2/21/2022 E-Edition

The Independent Student Newspaper of Sam Houston State University

Monday, 21 February 2022 | Volume 109 | Issue 3

Students Dedicated to Professional Journalism

The importance of print jounalism in higher education Scott Morris and Lizeth Gonzalez

Most universities in Texas have printed student newspapers dating back to the 1800’s. With access to the press, students have been given the opportunity to voice their opinions, while also learning the world of journalism along

the way. On Friday, Feb. 10 Texas A&M University President Katherine Banks announced the independent school newspaper, The Battalion, would stop all print issues immediately. This announcement was in response to her decision to move the paper entirely digital with the assump-

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tion that print is dead. As a country built on the foundation of free speech, the discontinuation of a print publication hinders the ability of college students to have their voices truly heard.

Notwithstanding violating the constitution’s first amendment, The Battalion is completely independent, earning

all their money through advertisement revenue and not through funding of the school.

By canceling the print publication, the majority of the revenue earned is lost. Additionally, this contributes to a problem Banks attributed to the students but was caused by the evolution of digital content.

As a publication that has faced financial struggles since the start of the pandemic and has been unable to print in nearly two years, we at the Houstonian understand that fight all too well. But as student journalist we must continue printing when road bumps are thrown at you every single day.

Yes, digital content is very important in society today, however print media has been around for hundreds of years and continues to be a major source of information in rural communities.

Additionally, college newspapers also play an important role in the education of student journalists.

In the newsroom students not only find their passion for covering worldwide events but also in the pursuit of finding the truth and reporting that information.

Student journalism is something that continues to be a pivotal part of society. It not only provides a news source for higher education directly from the sources, but also builds the knowledge of those who want to continue into this field.

As someone who started college with no experience in the field of jour-

nalism, whether that be in high school or a part-time job, I always tell people that everyone starts from somewhere.

The first thing written by anyone will not be perfect and that is okay.

Journalism is a field in which a person develops a skill more and more over time as they become more used to the motions as well as how to go about their daily business. Student journalism is the perfect place for anyone to start because mostly everyone is in the same boat.

With the loss of student newsrooms, we lose that chance at learning how the pieces of a newspaper are put together and lose out on that experience, unless they decide to find an internship which can be difficult these days.

On top of balancing being a journalist, there are all the other factors of life that students have to juggle between schoolwork, friends, family, relationships and hobbies.

Not only does the student newsroom teach people the skills of being a journalist but also how to manage a personal life while beginning this unpredictable job.

Students can learn that balance early on so that they know what to do once they are finally done with their higher education journey.

The move by the A&M president is one that will not go unnoticed as college publications will continue to fight for their right to publish and print no matter what is thrown their way.

CAMPUS How to best discover your strengths at SHSU Leadership Initiatives provides workshop to determine your strong points and how to use them to your advantage to grow Sydney Ferguson

As the latest in a long line of leadership initiatives, SHSU Leadership Initiatives recently held a workshop titled “Discover Your Strengths,” where students were given the op-

portunity to evaluate areas where they excel as well as areas that could use improvement. The event took place Feb. 15 from 3:30-5:00 p.m. in LSC 242.

After registering for the workshop, students received a link to

Photo courtesy of Jo Szczepanska on Unsplash.com

02 | Houstonian News | 21 February 2022

the CliftonStrengths assessment, an online test owned by the Gallup organization that uncovers the top five strengths of the individual in question out of 34 possible strengths. Students are then given in-depth feedback as to what those strengths mean in the form of an insight report.

Leadership Initiatives Program Specialist of this semester’s first “Discover Your Strengths” session Gabby Sauceda, identified the Leadership Initiatives’s main goal of the session was to create a space like for all students at Sam Houston.

“One of our main goals is for them to really identify with the themes that they received,” Sauceda explained. “We do typically have someone that doesn’t really fully understand maybe one or two of their strengths. In those instances, our goal is really for them to define their strengths in their own words, but then also be open minded to maybe the strengths that may be different than theirs.”

