Monday, March 30, 2015

Tarleton State: President announces open forums as university considers move to Division I athletics

From JTAC News, the official student newspaper of Tarleton Since 1919


Tarleton State University, fresh off a successful basketball season, is now turning its attention to the possibility of advancing into NCAA Division I athletic competition. Currently, Tarleton plays in Division II as part of the Lone Star Conference (LSC).
“Any consideration of stepping up to NCAA Division I athletic competition needs to be carefully considered and fully discussed throughout the university community,” said Tarleton President Dr. F. Dominic Dottavio, in an email to faculty and staff.
Two open forums for faculty and staff will take place tomorrow, March 31, from 8:30-10 a.m. and 3-4:30 p.m. in Math 125.
The decision to move divisions will have to take multiple points into consideration. The LSC’s stability in recent seasons raised enough concern to reignite the conversation about moving. However, according to Dottavio, this issue has been mostly resolved in the past few weeks.
“The stability of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) was a major reason for re-activating the discussion of moving to Division I,” said Dottavio. “In recent weeks the LSC has been stabilized by the addition of several new universities to the conference.”
Finances, however, may not be such a stable factor.
“Division I Athletics is more competitive and significantly more costly,” Dottavio said. “It’s not a move that we should make lightly.”
The move to DI could also impact the university’s presence as an athletically focused school, as well as placing it in the public eye more regularly.
“Our facilities, with the upgraded tennis courts, compare favorably with those of other Division I schools. Our plans to upgrade the football stadium and track facilities further enhance our viability,” Dottavio noted. “Division I would enhance the university’s profile, including potential national television exposure. Competing against better known schools would give us an enhanced opportunity for corporate sponsorships, and alumni and community involvement.”
Before a move can be made to Division I, Tarleton must receive an invitation to join a conference. At this time, the university has not received an official invitation to any DI conference.
An open forum for students will also be held, according to Chief of Staff Dr. David Weissenburger. The forum is tentatively scheduled for April 15 from 5:30-7 p.m. in Math 125. Student Government Association will be present, and students are encouraged to attend.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

LSC in the Elite Eight


Live Stats | Game Notes
THE GAME
Tarleton State will head back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2006 and square off with Mount Olive in a quarterfinal battle that pits a pair of top-10 teams in the nation - the No. 7 Texans and No. 9 Trojans - at 12 p.m. in Evansville, Indiana's Ford Center.
 
THE BROADCAST
The game will have a live radio broadcast presented by the Tarleton Sports Network presented by North Texas Ford Dealers. The Voice of the Texans, Casey Hogan, will be back calling the play-by-play for Tarleton basketball this season. The broadcast can be heard on KTRL 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas or online at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. The pregame show will begin 30 minutes prior to tip-off.


THE OPPONENT
After dropping just their second game of the season in the CCA league opener on January 3, the Trojans wasted no time getting back in the win column and running roughshod through the rest of the regular season and first two rounds of the conference tournament. Mount Olive entered the CCA Tournament Championship game on a 17-game winning streak before falling to North Greenville on a foul call and a pair of free throws with two seconds left. From there, the Trojans won three straight to win the southeast regional championship as the No. 4 seed to earn their second trip to the Elite Eight.








White ESU

Quick Start by Emporia State Dooms Lady Buffs in NCAA Elite Eight

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – An 11-0 run to start the game put the No. 5 West Texas A&M in a hole they weren't able to climb out of in a 62-50 loss to No. 9 Emporia State in the NCAA Elite Eight Tuesday afternoon.  With the loss, WT season came to an end at 30-3, while ESU improved to 29-4. 

 "Congrats to Emporia, they were better tonight," head coach Mark Kellogg said.  "We weren't at our best as their length bothered us at the basket.  When we had the open looks, we just didn't make them as we normally do.  We knew we had to make those as we weren't going to get many chances so when we got chances we had to make they pay.  We turned them over a lot, which was good but we couldn't finish over their length.  After the first 10 minutes we settled in and thought we were ok." Kellogg now is 62-6 in his two years at WT winning 30 or more games in each of his two seasons.  He earned LSC Coach of the Year honors last year and is a back-to-back WBCA Region 6 Coach of the Year and again this year is a finalist for national coach of the year.


