Sports FYI
BY Staff and Wire reports
Friday, March 01, 2013
3/01/13 at 3:21 AM
Track and field
ORU's Whitt named Southland athlete of the year: Following an outstanding performance at last weekend's Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Norman, Oral Roberts University's Jack Whitt was named the conference's male athlete of the year.
In the pole vault, Whitt easily won in his hometown when he cleared a height of 18 feet, 7.75 inches. The mark broke the school record, set by Whitt earlier in the season, as well as a 29-year-old meet record and a 22-year-old Mosier Indoor facility record. It also was the top mark in NCAA Division I so far this season.
Joining Whitt as an all-conference performer in the pole vault was Dustin Gehrke who finished third.
Jeffery Gibson and Tyler Banks were first-team all-conference performers in the 400-meter dash and 800-meter run, respectively. Lauren McFarland added a first-team award for ORU, topping teammate Daniella Szabo in the women's pole vault.
Basketball
Rogers State women win opener: Logan Froese and Sierra Cornwell each scored 17 points to help No. 14 Rogers State beat Wayland Baptist 73-56 and advance to the semifinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament in Shawnee. The third-seeded Hillcats (23-8) meet second-seeded Lubbock Christian in Friday's 1 p.m. semifinal.
OU's Ellenberg on Naismith Award list: Oklahoma guard Aaryn Ellenberg was designated one of 30 candidates eligible for the Naismith Women's College Player of the Year, as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
Ellenberg leads the Sooners in scoring with 18.6 points per game. The Las Vegas native tops Big 12 Conference players in 3-pointers made per game (3.3) and 3-point percentage (43 percent), and is third and 10th, respectively, among NCAA Division I players in the categories.
