Ryan Shumaker
Schmidt of Women’s Soccer and Lynch of Football Named 2019-20 Academic Greyhounds of the Year
Eastern New Mexico junior Caitlyn Schmidt and senior Tyler Lynch have been selected as the Academic Greyhounds of the Year as voted upon by athletic department staff members and head coaches.
Each student-athlete was nominated by their respective head coaches for consideration for the award based upon a combination of their athletic and academic achievements for the 2019-20 athletic season. Both Schmidt and Lynch have excelled in the classroom throughout their careers as Greyhounds while also serving as valued contributors on the field of play.
Schmidt of women’s soccer was named to the LSC All-Academic Team in both 2018 and 2019 for the Hounds while majoring in Communicative Disorders at Eastern New Mexico. She has a perfect 4.0 GPA and has maintained her position as a consistent contributor on the pitch as well.
The Roswell, N.M. native has appeared in 57 games throughout her three year Greyhound career, earning the start in 49 of those contests. She has totaled nine points from her midfielder position, but has been a field general and emotional leader for the Greyhounds in all three seasons.
She scored twice this last fall, netting the tying goal against UT Tyler back on Oct. 3rd inside Greyhound Stadium in the 82nd minute of the match. Her goal evened up the game at 1-1 before a goal from sophomore Desiree Morgas just six minutes later gave the Hounds the 2-1 victory over the Patriots.
Lynch has been a member of the Eastern New Mexico football program for five seasons and continued to elevate his level of play on the field throughout his career while maintaining success in the classroom. Lynch was an All-LSC Honorable Mention selection in both 2018 and 2019 as the leading edge blocker for one of the nation’s top rushing attacks.
He maintained a 3.67 GPA along the way while majoring in Biology at Eastern New Mexico and plans to use that degree as the foundation for his future education in medicine. Lynch graduated from Eastern New Mexico in December of 2019 and will seek further educational experience in the field of medicine.
On the field of play Lynch was as consistent of a starter as the Hounds had in both the 2018 and 2019 campaigns. He was a vital piece to an offensive line unit that had every member recognized with all-conference recognition at season’s end after setting the Eastern New Mexico school record for rushing yards in a single season with 4,181 yards in route to the program’s first ever Division II postseason victory in the 2019 Heritage Bowl over Southern Arkansas.
