Sports – Page 288 – North Platte Post Archive

AP Source: Nebraska Aide Charlton Warren going to North Carolina

Posted on February 13, 2015February 13, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska defensive backs coach Charlton Warren is leaving the Cornhuskers to take a similar job at North Carolina.

A person with knowledge of Warren’s hiring told The Associated Press on Friday that Warren would replace cornerbacks coach Dan Disch, who was fired. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the North Carolina has not made an announcement.

The departure of Warren is a blow for new Nebraska coach Mike Riley. Warren was the only assistant retained from Bo Pelini’s staff, and he was considered one of the Huskers’ best recruiters.

Riley said Warren told him he is taking a job at another university, but Riley did not name the school.

The statement below was made by the University of Nebraska football coach Mike Riley:

“Charlton Warren has informed me of his plans to take a similar coaching position at another university. This is an opportunity that Charlton feels is right for him and his family, and I respect his decision. We appreciate the valuable role Charlton has played in our transition to the University of Nebraska and wish him and his family nothing but the best. Charlton is an outstanding man and a bright, energetic football coach with a great future ahead of him in this profession.

“We will search for a talented teacher, coach and recruiter to fill the open position on our defensive staff. This is a high priority, but we will take the necessary time to find the individual who is the right fit to help lead the young men in the University of Nebraska football program.”

Closer Greg Holland, Royals Agree to $8.25 Million Deal

Posted on February 13, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals and closer Greg Holland avoided salary arbitration when they agreed to an $8.25 million, one-year contract before their hearing.

Under the terms of Friday’s agreement, Holland will receive a $100,000 assignment bonus if he’s traded.

The 29-year-old right-hander was 1-3 with a 1.44 ERA for the AL champions and struck out 90 and walked 20 in 62 1-3 innings. He had seven more saves and a 0.82 ERA in the postseason. The Royals reached Game 7 of the World Series before losing to San Francisco.

Holland made $4,725,000 last year and had asked for $9 million when the sides exchanged proposed arbitration salaries last month. The Royals had offered $6.65 million.

He is eligible for free agency after the 2016 season.

Hayes has 3 Points as Rangers beat Avalanche 6-3

Posted on February 13, 2015February 13, 2015

DENVER (AP) — Kevin Hayes had a goal and two assists and the New York Rangers survived a third-period rally to beat the reeling Colorado Avalanche 6-3 on Thursday night.

Rick Nash scored his NHL-leading 34th goal and Cam Talbot stopped 26 shots for New York.

The Rangers have won four of their last six to move into third place in the Metropolitan Division. They are three points behind second-place Pittsburgh and have played one less game than the Penguins.

Jarome Iginla, Gabriel Landeskog and Jan Hejda scored for Colorado, which has lost four straight.

The Avalanche, a week ago sitting just outside the last playoff spot after winning three of four, have fallen into last place in the Central Division. Colorado is 12th in the Western Conference a season after having the second-best record in the West.

No. 14 Iowa Women Defeat No. 22 Nebraska 69-61

Posted on February 13, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ally Disterhoft had 14 points and seven rebounds and No. 14 Iowa passed No. 22 Nebraska with a late surge to take a 69-61 victory on Thursday night.

Kali Peschel added 13 points and Bethany Doolittle 12 for the Hawkeyes (20-4, 11-2 Big Ten), who won their third straight game, swept Nebraska and got their first win in Lincoln since March 21, 2005.

Tear’a Laudermill scored 18 points and Brandi Jeffery 16 for Nebraska (17-7, 7-6). Emily Cady grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds. Nebraska lost its third straight, all to ranked conference rivals.

Nebraska led 37-28 at halftime but Iowa came back to take a lead with 7:55 to go. Jeffery scored six points in an 8-2 run to give the Cornhuskers a 56-54 advantage before Iowa began a game-ending 15-5 run.

Nebraska had 46 rebounds but also 22 turnovers. The Cornhuskers shot just 26.7 percent in the second half.

Big Innings Doom NPCC Knights Softball in Sweep by Barton

Posted on February 13, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights Softball team were swept in a double header by the Barton Community College Cougars 9-3 and 9-1 on a cold and windy Thursday afternoon.

Knights Coach Janelle Higgins said that the temperature was in the low 30’s and there was a stiff 15 mile per hour wind.

“Some of our girls are not use to playing in this cold of weather.” Higgins said.

Game one started out with the Knights taking a 2-0 lead in the first. After Caroline Motis singled and Jazmin Chang was hit by a pitch, Brittney Odum doubled to drive Motis and Chang in. The Cougars tied the score in the first on a double by Jenna Hosey which scored Bailey Hensley who walked. The Cougars threatened to score in the third when they had the bases loaded. Shannon Lieber , the Knights pitcher was able to get out of the inning when Holly Posegate grounded out to Lieber to end the inning. The Knights took the lead in the fifth inning on a Brittney Odum home run to make the score 3-2. In the bottom of the fifth the Cougars did their damage. They scored four runs capped off by a three-run home run by Kylie Everil to give the Cougars the lead 6-3. They added three more runs in the sixth inning, including a two-run home run by Hensley.