During the session, students were given the chance to discuss what they learned about themselves by taking the CliftonStrengths assessment. Students spoke of which strengths they agreed or disagreed with, Sauceda herself sharing she disagreed with three of her own when she took it.

Of the five students in attendance, none felt their strengths did not represent them. Through an activity packet that followed along with a PowerPoint presentation, students took the time to define the themes they were given in their own words and identify their strong points outside of the formal

themes that some previously did not consider strengths, such as confidence or note taking.

One of Sauceda’s own top strengths is individualization. According to the Gallup website, people with the strength of individualization, “instinctively observe each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks and builds relationships.”

Sauceda went into detail about how this trait allows her to help others realize what they can do in sessions like “Discover your Strengths.”

“This deals a lot with my personal strengths…really seeing someone with where they’re at and what their current capabilities are and utilizing them in a way to not only just define the themes that they were given in the assessment but practically applying them to things that they have set for themselves,” Sauceda said.

Attendees were meant to walk away with the perception that their strengths were tools more than anything. Sauceda has personally witnessed the results that can be yielded from a workshop like this one.

“The department had another program specialist once upon a time,” Sauceda said. “She took CliftonStrengths because she was on academic probation and whatever university she was at required her to do strengths in order to be enrolled in school still. “She took CliftonStrengths, she really worked with the themes that she received, was going through some coaching sessions in order to apply them and now she’s gone on to achieve her Master’s.”

All in all, Sauceda feels she achieved her goal of helping students who attended to really see themselves. In her own words there’s non-verbal feedback, a “lightbulb” that goes off when things start to make sense for them, one of her favorite things about these sessions.

“I think my favorite thing is either people hearing other people’s strengths, because it’s really rare again to have someone in the same room with the exact same strengths as you, or having people realize that they have the capabilities already within themselves to be successful,” Sauceda said.

“Discover Your Strengths” is only half of the fun. At the end of the semester, students who attended will have the opportunity to attend a deeper session where they will do more activities targeting strengths due to the first session focusing more on context. It is Sauceda’s belief that experience and understanding strength go hand in hand.

“I think experience is the best teacher; sometimes really harsh, sometimes really fun,” Sauceda said. “You can learn a lot by interacting and listening to others and that will allow you to shape different views and opinions in order to really build your own leadership philosophy to move forward in.”

“I think experience is the best teacher; sometimes really harsh, sometimes really fun.” www.houstoniannews.com

Soul Train event headlined in activites for Black History month Kali Camacho

In honor of Black History Month, the Student Government Association (SGA) hosted Soul Train at Sam Houston State University. This

was the second event presented by SGA this week in correlation to Black History Month following Black Wall Street. Soul Train took place Thursday, Feb. 17 at 6:00 p.m. in the Orange Ballroom.

Photo courtesy of Kali Camacho

“SGA hosts an annual Black History Month program, and as the Director of Student Affairs, it is my job to help plan the event,” senior Healthcare Administration major Stella Essel said. “I wanted to do a Soul Train 70’s themed event last year, however I was not a director at the time.”

For the 70’s themed event, students were able to showcase talents and their culture through dances, songs and poetry that had been lined up. Throughout the duration of the event, awards were presented to those who had dressed up with an outfit they best thought represented what Soul Train meant.

The three awards presented were Best Dressed Individual Student, Best Dressed Student Organization and Best Dressed Greek Life Organization.

The awards were presented by Miss Sam Houston, Camryn Hopkins, followed by a speech where she spoke about being the first African-American winner of the title since 2016 and as well as being the first African-American president of Sam Houston’s Alpha Chi Omega chapter.

During the program, a National

Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) presentation was given to teach about Black history, not only in America, but also at Sam Houston.

In 1964, John Arthur Patrick became the first Black student at Sam Houston.

During this, a spotlight was given to two Black SHSU faculty members, vice president of student affairs Frank Parker and dean of students Chelsea Smith.

Afterwards, students competed against special guest star Emmanuel Hudson and his crew from “Wild ‘N Out” in various games including “Talkin’ Spit,” “Kick ‘Em Out the Classroom” and “Let Me Holla.” Hudson also gave students the opportunity to ask him questions about his life and career.

“With the help of co-director of public relations Faith Adjei-Sarpong, we were able to reach out to a Sam Houston alumni who knew the manager of Emmanuel Hudson,” Essel explained. “We wanted a guest speaker who was fun, energetic and who matched the vibes of Soul Train.”

Hudson was constantly interacting with not only the people on

stage but as well as the audience.

He was able to get students out of their chairs and on their feet multiple times throughout his time on stage.

“I loved seeing all of the different student groups at the beginning,” freshman theater major Rorie Young stated. “The way Emmanuel Hudson interacted with the crowd was awesome.”

In the end, this event showed representation, appreciation and unity within a community that has faced many obstacles in order to be where they are today.

“Soul Train is meant to celebrate black culture and as black people, we are kind, we are strong, and we are unique,” Essel stated. “Being that SHSU is a predominantly white school, we wanted to make sure that black students felt comfortable and appreciated for who they are.”

“Soul Train is meant to celebrate black culture and as black people, we are kind, we are strong, and we are unique.”

Student Government host Black Wall Street Daniel Robinson

With February being Black History Month, the university hosted many events in recognition and support of what the event represents for students on campus. On Feb 15. from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the White Ballroom, the Student Government Association (SGA) hosted Black Wall Street, an event where black owned businesses brought their products to the student body.

Tables lined the ballroom, with various shops selling goods. Everything from graduation caps, clothing and desserts. Vendors sold their goods to guests and offered insight into each of their experiences. www.houstoniannews.com

Dr. Bernadette Pruitt, a professor in racial, ethnicity, and recent American history, hosted a table discussing the story of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Pruitt offered a discussion, laying out a timeline of the event.

The name “Black Wall Street,” came from Tulsa, where a rich neighborhood was destroyed due to the violence of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, according to the New York Times.

Faith Adjei-Sarpong, the Director of Public Relations for the Student Government Association at Sam Houston State University was one of the main driving forces behind this event being put together.

Her goal with Black Wall Street

was highlighting Black businesses not just on campus, but outside of it. From within Texas, vendors came from Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Some vendors came from other states, including New Jersey and Oklahoma.

“I want them to remember all the hard work and ethic behind all these businesses,” Adjei-Sarpong said. “I wanted these vendors not only to share their business, but to share their story.”

Black Wall Street has become a staple event hosted by SGA to highlight the many black-owned shops on campus and to demonstrate the importance of shopping and supporting them.

Photo courtesy of Mikelya Fournier on Unsplah.com

21 February 2022 | Houstonian News | 03

ARTS & ENT. Super Bowl shows off plethora of new movies to come From the latest installment of Marvel movies to all of Chris Pratt’s ventures, the year ahead has lots to look forward to when it comes to the big screen and what is being produced for all fans both young and old

Photo courtesy of Denise Jans at Unsplash.com

Joseph Weaver

The Super Bowl is a time for football, commercials and above all else, trailers for movies coming up this year. Let’s break down each trailer shown during the Big Game.

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness This one should not come as a surprise. The big game and Marvel are a match made in marketing heaven.

What was shown was anything but heaven for Dr. Strange. During the trailer, we witness the fallout of Strange’s actions in “Spider-Man No Way Home,” opening the doorway to the Multiverse. As Wanda said during the trailer, “Viz had his theories. He believed it was dangerous.”

How right Vision was. During the trailer, we see our beloved doc04 | Houstonian News | 21 February 2022

tor of the mystic arts plagued with nightmares of a multitude of Multiverse horrors, facing the Illuminati court for his crimes and fighting creatures that will surely give fans nightmares. We see more of returning characters like Wong, Mordo and Wanda Maximoff, who seems to be embracing her dark Scarlet Witch alter ego prophesied in “WandaVision.”

She will not be the only possible antagonist Strange will have to face, as more was revealed with Strange’s evil multiverse counterpart, culminating in a final shot that invokes Strange Supreme flashbacks from What If? “Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” is set to hit theaters May 6.

