Golfer Sylas Elliott, softball’s Rachel Ragland among Wallace State athletes to garner postseason recognition

HANCEVILLE, ALA.  –  Wallace State freshman golfer Sylas Elliott highlights a slew of athletes who have recently garnered individual awards at the college.
Elliott was named a second-team National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) after finishing tied for 10^th in the nation last week at the national tournament in Newton, Kansas. Elliott also earned NJCAA All-Region 22 first-team recognition in April after finishing as the low medalist in the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC)/Region 22 tournament at Point Mallard.
Elliott, a Cullman High graduate, finished as Wallace State’s low medalist in the team’s three postseason tournaments – the ACCC/Region 22 tournament, the NJCAA District IV tournament and the NJCAA Division I championships.
In Kansas, Elliott carded a 3-over par 291 over four rounds. His best was the 3-under 69 on the third day of the tournament, helping Wallace State place fifth in the nation.
Elliott debuted for the Lions in September 2014, winning the Wallace State Fall Invitational individual championship in a playoff at the Cullman Municipal Golf Course.
Eli Marty, another Wallace State freshman golfer, was named a third-team NJCAA Division I All-American last week. The Good Hope graduate tied for 18^th in the nation after shooting a 7-over 295 in Kansas.
Wallace State golf sophomore Cooper Brown, the 2013 NJCAA individual national champion, joined Elliott on the NJCAA All-Region 22 team after the conference tournament and was named to the PING All-District team.
Wallace State golf made its 20^th NJCAA Division I national tournament appearance under coach Dan York, a NJCAA Hall of Fame member, who was named the 2015 ACCC Coach of the Year.
The team also won its second consecutive conference championship and 12^th overall.
Softball
Wallace State sophomore pitcher Rachel Ragland was named the ACCC Player of the Year. Ragland finished the season with a 25-7 record, seven saves and conference-best 1.32 ERA. She recorded 210 strikeouts and tossed nine shutouts. At the plate, Ragland, a Pleasant Grove native, finished with five homers and 29 RBIs.
Ragland, who finished her Wallace State career with a 44-27 record, led the Lady Lions to their ninth conference title and to their third NJCAA Division I national tournament appearance in four seasons and ninth overall.
Ragland was also a first-team All-ACCC North Division member along with sophomore second baseman Mackenzie Hill and freshman third baseman Katie Parr. Hill hit .360 with a pair of homers and 55 RBIs for Wallace State, while Parr hit .389 with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs.
Sophomore pitcher Amanda Medders and sophomore outfielder Sarah Jordan were each named to the All-ACCC North Division second team.
Freshman first baseman Sam Riley was the conference tournament MVP for Wallace State in late April, while Medders, Hill and Jordan were also named to the all-tournament team.
Wallace State softball finished the season with a 62-14 record, and coach Jayne Clem reached the 800-win milestone with the Lady Lions on March 28.
Baseball
Landon Hughes, Turner Vincent and Stephen Dobbs were each named to the ACCC All-Tournament team in Ozark after the Lions finished as the conference runner-up.
Hughes finished the season with an 8-5 record and ended Shelton State’s season with a complete-game effort in the ACCC tournament elimination bracket. Hughes, a Georgia native, led the conference with a 1.63 ERA during the regular season.
Vincent and Dobbs each finished with three multi-hit games in Ozark, propelling Wallace State to five consecutive victories in the elimination bracket and into the conference title game.
Wallace State was the ACCC runner-up for the second time in four seasons under coach Randy Putman, finishing with a 29-24 record.
Wallace State made its 24^th postseason appearance in Putman’s 26 seasons.
Another banner season
Wallace State athletics had three teams (volleyball, golf, softball) collect conference championships during the 2014-15 season, two others (women’s basketball and baseball) finish as conference runner-up and three individuals earn player of the year recognition (Syretha Pride, volleyball; Morgan Smith, women’s basketball and Ragland in softball).
Pride was also the first Wallace State volleyball player to earn first-team NJCAA All-American honors. Smith was a 2^nd-team NJCAA All-American for women’s basketball, the highest earned in program history.
Wallace State volleyball coach Randy Daniel was named the ACCC Coach of the Year, and women’s basketball coach Ron Burdette was the ACCC North Division Coach of the Year.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.