Former NDSU Standout Chasing Olympic Dream

Laura (Hermanson) Januszewski

Former North Dakota State track standout Laura (Hermanson) Januszewski, who finished as runner-up in the 800m at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, is pushing for a spot on the Olympic team. She will be competing at this week's U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Ore., for a chance to race in at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Click here to read more about Januszewski in a Fargo In-Forum feature.

Oakland's Busch Earns Olympic Trial Cut

Oakland women's swimmer Alyssa Busch earned an Olympic Trials qualifying time in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2012 OLY Long Course Senior Challenge at the OU Aquatic Center over the weekend. She won the event and made her trial cut with a time of 1:03.30. 

Busch will join teammate Alex Aceino, who earned a qualifying time last summer in the 100-meter butterfly, at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb. for a chance to represent their country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.  

The U.S. Olympic Trials begin June 25 and conclude on July 2 with prelims beginning at 11 a.m. ET and finals starting at 7:45 ET each day.

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Highlighting SUU's Levins' Senior Season

Photo by Tom Gee (eliterunningphotos.com)

Southern Utah's Cameron Levins, the 2012 NCAA 5,000 and 10,000-meter Champion, was recently featured by Michael Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune.  Levins became the first NCAA Champion in SUU history, the Summit League's third two-time national champion and the league's first student-athlete to win two national titles at the same championship.

The Olympic hopefully is set to compete at the Canadian Olympic Trials later this month, where the top three of his races make the team.

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NDSU's Wentz Signs With Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks

Former North Dakota State infielder Zach Wentz has signed a professional contract with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, the American Association club announced today.

 

Wentz, who played first base his first two seasons and third base his last two seasons at NDSU, joined the RedHawks for today's game at the St. Paul Saints.

Wentz made all 60 starts and hit .317 with 13 doubles, five homers and 41 RBIs this season for NDSU.  He was an All-Summit League second team third baseman and a Capital One Academic All-America® first team selection.

Click here to read the full release.

IUPUI's Chen Ni Featured by Indy Star

IUPUI diver Chen Ni was recently featured by the Indy Star. The senior won her second NCAA title in the platform dive at the 2012 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships with her first national championship coming in 2010.  She became the first female in Summit League history to win two NCAA Championships.

The Olympic hopefully is set to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials, June 17-24 in Federal Way, Wash., where the top two in each event make the team.

Click here to read the story.

UMKC's 2012 Volleyball Signing Class Honored by PrepVolleyball.com

The UMKC volleyball program earned national recognition for its 2012 signing class, the first under head coach Christi Posey, as PrepVolleyball.com gave the 'Roos a 'High Honorable Mention' rating.

The 'Roos signed six high school student-athletes, added a transfer, and welcomed a former women's basketball player this offseason. PrepVolleyball.com polled more than 120 college coaches to come up with the class rankings, and UMKC was listed in a group of 30 schools that would rank anywhere from 48^th to 78^th in all of NCAA Division I.

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UMKC Sets 2012-13 Women's Basketball Coaching Staff

The UMKC women's basketball staff is set for the 2012-13 season, announced Thursday by first-year Head Coach Marsha Frese. Hired into the open assistant coach position is Danielle Gratton, while Bruce Erickson, Meredith Doyle, and Jessica Trahan each retained their positions with the program.

"Sometimes in coaching you need a little luck, and that's exactly how I feel about the staff that is now in place for our women's basketball program." Frese said.

Click here to read the complete release.

Former ORU Standout Hefner Notches First Career MLB Homer and Win in Same Game

Jeremy Hefner

Former Oral Roberts standout and All-Summit League First Team selection Jeremy Hefner hit his first career home run Tuesday night, May 29 for the New York Mets. The Mets won the game

Not only did Hefner hit his first career homer, he also notched his first career win in the majors. He became the first MLB player since San Diego Padres pitcher Dennis Tankersley did the same in 2002.

Hefner was drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Padres out of Oral Roberts. He made his MLB debut on April 23, 2012, with the Mets.

Click here to read the New York Mets release.

Click here to read the Yahoo Sports release.

WIU's Mascheri Signs with the Normal CornBelters

Departing senior left-handed pitcher Rich Mascheri signed to play with the Normal CornBelters of The Frontier League, which is part of The Independent Professional Baseball Federation on Wednesday.  

Mascheri collected Second All-Summit League honors on Wednesday as well following a season which saw him post the sixth lowest ERA in The Summit League at 3.39 and struck out 72 batters, which was the fourth most in the league, in a team-high 90.1 innings with three victories. Mascheri is the first Western Illinois pitcher to be recognized since Travis Tolsma collected second team honors in 2008.

Click here to read the full recap.

ORU's Schlehuber Named Finalist for Fan's Choice Award

CHICAGO, Ill. - Oral Roberts' senior standout Jared Schlehuber is a finalist for the "Fan's Choice Award presented by TD Ameritrade", Intersport announced today. The "Fan's Choice Award" goes beyond the stat sheet to honor and recognize college baseball players who are positive role models both on and off the field, exemplifying core values like teamwork and integrity, as well as the drive to win. The winner will be determined by fans through Facebook voting and will be honored at the 2012 TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby.

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