Murray State University Athletics
Photo by: Katherine Seghers
Racers Win OVC Sportsmanship Award
3/18/2016 2:07:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
The Murray State women's track and field team was awarded the OVC Team Sportsmanship Award for indoor track and field as announced by the league on Friday.
Voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of the respective sports, the team awards are bestowed upon the Conference squads deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA. Included in the areas for evaluation are the conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators and fans.
"Without sportsmanship there are truly no meaningful victories," said Beth DeBauche, OVC Commissioner. "The recipients of the OVC Team Sportsmanship awards should accept this award with great pride for their fellow competitors have made it clear their teams exemplify the best in intercollegiate athletics. In receiving this prestigious honor other competitors are saying these student-athletes compete with class, respect their opponents and value fair play. That is quite a compliment as those are all traits that will lead to true victories throughout the course of life."
The 2015-16 school year marks the 11th year the team sportsmanship honors have been awarded, and 10th year the indoor track and field awards have been distributed. This marks the third overall indoor track and field sportsmanship award for Murray State (2011, 2015).
Head coach Jenny Swieton is very proud of her team's accomplishments. "I'm very proud of the team," she said. "It's an honor to be given this award for a second-straight year. It's not only great to see our athletes improving in their events but it's also great to see them be recognized for their actions off the track."
Implemented in August 2005, the team honors are the most recent addition to an awards program that recognizes and celebrates sportsmanship within the Conference. In 1998, the league established the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to a male or female student-athlete of junior or senior status who best exemplifies the characteristics of the late Morehead State student-athlete, coach and administrator. Five years later, the Conference added the OVC Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to the member institution selected by its peers to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA.
In 1995, the Ohio Valley Conference implemented a first-of-its-kind "Sportsmanship Statement," a policy promoting principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one's opponent. The statement answered the challenge of the NCAA Presidents Commission to improve sportsmanship in collegiate athletics, and has become a model for others to follow across the nation.
This season, the Racers finished fourth at the OVC Indoor Championship, taking first in the Distance Meter Relay. MSU track and field is back in action March 25 as they travel to Vanderbilt for the Black and Gold Invite.
Voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of the respective sports, the team awards are bestowed upon the Conference squads deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA. Included in the areas for evaluation are the conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators and fans.
"Without sportsmanship there are truly no meaningful victories," said Beth DeBauche, OVC Commissioner. "The recipients of the OVC Team Sportsmanship awards should accept this award with great pride for their fellow competitors have made it clear their teams exemplify the best in intercollegiate athletics. In receiving this prestigious honor other competitors are saying these student-athletes compete with class, respect their opponents and value fair play. That is quite a compliment as those are all traits that will lead to true victories throughout the course of life."
The 2015-16 school year marks the 11th year the team sportsmanship honors have been awarded, and 10th year the indoor track and field awards have been distributed. This marks the third overall indoor track and field sportsmanship award for Murray State (2011, 2015).
Head coach Jenny Swieton is very proud of her team's accomplishments. "I'm very proud of the team," she said. "It's an honor to be given this award for a second-straight year. It's not only great to see our athletes improving in their events but it's also great to see them be recognized for their actions off the track."
Implemented in August 2005, the team honors are the most recent addition to an awards program that recognizes and celebrates sportsmanship within the Conference. In 1998, the league established the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to a male or female student-athlete of junior or senior status who best exemplifies the characteristics of the late Morehead State student-athlete, coach and administrator. Five years later, the Conference added the OVC Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to the member institution selected by its peers to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA.
In 1995, the Ohio Valley Conference implemented a first-of-its-kind "Sportsmanship Statement," a policy promoting principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one's opponent. The statement answered the challenge of the NCAA Presidents Commission to improve sportsmanship in collegiate athletics, and has become a model for others to follow across the nation.
This season, the Racers finished fourth at the OVC Indoor Championship, taking first in the Distance Meter Relay. MSU track and field is back in action March 25 as they travel to Vanderbilt for the Black and Gold Invite.
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