The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 52, Ed. 1, Friday, April 26, 2002 Page: 4 of 10
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4 Friday April 26 2002
Wildcats begin play in LSC tourney
Joel Weckerly
Sports Writer
For the second time in
three seasons the ACU base-
ball team is playing host to the
Lone Star Conference post-
season tournament.
ACU 38-12 overall and No.
10 in Division II Finished up
its LSC South season last
weekend with a three-game
sweep of Texas A&M-
Kingsville to finish at 17-6
atop the division. The clinch
allowed the Wildcats to have
the tournament at Crutcher
Scott Field this weekend.
The tournament kicked off
Thursday with LSC North
champion Central Oklahoma
(42-6) taking on LSC South
second-place finisher Tarl-
... - - . .
Shawn Nelson competes in the long jump at the Oliver Jackson Open on March 23.
Nelson and m6st of the track and field team will take the weekend off and prepare for
the UTA Open next weekend as a select group travels to the Penn Relays.
Cats finish sixth at conference
Josh Parrott
Sports Writer
The ACU golf team saved
its best for last.
But it was too little too
late.
The Wildcats
shot a Final-
round 294 at
the Lone Star
Conference
tournament
earlier this
week but 'still
finished 23
shots behind
Central Oklahoma and ended
up sixth overall with a three-
round total of 893.
Juniors Brian O'Leary and
David Van Ryke both tied for
10th overall shooting 222
over the three-round tourna-
ment. Senior James Fleming
shot a final-round 74 to fin-
ish tied for 19th overall with a
O'Leary
champion
Baseball players earn LSC honors
ACU seniors
Brandon Stover
and Shawn
Brooks have
been named
the Lone Star
Conference
South Division
Hitter and
V
Brooks
Pitcher of the Week respec-
tively. Stover ACU's first base-
man hit a torrid .750 (12 for
16) in five games last week.
He also had five doubles a
Optimist
cton State and ACU playing
LSC North second-place
Southwestern Oklahoma State
in the other opening-round
game.
The losers of the two first-
round games play each other
in an elimination game 11
a.m. Friday while the winners
of the games play at 3 p.m.
The winner of the elimination
game will then square off with
the loser of the 3 p m. game at
7 p m. Triday.
Finally the winners of
Friday's 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
games play in the champi-
onship game Saturday with
the time to be announced.
"We've really started to put
things together the last few
weeks and we've got a good
'" --QMW . . J 'i'i'..r"'r
three-round total of 226.
Despite a rough showing
the Wildcats should still
qualify for the Central region
tournament at Oak Tree
Country Club in Edmond
Oklahoma May 6-8.
Even the Wildcat's sixth-
place finish as a team didn't
discourage O'Leary.
"We were looking forward
to doing well at the LSC tour-
nament" said O'Leary junior
finance major from Col-
umbus. "But we are still
going to work hard and focus
on doing well at the regional
tournament."
The Wildcats were sixth
overall after the first day of
play at the LSC tournament
and were unable to overcome
a discouraging first-day dis-
play. Central Oklahoma dom-
triple a home
run eight RBI
and eight runs
scored as the
Wildcats
stretched their
current win-
ning streak to
eight games en
HI
Stover
route to- winning the LSC
South championship.
Brooks meanwhile
helped ACU clinch that title
last Friday with a complete-
game win over Texas A&M-
Sports
HHL2i2uiU9BBI
feeling going into this tourna-
ment" Coach Britt Bonncau
said. "We're just going to treat
it like another weekend of
conference play. We have to
play our best because we
know the other three teams
will be at their best. But we've
played some tough competi-
tion all year to get ourselves
ready for this tournament."
Tor ACU the tournament
could be a must-win situation
to reach a third straight South
Central region touranment.
The Cats are ranked third in
the region behind Delta State
and Central Oklahoma and
ahead of Alabama-Huntsville
and North Alabama.
CUNT WALKER
inated the 54-hole course by
beating out defending-
champion Cameron Uni-
versity by 10 strokes.
O'Leary said first-round
jitters haunted the Wildcats
from the start.
"Some of the guys worry
about the future instead of
present" O'Leary said. "If we
have a good first-round we
will have a better chance to
win."
