RUSSELLVILLE — For the fifth time this season, Hot Springs native and Henderson State shooter Gracen Blount has been named the Big American Conference Women’s Shooter of the Week award.
Blount finished second at the Newman Invitational, opening with a school-record 6-under-par 66 and following with a 4-under 68 to finish at 10-under 134. The 134-under par marked the best 36-hole mark in program history. .
Blount No. 4 led Reddies to his third-straight tournament victory with a 22-under 550. HSU won the event by 31 shots.
Blount has completed two three-straight games and has pitched six of his last seven games in six innings or less. During this stretch, he matched four rounds of under or better.
Southern Arkansas’ Logan McDonald won the men’s race after finishing fourth at the Dallas Baptist Classic last week. McDonald finished the first round with a 7-under 65, becoming just the third SAU golfer since 1993 to shoot 65 or better.
SCHMITT, Crow competing at SPEEDO SPRING SECTIONALS
Columbia, Mo. — Lake Hamilton’s Albert Schmitt and Lakeside’s Emma Crowe competed in the USA-2023 Speedo Spring Sectional at the University of Missouri.
Schmitt competed in the 1,650-, 1,000-, 500- and 200-yard freestyle. He also swam 400 individual sardines and 200 butterflies.
Crowe swims in the 50, 100 and 200 backstroke. She also competed in the 50 and 100 breaststroke and the 100 individual medley. Crowe is a junior at Lakeside and earned all-state in his freshman, sophomore and junior years for the Rams.
Schmitt is among the junior qualifiers for the Speedo sectionals at the USA-Swimming Central Zone.
ROMERO wins tennis verdict
RUSSELLVILLE — Lina Romero has been named Harding’s tennis player of the week.
Romero won hiccup singles matches against Ouachita Baptist and HSU as Harding started league play 2-0. OBU put down Ali Maii in the straight lines and moved on after dropping the opener to win over Marianna Murcia HSU. Romero also won a doubles match with Karli Roux against OBU.
GAC lists WEEKLY TRACK & FIELD AWARDS
RUSSELLVILLE — Harding has awarded Kelmen De Carvalho and Lisa Retaileau the men’s track and field athlete of the week award and the women’s co-track athlete of the week.
De Carvalho matched the Games’ provisional record with 6,866 points in the decathlon. He broke the school record with 6,561 points, and is tied for the best ranking in Division II this season. His score is the third-best score in GAC history.
Retaileau rebounded to a provisional time in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.92. Finished second among non-Division I opponents. It is the second fastest time in school history and leads the GAC.
East Central’s Aspel Kiprob won the men’s athlete of the week award after winning the 5,000-meter run at the University Friendship Invitational.
Oklahoma’s Olivia Tate of Baptist won the women’s co-track athlete of the week award after posting a career best in the 200-meter dash at the Bobcat Invitational with a time of 23.97 seconds.
Oklahoma Baptist’s Anisha Henderson cleared six meters for the first time in her career with a jump of 6.02 meters at the Bobcat Invitational to be awarded the women’s field athlete of the week.
GAC Awards baseball honors
RUSSELLVILLE — Arkansas Tech’s Emiliano Mata won the GAC pitcher of the week award.
He started game two of Arkansas Tech’s series against Arkansas-Monticello and threw six innings, allowing just one run and two hits. Vesue struck 11 quarters of the season.
Oklahoma’s Troy Baptist Maiden shared co-college week honors with Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Emilio Trevino. Trevino hit a home run in four of the team’s five games during the 4-1 stretch. Targets have reached base 11 times in 16 plate appearances across three overs.
GAC announces the SOFTBALL Awards
RUSSELLVILLE — SAU’s Jaxynn Dyson was awarded player of the week, and Leo Harding was awarded pitcher of the week.
Dyson reached base seven times in the OBU streak, hitting two home runs in the series.
Price picked up two wins against HSU, scoring seven in a 6-0 win.
