Bufford became the second Crimson Storm track & athlete recognized as the league’s Male Scholar Athlete of the Year as he matched the feat of All-American Colin Pasque. Pasque claimed the honor in both 2015-16 and 2016-17. Bufford carries a 4.00 GPA in biochemistry. He serves as President of Tri Beta – the National Honor Society for Biology – and as the treasurer for AED – Health Profession Honor Society. Oklahoma State Senator Kristen Thompson and Representative Nicole Miller awarded him citations for research over dissolved organic matter. He recently conducted medical research for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
On the track, he captured Southern Nazarene’s first GAC title in the javelin. At the GAC Championships, he broke the meet record and the school record with a mark of 67.35m. He ranked 14th in the nation in the event and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Other nominees for the 2024-25 GAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year award included Arkansas-Monticello’s Ryan Williams (Football), Arkansas Tech’s Peyton Henderson (Football), East Central’s Seth Spady (Football), Harding’s Jake Dugger (Football), Henderson State’s Cayden Davis (Baseball), Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Will Kates (Baseball), Oklahoma Baptist’s Carson Kardokus (Cross Country/Track & Field), Ouachita Baptist’s Ramon Strassmann (Tennis), Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Damien Brown (Football), Southern Arkansas’ Matthew Whitten (Football) and Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Isaac Foster (Football).
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