UWF Athletics Hall of Fame Profile: Michael Padilla

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will induct its Hall of Fame class of 2011-12 on Friday, February 10 at Scenic Hills Country Club. Starting on Monday, one of the five inductees have been be highlighted each day on GoArgos.com, and the final profile is men’s cross country graduate Michael Padilla.

Padilla, one of the top men’s cross country runners the University of West Florida has ever produced, left the program in 2006 after a four year career in which he placed seven of the 10 fastest 8k times in school history. Padilla still holds the top three fastest 10k times ever run by an Argonaut.

Padilla is the only Argonaut men’s runner to ever qualify for the Division II NCAA Championships, and he was named an All-American during his senior year. Under head coach Matt Dobson, Padilla was also a four time All-South Region runner, a two-time GSC All-Academic Team selection, and in 2006 he was named to the GSC “Top Ten” as one of the 10 most accomplished student-athletes across all sports in the GSC. Padilla capped off his individual honors in 2010, as he was selected to the GSC All-Decade Team.

The 2011-12 UWF Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend will start on Friday, February 10 with the Argonaut Scholarship Golf Tournament at Scenic Hills at 9 a.m. The five former student-athletes (Todd Androsko, baseball; Bryan Clarke, men’s golf; Stuart Manley, men’s golf; Veronica McGinnis, women’s soccer; Michael Padilla, men’s cross country) will be inducted that night at the hall of fame banquet, which will also be held at Scenic Hills.

The festivities will continue on Saturday, February 11 as the UWF baseball and basketball teams will be in action on campus. The action will start at 2 p.m., as the baseball team faces Rollins in a doubleheader and the men’s and women’s basketball teams face Alabama-Huntsville in Gulf South Conference play. The hall of fame class will be introduced at halftime of the men’s game. A silent auction will also be held at the banquet site on Friday night, and the auction will close at the end of halftime of the men’s basketball game on Saturday.

For more information on the Hall of Fame weekend, contact athletic coordinator Robin Dezarn at argoathleticclub@uwf.edu or call (850) 474-3312. For information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.

2011-12 UWF Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend

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