Lakeside grad has rough round at NCAA nationals
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Henderson State University junior Gracen Blount finished the first day at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in a seven-way tie for 66th after a rough back nine at the Chattahoochee Golf Club Tuesday.
The Lakeside grad shot a 7-over par 79, bogeying the first and third holes to head into the back nine at 2 over. After starting the back nine with a birdie, Blount tallied six bogeys to end the day at 7 over.
Teammate Daphney Tilton shot a 2-under 70 to finish in fourth behind a three-way tie for first.
Tilton birdied the par-3 third, par-4 fifth and par-4 10th to sit at 3 under after 10 holes. The only blemish on her card came with a bogey on the par-4 15th to finish the first round at 2 under.
Colorado Christian’s Faith Kilgore, Lee University’s Alex Naumovski and Academy of Art’s Anahi Servin finished the first day tied for first at 3 under.
HSU ended day one in a three-way tie for eighth with West Texas A&M and Findlay at 16 over. Anderson currently leads the pack after a first round 7-over par 295.
SAU DOWNS HSU IN GAC CHAMPIONSHIP
In a high scoring affair, Southern Arkansas took down fellow in-state school Henderson State 17-9 in the Great American Conference baseball championship game at Majestic Park Tuesday.
The Muleriders opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning with five runs, and the Reddies got on the scoreboard in the top of the next frame with a single run. SAU stretched out to a 10-1 lead after three and 12-3 after four innings.
The Muleriders tacked on one run in the fifth and four more in the sixth for a 17-4 advantage. The Reddies showed some signs of life late with one run in the seventh, three in the eighth and one in the ninth, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
Jack Liddell picked up the win for SAU, allowing 3 hits, 4 runs and 1 walk while striking out 2 in 6 innings of work.
Brayden Bebee earned the loss for HSU, allowing 1 hit, 4 runs and 3 walks while fanning 3 in 1 2/3 innings of work. The Reddies went through five different pitchers during the contest with Henry Coppens lasting the longest at three innings on the mound.
Chris Lyles led SAU at the plate with a 3-for-5 day, accounting for 3 RBIs and 2 runs. Lyles, Conner Allen, Chris Sutton and Tucker Burton each hit a home run during the contest.
Cade Tucker was the only Reddie with multiple hits on the day. Tucker went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs, 2 runs and a walk.
ARKANSAS TECH WINS SOFTBALL TITLE
BENTONVILLE — Arkansas Tech won its fourth-consecutive GAC title with a 7-4 come-frombehind victory against SAU Sunday.
The Golden Suns joined five other GAC programs as the only teams to win at least four straight conference championships in league history.
Arkansas Tech trailed 4-2 entering the sixth inning before the Golden Suns scored five unearned runs to take the lead for the first time during the contest. With two outs, four Golden Suns reached safely, and Holly Crutchfield singled to score Shelby Chavers for the go-ahead run.
With a three-run advantage, Shannon Lasey entered the contest and pitched two scoreless innings to notch her third save. Lasey finished the GAC tournament with 17 shutout innings and won the tournament’s most valuable player award.
Arkansas Tech earned its sixth trip to the NCAA Regionals in the last seven seasons with its GAC title.
GAC ANNOUNCES YEAR-END BASEBALL AWARDS
SAU’s Jeremy Adorno took home pitcher of the year and newcomer of the year honors, and Ouachita Baptist’s Wyatt Core was named freshman of the year. Lake Hamilton grad Justin Pettigrew won the second coach of the year award of his career at SAU, and Oklahoma Baptist’s Dan Pruitt earned player of the year honors. Adorno was joined by teammates Brett McGee, Riley Orr and Ty Manning on the All-GAC First Team. Arkansas Tech’s Patrick Miner and Yadier Media also joined the first team, along with Henderson State’s Spencer Taack and Brayden Bebee. Arkansas-Monticello’s Cade Thompson also landed a spot on the first team. The squad was rounded out by Pruitt, Bo Dallas, E.J. Taylor, Walker Keller, Isiah Lissade, Kade Self and Reid Rice. Henderson State’s Greyson Stevens received the GAC’s elite scholar athlete award.
HARDING TAKES MEN’S TITLE
SHAWNEE, Okla. — Harding rallied on the final day of the men’s track and field championships at Hurt Memorial Athletic Complex at Oklahoma Baptist University to take home the GAC men’s track and field title.
MVP Dakarai Bush competed in five events for the Bisons, winning the 200-meter dash and 110-meter hurdles. He finished second in the 400-meter run, and ran on a 4x100-meter team that finished third and a 4x400-meter team that finished second.
Harding’s Dorian Chaigneau won the pole vault, and Antiwain Jones picked up the title in the high jump. Tad Kirby notched a first place finish in the long jump while Thibault Waeles won the 800-meter run. Fallou Gaye closed out Harding’s seven wins on Saturday with a first place finish in the 400-meter hurdles.
Harding edged Oklahoma Baptist 268-248, the closest finish in GAC history. SAU finished third with 176 points followed by East Central (68), Southern Nazarene (27) and OBU (18).
OKLAHOMA BAPTIST WINS WOMEN’S TITLE
SHAWNEE, Okla. — Oklahoma Baptist’s wins in the 5000-meter run and the 4x400-meter relay led the Bison to the GAC women’s track and field championship Saturday at Hurt Memorial Athletic Complex.
Harding led the Bison by six points, but MVP Emma Downing’s win in the 5000-meter combined with Sophia Strange’s fourth-place finish set Oklahoma Baptist up in great position to win the title. Oklahoma Baptist’s win in the 4x400-meter relay gave the Bison a 255-247 win over Harding, the closest in GAC championship history.
Harding finished in the top four spots in the shot put, and Sierra White repeated as the champion in the pole vault. Brylan Williams, Emily Patterson and Kiera Balnkenship took the top three spots in the high jump, but despite the success in the field events, Harding just fell short against Oklahoma Baptist.
SAU finished third with 119 points, followed by Arkansas Tech (54), Northwestern Oklahoma State (53), Southern Nazarene (28), OBU (25) and East Central (17).