The Lost City Adventure comedies seem to be

back on the rise recently. “Red Notice,” “Free Guy” and the “Jumanji” series just to name a few. The latest one to join the crew, “The Lost City,” unveiled a 30-second commercial spot filled with laughs, action and stars galore.

Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock shine as bumbling wannabe adventurers looking for a lost treasure, of course audiences will love it.

There is also a moment where Daniel Radcliffe’s billionaire villain uses Tatum and Bullock’s characters to find that treasure. The biggest surprise was saved for last, as Brad Pitt showed up to save Bullock’s character.

When asked how Pitt’s character looks so good, he confidently replied, “My dad was a weatherman.”

Audiences will see how long

those looks will last and if the star duo can find the loot when The Lost City unveils itself March 25.

Jurassic World Dominion Last time the “Jurassic World” franchise was shown on the big screen, audiences witnessed the dinosaurs released out into the open world.

This time around, a lot has changed. Blue has a baby, Mosasaurs are eating up fishing boats and historically accurate dinosaurs. There is a lot to look forward to.

This highly anticipated summer blockbuster not only features the returning cast from Jurassic World, Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt, but also the cast of Jurassic Park (Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern and Sam Neill) returning for the

first time on screen together since the first ever Jurassic film.

Enter the end of the Jurassic saga on June 10.

Nope Jordan Peele has been on a roll with his stylistic horror movies.

“Get Out” and “Us” were monster hits and were unlike any horror movie before. Now, he is back to direct his third horror movie, which takes things to the unexplained and perhaps extraterrestrial?

Taking place in California, we will join two African American horse trainers (Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer) as they face an unknown entity that has plagued their small town home with unexplained events.

See Jordan Peele’s “Nope” in theaters on July 22. www.houstoniannews.com

Video game movies have figured it out Julia Landry

There are numerous video games that have grown huge followings with critics raving over the plot, dialogue and action throughout the game. However, that same video game could be adapted into a film and almost always result in a box office failure.

How is it possible for video game franchises with large fanbases, such as “Resident Evil” and “Mortal Kombat” to still perform poorly at the box-office?

One reason these adaptations fail is due to film companies not being able to capture the stories and explain the history of the worlds that these games take place in.

Video games like “Assassins Creed” and “World of Warcraft” are meant to be played over an extended period of time with countless hours of lore that help build

the players’ experience. Movies try to explain a story from beginning to end in three, maybe four, hour increments.

This is simply not enough time to capture and explain the essence of these intricate video games.

Many film companies see the large audiences these video games have and only see them as dollar signs instead of consumers.

They think if they produce a film, no matter how poorly, that the fans will still come out to see the film and that is not often the case.

Another reason for the movies to fail is the same reason that allows the game version to thrive first person narrative.

Many of these games allow people to play as the main character of the game and insert themselves into a first-person point of view. This allows the player to fully immerse themselves into the video game

Photo courtesy of Avel Chuklanov at Unsplash.com

world instead of being shown someone else going through the adventures on a screen.

Playing as Agent 47 from “Hitman” and killing his targets is much different than watching Timothy Olyphant portray him in the 2007 film.

While the history of video gamebased movies is notorious, there is hope for the future. Illumination’s “Super Mario Bros” inspired film

has potential for ending the video game movie curse, according to Forbes.

The film is set to be released at the end of 2022 and stars Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Jack Black and Anya-Taylor Joy. With the most recent video game movies doing decently well for the genre (“Detective Pikachu” grossed $433.3 million worldwide and “Sonic” grossed $319.7 million

worldwide), there is belief that those films have turned a new leaf for the film genre and made people interested to see these adaptations.

Considering the 1993 “Super Mario,” movie, “Super Mario Bros,” is considered to have started the trend of poorly adapted video game movies, it’s almost a full-circle moment that the latest adaptation could revive the genre that has been denounced for many years.

The art that is dance: The Sam Houston Orange Pride team Colleen Canavan

Photo courtesy of @orangepridedace via Instagram

www.houstoniannews.com

Students may know the Orange Pride Dance Team from their performances at the football and basketball games and their participation with Student Activities.

However, they do much more than that.

At the end of their season, they go to the National Dance Alliance (NDA) College Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The Orange Pride dance team works year-round to compete with the best teams across the nation.

