GOLF
ASU third, UALR sixth at SBC championships
Arkansas State’s Andrew Huseman and Tanner Napier each finished at 1-under-par 212 and tied for fourth place at the Sun Belt Conference men’s golf championships Tuesday at the Raven Golf Club in Sandestin, Fla.
ASU recorded a combined 855 score in stroke play to earn the No. 3 seed and will face No. 2 Troy, which placed second with an 854, in match play. The victor will then take on the winner between No. 1 Georgia State and No. 4 South Alabama for the team title.
Huseman, a sophomore from Ankeny, Iowa, shot an even-par 71 on Tuesday while Napier, a sophomore from Paris, Texas, shot a 1-over 72. Each finished two strokes behind Georgia State’s J.J. Grey and Maximilian Hermann and Troy’s Calum Masters, who all tied for first.
Hermann won individual medalist honors on the first playoff hole.
Oswin Schlenkrich also shot 72 on Tuesday and finished in seventh at even-par 213 for ASU, which finished third at 855 as a team, one shot off second-place Troy.
UALR’s Noah Tulios shot a 5-over 76 on Tuesday to finish at 2-over 215 and in a tie for 12th. Tyler Reynolds shot a 2-over 73 to finish in a tie for 20th and the Trojans finished sixth.
BASKETBALL
UCA women add two signees
The Central Arkansas women’s basketball team announced the signing of two junior college transfers Tuesday.
Bh’rea Griffin, a 5-5 guard from Johnson County Community College, and Cera Ledbetter, a 6-1 forward from Central Arizona College, each signed letters of intent to join the Sugar Bears.
Griffin averaged 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game last season and finished fifth in NJCAA Division II with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio for a team that finished 31-1 and ranked third in the final NJCAA Division II poll.
Ledbetter averaged 10.6 points and 7.8 rebounds last season for Central Arizona. Griffin and Ledbetter join four signees in the early period for the Sugar Bears, who went 28-4 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Glasper, Tolefree named ArBCA winners
R.J. Glasper of Forrest City and Alexis Tolefree of Conway have been selected as the Arkansas Basketball Coaches Association’s Players of the Year.
Glasper averaged 29 points a game during the regular season and led the Mustangs (26-3) to the Class 5A state championship with a 91-85 overtime victory over Maumelle. Glasper scored 40 points, made 4 assists and 3 steals in the title game.
Tolefree, who was also the All-Arkansas Preps Player of the Year, led the Lady Wampus Cats (30-2) to the Class 7A state championship game.
Jerry Bridges of Cabot was named the Most Outstanding Boys Coach for 2016 while North Little Rock’s Daryl Fimple was selected as the Most Outstanding Girls Coach for 2016.
HORSE RACING
Creator prepares for Kentucky Derby
Arkansas Derby winner Creator worked 5 furlongs in 1:02.80 over a fast track Monday morning at Churchill Downs in preparation for his scheduled start in the Kentucky Derby on May 7.
The workout came nine days after winning the $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park for trainer Steve Asmussen. After splits of 12.60, 25.00, 37.60 and 49.60, Creator galloped out 6 furlongs in 1:15.20 and 7 furlongs in 1:28.80.
“Creator is coming around at the right time,” Asmussen said. “I really like his focus and how professional he’s been the last two to three weeks. We’re just trying to keep him in the rhythm that he was in between the Rebel and the Arkansas Derby. I was extremely pleased for him to maintain his focus as well as he did with as much as there is to look at here the couple of weeks leading up to the Derby.”
Also scheduled to run in the Kentucky Derby are Arkansas Derby runner-up Suddenbreakingnews and third-place finisher Whitmore.