athletes must obtain a 3.25 cumulative grade point average, complete at least one semester at the nominating institution, and participate in at least 50 percent of the team's meets. The all-academic teams are voted on by head coaches, sports information directors, and academic/compliance staff members from each conference institution.
Three of the student-athletes (Hobday, Knoop, Schiel) were NCAA West Regional qualifiers. Hobday (Surrey, England), who recorded a 3.25 GPA while majoring in business administration, qualified for the 1,500 meters. She was a conference champion in the distance medley relay and finished third in the SLC indoor meet. Hobday also set a personal best in the 800m at the Robert Platt Invitational and three more personal records in the 1,500m, mile, and 3,000m events at the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational.
Knoop (Gorinchem, Netherlands), who qualified for the men's javelin, achieved a 3.87 GPA while working on a master's in business administration. He posted five top-five finishes, including firsts at the Cowboy Relays, where he set a season-best 70.15m (230-2), and at the conference outdoor title meet.
Schiel (Chappell Hill, Texas), a qualifier for the women's javelin, finished her first season at LU with a perfect 4.00 in general business. Transferring to Beaumont, she dominated the javelin with five top-threes, including an outdoor conference championship title with a school record of 154 feet.
Hobday's DMR teammates, Powell and Smith, also earned their spots on the all-academic team. Powell (Gloucestershire, England) was a 3.90 student majoring in kinesiology. She also set a mile PR at the indoor conference meet and finished fifth in the SLC outdoor 800m.
Smith (Houston, Texas), a speech and hearing sciences major with a 3.60 GPA, was also part of the 4x100m relay team that took third at the outdoor conference meet. This is her second career all-academic honor.
Buenanueva Saleme (Buenos Aires, Argentina) earned a 3.78 GPA in management. She won the indoor pentathlon and also claimed third in the outdoor heptathlon in both conference championship meets.
Rainey (Ocean Spring, Miss.) tallied a 3.89 GPA in biochemistry. She won gold in the 3,000m and set a 5,000m personal best at the indoor conference title meet. Rainey had two big accomplishments in the 10,000m by winning the event at the Texas Relays and earning silver in the conference's outdoor title meet.
Oliver (Richmond, Texas) posted a 3.46 GPA in mechanical engineering. He set a school record in the hammer throw (58.02m; 190-4) to earn the conference title and was second in the discus at the SLC Outdoor Championships.
Richardson (Colchester, England) totaled a 3.25 GPA working on a master's in business administration. This season saw him pick up five conference medals, including two firsts in the indoor DMR and 3,000m, two seconds in the indoor mile and outdoor 1,500m, and one third in the outdoor 5,000m. He also won he 1,500m at both the Texas Relays and the Texas A&M Alumni Muster Invitational.
Sheppard-Brown (Cardiff, Wales) had a 3.57 GPA while working on a master's in kinesiology. He teamed up with Richardson to win the DMR at the SLC indoor meet and also earned bronze at the outdoor conference meet. Some of his other personal achievements included second place at the Leonard Hilton Memorial 3,000m and first place in the 1,500m at the Beach Invite.