Monday, March 16, 2015

LSC South Central Basketball Updates, NCAA Indoor Track Championships Recap

Champs....Again SC Region





       




Lutalo Boyce National Indoor Championships Trophy_02
Complete Results

National Champion can be added to Lutalo Boyce's resume in his first indoor season for the Texas A&M-Kingsville track and field team as he took the long jump crown Friday night at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships at Birmingham Crossplex.

In his second jump of the day, Boyce tied his school and Lone Star Conference record with a distance of 25-7.25 (7.80m) that held up through the final four flights. He posted the top two leaps of the day (25-5.25, 7.75m) while beating Damarcus Simpson of Chadron State by over a foot.

Overall, the Javelinas placed 11th with 22 points as they beat out Texas A&M-Commerce by a point as the top Lone Star Conference team

Jeron Robinson claimed third in the high jump after clearing 7-1.75 (2.18m), adding six points to the men's team total.

Also becoming All-Americans for the first time were Francisco Javier Lopez and Amber Perry, while Jordan Yamoah has earned the status three times.

Lopez began the day by finishing fifth in the 60m hurdles in 8.05 seconds.

Perry followed just over an hour later with a sixth place finish in the 400m dash. She crossed the line third in her heat in a time of 55.47.

Yamoah easily cleared the first two heights but needed all three attempts to get over 16-6 (5.05m). The other seven competitors all struggled to clear 16-10 (5.15m) while Yamoah got over on his first two tries just barely tapped the bar to knock it off. On his third attempt he wasn't able to clear and lost out on second on misses...complete TAMUK coverage.


Rambelles Bring Home Seven All-American Honors and Place 11th at Indoor National Meet

The Angelo State women's indoor track & field team placed 11th in the nation and earned a total of seven All-American awards over the two-day meet held at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

The Rambelles scored 18 points as a team and finished tied for 11th. Central Missouri won the women's title with 47 points with Hillsdale in second with 40. Ashland and New Mexico Highland tied for third with Lincoln (Mo.) in fifth with 35 points. Grand Valley State, Simon Fraser and Southern Connecticut State placed sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively while Azusa Pacific and Winona State tied for ninth.

Jordan Gray walked away with a total of three All-American honors. The senior added a pentathlon and 4x400-meter relay All-American award after picking up long jump honors the day before. Gray's first event of the pentathlon was the 60-meter hurdles. She ran a personal-best time of 8.67 and sit in a tie for second after one event. The senior turned around and cleared 5'-00.50' (1.54-meters) in the high jump and dropped to 12th place.

Kearah Danville stepped on the runway trying to defend her two-time NCAA Division II triple jump championship. The senior had her best series of jumps of the season especially her first three jumps. The Kingston, Jamaican native was third after her first attempt of 41'-7.75" (12.64-meters). Her second jump was an improvement to 41'-7.75" (12.69-meters) but still in third overall. The final preliminary attempt was the best of the day as 42'-0" (12.80-meters). The season-best mark put her into the lead going into the final.

Danville was unable to improve on her mark in the final and was bumped on the first attempt of the finals to second. Central Missouri's Erika Kinsey measured a mark of 42'-5.25" (12.93-meters) to dethrone the two-time champion. Danville ends her career with two indoor national titles and three indoor All-American honors.

The women's 4x400-meter relay capped off the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. Lexi Brooks, Gray, Jasmine Ambowde and Jaylen Rodgers clocked a time of 3:49.34 to place eighth overall...complete ASU coverage.


Lion Men Finish Twelfth at NCAA Championships with Seven All-American Nods

A&M-Commerce men's track and field concluded their indoor season in emphatic fashion at the NCAA Division II Championships, as the Lions return to Commerce with seven All-American nods to show for their excellent season.