Odum led the Knights offensively going 3-4 with two doubles and a home run. Odum knocked in all three runs and scored one run.

Shannon Lieber took the loss but pitched a complete game and allowed only two earned runs on seven hits..

In the second game, the Knights scored early to take the lead 1-0 on a single by Sara Villalobos, driving in Motis. The Cougars scored six runs in the second inning to blow the game open. Erica Harper hit a three-run home run to highlight the Cougar second. Posegate added a solo home run in the third inning and Hensley tripled and scored a run in the fourth.

Knights starting pitcher Baileigh Oleson took the loss for the Knights. Oleson pitched two innings, allowed four hits, six runs, zero runs were earned.

Villalobos went 2 for 2 from the plate and drove in the lone run for the Knights.

Barton pitcher Taylor Bugner pitched five innings and gave up one run on five hits to get the win.

Higgins said: “We are a young team and need to play through the kinks. Brittney had a good first game offensively and Shannon pitched well for us. We need to cut down on errors .”

The Knights had six errors on the day. All of them led to runs for Barton.

The Knights continue their southern road trip Friday when they travel to Denison, Texas to play Grayson College. Game times are at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m CST.

AP Source: Royals, Herrera Agree to $4.15M, 2-Year Contract

Posted on February 13, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals and reliever Kelvin Herrera have agreed on a $4.15 million, two-year deal that avoids arbitration, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal will not be completed until Herrera passes a physical. Herrera and the rest of the Royals’ pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training in Arizona next week.

The 25-year-old Herrera made just $522,250 last season and was eligible for arbitration for the first time after compiling a 1.41 ERA. He filed for $1.9 million for this season and the Royals countered at $1.15 million.

Herrera is expected to again handle the seventh inning this season ahead of setup man Wade Davis and All-Star closer Greg Holland.

Big Ten Drops Bowl-Revenue Sanction against Penn State

Posted on February 13, 2015

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Another sanction against Penn State from the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal is going away.

Big Ten officials said Thursday that the conference will restore Penn State’s share of the conference bowl revenues next season after a three-season ban.

The school says the financial hit from losing three years of bowl revenues is about $9.6 million. Next season, it’ll get an estimated $6.6 million.

The Big Ten’s decision follows the NCAA’s agreement last month to drop its remaining sanctions, including restoring 112 football wins it had stripped and reinstating Joe Paterno as the winningest coach in major college football history.

Last fall, the NCAA agreed to reinstate Penn State’s full complement of scholarships and end a four-year bowl ban a year early by letting the team participate in post-season play.

Five Huskers to Attend U.S. National Team Tryouts

Posted on February 13, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. – Five members of the 2015 Nebraska volleyball team will participate at the USA Women’s Volleyball National Team Open Tryouts, set for Feb. 20-22 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Rising senior Alicia Ostrander and sophomore Kira Larson are the two veteran Huskers who will compete at the tryouts. Three newcomers will also try out: junior All-America transfer Briana Holman and incoming freshmen Mikaela Foecke and Kenzie Maloney.

The tryout will evaluate approximately 240 athletes from 92 colleges from across the country for spots on the U.S. Women’s National Team, the U.S. Collegiate National Team (formerly the U.S. Women’s A2 Program) and for the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team for athletes born in 1996 or 1997. For a list of athletes competing at the tryout, click here.

The Husker program is no stranger to the U.S. National Team. This past fall, former Huskers Kayla Banwarth, Jordan Larson-Burbach and Kelsey Robinson won a gold medal with Team USA at the FIVB World Championship in Italy, the first major title in U.S. women’s volleyball history.

Among the current group of tryout participants, Holman was selected to the U.S. Collegiate National Team last March following her All-SEC freshman season at LSU. Larson made the 2012 women’s junior A2 team during her high school career at Fargo North. Foecke, a freshman-to-be from Fort Madison, Iowa, has already played for the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team, winning gold at the U-20 NORCECA Continental Championships. Maloney was a starter for the U.S. Youth National Team that won a silver medal at the Youth World Championships in 2013. The fifth Husker that will try out, Ostrander, played sparingly in her first two seasons as a Husker before becoming a key contributor in 2014, averaging 2.49 kills per set.

The U.S. Collegiate National Team will compete at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea (June 28-July 14), the Tour of China (June 12-26) and the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships (June 21-30).

For athletes born in 1996 or 1997, they will also be evaluated to earn a spot on the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team that will compete at the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U20 World Championship in Cyprus July 1-13 with a training block from June 14-29 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Selections for the U.S. Collegiate National Teams will be made by the end of March, while selected athletes to the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team will be notified by April 31 with a public announcement expected by May 7.

BTN to Air Seven Big Ten Winter Championships

Posted on February 12, 2015

CHICAGO – For the eighth consecutive year, BTN will televise seven winter Big Ten Championships, including wrestling, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s indoor track & field and men’s and women’s gymnastics.

