Arkansas Wrestle (All images via obutigers.com)
Photo caption: Ouachita’s Athletes and Scholar Athletes of the Year for 2022-23. From left to right: TJ Cole, G. Allen, Makayla Miller, Johnny Green. Not pictured: Lexie Castillow. Photo by Dr. Wesley Kluck.
ARKADELPHIA –
The Ouachita Baptist University Athletics Department held its annual awards ceremony on Tuesday night at the Jones Performing Arts Center to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2022-23 season and to name its annual award winners.
The awards portion of the ceremony started with the announcement of the 2022-23 All-Ouachita athletic and academic teams, which include the top athlete and top scholar athlete of each team as selected by the head coaches.
Ouachita football won the inaugural Sharp Cup, presented by the Ouachita Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to the team that won the year-long competition with points awarded based on campus activities involvement, community service, and attendance at other athletic events.
The ceremony ended with the selection of the Ouachita athlete and scholar athlete of the year awards.
Volleyball’s Lexie Castillow was selected as the Ouachita Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. The Greenwood native has finished her master’s degree from Ouachita in curriculum and instruction, and is already putting her education to work as a teacher and coach. She also earned a bachelor’s degree from Ouachita in kinesiology. She finished her undergrad degree with a 3.834 cumulative GPA and then posted a 4.0 throughout grad school. She was named a GAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete this season, earned her third spot on the GAC All-Academic Team, and also earned athletic honors from the league for the fourth time of her career with a spot on the All-GAC Second Team as one of the best defensive players in the conference.
Baseball’s G. Allen was selected as the Ouachita Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. The Little Rock native has posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in each semester he has finished at Ouachita so far working toward a bachelor’s degree in Christian Studies. He is an active leader with the Ouachita Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is on the leadership team for the Ouachita SAAC. In addition to his success in the classroom and his leadership roles off the field, Allen is also a top performer on the field, leading the Tigers in eight different categories, including batting average, slugging percentage, hits, and stolen bases heading into the first weekend of the postseason.
Women’s basketball player Makayla Miller was selected as the Ouachita Female Athlete of the Year. The Little Rock native is set graduate this month with a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. She wrapped up her playing career with the Tigers as one of the best to ever wear a Ouachita women’s basketball uniform. She became the program’s 13th member of the 1,000-point club this season, and finishes her career ranked in the top 10 of 14 different school record categories. This year, she earned a spot on the All-GAC First Team as one of the six best players in the conference and was a two-time player of the week in the league. She will earn her third GAC All-Academic Team award this season as well.
Football’s TJ Cole and wrestling’s Johnny Green were both named Ouachita Male Athletes of the Year. Both racked up nearly identical achievements during their respective seasons, and both finished the year as the fifth-best player in the nation in their respective sport.
Cole repeats as Ouachita Male Athlete of the Year after turning in a record-breaking 2022 season. The Texarkana, Texas native finished fifth in the Harlon Hill Trophy voting, which is the equivalent to D1’s Heisman Trophy. He won the Darren McFadden Award as the state of Arkansas’ most outstanding collegiate running back. He earned All-America honors from five different organizations, and became Ouachita’s first ever two-time first team All-America honoree. He broke Ouachita’s single-season rushing record this past season with a final total of 1,672 yards, and also set a new school record in rushing touchdowns with 49 throughout his career.
Green finished his collegiate career with NCAA All-America honors as the fifth-place heavyweight finisher at the national championship event this past season. The Allen, Texas native is Ouachita wrestling’s first All-America honoree since 2018. He finished the season with a 24-5 record with three of his losses coming to the eventual national champion and another coming to a D1 opponent. He was ranked in the top five nationally for nearly the entire season.
2022-23 ALL-OUACHITA ACADEMIC TEAM
2022-23 ALL-OUACHITA ATHLETIC TEAM
