MOTOR SPORTS
Open wheels aplenty at I-30
Three types of open-wheel race cars will be on the card for special events tonight at Little Rock's I-30 Speedway: 360 cubic-inch winged sprint cars, the POWRi wingless midget series and POWRi's winged mini-sprints.
The top of the card will be the sprints and the ninth annual Ralph Henson Memorial. The main event will pay $4,646 to win and $346 to start, in homage to Henson, the former I-30 track champion who drove car No. 46.
The POWRi midget event will pay $1,500 to win in the series' second visit to I-30 this season. Steven Shebester of Mustang, Okla., won that event, as well as the series' most recent event at Airport Raceway in Garden City, Kan., on Sept. 3.
The POWRi mini-sprint event will pay $2,000 to win, making it one of the nation's richest for the class. Nathan Benson of Concordia, Mo., is the series points leader and has five victories in the series.
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and racing is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. Adult grandstand admission is $25, and children ages 6-12 get in for $1. Pit passes are $35.
GOLF
Lee returns to U.S. Senior Amateur
Stan Lee of Tumbling Shoals tees off at 1:10 p.m. Central today in the U.S. Senior Amateur at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis.
Lee was the tournament's 2007 champion at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan. This is the first time he will play Old Warson, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design where the United States won the Ryder Cup in 1971.
"This is one great course," Lee said. "It will be playing at 7,100 yards, which is unbelievable for a senior event, which we usually play around 6,800 yards. It's a bit overwhelming."
Lee is the only Arkansan in the event. Heber Springs' Louis Lee, Stan's brother and the 2011 champion, had to withdraw earlier in the week due to a family emergency.
"I haven't played a lot of golf this summer so I don't know how I will react," Lee said. "It's going to be fun to find out."
The tournament will consist of stroke play today and Sunday with a cut made to the top 64 players who will begin match play Monday. Second and third rounds will be played Tuesday, with quarterfinal and semifinal rounds set for Wednesday.
The championship match is set for Thursday with 18 holes.
-- Frankie Frisco
TRACK AND FIELD
Downs replacing Green at UA
Matt Downs is the new director of operations for Arkansas' men's cross country and track and field program, Razorbacks Coach Chris Bucknam announced Friday.
Downs comes to Arkansas from Oregon, where he was the director of international operations for the Ducks' men's and women's programs the past four years.
Downs is replacing Danny Green, who was on Arkansas' staff for 19 years before recently moving to Houston for family reasons. Green, a 1995 Arkansas graduate, ran for the Razorbacks and was involved with the program for 24 years.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Danny for his 20-plus years of service to the Razorbacks," Bucknam said in a news release. "It's a tribute to Danny and the job he did for us that we were able to attract and secure such an experienced and talented young man in Matt."
CROSS COUNTRY
Razorbacks finish third
The No. 6 Arkansas men's cross country team raced to a third-place team finish at Boston College's Battle in Beantown on Friday afternoon at Franklin Park in Boston.
The Razorbacks were led by 2015 first team All-SEC performer Alex George, who paced the team as the No. 1 overall runner in the 8K competition.
All seven Hogs runners finished the race among the top 32 in a field of 122 entries.
VOLLEYBALL
UALR too much for Incarnate Word
UALR (4-7) hung on to defeat Incarnate Word (4-9) 25-15, 19-25, 25-17, 25-27, 15-12 on Friday night at Stephen F. Austin's Shelton Gym in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Edina Selimovic recorded a season-high 19 kills while leading the match with six blocks. Taylor Lindberg came up two assists shy of her career high with 48. Carolee Dillard had a match-high .389 hitting percentage with 11 kills on 18 attempts.
Reddies, Golden Suns drop a pair
Henderson State and Arkansas Tech lost two matches Friday at the Peggie Martin Crossover Classic in Warrensburg, Mo.
The Reddies opened the tournament losing to No. 11 Central Missouri 25-20, 25-11, 25-18.
Henderson was led by sophomore hitter Sharon Tukuaoga with nine kills and freshman setter Haley Higgins who had 13 assists and 5 digs.
The Reddies (5-7) also lost the nightcap 25-22, 25-11, 22-25 and 25-20 to Newman.
Tukuaoga once again led Henderson with 19 kills. Higgins had 36 assists while Sydney Skelton totaled 15 digs.
Arkansas Tech (6-5) lost 25-23, 25-15, 24-26, 25-15 to Northwest Missouri and 25-20, 25-9, 25-21 to Central Missouri.
Against Northwest Missouri, Hunter Eshnaur led the Golden Suns with 13 kills while Lauren Rodemers had 12. Sarah Rosinke had 23 assists and Madison Nagel had 15 digs.
Against Central Missouri, Eshnaur had eight kills. Amanda Minick had 11 assists and 12 digs.
UAPB falls to Texas Southern
Arkansas-Pine Bluff took the first set at home Friday against Southwestern Athletic Conference foe Texas Southern, but the Golden Lions could not maintain the momentum at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
Texas Southern defeated UAPB (0-7, 0-1 SWAC) 24-26, 25-19, 25-15, 26-24.
Kendalle Howard led the Golden Lions in kills with 11. Britney Sahlmann contributed 26 assists.
UCA splits in Florida
Central Arkansas opened play in the Holiday Inn Orlando East/UCF Challenge on Friday in Orlando by losing to Central Michigan 25-18, 25-20, 25-17.
The Sugar Bears (5-7) were led by Haley Tippett's match-high 12 kills. Elizabeth Armstrong passed out 33 assists, and sophomore Amanda Dimon tallied a match-high 10 digs.
Friday night, Central Arkansas beat Central Florida 25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 25-16. Tippett had 13 kills. Megan Nash finished with 11. Samantha Anderson and Armstrong had 36 assists.
John Brown beats Mid-American Christian
John Brown defeated Mid-American Christian (Okla.) 17-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-18, Friday in Oklahoma City.
Carly McKinney led John Brown with 12 kills, 9 digs and 4 aces. Megan Beck added nine kills.
John Brown (11-4, 3-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) plays at Oklahoma City today.
Hendrix beats Berry
Hendrix defeated Berry College 23-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-17 on Friday at Grove Gymnasium in Conway.
Hendrix (7-3, 2-0 Southern Athletic Association) was led by Laruen Petrisin, who finished with 18 kills. MC Rogers had 14 kills and eight digs. Lauren Dwyer had 10 kills and 24 digs. Allison Gala had 24 assists and 10 digs. Leila Matsumoto had 21 digs.
SOCCER
ASU shut out in SBC opener
The Arkansas State women's team dropped its Sun Belt Conference opener to Coastal Carolina 4-0 Friday afternoon at the CCU Soccer Stadium in Conway, S.C.
ASU (3-3-2) sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Ponder made 10 saves as the Chanticleers put 14 of 18 shots on goal. It was the second time this season that Ponder has had 10 or more saves in a game.
Sports on 09/17/2016