University of Southern Indiana athletes and coaches made a special trip to the Indiana Statehouse Thursday, February 5, 2015, for the presentation of two resolutions by the Indiana General Assembly congratulating the 2014 USI Men’s Baseball team on their NCAA Division II Baseball Championship and Johnnie Guy for his National Title in the Outdoor Track and Field 10,000 Meters.
The resolutions were adopted by both the House and Senate. Athletes and coaches were congratulated by members of the House and Senate and Coaches Tracy Archuleta and Mike Hillyard addressed the General Assembly. In addition, coaches and athletes visited the office of the governor and lt. governor, and had lunch with legislators and other elected officials at Colts Grille.
USI Baseball
The 2014 USI Baseball Team won the NCAA Division II National Championship, the second in five years for USI and the GLVC. USI also was the first conference team to reach the national championship game since they won the title in 2010. USI remains the only team in the state of Indiana to win a national championship in baseball in any division.
During the championship, junior right-handed pitcher/shortstop Matt Chavarria of Carlsbad, New Mexico, was named NCAA Division II National Championship Series Most Outstanding Player as USI finished 8-2 in tournament.
USI also hosted the NCAA II Midwest Regional for the third time in school history, producing a second-straight regional crown. The overall regional title was the third in the history of the program. Senior right-handed pitcher Jonathon Wandling of Newburgh, Indiana, was named the NCAA II Regional Most Valuable Player, and was later signed professionally with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The 49-13 overall mark by the Screaming Eagles set a school record for winning percentage. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta was named the American Baseball Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year for a second time, along with being named the ABCA and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Midwest Region Coach of the Year.
Johnnie Guy
University of Southern Indiana sophomore Johnnie Guy of Palmyra, Indiana, fulfilled a dream of becoming a national champion in May 2014 when he ran his way to the NCAA Division II National Championship in the 10,000 Meters.
He became the fifth Screaming Eagle to earn an individual NCAA national championship and the second in men’s track and field. In all, he is a combined seven-time All-American in cross country and track. He’s also won six GLVC titles, including two cross country championships, one indoor track title and three outdoor track crowns.
Guy was the 2013 GLVC and Midwest Region Cross Country Runner of the Year as well as the USTFCCCA National Runner of the Week. He has earned nine All-Midwest Region awards and six All-GLVC honors and was USI’s Student-Athlete of the Year in 2013-14.
As a junior in fall 2014, Guy helped lead the Eagles to their 10th-straight Great Lakes Valley Conference championship and 22nd conference title. The 22 league crowns are the most conference championships by any program in any sport in conference history. The USI cross country program also advanced to the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championships last fall where it placed seventh nationally.
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