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Show ^SPORTS Indoor track and field team makes first D-l regional appearance By NATHAN BRENNAN Sports Writer Junior Mandy Tapia pitching in a recent game. Courtesy of Dave Iba ||p>ftball ends sooner than hoped record twelfth homer of the year. UND's four runs also rlJSfwirts Writer came off homers including a ter finishing the year two run job in the first and •;28 wins, the softball solo shots in the sixth and concluded its season seventh innings to seal the Great West Confer- victory. The loss dropped 5*£ncel tournament in Dallas, the Wolverines into the "*""" ' 5, from May 16-17. The loser's bracket and one loss §£jTplyerines returned home short from being eliminated. t 1 Later that afternoon, they -*-— --- - o n e win. ££<;The Wolverines went were able to bounce back he GWC tournament with a 5-2 win over Houston number one seed, but Baptist to remain alive in the : in their first game tournament. Jessica Martin ' the number four seed- pitched a complete game ^ Jniversity of North Da- for UVU and picked up her ££l$>t&i;UVU's,two runs came ninth win of the season. On day two of the tourfifth inning when nament, they met up with Amanda Perez South Dakota, falling short pyriCjtier single-season school j^py'CHAD SHORTER in a 3-1 loss and ending their season. Both teams had three hits, but UVU's three errors proved to be the difference. The team finished second in their first year as part of the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Mountain Division with a 13-7 conference record in addition to placing third in the GWC tournament. The Wolverines also had eight players named to AllConference teams, two of which were first team selections. Head coach Todd Fairbourne was also named the GWC Coach of the Year. Imports Briefs Austin Haws Honored by The Second Chance Foundation of Utah On May 31, the Second Chance Foundation of Utah honored UVU walk-on baseball player Austin Haws as he continues his comeback after being struck by a drunk driver last year. He has was awarded the Dave Palfrey- man Scholarship for the 2010-11 school year prior to the 11th annual Utah Valley High School All-Star Baseball Classic at UVU. Palfrey man, who passed away last fall, was the first Wolverine Club president and one of the. key players in the growth of UVU's athletic department. The scholarship is intended to help someone who is facing adversity to keep his or her dream of playing college athletics alive. Brinkerhoff Named Louisville Slugger Third Team All-America Senior Jace Brinkerhoff was honored on Thursday as he was named to the Louisville Slugger Third Team All-America after leading UVU to its most successful season ever. The third baseman became the Wolverines' first-ever baseball All-American at the NCAA level. Brinkerhoff currently leads the nation in batting (.456), hits (118) and runs (88) and is fourth in RBI (85). UVU finished the season 42-17 and captured both the Great West Conference regular season and tournament crowns. Brinkerhoff was named the Great West Conference Player of the Year and also earned Player of the Week twice and the Student-Athlete of the Month from the conference. He has a career average of .400 with 30 home runs, 195 RBI, 350 hits and 75 doubles during four seasons with UVU and holds the school record in several offensive categories. As a of the top distance runners for the Wolverines during her career. This past year, she placed third overall at the Great West Conference Cross Country Championships in the fall and recently finished third in the 3000m steeplechase, fourth in the 5000m run and fifth in the 800m run at the GWC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Buhler, a senior from Military, N.D., held a 3.72 GPA while majoring in biology during his four years at UVU. Buhler, who is also a distance runner, has Nothum, mid-distance runner Tim Rowberry and sprinter Allah Laryea-Akrong. Head coach Scott Houle had high expectations for the team and was not disappointed. "It was a great experience," said Houle. "It was very exciting." As a freshman from Ghana, this was LaryeaAkrong's first NCAA postseason meet. He finished nineteenth in the 100-meter semi-final round and had his best placement at 15th in the 200-meter semi-final round. 'it was something that I had to work for," Lareya-Ak- rong said. Despite coping with an injury,' Laryea-Akrong learned . from competing against top athletes. "There is a lot that I can work on," he explained. "I could have been more prepared." With the off-season starting last week, Houle has been considering goals for the 2011 outdoor track and field team. He stated that he wishes to "continue to make this program better." The school's participation in the NCAA championship will serve as a learning experience going into next season. Lacrosse makes national final, comes up short to St. Thomas By WESLIE GRAHAM Sports Writer lacrosse team ended its spring season and playing year with the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association national finals held in Denver May 11-15. The team played four games throughout the finals and stood out nationally as the number two team within Division 11. The Wolverines began their finals with a game against Briarcliffe College, which they beat 10-9. "We were an underrated team all year and came ready to play," said head coach Kevin Perkins. The team was confident throughout the whole game and, despite Briarcliffe's four oxygen tanks on the sidelines, the opposing team could not keep up with UVU. "Not only were we a better team, we were well conditioned beyond them," Perkins said. He recognized midfielder JJ OJ r Chris Lanham as a key player in the game. Next, UVU played St. Johns University and remained victorious throughout with a final score, of 9-8. Defensive midfield played phenomenally, lead by Clark Harris and Kyle Harper.* "They really set the tone and played a stellar defense," Perkins said. Following their second win, UVU moved on to the semifinals in which they opposed rival team Westminster College and prevailed with a score of 9-7. This qualified the Wolverines for the national championship game on May 15 against the University of St. Thomas. The team played an excellent game against St. Thomas, but was unable to maintain a lead and lost in a final score of 12-9. According to team captain and second team attack and All-American Cam.Peterson, St. Thomas had an advantage in that they had played in that venue previously and their high seeding allowed for an easier road to the finals. Also named in Division II All-American were first team attack Chad Frost, second team defense Ryan Cantwell, defensive midfield Clark Harris. Honorable mentions were given to midfield Tyler Spendlove and defense SkylerBentley. <mjon freshman, he also earned Freshman All-America from Louisville Slugger and PING! Baseball. The Wolverines lead the country with a team average of .372 and are in the top five in eight other team categories, including first in hits, doubles and slugging percentage. The team's 3.19 doubles per game ranks second all-time in the NCAA record book. Bentley & Buhler Named to ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Track/Cross Country Team Utah Valley's Karinne Bentley and Jacob Buhler have been named to the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic AllDistrict Men's and Woman's Track/Cross Country Team, as announced June 3 by the Academic AllAmerica Committee. Both were District 8 Second Team selections. ; Bentley, a senior from '• St. George, Utah, main' tained a 3.89 GPA while ; studying exercise science 1 during her four-year track . and cross-country career at UVU. Bentley was also one The indoor track and field team made its first-ever NCAA Division 1 appearance on May 27-29 in Austin, Texas, with six qualifiers. After being back-to-back Great West Conference champions, the team had six members qualify for regionals. Although the team's effort was not enough to advance to the NCAA championships in Eugene, Oregon, the team gained experience in competing at a new level. The qualifiers were throwers Cody Olsen and McKell Camp, distance runners Trac Norris and Mary competed in both track and cross-country had a successful senior year in both sports. Her was UVU's top finisher at the GWC Cross Country Championships, placing second overall. He also shattered three distance school records in outdoor track as he broke the 3000, 5000, and 10,000m run records. If that was not enough, Buhler recently finished in second place in the 5000 and 10,000m rujgs at the GWC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. !/yduld You Give an Hour to Save a Life?" "*~~ Get QPR Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention Contact: J.C. Graham. LCSW UVU Student Health Services Sorensen Student Center (SC-221) 801-863-6073 email; grahamjcfguvu.edu UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY |