Schmitt tallies multiple personal bests
Lake Hamilton sixth grade swimmer Aubrey Schmitt recently competed at the USA-AquaHawgs Long Course Opener in Fayetteville and registered seven personal bests at the event.
Schmitt tallied personal bests in the 50-meter butterfly (33.58), 50-meter backstroke (37.61), 50-meter breaststroke (41.73), 50-meter freestyle (31.58), 200-meter backstroke (2:47.23), 400-meter freestyle (5:14.03) and 100-meter freestyle (1:09.50).
The long course takes place in 50-meter length pools, and the long course season begins April 1 and ends Aug. 31.
JUNIOR BECOMES OBU’S FIRST NFL DRAFT PICK
LAS VEGAS — Ouachita Baptist University cornerback Gregory Junior became the Tigers’ first-ever NFL Draft selection in history when the Jacksonville Jaguars selected the Crossett native in the sixth round.
Junior was selected to the AllGreat American Conference First Team and the D2Football.com Elite 100 All-America Team while helping OBU win nine games during the 2021 season.
In a press conference with the Jaguars after being drafted, Junior commented on what it meant to him to be the first Tiger selected in the NFL draft.
“It’s a blessing to represent Ouachita,” he said. “Hopefully there will be many more to come.”
Although he is the first Tiger to get drafted into the league, Junior joins Bill Lafitte, Chuck Taylor, Carl Allen, Ed Neal, Cliff Harris, Julius Pruitt and Phillip Supernaw, who all have represented the Tigers in the NFL.
Junior graduated from OBU in December 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and pre-professional studies. The Tiger standout was in his hometown when he learned of his selection.
“This has always been a dream of mine to play in the NFL, not just for me, but for my family, my hometown, and my school, Ouachita Baptist,” he said.
SEOSU UPSETS HARDING AT GAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
BENTONVILLE — Southeastern Oklahoma State picked up the program’s third conference title at the Great American Conference Women’s Tennis Championships Sunday by defeating top-seeded Harding 4-1.
The Savage Storm became the first team to defeat both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds en route to the title after taking down No. 2 Arkansas Tech 4-0 Saturday.
SEOSU actually dropped the doubles point to Harding after the Lady Bisons’ No. 2 duo of Romane Britt and Lindy Carpenter and No. 3 pairing of Emily Carpenter and Allison Jenkins both picked up 6-2 wins.
The Savage Storm started to turn things around in singles play. Georgia Hosking took down Emily Carpenter (6-1, 6-2), and Vanessa Nitu beat Lina Romero (6-2, 6-1) to give SEOSU its first lead.
Elizaveta Tregubova brought the Savage Storm within one point of the title with a win over Lindy Carpenter in No. 5 singles, and Sara Gonzalez secured the championship
with a win over Britt (6-1, 6-2). GAC ANNOUNCES YEAR-END TENNIS AWARDS
BENTONVILLE — The GAC coaches chose Arkansas Tech’s Lea Grinberg as player of the year, Harding’s Grace Dodd as newcomer of the year and SEOSU’s Skye Royall as freshman of the year. Arkansas Tech’s Abby Davis won coach of the year.
Grinberg went 5-0 in singles play from the No.1 position against GAC opponents and finished with an 18-6 overall singles record on the season. Grinberg paired with Daniela Baez for a 14-5 No. 1 doubles record.
Dodd finished the season 7-9 from the No. 1 singles position and went 12-7 in No. 2 doubles. She helped the Lady Bisons go undefeated in conference play for the second-straight season.
Royall went 15-8 in singles play and 12-10 in doubles play for SEOSU. She won 8-of-12 matches from the No. 1 position en route to becoming the first Savage Storm player to win freshman of the year honors.
Davis picked up her fourth GAC coach of the year award after the Golden Suns earned a toptwo seed at the GAC Championships for the first time since 2016.
Dodd, Grinberg, Royall and Mulan Kamoe were all unanimous selections to the All-GAC First Team. Baez, Romane Britt, Aastha Dargude, Lena Milosevic, Vanessa Nitu and Lina Romero also joined the All-GAC First Team.
The GAC also named its elite scholar athletes, including four from Harding — Allison Carpenter, Emily Carpenter, Lindy Carpenter and Rachel McCrae.