by Martin Baker | Apr 25, 2019 | News Slider, Sports, Student Spotlight
As the Lipscomb track and field team approaches the final stages of its season, one name has stood out among the rest as Lipscomb’s most dangerous weapon. That name is Jonathan Schwind. Schwind is a junior finance major from Suwanee, Georgia. He graduated from Lambert High School and joined Lipscomb after being scouted by assistant coach Benton Reed. “Coach Reed was the guys’ coach at the time, so he made a trip down and visited our houses, and he even had dinner with us one night,” Schwind said. “All the other coaches would talk on the phone and stuff, but I was like, ‘Okay, this coach is really interested. He came to my house from all the way up here.’” That would be the start of Schwind’s career as a Bison, and although the collegiate level has been a challenge, Schwind has been able to put in the hard work with his coaches and teammates that’s allowed him to achieve the standout season he’s experienced this year. “In high school there’s usually one or two fast guys on a team,” Schwind said. “Now you come to college, and everyone was a top guy at their school, so being able to run with the guys on the team really pushes you and helps you a lot.” “This year I think we’ve just been able to get him more strength,” track and field director Bill Taylor said. “He’s got pretty amazing range, but his sweet spot and the stuff he loves is the eight and the fifteen.” The 800m and the 1500m races are definitely where Schwind has found his stride. At the...
by Danielle Kinnen | Jan 16, 2015 | Sports
The Christmas season is over, and now spring season sports are back in full swing at Lipscomb with competition already underway. To start off the season, track and field and men’s tennis will both be traveling to Vanderbilt over the weekend. Men’s tennis has added four new players to its roster, enabling them to participate in their main season with a full team. Coach Mario Hernandez is excited for the next few months and believes that the bright, new players will bring a fresh dimension to the team. “There are a lot of things we have to get used to, especially being such a young team,” Hernandez said. “From what I have seen at practices, the guys are pumped to play and I can see that they are hungry to start this season.” Freshman Philippe Courteau has his eyes set on a victory. “This is my first collegiate match and I am excited to compete with these guys as a new Bison,” Courteau said. “I have waited two years for this moment since I began looking to play for a University, and I am ready to get out there and hit balls against some of the top men in the country.” The match begins on Jan. 16 at 5 p.m. at Vanderbilt’s indoor courts. The Commodores are standing at no.19 in the country, with one of their players in the top 10 when the NCAA rankings were revealed at the beginning of January. The rankings have given the Bisons some momentum, and they are looking for an upset. “The boys are coming into this competition as the underdogs, we have respect for this...
by Emily Snell | Aug 3, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
Matthew Deery, an All-Atlantic Sun honoree for track and field who died Aug. 1, in a car wreck near his hometown, was remembered as “an incredible guy” by his friends and coaches at Lipscomb. “He’s the kind of guy that, if everybody was a little more like him, the world would be a better place,” said Houston Ward, Deery’s friend and a fellow rising sophomore, who participates in discus, shotput and hammer-throw on the track team. “Matt was a really great guy,” Ward said. “He was the kind of guy that would give you a ride to the airport, and you’d offer him cash and he’d turn it down. He always had a huge smile on his face. He was a goof ball, but he worked incredibly hard. He just had so many great qualities about him. It’s such a shame to see him go at such a young age.” Deery, a Phillipsburg, N.J. native, was killed Wednesday, Aug. 1, in Upper Nazareth Township, Penn., when his Jeep swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid a turning vehicle, colliding head-on with a tractor-trailer cab. Upper Nazareth Township Police Chief Alan Siegfried told Lumination the accident occurred when a Nissan Altima in front of Deery’s Jeep stopped to wait for an oncoming semitrailer to pass before making a left turn. Siegfried said it seemed apparent that Deery didn’t see the semitrailer and swerved to avoid the car in front of him, hitting the eastbound truck. Track and field Head Coach Bill Taylor said, according to Deery’s parents, the young athlete was on his way to practice pole vaulting, in preparation for...
by Emily Snell | Aug 2, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
It is with deep sadness that the Lipscomb University athletic department announces that rising sophomore Matt Deery, a track and field standout, lost his life in an automobile accident in Upper Nazareth Township, Pa., on Wednesday afternoon. An All-Atlantic Sun Conference honoree for the Bisons in just his first season of competition, Deery was honored by his teammates and coaches as “Freshman of the Year” and as the “Fightin’ Bison” award recipient given to the toughest competitor on the team. “Matt was an incredible athlete and an even more incredible person,” Lipscomb track and field Head Coach Bill Taylor said. “Everyone loved him. He was a smart, caring, likable guy. He was a gifted athlete, yet he was so humble. “It’s really hard to comprehend this right now. Matt was a wonderful person with a gigantic future. He is going to be greatly missed by everyone who knew him. I know our entire team is praying for his family, his friends and each other.” Deery became the first Lipscomb field athlete in school history to earn second-team all-conference honors at the A-Sun indoor championships this past season with a second-place pole vault of 4.55m (14’ 11”). The Philipsburg, N.J., native went on to earn a bronze medal in the heptathlon at the A-Sun meet earning 4,889 points that set a school record. “We are obviously heartbroken for Matt’s family and friends, and I ask that you please be in prayer for comfort and peace all of those who will be grieving over his loss,” said Lipscomb Director of Athletics Philip Hutcheson. “Matt was a very special student athlete and...