Senior Matt Rich was the first to grab All-American honors in the heptathlon, which concluded at the beginning of the second day of the meet. After finishing the first day in fifth place, Rich rallied to make up significant ground, finishing third overall with a personal best score of 5453 points, which beat his previous personal best of 5308 by nearly 150 points. To pull off the feat, Rich set indoor personal bests in four different individual events, including the 1000m run (2:49.84), the pole vault (4.80m), the 60m dash (7.23), and most impressively, the long jump (6.98m), which he won outright.

Not long after Rich, it was time for breakout freshman Devontae Steele to put the cap on his inaugural indoor season in the triple jump. Steele entered the meet with the second greatest distance in Division II at 15.40 meters, and showed unremitting improvement by hitting a personal-best performance of 15.47m, which was good enough for a second place finish in the event to secure the team's second All-American performance.

Four hours later, it was time for Tyler Rambo to test his mettle in the shot put. The transfer from Kansas followed Steele's example and improved upon an already-impressive personal-best mark by throwing a 17.31 meter lob to obtain All-American honors.

It wasn't until the final event of the entire meet, the men's 4x400 meter relay, that the Lions would produce their final indoor All-American-worthy performance. A&M-Commerce's squad, which consisted of Dexter Lee, John David Rollins, Ravi Dubose and Soren Gnoss, crossed the finish line seventh overall with a time of 3:14.67, and granted each member of the team All-American glory...complete A&M-C coverage.


WT Track & Field with All-Time Best Program Finishes at Nationals; Six Tabbed All-American

The final day of the 2015 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championship sent the West Texas A&M No. 21 Lady Buffs and No. 23 Buffs off in style as WT racked up the individual awards and raced to best-ever finishes in the team standings. Five athletes made their way to the All-America podium in six different events, featuring two top-three finishers and four top-four finishers. The Lady Buffs finished the meet tied for 14th while the Buffs ended the competition tied for 22nd, both the best indoor team finishes in program history.

Junior Libby Strickland led the way with two All-America trophies in the pentathlon and high jump, grabbing the first and the last for WT on Saturday and increasing her career total to seven. Senior Sharon Kwarula and junior Lorenzo Johnson would make the podium both with third-place finishes in the women's and men's 60m hurdles, respectively. Sophomore Malika Ouedraogo earned her second-straight All-America distinction in the women's triple jump, placing fourth this time while senior Baptiste Moreu earned a fourth place finish as well in the men's mile.

The Lady Buffs would finish 14th with a total of 16 points while the Buffs placed 22nd totaling 11 points as a team.

WT really picked up some points in the 60m hurdles finals as both Johnson and Kwarula raced to third place finishes each. Kwarula did so first on the women's side as she finished with a time of 8.47. Moments later, Johnson rolled to an identical finish with a time of 7.86. Johnson's third place national showing was the highest ever for a male athlete in the program. Next on the track was Moreu who after topping the field in the prelims yesterday, finished fourth overall today with a time of 4:10.58, picking up All-America honors.

Ouedraogo then competed in the triple jump and made a return trip to the podium in fourth place overall after clearing a mark of 12.73m. She was the national runner-up a year ago in Winston-Salem, N.C. Strickland would then close out the day for WT in the high jump competition where like the 2014 outdoor season, finished in a three-way tie for seventh place, picking up her second piece of All-America hardware of the day and seventh of her career...complete WT coverage.

Edem, Rathke earn All-American honors on final day at NCAA Championships

Chase Rathke and Euphemia Edem wrapped up the indoor  track and field season with a pair of All-American honors Saturday night at the NCAA championships.

Edem - who earned All-American honors yesterday in the long jump - would return to the runway once again, this time in the triple jump.

Sitting in eighth-place after four attempts, the senior used her final jump to secure fifth-place and earn All-American honors in the triple jump.

Edem erased her own school record in the process finishing with a jump of 40'-11" - breaking the old school record (40'-0") by almost two-feet.

In her only year as a TexAnn, Edem finished her indoor career with two school records and two All-American honors, the single-best individual season of an indoor track and field athlete in Tarleton's NCAA indoor history.

