In this Weeks Update:
• A'S CLAIM HOLIDAY CHAMPIONSHIP • PANTHERS ADD DUDLEY TO MEN’S BASKETBALL STAFF • FORMER TRACK & FIELD STAR COMPETED IN OLYMPIC TRIALS • MEN’S GOLF SIGNS ENGLISH STANDOUT • TOUR OF MISSOURI WILL MAKE ITS RETURN
Scroll down to read these stories and “This Week in Sports History”
A'S CLAIM HOLIDAY CHAMPIONSHIP  The Blue Springs A’s of Kansas City captured the championship of the 32nd Annual Springfield American Legion Holiday Baseball Tournament on Sunday, July 6 at Meador Park. The A’s scored an 11-2 win over the Glendale American Legion squad in the title game to complete their domination of the five-day event. For Blue Springs it was their third Holiday Tournament title, with previous wins coming in 1999 and 2005. The A’s Kyle Berbeck was named the tournament’s most valuable player after posting a .556 average, with all of his hits going for extra bases. Glendale placed four players on the all-tournament team, pitchers Jacob Gray and Carston Cash along with catcher Stuart Gipson and shortstop Zach Snodgrass.
PANTHERS ADD DUDLEY TO MEN’S BASKETBALL STAFF Dylan Dudley has joined the Drury men’s basketball coaching staff, Panthers’ head coach Steve Hesser announced Wednesday, July 2.
Dudley, a 2000 graduate of Sullivan (Ill.) High School and ’05 graduate of Illinois College, was most recently the associate head men’s basketball coach at Westminster College in Fulton, helping the Blue Jays to a 33-16 record the past two seasons.
Dudley will join a Panthers program that is coming off a 25-5 season, its first Great Lakes Valley Conference championship and a third straight trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Photo Courtesy MSU Photo Services
FORMER TRACK & FIELD STAR COMPETED IN OLYMPIC TRIALS
Melinda Sallins’ 2008 Olympic hopes came to an end Saturday, June 28 in Eugene, Ore., as the former Missouri State track and field star finished 11th in 400 Meter Hurdles at the US Olympic Trials.
Sallins, a two-time all-American for the Bears, set the Missouri State record in the 400 meter hurdles (56.64) as a senior in 1996. Sallins, who turned 36 Monday, July 7, also holds the MSU record for the indoor 55 meter hurdles at 7.92 seconds.
Photo Courtesy MSU Photo Services
MEN’S GOLF SIGNS ENGLISH STANDOUT
Missouri State men’s golf coach Neal Stafford has received a commitment for the 2008-2009 season from Mark Hogan of Chislehurst, Kent, England. Hogan joins Jordan McLaurin of Ironton, Mo., who signed last November, to complete the Bears’ recruiting class.
Hogan is the captain of the Kent Region Junior Team, has won numerous titles in his native county and had five rounds of three under par or better in competition in 2007. He won the Chart Hills Junior Open and the Home Guard Trophy last year and the Spring Meeting at Sunridge Park the previous year.
Photo Courtesy MSU Photo Services
TOUR OF MISSOURI WILL MAKE ITS RETURN
Tour of Missouri will challenge the field of 120 world-class cyclists from 15 elite professional teams when they line up for the September 8th-14th Tour of Missouri, race organizers announced in June.
Stage 1: Monday, September 8, St. Joseph to Kansas City, 90-miles, road race, Start: 12:30 pm – Est. Finish 4:30 pm. (Last year’s stage winner: Ivan Dominguez (Cuba), Toyota United
Stage 2: Tuesday, September 9, Clinton to Springfield, 126 miles, road race, Start: 11:00 am – Est. Finish 4:14 pm. (Last year’s stage winner: George Hincapie (U.S.A.), Discovery Channel)
Stage 3: Wednesday, September 10, Branson, 18 miles, individual time trial, First cyclist: 11:00 am – Finish 2:00 pm (Last year’s stage winner: Levi Leipheimer (U.S.A.), Discovery Channel)
Stage 4: Thursday, September 11, Lebanon to Rolla, 95 miles, road race, Start 11:00 am – Est. Finish 3:00 pm
Stage 5: Friday, September 12, St. James to Jefferson City, 108 miles, road race, Start: 2:00 pm – Est. Finish 6:30 pm
Stage 6: Saturday, September 13, Hermann to St. Charles, 96 miles, road race, Start: 12:30 pm – Est. Finish 4:15 pm (Last Year’s stage winner: Danny Pate (U.S.A.), Slipstream – Chipolte)
Stage 7: Sunday, September 14, St. Louis, 70 miles circuit, Start: 2 pm – Est. Finish 4:50 pm (Last Year’s stage winner: Ivan Dominguez (Cuba), Toyota United)
The Tour of Missouri is supported principally by Missouri Department of Tourism, Edward Jones, Drury Hotels, Missouri Farm Bureau, Emerson, Anheuser-Bush, and the Missouri Wine and Grape Board.
Photo Courtesy Tour of Missouri Website
|