Coverage begins at 9 AM ET on Sunday, Feb. 22, with the Big Ten Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships from Ohio State. The Big Ten Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships will air at 11:30 AM ET on Sunday, March 1, from Iowa.

Coverage continues at 10:30 AM ET on Sunday, March 8, with the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships. Both the men’s and women’s events will take place at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH.

BTN’s coverage of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships will be carried live at 3 PM ET on Sunday, March 8, from Ohio State.

On Saturday, March 21, BTN will televise the first session of the Big Ten Women’s Gymnastics Championships live at 11:30 AM ET, followed by the second session live at4:30 PM ET. Michigan will host the women’s event. The network will also have live coverage of the Big Ten Men’s Gymnastics Championships at 7 PM ET on Friday, March 27, and at 7 PM ET on Saturday, March 28. The men’s event will take place at Penn State.

The Big Ten currently has 43 teams ranked in the top 25 nationally in Olympic sports programs for the winter season:

Men’s gymnastics: No. 1 Penn State, No. 3 Illinois, No. 5 Michigan, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 9 Iowa, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 11 Nebraska,
Women’s gymnastics: No. 5 Michigan, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 11 Penn State, No. 15 Illinois, No. 22 Minnesota, No. 24 Ohio State
Men’s swimming & diving: No. 6 Michigan, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 15 Indiana, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 21 Iowa, No. 23 Wisconsin
Women’s swimming & diving: No. 13 Indiana, No. 15 Michigan, No. 16 Purdue, No. 19 Minnesota, No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 23 Ohio State
Men’s indoor track & field: No. 5 Penn State, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 20 Purdue, No. 23 Michigan State
Women’s indoor track & field: No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 20 Michigan, No. 21 Maryland
Wrestling: No. 1 Iowa, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 5 Penn State, No. 10 Nebraska, No. 12 Illinois, No. 16 Michigan, No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 21 Rutgers, No. 24 Purdue

The complete television schedule for the Big Ten Winter Championships appears below. For more information, go to www.btn.com or www.bigten.org.

2015 BTN Winter Championships Schedule:

Sport	Dates	Site	Air Date and Time (ET)
Women’s Swimming & Diving	February 18-21	Columbus, OH	Sunday, Feb. 22 at 9 AM
Men’s Swimming & Diving	February 25 – 28	Iowa City, IA	Sunday, March 1 at 11:30 AM
Indoor Track & Field	February 27-28	Geneva, OH	Sunday, March 8 at 10:30 AM
Wrestling	March 7 – 8	Columbus, OH	Sunday, March 8 at 3 PM (LIVE)
Women’s Gymnastics	March 21	Ann Arbor, MI	Saturday, March 21 at 11:30 (LIVE)
Women’s Gymnastics	March 21	Ann Arbor, MI	Saturday, March 21 at 4:30 PM (LIVE)
Men’s Gymnastics	March 27 – 28	State College, PA	Friday, March 27 at 7 PM (LIVE)
Men’s Gymnastics	March 27 – 28	State College, PA	Saturday, March 28 at 7 PM (LIVE)

NPCC Knights Face Sub-Region Foes on the Road

Posted on February 12, 2015February 12, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights take to the road this weekend for two National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX South Sub-region games.

The Knights go into the weekend with a 20-4 record overall and 10-1 in the South Sub-region. The Knights are currently leading Region IX – South. Cameron Williams leads the Knights in scoring with a 22.5 points per game average. Williams leads the South Sub-Region and is 11^th in the nation in scoring. Marco Pascolo is second on the team in scoring with an 11.5 points per game average and leads the team in rebounding with 8.1 rebounds per game. Shyquinn Dix is the other Knight to average in double figures. Dix is averaging 10.8 points per game.

On Friday night, the Knights travel to Torrington, Wyo. to face the Eastern Wyoming College Lancers. The Lancers are 7-18 on the season and 1-11 in the South Sub-region. The Lancers are led in scoring by Kalil Potts with a 15.3 points per game average. Rich Williams, 10.8 points per game is the only other Lancer averaging in double figures. Nelson Kahler and Jeff Uju lead the Lancers in rebounding with 5.6 and 5.4 rebounds per game respectively. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. CST.

On Saturday, the Knights travel to Scottsbluff, Neb. to take on the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars. The Cougars are 10-15 on the season and 6-6 in the South Sub-region. The Cougars are currently fourth in the sub-region standings. The top four places will host a first round game of the Region IX Tournament later in the season. The Cougars are led in scoring by Preston Christensen, who is averaging 17.7 points per game. Following him is Diante Mitchell. Mitchell is averaging 16.4 points per game. The third Cougar to average in double figures is Damion Rashford, averaging 16.2 points per game. Rashford and Julio Guity lead the Cougars in rebounding with 5.3 rebounds per game each.

Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. CST, and can be heard on ESPN Radio 1410 or on www.northplattepost.com .