They work on their dances for months before taking them to Nationals.

In 2020, Nationals were taken away from them because of

COVID-19. That only gave them more motivation to bounce back better than ever the following year.

“It’s the one thing that you look forward to when joining a college dance team,” captain Ashlynn White said. “Whenever we went in 2021, we double titled and that feeling was amazing, so for 2022 we definitely want to try and have that feeling again.”

Orange Pride is known for taking their beautiful jazz dances and powerful, hard hitting team dances.

“The most important thing I have learned throughout the nationals process would be how mentally tough you have to be,” team member Davin Watt said.

“Dance is just like any other sport

and any other College National Championship because the preparation is difficult and can take a toll on you but, you must learn to keep pushing. The end goal is the most important thing,” One thing that Orange Pride goes before nationals is a huge countdown.

Students may see it on their Instagram stories where they rip a number down after each practice.

People can even see how long the process is before going to nationals.

“Being on the nationals mat is such a surreal experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else,” team member Jessica Schmitt said. “It is the best thing when we can work hard as a team, not just as one.”

21 February 2022 | Houstonian News | 05

OPINIONS MLB lockout continues to show leagues true colors From money disputes to blackout issues, the MLB and the Player’s Union have yet to agree on any terms as the seasons deadline looms.

Christian Behrends

Two months have passed since the MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expired and the MLB locked out all of its players.

Fans of baseball worry that the sport they love may not be happening on time for the second time in two seasons, this time thanks to a labor dispute.

The leverage the MLB holds over the player’s association has already financially burdened many athletes, and now it may stifle their routine training. MLB and its players union are currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement to get the season started on time.

The old CBA had been in effect for five years and most in the sport anticipated the negotiation of a

new one would lead to a strike similar to what happened in 1994.

This started as a sly tactic to choke the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) into less agreeable terms to save their careers. However, the lockout failing to reach a compromise is starting to jeopardize the upcoming season.

It can be difficult for fans to know what side they should take in these negotiations, especially since they may have their sport delayed again because of the lockout.

Simply put, the players union has the moral high-ground here, and should be the side fans should take.

The players are what the fans pay to come and see, they are the ones hitting the home runs and throwing the amazing pitches, not

the billionaire owners. MLB has an incredibly sketchy past and has been known to ignore electronic sign stealing, rampant steroid use among players and heavy drug abuse by players just to avoid attracting negative attention.

Throughout the negotiations the MLB has had the audacity to suggest outrageous things like that they should not have to pay their minor league players to attend spring training and made the lockout even worse by waiting over 40 days to even begin negotiating with the players union.

While the players union is not perfect, it represents the will of the athletes, the ones we love to buy jerseys of and the ones we love to watch hit home runs. And they are the ones we should be supporting during this labor dispute.

Photo courtesy of Megan Ellis on unsplash.com

06 | Houstonian News | 21 February 2022

www.houstoniannews.com

Finding ways to make memories everyday as your children grow up Justin Hardcastle

As my child gets older, keeping her preoccupied and stimulated becomes more challenging. When she was a newborn, it seemed pretty straight forward, and she mostly slept all day. But as she has gotten older and more aware, we have a task that she seems to love.

Starting around Christmas, my child was able to take notice of us decorating the apartment for the holidays, she was particularly fascinated with the Christmas lights.

The way the lights made her eyes sparkle with joy made me realize that she was starting to understand her world a little more.

And she seemed to enjoy how we had made the apartment look.

Decorating is always something

Photo courtesy of Justin Hardcastle

we have enjoyed in our house, the most recent ones to go up have been our St. Patrick’s Day decorations. And including my child in the process made for an amazing day for the both of us.

The day started with me taking her to the storage unit to pick up the decorations, and she was able to learn an impromptu lesson in organization, because I had left the unit in disarray for quite a while.

Then it was a quick trip to the store for some new St. Patricks day decorations because our collection was a little bare. She also loves seeing all the different decorations on the shelves.

We ended up deciding on a neat little bottle cap shaped sign with “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” on it. It would add some much needed flare to our decoration collection.

