2018 SMDR Newcomer of the Year: Leslie Romero

A transfer from South Plains College in Levelland, Leslie Romero dominated the Sun Belt and made Bobcat history in her first semester at Texas State.

The junior took first place at the Sun Belt Cross Country Championships on Oct. 27, clocking in a 17:22.91, a full 3.45 seconds faster than the second-place runner. 

The performance marked multiple milestones. It was Romero’s personal best time. It was the second-fastest time in school history at the distance. It was also the first time since 1994 that a woman had won the conference title for the Bobcats.

The Houston native was named All-Sun Belt First Team, Sun Belt Runner of the Year and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year for the 2018 season. Romero’s impressive debut makes her the Daily Record’s 2018 Newcomer of the Year.

San Marcos Football's Kannon Webb

The Rattlers had a lot of confidence in Webb heading into the 2018 season, starting him at safety in every game this year opposite of senior Therrance Soto. The sophomore proved to be worth the gamble.

Webb led the team with five tackles for a loss and was second in total tackles with 95 — coincidentally the same number Soto had in his first year on the varsity squad in 2017. Webb was also named a 26-6A All-District honorable mention and qualified for the Academic All-District team.

Texas State Volleyball's Emily DeWalt and Cheyenne Huskey

DeWalt and Huskey each played major roles in the Bobcats’ historic 2018 campaign.

DeWalt dished out 1,270 assists during the season, ranking third in the Sun Belt. The freshman setter from Helotes broke the league record with 11 weekly conference awards this year and also became the first player in program history to earn the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week award on Oct. 2.

Huskey transferred to Texas State after attending Florida during her freshman and sophomore years. A junior outside hitter, Huskey led the team with 358 kills and 3.06 kills per set in her first season with the Bobcats. The Columbus native picked up the  Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honor on Sept. 17.

The pair was also named to the 2018 All-Sun Belt First team as well as the AVCA All-Southwest Region team.