O'Leary said he is opti-
mistic of the team's chance to
advance to the regional tour-
nament. "We can do it if everybody
is playing on all cylinders"
O'Leary said. "We all know
we can beat the other teams
in our region. We have the
experience and know how.
We just need to shoot a good
first-round and go from
there."
Klngsville. Brooks went all
seven innings In the first
game of a doubleheader
scattering seven hits striking
out eight Javejinas and not
walking a batter in ACU's 7-1
win.
This is the second time
this season that both players
have been named LSC South
Division performers of the
week.
Courtesy of Marketing
Services
A win in the tournament
would virtually guarantee
ACU a spot in the regional
tourney on May 16-18.
"I don't look at it as any
extra pressure on us" ACU
head coach Britt Bonncau
said "because the last two
years we've looked at it like we
had to win the conference
tournament to get to the
regional tournament. That's
the attitude I want us to have
going into this tournament.
Our attitude has to be that we
have to win this tournament
to get to the next one which is
where we want to be."
If recent play is an indica-
tor of how ACU will fare in the
postseason the Wildcats are
in good shape. The Cats are
Athletes compete in
prestigious Penn Relays
Steve Holt
Sports Ed tor
A small group of track and
field athletes will be on dis-
play for more than 50000
spectators this weekend at the
108th Penn Relay Carnival in
Philadelphia. The prestigious
meet which lasts from
Thursday through Saturday
features the top track and field
athletes from all levels and all
over the world.
Head coach
Jon Murray said
this weekend is
an opportunity
to showcase our
athletes in front
of an interna
IB
tional crowd. Murrav
"The relays
are the main thing we are
going up there Jor" Murray
said "Perm Relays are crazy
but at the same time a lot of
fun."
ACU will be represented in
several relay events including
the women's 4x100- and
4x400-meter relays and the
men's distance medley and
4xMile relays.
At last year's Penn Relays
the Wildcat distance medley
relay team set a school record
finishing second to Villanova
in the race. The 4xMile relay
team should compete well as
team members John Kemboi
Jean-Marie Ndikumana Mar-
tin Okello and Bernard
Manirakiza have all run in the
low4-minutes this season.
ACU won its division in the
men's sprint medley at last
year's Penn Relays but will
not compete in the event this
Recruit will
I haven't played basket-
ball in weeks yet I feel a con-
nection with the most recent
recruit signed by ACU men's
basketball coach Mike
Martin.
This past week Martin
signed Stephen Story a sen-
ior from East Central High
School in San Antonio. Story
and I have crossed paths
before and hearing his name
brought back some old
memories.
My junior and senior sea-
sons of high school both
ended prematurely follow-
ing playoff losses to East
Central in addition to an
embarrassing loss in a regular-season
tournament. East
Central was led by man-
child Corey Lamkin now a
freshman at Texas A&M-
Corpus Christi and Aaron
Irving who has slipped into
relative obscurity (or maybe
somewhere in Montana).
Story wasn't a huge con-
tributor to that team but his
team did make my high
school teammates look like a
group of middle-school chil-
dren. Since then Story has
grown physically and funda-
mentally averaging 17
points and 7 rebounds a
game while also earning all-
district and ail-region hon-
ors as a senior.
The signing of Story
couldn't have come at a bet-
ter time for Martin. His
winners of 10 of their last 11
games dating back to April 2.
In the 10 victories ACU has
allowed more than four runs
in just two games and has lim-
ited opponents to two runs or
less in five games.
The Wildcats have been
consistent offensively averag-
ing nine runs per contest.
ACU finished the regular sea-
son as the LSC's best hitting
team at .346 was second in
doubles with 102 first in
triples with 31 and third in
home runs witli 42.
Senior pitcher Shawn
Brooks will be a big factor for
the Cats in the postseason.
Brooks is 5-1 on the season
and Bonncau said he could
very well be their No. 1 man in
i.TiViiiraiT.iaiaafli
weekend.
"Our sprinters are kind of
bummed up" Murray said.
"So we're gonna give them
another week to work hard
heal up and go to' UTA next
weekend."
National champion Maresa
Cadienhead will compete in
the high jump for ACU an
event she won at the Texas
Relays earlier this month and
will look to beat the talented
field of jumpers again.