Then the car ride home, even this is a great opportunity for fun because she gets to jam out to music in the car.

Her favorites at the moment are The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin, and it’s definitely not because I had indoctrinated her.

Now she is getting to an age where she notices what I am doing. And showing her the process of how I put up our little wooden signs and homemade wooden four-leaf clovers is a great lesson in how to organize and perform a task.

It’s a simple task sure, but all of these amazing things I described came from the simple task of decorating our apartment and taking little opportunities like this with your child will be memories that will last forever.

Calm, not panic, is needed to deal with the new supply chain issues Justin Hardcastle

As the world emerges from the height of the pandemic, they have started to get back to work. A strain is beginning to happen to our supply chain and some may have noticed shortages of things that are usually in abundance.

The strain is due to the world suddenly going from having a surplus of items that could not be shipped anywhere, to having a great need for certain items that suddenly did not have the shipping capability to get them around the world.

According to AARP items that have been impacted the most include the following: 1. Chicken 2. Consumer electronics www.houstoniannews.com

3. Cars 4. Clothing and apparel 5. Pet food But we have seen problems like this happen before. The great toilet paper shortage of 2020 showed us what can happen when Americans panic buy items and put strain on the supply chain.

Consumers were unable to find toilet paper in stores and left many who lived through the experience very confused.

As people had an abundance of toilet paper many had to find alternatives to toilet paper through Amazon and third-party distributers.

Thankfully in 2020, the main product shortage was just toilet paper, and not things like food or water. And experts claim that this

should continue to be that case as long as Americans do not panic.

Americans need to heed the advice of experts, do not hoard and stockpile everything that could potentially hear there may be a shortage of something.

Behavior like this can actually lead to shortages happening when they do not have to. And it’s probably why we could not find any toilet paper for a couple months back in 2020.

Shortages can be hard, especially in a place like the United States where we are used to always having what we need.

But if we remain calm, and do not panic buy and hoard, and leave enough on the shelves for our neighbors, we can and will get through it.

Photo courtesy of Mick Haupt on unsplash.com

21 February 2022 | Houstonian News | 07

SPORTS Never tired: Andrew Bosquez's record breaking story From growing up loving basketball to setting a school mile record, Andrew Bosquez has never stopped to achieve his dreams Scott Morris

When growing up, many kids dream of being an athlete. Whether that be the star quarterback, the best three-point shooter around or the next whatever athlete they look up to, many kids dream of being the best of the best and breaking records along the way.

Andrew Bosquez is no different.

“Whenever the gun went off for the race, I heard nothing,” Bosquez said. “They had music playing and people were screaming, and I did not hear anything. I literally just heard the track and the pounding of the feet and nothing else.”

Earlier this month, Bosquez became the fastest mile runner in school history with a time of 4:04.93.

“Before the race, I raced at Houston, I ran a 4:10 and I was at the front of the pack and was thinking I’m going to go for the record because the guy, Jeffrey Moore, everybody used to brag about him,” Bosquez said. “This is a record I would love to get, and I want to leave my footprint here as well.”

Bosquez did not start out as a runner. He grew up loving basketball because that was his dad’s passion. Naturally, he followed suit and played basketball up until he got to high school.

“I got into running very young,” Bosquez said. “I moved to Albuquerque when I was a freshman and I was a basketball kid because that was my dad’s first love, so it was obviously my first love. The next thing I knew one of my teammates was like ‘You never get tired you should go out and run track.’

And at the time I didn’t know what track really was. I did it my freshman year and then I moved back to my hometown of Hobbs, New Mexico and I did the same thing there in playing basketball and running cross country.”

Through high school that love for basketball never faded. He continued to play until his sophomore year, but his love for running grew even further than that. And like many kids’ dilemmas when changing a lifestyle, he did not want to disappoint his dad.

