COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M’s Nathan Hite has been named the 2018-19 Southeastern Conference H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Commissioner Greg Sankey announced Thursday.
A senior member of the Aggie track and field team from Bellville, Texas, Hite became just the second Aggie, and first male, to earn the prestigious award. Texas A&M swimmer Sarah Gibson earned the honor in 2017. Hite is just the fourth male athlete from track and field to be named the McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year since the SEC first presented the award in 1986.
“It was really exciting to hear that I won,” said Hite, who plans to pursue a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. “One of the best parts was getting text messages from all my family members, who have been there since the beginning when I was a red-shirt before any of the awards and before even competing. So, it was exciting to see all of them so proud after all the hard work I’ve put in.
“It’s an award that covers all sports, not just track and field, so I’m just trying to wrap my mind around it. It’s amazing to me. I’m a firm believer in using all the abilities God has given you. So, I’ve tried to do that to the best of my abilities. To see the fruits of my labor is just very satisfying.”
Hite was chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities and he will receive a $20,000 post-graduate scholarship, provided by AT&T, an SEC official sponsor. Hite will be honored at the annual SEC Awards Dinner during the SEC Spring Meetings in Sandestin, Fla., the last week of May.
“It’s a well-deserved award for Nate,” stated Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. “He works extremely hard on the track. He has good talent, but doesn’t have great talent. However, he has worked himself hard enough to where he is one of the best in the country right now. That all comes down to hard work.
“I would bet in the classroom that Nate is the same way. He dedicates himself to being the absolute best that he can be. It’s obvious he works extremely hard in everything he does, and that includes the classroom.”
This past year has been very special or Hite, who received the NCAA Elite 90 award twice, at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships and during the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships. The NCAA Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete who has the highest grade point average among the entrants in the championship meet.
Among his peers in the athletic department at Texas A&M, Hite has been honored twice with the Bill Erwin Scholar-Athlete award in 2018 and 2019. Hite is a Mechanical Engineering major with a 3.974 grade point average.
“This is the culmination of all the work Nate has put in over the past five years,” said Chris Barttelbort, Assistant Athletics Director for Academic Services. “His resume is impressive and his attitude and work ethic are first class. He will be an exemplary representative of the Southeastern Conference, Texas A&M University, and the McWhorter Scholarship in pursuit of his graduate degree and in all his future accomplishments.”
Last summer Hite worked on a research topic that focused on 3D printing of shape memory alloys applied to medical implants. In 2017 he placed first in CASMART Challenge (Consortium for the Advancement of Shape Memory Alloy Research and Technology), a semester-long interscholastic competition between undergraduate teams to create and test a shape memory alloy with specified properties for use in creating a space habitat.
“The scholarship is huge and will help me out a lot with grad school,” said Hite. “After I get my master’s degree I’m not quite yet settled on where I want to work. I’ve always been interested in automotive and aerospace. Additive manufacturing is something I’ve done a lot of research on and would like to continue pursuing. I started in engineering because I like to solve problems and create improvements that will help people. Anywhere I can do that I’ll be happy.
In track and field, Hite has claimed three bronze medals in conference championships, twice in the heptathlon at the 2018 and 2019 SEC Indoor Championships and once in the decathlon at the 2018 Outdoor Championships. The 2019 SEC Outdoor Championships will be held in May.
Career best scores in the multi-events have Hite listed among the Aggie elite. His heptathlon score of 5,680 points ranks as the No. 2 performer with the No. 5 performance on the Texas A&M all-time list. His decathlon tally of 7,774 points won the 2019 Texas Relays title and ranks as the No. 4 performer on the Aggie all-time list.
“I guess you could say I like to challenge myself,” noted Hite of majoring in Mechanical Engineering and competing in seven and ten-event disciplines. “Nothing compares to running 1,500m at the end of a decathlon, but I will say there have been times when I was fighting just as hard in the classroom in my studies as I was on the track.”
