March 6, 2005
Raiders place 10th, have three All-Americans
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — The Southern Oregon University wrestling team capped its season with three All-Americans and two academic all-stars after the second and final day of the NAIA
Championships.
Junior Jimmy Grochowsky had the Raiders’ highest placing, taking third at 165 pounds. Junior David O’Brien (fifth at 184) and sophomore Brian Seibel (seventh at 157) also earned All-
American status.
O’Brien, ranked No. 1 and Southern Oregon’s best hope for an individual title, had a disappointing day with two losses after making it to the semifinals.
"It wasn’t the day we were hoping for," said Raider coach Mike Ritchey. "It’s just one of those things. You always hope to get a finalist, but nothing really went our way
this weekend."
Junior 174-pounders Josh Fitzgerald and James Mannenbach each received Daktronics All-America Scholar-Athlete distinction by maintaining over a 3.5 grade-point average.
As a team, Southern Oregon, which finished No. 10 in the final NAIA poll, placed 10th at the national meet among 28 participating teams.
Despite a last-second, 7-6 loss to Mike Krummer of Great Falls in the quarterfinals, Grochowsky had the team’s strongest tournament run.
The Estacada native went 5-1 at the meet and finished 28-8 overall by downing William Penn’s Ryan Guffey (7-4) and Campbellsville’s Scott Vaughn (10-3) en route to an avenging, 6-4
decision over Krummer in the consolation finals.
O’Brien, who spent the entire season ranked No. 1, suffered a 7-6 loss to second-ranked Jesse Juarez of Montana State-Northern in the semifinals that snapped a school-record 20-bout win
streak.
After a 10-9 loss to third-ranked Elijah Simburger of Mary, N.D., the Kodiak, Alaska, native dispatched Dana’s Blair Alderman 10-3 in the fifth-place match to cap the year with a 27-6
record.
"He was wrestling pretty good this morning," said Ritchey of O’Brien’s match with Juarez. "He just got a little hesitant and the kid took advantage of it."
Seibel, a sophomore from Moses Lake, Wash., decisioned Ryan Smith of Great Falls 6-1 in the seventh-place clash, making him honorable mention All-American.
Despite the program’s lowest national tournament finish since 1981, the young SOU squad featured only two seniors and had four competitors come within a win of placing in the top seven.
Track and Field
ARTIE SULLIVAN MEMORIAL — At Ashland, Southern Oregon garnered 13 individual championships in the annual open meet that attracted competitors from Oregon Tech and Lane Community
College at Raider Stadium.
Junior Scott Myers (discus, shot put) and freshman Robbie Johnston (pole vault) each easily surpassed NAIA qualifying standards, while freshman Danielle Kent won two sprints and took part on a
winning relay team to highlight SOU’s efforts.
Myers, a junior transfer from Cal State-Northridge who prepped at North Medford, posted a personal-best 169-5½ in the discus — the fifth-longest heave in school history. He surpassed
the national qualifying standard by 12 feet.
Myers also posted SOU’s fifth-best shot put mark ever (56-6), eclipsing the NAIA standard by six feet.
Johnston, a Class 4A pole vault state champion from Eagle Point High, tied his own school record and qualified for the NAIA meet with a 16-7 mark.
Softball
RAIDERS WIN TWICE — At Richmond, Wash., Southern Oregon garnered two much-needed victories at the Central Washington Invitational.
The 19th-ranked Raiders (4-7) halted a four-game slide by defeating Cascade Conference rivals Concordia University (3-1) and Western Baptist College (2-0).
Freshman pitcher Alicia Caudill won her first collegiate contest by holding Concordia to one run on three hits.
Against Western Baptist, Julianne Cree improved to 2-3 by taking a one-hitter into the bottom of the seventh before settling for a four-hit shutout.
Tennis
SOUTHERN OREGON 8, SHASTA COLLEGE 1 — At Redding, Calif., Southern Oregon improved to 4-2 despite the absence of ace Annie Chaney and No. 3 singles draw Michelle Jordan due to
sickness.
Junior transfer Nicole Nakama improved to 2-0 in No. 1 singles by downing Christina Taillon, 6-4, 6-1.
SINGLES — Nicole Nakama, SOU, d. Christina Taillon, 6-4, 6-1; Danielle Farber, SOU, d. Tiffany Painter, 6-4, 6-3; Rae Rice, SOU, d. Andrea Morton, 6-0, 6-0; Rachael Malapit, SOU, d.
Theresa Vrismo, 6-4, 6-3; Jessica Hutson, SOU, d. Natasha Gildea, 6-2, 6-4; Kate Lindstrom, SOU, d. Anna Natina, 6-1, 6-1.
DOUBLES — Taillon-Painter, SC, d. Nakama-Samantha Mendoza, 6-2, 6-4; Farber-Hutson, SOU, d. Morton-Vrismo, 6-2, 7-6 (7); Rice-Lindstrom, SOU, d. Gildea-Natina, 6-2, 6-4.
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