Posted: Jul 07, 2020

Garrett Garza named finalist for SCAC Man of the Year

SEGUIN, Texas -- Texas Lutheran graduate Garrett Garza has been named a finalist for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's Man of the Year award.

The SCAC Man of the Year award recognizes the conference's senior male student-athlete who has best distinguished himself throughout his collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service, and leadership.

TLU Baseball's Riley Schaefer was the 2018-19 SCAC Man of the Year.

List of past SCAC Man of the Year winners.

Member schools were permitted to submit two nominations if at least one of the nominees was a man of color or international student-athlete.

This year's SCAC Man of the Year finalists include: Taylor Wells of Centenary College, Tony Calderon of Colorado College, Alexis Dimanche of Southwestern University, Garza of TLU, and Jordan Pitts of Trinity University.

To be nominated, student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in their primary sport by the end of the 2020 spring season, received an undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2020 term, and have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.500 (4.000 scale).

The 2020 Southern Collegiate Athletic Man of the Year will be selected and announced later this month.

Garza (Round Rock/Stony Point) was an All-American four times in his storied career. He collected two indoor track & field All-America honors, and he had All-America awards in outdoor track & field and in football.

Garza was the NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field national runner-up in the shot put in 2019.

Garza was named the 2020 USTFCCCA's South/Southeast Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.

For the 2020 Indoor Track & Field season, Garza was ranked third nationally in the NCAA Division III indoor shot put with a toss of 17.67 meters (57 feet, 11¾ inches). He had the top shot mark in the South/Southeast Region by 8 feet, 4 inches. Garza owned five of the top-11 marks turned in this season at the NCAA Division III level.

Garza was one of the 20 shot putters to qualify for the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C. The championship meet was canceled (due to COVID-19) a day before competition was to begin. Garza was to contend for the national championship in the shot put on March 14. Garza and his coaches were already in Winston-Salem when the decision was made.

An All-American in the shot put in the 2019 indoor championships and an All-American and national runner-up in the shot put in the 2019 outdoor championships, Garza had a good shot at becoming TLU's third indoor national champion (joining the 2007 women's indoor 4x400 meter relay team and Marquis Brown, who won the 2017 indoor 400).

Garza's outstanding 2019 indoor season already included titles at the Texas A&M University Invite and Grand Valley State (Mich.) Big Meet Saturday, and he was the top collegiate thrower (second only to an unattached thrower) at the University of Houston G5 and Super 22 Invitational.

Garza's appearance at the NCAA DIII Indoor Championship was to be his final collegiate contest of any kind. He already used his four years of eligibility in football and four years in outdoor track & field. He was in his final year of eligibility in indoor track & field.

A May 2020 graduate of TLU, Garza was a history major. He lettered four years in indoor track & field, four years in outdoor track & field, and four years in football. He was a team captain in all three sports.

Garza was a First Team All-American as chosen by D3football.com in 2019. A starting offensive guard, he helped TLU to an 8-2 overall record and to an 8-1 mark in the American Southwest Conference. The Bulldogs finished second in the ASC - the best finish in school history for TLU's time in the league.

Garza was a four-time All-SCAC performer in the shot put, and he was a three-time outdoor track & field SCAC champion in the shot put. He was a member of TLU's three consecutive SCAC Men's Track & Field Team Championships.

Garza's community service activities while at TLU included volunteer hours with the Salvation Army, at TLU's Special Olympics Days, and with TLU's Day of the Dogs community service days.

Scroll below to read a quick bio on each of the five finalists:

Taylor Wells, Centenary College
Men's Golf

Four-Time SCAC Academic Honor Roll Honoree (2017-2020)
Men's Varsity Golf (2017-20)
Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society
Phi Alpha Theta Honors Society
Omicron Delta Kappa Honors Society
Alpha Chi National College Honor Society
Four-Time Centenary Dean's List (2017-20)
Honor Court (2019-20 – Associate Justice)
Centenary Veterans Alliance (2017-20 – President 2018-20)
Louisiana State Exhibit Museum (2019 – Student Intern)
Louisiana Food Bank (2017)
Renzi Arts Center (2019)
Fuller Center for Housing (2020)

