PORTALES, N.M. – After phenomenal winter and spring seasons, three Eastern New Mexico student-athletes have been named Greatest Greyhound for the 2022-23 academic year on Saturday evening at the Greyhound Club Banquet. Timothy Frederick claimed the men's Greatest Greyhound honor, while Tamia Smith and Brook Leger were each awarded women's Greatest Greyhound.

Frederick of Eastern New Mexico Track & Field becomes the 78^th Male Greatest Greyhound in the history of Eastern New Mexico University, while Smith (track & field) and Leger (softball) are recognized as the 43^rd and 44^th Female Greatest Greyhound in the university's history.
 
Frederick and Smith are the first track & field student-athletes to win their respective awards since Ivar Moinat (2018-19) and Mercy Rotich (2019-20), respectively. Leger becomes the first softball student-athlete to win the honor since Erikka Burke claimed the accolade during the 2017-18 season. This also marks the first time in the awards history that two track & field have won the award, and the tie Smith and Leger is the first time there was a tie for the award since Danee Bustos (track & field) and Erikka Burke (softball) shared the award in 2018.
 
The Greatest Greyhound awards date back to 1940-41 on the men's side and 1978-79 on the women's side and is presented to a male and female Eastern New Mexico student-athlete every year that displayed the highest degree of athletic achievement, academic success, leadership qualities, community involvement and positive representation of Eastern New Mexico University. The award is voted on by ENMU head coaches and administrative staff.

TIMOTHY FREDERICK

Although spending just one season at ENMU so far, Frederick has made a significant impact on the ENMU Track and Field program. The junior capped a historic indoor season with an NCAA 2^nd team All-American selection in the 200-meter dash, while also claiming United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) all-region honors in the 200 meters.
 
Before earning national and regional accolades, Frederick captured 2^nd team All-Conference honors after a pair of performances in the 200-meter dash and 60-meter dash. The Trinidad & Tobago native clocked their personal best (21.20s) in the 200 to claim third place at the Lone Star Conference Championships. The time in the 200 stands as the 2^nd fastest time in program history. In the 60-meter dash, Frederick posted a time of 6.89 seconds to finish in 7^th place at the conference meet and earn points toward team scoring. Before the LSC Championships, Frederick broke the school record in the indoor 400-meters with a time of 48.62 seconds at the Dr. MLK Collegiate Invite. During the indoor season, Frederick also set a personal best for the 60-meters (6.80s) which is 2^nd in program history for the event.
 
For the outdoor season, Frederick has not missed a step and has registered two provisional qualifying times in the 200-meters and the 400-meters. For the 200-meter dash, Frederick recorded a 21.21s mark at the Sooner Invitational & Multis to finish in 8^th place in the event. In the 400-meter dash, Frederick claimed the all-time mark in the outdoor season with a time of 46.94s at the Jo Meaker Classic and Multi. With the conference championships and national championships still on the horizon, Frederick may break his own records and collect more silverware as the season continues.

TAMIA SMITH

Joining their fellow track & field teammate, Smith receives the honor of Greatest Greyhound after a record-breaking season. Smith has highlighted their season so far with a gold medal in the shot put at the 2023 Lone Star Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. The throw from Smith was an all-time best in the event and an ENMU indoor school record (13.69m, 44' 11"). Smith's throw, a NCAA Division II National Qualifier, landed them on the LSC All-Conference First Team.
 
Smith also earned points in the weight throw at the championship meet, with a throw of 13.74 meters (45' 1") to earn 7^th place. 2023 was an incredible indoor season with three of their personal best throws coming this past season.
 
Transitioning to the outdoor season, Smith didn't skip a beat and has kept up their great performances in the spring. Smith claimed their second program record with a 13.54m (44' 5.25") toss in the shot put at the Jo Meaker Classic and Multi, an all-time best for the ENMU outdoor track & field record books. Prior to this record-breaking throw, Smith had broken the program record earlier in the season at the 2023 WT Spring Break Open (13.32m, 43' 8.5"). Along with their success in the shot put, Smith broke a personal best in the hammer throw with a mark of 44.29m (145' 4") at the Sonner Invitational & Multis, which lands in 5^th place for an ENMU all-time best in event.
 
In the shot put, Smith owns the top five ENMU records in the event for both indoor and outdoor seasons. At the time of writing, Smith is second among conference competitors in the shot put and is eighth for the hammer throw.

BROOK LEGER

With their name scattered throughout the ENMU record books, Leger assembled a fantastic career as a Greyhound. Leger will go down as one of the top strikeout pitchers in the program's history, achieving several top ten marks in ENMU record books. This season is no exception, as the senior is the Greyhounds top arm in the circle.

This season, Leger leads the team in earned run average (ERA), 3.04, opposing batting average, .245, wins, 12, saves, two, innings pitched, 133.2, and strikeouts, 113. In that time, Leger has helped ENMU earn 24 wins (at the time of writing), which is the most by the program since 2007 (29-27).

For single game records, Leger tossed a career high 10.0 innings pitched during a win over St. Mary's (3-2, 10 Inn.). During that game, Leger also faced a single game-high 47 batters. Leger holds four marks for the most strikeouts in a single game, including a career best 18 Ks against Fort Lewis College (2/11/22, 2^nd most in single game history).

In their career, Leger is 9^th in program history with a 3.62 ERA, currently is 3^rd for lowest opponent batting average, .264, along with being the program leader in strikeouts per seven innings, 7.04. Additionally, Leger is top-5 in program history for wins (30, 4^th), appearances (89, 4^th), games started (59, 5^th), innings pitched (360.0, 5^th), strikeouts (362, 2^nd), and strikeouts looking (90, 3^rd). Prior to the start of the season, Leger received a bachelor's degree and is currently working towards a graduate degree in sports administration.  

All three student-athletes are still in their spring season, with postseason championships, NCAA Championships, and postseason awards yet to be announced.