BASKETBALL
Allen, Danberry selected players of year
BENTON — KeVaughn Allen of North Little Rock and Jordan Danberry of Conway were named the Arkansas Basketball Coaches Association Players of the Year during an awards banquet Thursday night at the Benton Event Center.
Allen, who led North Little Rock to three consecutive Class 7A state titles, one of which was vacated by the school, averaged 25.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 3.1 steals a game for the Charging Wildcats, who finished 25-5 this season. Allen was twice named MVP of the Class 7A state tournament and is a two-time winner of the Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year from Arkansas. Allen signed with the University of Florida on Wednesday.
Danberry led Conway to back-to-back appearances in the Class 7A girls state championship game. She averaged 14.0 points, 4.3 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 steals a game. She is also a two-time winner of the Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year from Arkansas. Danberry signed with the University of Arkansas during the early signing period.
Pine Bluff’s Clarence Finley was named the boys coach of the year. Vic Rimmer of Fayetteville was selected as the girls coach of the year.
TRACK AND FIELD
Arkansas’ Austell, Culp post personal records
Arkansas’ Lane Austell and Brad Culp both tallied personal-best point totals and top-10 school marks to finish third and fourth respectively in the decathlon Thursday at the Razorback Combined in Fayetteville.
Austell finished the two-day, 10-event competition with 6,866 points while Culp scored 6,731 points. Both scores also represent top-25 totals in the NCAA this season.
Austell added nearly 200 points to his previous best of 6,681 which he scored at last year’s Drake Relays. Austell bookended his day with a personal-best time of 15.43 in the 110-meter hurdles and a first-place run of 4:42.48 in the 1,500 meters. He set or tied four personal bests in the two-day event.
Culp moved into Arkansas’ top-10 performers list with his performance at the event. He had a previous high of 6,645 points from the 2014 SEC Championships. Culp had two career bests Thursday with marks of 124-7 in the discus and 4:49.05 in the 1,500 meters. He had three personal bests overall over the two days.
TENNIS
ASU women win at Sun Belt Tournament
The Arkansas State women’s team earned its first victory at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament since 2011 with a 4-3 triumph over Appalachian State on Thursday at the City Park Tennis Center in New Orleans.
The match was tied at 3-3 after singles competition, which forced the doubles matches to be played under the ITA shortened format where singles matches are played first and doubles are played only if necessary. The format is being used throughout the tournament due to the threat of inclement weather in the New Orleans area.
Playing as a doubles team for just the third time during the dual-match season, Julie Gauguery and Jess Heeps-Eriksen gave the Red Wolves an early advantage in doubles’ play with a 6-2 victory over Appalachian State’s McKayla Zupan and Gabrielle Wreder in the No. 3 position. The Mountaineers responded with a 6-3 victory over the Red Wolves’ Sofia Krsmanovic and Victoria Pisani in the No. 2 spot.
In the No. 1 position, Tamara Slijepcevic and Sabina Jeresic defeated Clare Cox and MacKenzie LaSure 6-2 to secure the doubles’ point for ASU.
UCA beats Incarnate Word
The Central Arkansas (9-5, 4-5 Southland Conference) women’s team beat Incarnate Word (2-19, 0-9) 4-1 in College Station, Texas.
Nataly Yoo, Kelsey Williams and Allison Murphy won singles matches for the Bears. The doubles teams of Murphy and Williams and Kristina Horsikyan and Bianca Strukelj helped UCA earn the doubles point.
— Democrat-Gazette Press Services