“The previous cross country head coach unretired because he said he saw a lot of potential in our team and believed he could win state with us,” Bosquez said. “He came back my junior and senior year and asked if I wanted to be a state champion. I told him ‘There’s 24 kids who beat me, there's no way I can do that. He told me that if I quit basketball and put all my energy into cross country, he could help me become a state champion. Slowly and slowly, I was doing summer training and decided to quit basketball without telling my dad. It was gameday and my dad was ready to go, and I told him I quit and the look on his face was pure disgust, and I was scared he wasn’t going to want to watch me run.”

However, Bosquez was wrong in believing his dad would not want to support his kid. His father has continued to be his biggest fan even after moving eight hours away from his hometown.

“My dad since my freshman year of high school has never missed a meet,” Bosquez said. “In my whole eight years of running, he has traveled in his own truck a

08 | Houstonian News | 21 February 2022

little over 10,000 miles or more. He flew to Arkansas when I had a cross country regional there. He flew to Alabama last year whenever we were in the Southland conference. He goes everywhere and the support he has for me is crazy.

He literally has every video from my first-time racing in eighth grade on a little camcorder and slowly over time he finally got an iPhone and from that point on from my JuCo years to now.”

Once Bosquez committed his time and energy he became one of the top runners in New Mexico.

That same year he won both the state championship as well as the Gatorade New Mexico Boys Cross Country Runner Of The Year.

With the accolades starting to pile up he knew he could fulfill a dream of his that he had since he was a kid.

“Before the college dream came about, my mom passed away from breast cancer and I always told my dad that I didn’t want him to pay for college,” Bosquez said. “So, I went to junior college at South Plains College, and I did really good over there. My first year I got second place in the 10K outdoor championship. We won indoor nationals and so I was like, I don’t want you to pay for college.”

During his second year at South Plains, Bosquez knew it was time to continue on. He wanted to continue running and knew he could do it at a very high level.

Distance coach Jesse Parker reached out to Bosquez after his second year at South Plains trying to recruit him. He saw a lot of potential in Bosquez and knew he could be a difference maker for the program at Sam Houston University.

Photo courtesy of Bearkat Athletics

“Then coach Parker called me, and he said that he believed in me and that he knew I had a bad last year at my last junior college but saw a lot of potential in me,” Bosquez said. “He offered whatever he did, and I told my dad that I was going to move eight hours away from home. Of course, he was like, ‘Are you serious,’ and I told him this is the best opportunity for me.”

After college, Bosquez wants to continue running in any way he can as that is where his passion truly lies.

“There are so many options that you can sign with,” Bosquez said.

“There are professional teams or smaller brands that you can sign with. I don’t think I will ever stop running but of course a big dream is to be able to go into big races like at A&M with no name attached to me and go out there and get noticed.”

Aside from the world of running, Bosquez also wants to continue his mom’s legacy in the work that she did.

“She worked with kids with au-

tism and that’s what I want to do in the future,” Bosquez said. “I fell in love with it cause there used to be this one kid she worked with and I believe three years after she passed away I was in high school and he was like, ‘Andrew,’ and I gave him a hug and he was like you were born on October 9, 1998 and I was like you remember that and I went home and started crying and asked my dad if he remembered that kid that mom used to take care of and mentioned he remembered my full name and birthday and I knew I wanted to work with kids like that. Ever since then, my sister has done it, I want to carry that on too.”

In his senior season, Bosquez has continued to leave his footprint everywhere he can at Sam Houston and has done in admirable fashion.

“I never really left my mark in JuCo and I thought no coach was going to want me but coach Parker believed in me and now being able to leave my legacy here is amazing.” www.houstoniannews.com

Basketball wins eighth game in nine matches Rodrigo Mendoza

Photo courtesy of Brisenia Flores

Baseball opens season with series win over reigning Big Ten champs Collin Neill

After a long wait, college baseball finally arrived in Huntsville, Texas as the Sam Houston Bearkats took the series this weekend, over defending Big 10 Conference Champions Nebraska Cornhuskers three games to one.

The Bearkats (3-1,0-0) started the series on opening day last Friday with the Cornhuskers (1-3, 0-0).

Starting for the Bearkats was left-handed junior pitcher Matt Dillard. Dillard and the Kats got off to a rough start when Dillard gave up three runs (one unearned) in the second inning off a couple hits and two errors.