Shauna-Gaye Stephens is
entered in the women's long
jump and will run a leg on the
4xl00-meter relay.
Richard Phillips will com-
pete in the 400-meter hurdles
for the Wildcats. Phillips will
attempt to qualify automatic
cally for 'nationals 'in tlfe
event as he did in the 110-
meter hurdles last weekend.
Cassie Chaffin who won
the 3000 meters at last week-
end's Lone Star Conference
Championship will run the
race again this weekend at
Penn. Artfiemon Sindayigaya
is coming off a championship
of his own in the 5000 meters
and will run the event this this
weekend.
Several elite American ath-
' letes will be in competition at
Penn including the fastest
man in the world Maurice
Greene. Athletes Gail Devers
Jon Drummond Tim Mont-
gomery Bernard Williams
Chryste Gaines and Inger
Miller will also compete for
the United States.
The Penn Relays kicked off
help stacked Wildcat lineup
Beak Speaks
Josh Parrott
The signing of
Story couldn't
have come at a
better time.
Wildcats have suffered the
past two seasons posting 6-
20 and 7-19 records and are
losing promising-freshmen
Jeremy Brown and Bud
Valerius who both chose to
transfer to Southeastern
Oklahoma State.
Story was not only pro-
ductive at the high school
level but he also is from a
top-quality program with a
top-quality coach.
East Central coach Stan
Bonewitz won the Class 5A
title in 1995 and has coached
numerous college-caliber
players during his tenure at
East Central including
Lamkin former Wildcat
sharp-shooter Chaz Jackson
and former Texas Tech Red
Raider guard Stan Bonewitz
Jr.
Rebounding is a question
for the Wildcats that Martin
hopes Story will answer.
ACU finished last in the
Lone Star Conference in
rebounding margin last sea-
son and a player with Story's
size should make an imme-
diate impact.
Sophomore forward
Tucker Pierson led the
the tournament.
At the plate senior first
baseman Brandon Stover has
been the main man for the
Wildcats with a .416 batting
average on the season and 44
RBI. Stover was n.itncd the
LSC South Division Hitter of
the Week last week as lie was
12-for-16 in ACU's last five
games.
Tor the Wildcats to come
out on top this weekend
Bonncau said those players
as well as all of the rest would
have to come out ready to
compete.
"This is going to be a tough
tournament" Bonncau said
"but if we play to our capabil-
ities we'll put ourselves in
position to win it.
Wednesday with the men's
and women's heptathlon and
will feature many of the run-
ning and field event finals
Triday and Saturday. The rest
of the men's and women's
teams will train and rest for
Tarleton State's Multi Event
May 2-3 and Texas-Arlington
Open May 3-4.
ACU Entries
Wildcat athlt les p-miclp-iiii g In Ihc h mi
Itchy Carnivil
Women
Shauna Gaye Stephens U
Maresa Cadienhead HJ
Cassie Chaffin 3000m
4x1 00-meter relay
4x400-meter relay
Men
Riefiarci hjlllps 400m hur-.
dies ' "
Distance medley relay
Spnnt medley relay
Wildcats in rebounding this
past season at 6-5 short by
Division II standards. Story
outweighs Pierson by more
than 15 pounds and gives
Martin a young wide-bodied
player to compete on the
boards allowing players like
Pierson and freshman Jeff
Johnson to move away from
the basket.
The recovery of freshman
post Cole Rutherford from
injury will give the Wildcats a
new look lineup compared
to last season. Rutherford
missed 22 games due to
injury and exhibited an abil-
ity to score and rebound
consistently during Ills limit-
ed time on the floor. Second-
team LSC South guard
Rodney Lee should return
as should sophomore guard
Howard Johnson.
A player rotation consist-
ing of the current Wildcats
along witli Story and fellow
recruit A.J. Porterfield gives
Martin the quickest and
most athletic squad since
1998-99 and an excellent
chance to post a winning
record compete in the LSC
and even make a run at a
post-season appearance.
Which would be a wel-
comed Story. .
Comments may be sent to Parrott at
iep00bacu edu or to the Optimist
at optimisVQjmc acu edu
II
Cadienhead Phillips
fJHnl
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 52, Ed. 1, Friday, April 26, 2002, newspaper, April 26, 2002; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101770/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.