In the final appearance for Tarleton track and field in the 2015 indoor season it was Chase Rathke on the track for the finals of the one-mile run.

Rathke qualified for Saturday's final by winning his preliminary heat Friday needing only 4:13.11 to go the distance.

The junior distance runner improved his time in the finals recording a 4:10.34 to bring home a bronze medal.

This is the second bronze medal for Rathke who finished third in last years NCAA indoor meet in the 800m during Tarleton's inaugural year of NCAA indoor track...complete TSU coverage.

Zaborowska Places Fourth in 3,000 Meters at Indoor Nationals

Harding senior Ewa Zaborowska earned her second indoor track and field All-America honor of the weekend and the fourth in her career Saturday. Zaborowska placed fourth in the 3,000 meters at the 2015 NCAA II Indoor Track and Field Championships in 9 minutes, 27.08 seconds.

A native of Wejherowo, Poland, Zaborowska became Harding's first All-America honoree in the indoor 3,000 meters. Emily Oren, a junior at Hillsdale, won in a meet record time of 9:16.81.

Zaborowska also received All-America laurels as part of Harding's fourth-place distance medley relay team on Friday.

With a pair of fourth-place finishes, Harding earned 10.0 team points, good for a tie for 23rd place in the team competition.

Zaborowska is also a two-time All-American in the indoor mile, placing in the top eight at the national meet in 2013 and 2014.

Harding's women's distance medley relay team came together to earn All-America honors and shatter the school record at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

Kelsey Taylor of Marietta, Georgia opened the race with the 800-meter leg, handed to Temecula, California's Tammy Kim for the 400-meter leg. Kim handed to Conway, Missouri's Dallis Bailey, and Wejherowo, Poland native Ewa Zaborowska ran the mile. The quartet finished fourth after entering the race as the eighth seed in a school-record time of 11:32.15.

Harding's squad was more than 15 seconds faster than the old record of 11:47.31, set in 2005 by Olympian Janet Chrobon-Bawcom, Tessa Tarole, Gosia Drazkowska and Kalina Szteyn.

The 2005 quartet was the only other Harding distance medley relay team to earn All-America honors by placing in the top eight at the national meet...complete HU coverage.

Flores sets PR at NCAA Indoor Championships

Midwestern State senior Ashley Flores used a relaxed approach to post a personal best time of 5:00.56 in the indoor mile preliminaries of the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships ran at the Birmingham Crossplex.

Flores felt she had nothing to lose after earning the final national qualification, but needed to be amongst the top three finishers in either of the two qualifying heat or post one of the next three best times to move on to Saturday's championship heat.

Her time wasn't good enough to snag a coveted spot in the finals as she finished 15th overall...complete MSU coverage.

Huelga Competes at NCAA Div. II Track and Field Championships

Sabrina Huelga competed in the NCAA Div. II Track and Field Championships Friday, placing 17th in the preliminary heat of the women's 800-meter run.

Huelga was the only Zia to qualify for the championships and one of two Lone Star Conference athletes to compete in 800-meter run.  Jaylen Rodgers from Angelo State University placed 13th in the event.  The two runners did not finish in the top eight and failed to move on to the finals.

The top performer recorded a time of 2:07.64.  Huelga finished the event with a time of 2:15.34...complete ENMU coverage.

Monday, March 2, 2015

LSC Indoor Track Championships and LSC Basketball Championship Brackets

tamc indoorWest Texas A&M won its second straight women's title and Texas A&M-Commerce claimed the men's crown at the Lone Star Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at the Athletic Training Center in Lubbock, Texas. (Complete story and results)






LSC Weekly Basketball Release
LSC Men's Bracket
LSC Women's Bracket

Lone Star Conference

Angelo State University

Cameron University

Eastern New Mexico University

MSUMustangs.com

Texas A&M-Commerce

Tarleton State University

Texas A&M-Kingsville

Texas Woman's College

University of Texas of the Permian Basin

West Texas A&M University

Western New Mexico