Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023 announced
Recognized for their outstanding contributions to Cowley College athletics, All-American softball player Breayle Tackett, gold-glove baseball player Aaron Sanderholm, all-time leading goal scorer Amber Hernandez of the Lady Tiger soccer program, All-American women's basketball player Elena Yankova, and the national champion 1991 men's tennis team were recently chosen to be inducted into the 2023 Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, January 28, 2023.
Listed below are bios of the individuals chosen for induction into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame:
AMBER HERNANDEZ
Known as one of the top soccer players to ever play at Cowley College, Amber Hernandez was a member of the first two seasons in the program's history.
Hernandez burst onto the national scene as a freshman when she scored the 10th most goals in the NJCAA. Hernandez finished her first season at Cowley with 26 goals in 17 games. The Ponca City native twice scored five goals in a game and finished with 55 points on the season. For her efforts, she was named Freshman of the Year in the Jayhawk Conference and was an honorable mention all-American.
Scoring the seventh most goals in NJCAA Division I women's soccer as a sophomore, Hernandez was named a first-team Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference women's soccer selection for the second consecutive year. Hernandez finished the season with 29 goals and nine assists in 17 games and ended her Tiger career with 55 goals and 12 assists in 34 contests.
BREAYLE TACKETT
One of the most versatile players as a member of the Lady Tiger softball team, Breayle Tackett was also one of the best hitters in the program's history.
As a freshman at Cowley, Tackett batted .480 and was named a First-Team All-American, First Team All-Region VI, and First-Team All-Conference performer. She drove in 70 runs and hit a school-record 30 doubles. Even more impressive was Tackett striking out only twice in 184 at-bats.
As a sophomore, she helped lead Cowley to its sixth straight conference title and an undefeated record in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division (26-0). Tackett, the school-record holder for doubles in a season (30) and a career (52), played first base and shortstop for the Lady Tigers as she was named an All-American infielder. Tackett batted .497 with 12 home runs and 72 RBI while committing only one error as a sophomore. She also went 7-1 with a 2.60 earned run average on the mound.
She played two more seasons of softball at Emporia State University and is currently the assistant softball coach at Winfield High School.
ELENA YANKOVA
After two stellar seasons as a member of the Cowley College women's basketball team, Elena Yankova finished her Lady Tiger career as the third all-time leading scorer in the history of the program.
In her first year at Cowley, Yankova was named the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division Women's Freshman of the Year after averaging 14 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
As a sophomore, she helped Cowley win 12 of its final 13 games and finish with a record of 24-8. During her two years at Cowley, she helped the Lady Tigers win 45 games and go 28-8 in the Jayhawk East.
Her stellar play as a sophomore earned her All-American honors as she was the second leading scorer in the Jayhawk East, with an average of 17.1 points per game.
After Cowley, Yankova went on to play professional basketball overseas.
AARON SANDERHOLM
Starting centerfielder on the 1997 JUCO World Series winning team that went 53-11. Aaron Sanderholm helped the Tigers capture back-to-back conference and region titles and total 104 wins over two seasons.
Along with playing Gold Glove caliber defense in the outfield, Sanderholm batted .412 his freshman season and .340 as a sophomore. He finished his Tiger career with 117 hits, 32 doubles, six triples, and 27 stolen bases.
Sanderholm received the Cowley College Best Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1997 and committed only one error in his two years at the school. He was also the recipient of the Scholar-Athlete Award as a sophomore.
Sanderholm went on to play baseball at Washburn University, where he garnered All-MIAA Second Team All-Conference honors and was the recipient of the team's 1999 Most Valuable Player Award. He finished with a career .386 batting average with the Ichabods and received All-Academic honors.
He served as a volunteer assistant with the Tiger baseball team from 2016-2019, helping Cowley capture three conference titles, two region championships and appear in two JUCO World Series tournaments.
1991 Men's Tennis Team
Recognized as arguably one of the best tennis teams in the history of Cowley College, the 1991 Tiger men's tennis team brought home the second national title for legendary head coach Larry Grose.
Two years after capturing its first national championship, the Cowley men's tennis team placed first at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament. Along with the team's success, the Tigers had the national champion singles player at 1 and 2 singles and also had the national champion No. 1 doubles team.
With one of the strongest fields in NJCAA Division II history, the Tigers won the title on the last match of the final day. Team members were Todd Clutter, Mike Klatt, Godwin Madzima, Todd Jaramillo, Mick Evans, James Wilson, Cornelius Jordan, Chris Richards, and Gavaska Williams.
Gavaska "Bounce" Williams was inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018, and Coach Larry Grose was inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.