The Bearkats quickly erased the deficit the next half inning against Nebraska starting left-handed sophomore pitcher Emmett Olson.

It started with a two run-battedin single by sophomore utility player Clayton Chadwick and an RBI single by junior infield transfer from Howard College Justin Wishkoski.

The Kats then took a 5-3 lead with a two RBI single by senior two-way player Tyler Davis.

It was all quiet until the Huskers in both the sixth and seventh innings scored two runs off of Bearkat senior right-handed pitcher Cole Wesneski, who relieved Dilwww.houstoniannews.com

lard. Those two runs tied the game 5-5.

The Kats, however, took the lead back and then some to make it 8-5 in the seventh inning that included a Wishkoski two RBI double.

Senior right-handed pitcher Lance Lusk would then come in to close out the game in the ninth to record his first save of the season, striking out three batters on 13 pitches. Olson took the loss.

Saturday was a double-header with the first game being seven innings. Sophomore right-handed pitcher and pre-season Western Athletic Conference all team selection Coltin Atkinson got the nod from head coach Jay Sirianni and did not disappoint. Despite an RBI single by junior outfielder Luke Sartori in the second inning, Atkinson threw six innings and the Bearkats won 5-1. Sophomore infielder Easton Loyd led the way with a two RBI game.

Atkinson recorded the win and senior right-handed pitcher Shay Schanaman recorded the loss.

In the second game of the double header, it was a slugfest for Nebraska as they were up 9-0 within the first two innings off Bearkat pitchers junior Matt Rudis (eight total runs given up) and redshirt freshman Logan Hewitt.

The top seven batters in the bat-

ting order brought the most damage with all the runs coming from them.

The Kats were able to get it within three runs in the 9th when redshirt senior catcher/first baseman Trent Touchet hit a two-run homerun to bring it to 12-9. It was the first Bearkat home run of the season.

Gomes however came in to clean up the mess and record the save to hand the Bearkats their first loss of the season.

The series was now at two games to one with Nebraska threatening to make it even heading into the final game of the series Sunday.

Coach Sirriani gave the ball to junior left-handed pitcher Steven Beard to start this big game, and Beard came up big.

While not a hard thrower, Beard blew the Huskers away with his disgusting breaking stuff, at one point getting as low as 68 miles per hour on his curveball.

The Kats jumped out early with a 6-0 lead after the first two innings and never looked back as they defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 6-3 to win the series.

The Sam Houston Bearkats will take a day off before heading to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas to face the number No. 4 Oklahoma State Cowboys for a game.

First pitch is scheduled at 6:30 p.m.

After the Bearkats winning streak came to an end against the Abilene Christian University Wildcats, the Sam Houston women’s basketball team bounced back by defeating the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros 6949.

The Bearkats once again got off to a slow start allowing the Vaqueros to lead 20-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Junior guard Damaya Telemaque was the Bearkats leading offensive threat scoring 23 points in 31 minutes of play and shooting 7-15 from the field coming off the bench.

After a slow start, senior guard Faith Cook was substituted off the court late in the first quarter and did not return until the early part of the third quarter.

Despite being down 20-10 early in the second quarter Sam Houston head coach Ravon Justice made defensive adjustments and found themselves in the lead at half-time

31-22 after junior forward Madelyn Batista scored a free throw to end the half.

The Bearkats went on a 21-8 run over the entire stretch of the second quarter.

Both teams went scoreless for almost two minutes at the start of the second half until senior forward Courtney Cleveland scored the first points of the second half with a free throw.

Sam Houston would end the third quarter in the lead by a score of 53-41 after a freethrow scored by sophomore forward Kaylee Jefferson with 58-seconds on the clock.

The Bearkats would continue to add on to their lead in the early part of the fourth quarter and go up by 15 on the Vaqueros 56-41 on a layup scored by Jefferson.

The game would be out of reach for the Vaqueros after Cleveland scored two free throws and the final score was 69-49.

The Bearkats look to continue their good run of form when they play Stephen F. Austin University on Thursday at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum at 6:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Hiram Rodriguez

21 February 2022 | Houstonian News | 09

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