Tony Calderon, Colorado College
Men's Cross Country and Track & Field

Graduated as a Organismal Biology & Ecology major with a 3.79 GPA
Seven-Time SCAC Academic Honor Roll Honoree (2016-19 – Cross Country / 2017-19 Track & Field)
SCAC Cross Country Runner of the Year (2019)
Cross Country All-West Region Honor (2019)
Three-Time Colorado College Cross Country Team Captain (2017-19)
Two-Time Colorado College Cross Country MVP (2018-19)
Four-Time All SCAC Honors in Cross Country (2016-19)
Individual Qualifier for 2018 NCAA Div. III Cross Country National Meet
Two-Time SCAC Team Champion in Cross Country (2016, 2020)
Colorado College Track & Field Team Captain (2017)
Two-Time SCAC 10K Champion (2018-19)
SCAC 5K Champion (2019)
SCAC All-Conference Honors in the 5K (2018)
Colorado College Track & Field MVP (2019)
Van Diest Award Winner (CC Top Male & Female Student Athlete, 2020)
Crown-Goodman Presidential Scholarship (2019)
Colorado College Dean's List (2016-17, 2019-20)
Open Bible Medical Clinic – Spanish Interpreter, Eligibility Specialist (2018-20)
UC Health Memorial Hospital – Emergency Department Volunteer (2019-20)

Alexis Dimanche, Southwestern University
Men's Tennis

Graduated as a Physics major with a 3.94 GPA
Four-Time SCAC Academic Honor Roll Honoree (2017-20)
Two-Time SCAC Elite 19 Award Winner (2019-20)
Southwestern Men's Tennis Team Captain (2020)
ITA National Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award (2020)
CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team Honors (2019-20)
SCAC Newcomer of the Year (2017)
SCAC Player of the Year (2019)
Three-Time All-SCAC Honors (2017-19)
SCAC All-Tournament Team – Singles (2018)
SCAC All-Tournament Team – Doubles (2019)
ITA Player to Watch in the West Region (2018)
NCAA Div. III Singles Qualifier (2018)
NCAA All-American (2018)
Five-Time SCAC Player of the Week (2017-19)
SCAC Doubles Team of the Week (2019)
SCAC Character and Community Award Recipient (2019)
Recipient of three King Creativity Grants (2017-19)
Awarded Two National Science Foundation Stipends to conduct Biomedical Engineering Summer Research at Major Universities (2018-19)
Southwestern University Dean's List – Eight Semesters (2016-20)
Southwestern University Physics Club (2017-20) – Club Treasurer (2018), Club President (2019)
Member of Kappa Alpha Order Xi Chapter (2017-20) – Treasurer (2018), Recruiting Chair (2019)
Student Athletic Advisory Committee (2016-18)
Member of Student Foundation at Southwestern (2017-20)
Relay for Life from the American Cancer Society – Accountant (2017)
Volunteer at the Georgetown, Texas Boys & Girls Club (2018)

Garrett Garza, Texas Lutheran University
Men's Track & Field

Graduated as a History Major with a 2.72 GPA
Three-Sport Athlete – Indoor Track & Field (2017-20), Outdoor Track & Field (2016-19), Football (2016-19)
Football Team Captain (2018-19)
Indoor Track & Field Team Captain (2018-20)
Outdoor Track & Field Team Captain (2018-19)
First-Team D3Football.com All-American (2019)
Four-Time Outdoor Track & Field All-SCAC – Shot Put (2016-19)
Three-Time SCAC Outdoor Track & Field Shot Put Champion (2017-19)
Three-Time SCAC Outdoor Track & Field Team Champion (2017-19)
Four-Time USTFCCCA All-Region Indoor Track & Field Honors (2017-20)
Two-Time USTFCCCA Indoor Track & Field All-American Honoree (2019-20)
USTFCCCA Outdoor Track & Field All-American (2019)
NCAA Div. III National Runner-Up – Shot Put (2019)
South/Southeast Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year (USTFCCCA) – 2020
Salvation Army Bell Ringing (2015-19)
Special Olympics Day at TLU (2018-19)
Day of the Dogs Service Day (2015-19)

Jordan Pitts, Trinity University
Men's Tennis

Graduated as a Business Administration major with a 3.43 GPA
Trinity Men's Tennis Team Captain (2018-20)
Four-Time SCAC Academic Honor Roll Honoree (2016-20)
ITA All-American (2018)
Nine-Time SCAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week (2016-20)
NCAA Div. III Singles Qualifier (2018-19)
SCAC All-Sportsmanship Team (2020)
Three-Time SCAC Men's Tennis Team Champion (2016-19)
Three-Time NCAA Div. III Men's Tennis Team Qualifier (2016-19)
ITA Doubles Grass Court Champion (2018)
Three-Time All SCAC Honors (2017-19)
Three-Time SCAC All-Tournament Team Honors – Singles (2017-19)
Two-Time SCAC All-Tournament Team Honors – Doubles (2018-19)
Tennis Kids Day – Volunteer (2016-20)
Hurricane Harvey Relief – Volunteer (2017)
Boots on the Court – Volunteer (2018-19)
San Antonio Tennis Special Olympics – Volunteer (2019-20)