UTA Alumni 2008 Olympians
Jared Connaughton ‘08 (Canada)
Track & Field: 100M, 200M, 60M
Jared is the 2008 Canadian National Champion in the 200m Sprint with a Championship Record and Personal Best time of 20.34 (+0.4m/s) seconds. He achieved this on July 6th 2008 in Windsor, Ontario. Jared will represent Canada at the Beijing Olympics in the 200m and will also run the 2nd leg of the 4×100m relay in Beijing.
Jared was victorious in both the 100m and 200m events at the 2005 Canada Summer Games in August of 2005. He was the first Prince Edward Island native to win two Gold Medals at one set of Canada Games and first Gold Medalist since 1969.
Connaughton was named the 2006 Southland Conference Track and Field athlete of the year both indoors and outdoors. In the 60m semi final at the Southland Conference championships, he set a new meet and conference record of 6.68 seconds. In the final he stumbled badly and was defeated by Ravyn Hayward of Northwestern State University (Louisiana) 6.80sec to 6.85sec. Later in the 200 meter final, Jared redeemed himself by smashing the Championship meet record with a time of 21.57 seconds (200m flat track at the University of Houston), breaking the previous record set by JD Henry of Northwestern State (Louisiana)in 2005 with a time of 21.64 seconds.
Mikey Paye (USA)
Wheelchair Basketball
Michael “Mikey” Paye has been one of the top scoring threats for the U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team over the past few years, and he’ll use that ability to try to help the U.S. to the medal stand at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Paye started playing wheelchair basketball competitively around the age of 12 in a local adult league, and went on to play for the University of Texas-Arlington (UTA), where he won two national championships. He says he’d eventually love to coach wheelchair basketball, but not until he’s done competing.
Paye has spent the past two seasons competing with a professional club team in Germany. He enjoys being with his friends, watching football and other sporting events, working out and traveling.
Major Achievements:
•2008: First place – North American Cup, Birmingham, Alabama
•2008: Deutschmeiser Cup Winner
•2008: Silver medal – Champions Euro Cup, Madrid, Spain
•2007: Gold medal – Parapan American Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
•2007: Deutschmeister Cup and Pokal Cup Winners
•2006: Silver medal, All-World Team – IWBF Gold Cup (World Championships), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
•2006: NWBA Collegiate Division Player of the Year
•2005-06: NWBA Collegiate Division National Championship, University of Texas-Arlington
•2004: Member of U .S. Paralympic Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team
•2003-2004: NWBA Collegiate Division First Team All-American
•2002-2003: NWBA Collegiate Division Second Team All-American
•2001-02: NWBA Collegiate Division National Championship
Jason Nelms ‘07 (USA)
Wheelchair Basketball
Jason Nelms made his first appearance on the U.S. Paralympic Men’s Wheelchair Basketball National Team at the 2002 World Championships where the team won a gold medal. Nelms was also a part of the U.S. Paralympic Team that finished out of the medals in 2004 and now he’s back to help the U.S. find redemption in Beijing.
Nelms began playing wheelchair basketball with a local youth team in his native Michigan. He became a standout in the junior ranks and then went on to win a collegiate national championship with the University of Texas-Arlington in 2002.
When Nelms isn’t training or preparing for the Beijing Games, he enjoys movies, football and wakeboarding. Nelms also works for ABC Home Medical Supply, Inc.
Major Achievements:
•2008: First place – North American Cup, Birmingham, Alabama
•2008: NWBA Division II National Championship – Dallas ABC Mavericks
•2004: Member U.S. Paralympic Team, Athens, Greece
•2002: Gold medal – IWBF Gold Cup (World Championships), Kitakyushu, Japan
•2002: NWBA Collegiate Division National Championship
Paul Schulte ‘05 (USA)
Wheelchair Basketball
Paul Schulte is no stranger to playing a major role for the U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team. A captain for the silver medal-winning 2006 World Championships Team, he also earned a gold medal and MVP honors at the 2002 Gold Cup. After sitting out the 2004 Paralympic Games, Schulte returns to the team looking to put the U.S. atop the medal stand in Beijing.
Schulte made his Paralympic Games debut during the 2000 Games in Sydney. At age 21, he was Team USA’s youngest player. That year, the team went on to win the bronze medal.
Schulte is currently employed as a design engineer by Invacare Top End in Pinellas Park, Fla.
Major Achievements:
•2008: First place – North American Cup, Birmingham, Alabama
•2007: Gold medal – Parapan American Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
•2006: Silver medal – International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Gold Cup World Championships, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
•2002: Gold medal, MVP Award Winner – IWBF Gold Cup, Kitakyushu, Japan
•2001: Bronze medal – Junior World Championships, Brazil
•2000: Bronze medal – Paralympic Games, Sydney, Australia
•1999: Gold medal – Pan American Games, Mexico City, Mexico
•1999: Named the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Intercollegiate MVP
•1998: Gold medal – IWBF Gold Cup, Sydney, Australia
•1997: Silver medal – Junior World Championships, Toronto, Ontario
To view all of the past Featured Alumni, please click here.
