OREM — A slew of honors came to the UVSC men's and women's track and field teams over the weekend as well as the National Athletic Conference championships for both squads. The women's team wiped out the competition as it won with an impressive 322 points, while the men came out on top with 186 points in the event held at BYU.
UVSC senior Mariama Salifu ran away with the 100- and 200- meter sprints as well as the NAC female athlete of the year award as she wrapped up her collegiate career. Salifu wasn't the only Wolverine to take home hardware as coach Scott Houle was named NAC coach of the year for both the men's and women's team.
As if that weren't enough, UVSC freshman Chelsea Baker was awarded the NAC female new comer of the year prize. Baker also won the 400-meter race with a time of 57.77.
The women were paced by Salifu and Baker, while other winners included sophomore Alise Lindsey in the 800 meters, junior Karrine Bently in the 1500 meters and freshman Kaylee Hornbeck in the 100-meter hurdles.
The men's team also did its share of owning the competition as junior Danny Moody escaped with the win in the 5000-meter race with a time of 15:38:02. Freshman Cory Pierson contributed to the team with a victory in the 110-meter hurdles, while teammate Andrew Graham finished first in the 400-meter hurdles.
BASEBALL: The UVSC baseball team came back to earth after its impressive victories last week over Oklahoma State and BYU as they were swept in a three-game series by the Arizona Wildcats with the final installment coming in an 11-4 loss Sunday.
The 19th ranked Wildcats jumped out to a quick lead as they scored at least one run in the first five innings. The deficit proved too much for the Wolverines as they found themselves down 7-0 before they registered their first hit.
UVSC's Scott Croshaw tripled in the fourth inning driving in Jace Brinkerhoff for the Wolverines first run. A sacrifice fly later in the inning brought Croshaw home to cut into the lead.
Trailing 11-2 in the ninth Wolverine Tyler Garretson singled before Kai Hatch added a single of his own. Adam Openshaw then doubled scoring Garretson, and Matthew Ratliff's sacrifice fly brought home the Wolverines final run of the game. The loss drops the Wolverines to a 14-34-1 record.
SOFTBALL: The Wolverines season came to an end Tuesday as they lost 6-1 to cross-town rival BYU. Junior Heidi Stocks had the only hit for UVSC as they were dominated by Cougar pitcher Paige Affleck who allowed one hit in her five innings of work.
UVSC scored its only run in the fifth when Affleck walked Lauren Augino and Magan Nienann with two outs. Augino advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a double steal. The Wolverines finished their season with a tough-to-swallow 17-34 record.
ON TAP: Baseball: at Oregon State today; at Hawaii Thursday-Saturday.