No headline

Lake City High grad Shippy named NCAA Woman

of the Year Finalist

Former Oklahoma State softball student-athlete Vanessa Shippy, a Lake City High graduate, has advanced as one of the top nine finalists for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. Selected from a record 581 school nominees — a group that was then narrowed to 154 nominees by conference offices — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. The honorees competed in 13 sports and studied a broad range of academic majors, including finance, biochemistry, microbiology, kinesiology, nursing and communication.

Shippy spent three years as a member of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She volunteered for four years at the Stillwater animal welfare shelter and for two years leading camp games at the local YMCA, and she coached for two years with the Stillwater Steele youth softball organization. Shippy also worked with the Stillwater domestic violence shelter, visited patients at The Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City and spoke at local elementary schools.

Shippy graduated with dual degrees in finance and marketing and a minor in accounting. She earned several scholar-athlete awards at Oklahoma State, was a two-time Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, and a first-team All-American this past season.

She played professionally last summer for Scrap Yard Fast Pitch, and is now an assistant coach at Syracuse.

The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year from the nine finalists. The Top 30 will be celebrated and the Woman of the Year will be named Oct. 28 at a ceremony in Indianapolis.

Big Sky suspends

officiating crew from

ISU-NAU football game

OGDEN, Utah — The Big Sky Conference announced on Tuesday that the eight-man crew from this past Saturday’s Idaho State and Northern Arizona football game in Pocatello will be suspended for their next assignment on Oct. 6.

“After a thorough review and evaluation of the Idaho State- Northern Arizona game, we have decided to suspend the officiating crew for one game,” Big Sky Interim Commissioner Ron Loghry said.

The crew failed to verify the correct sequence of downs following a targeting penalty enforcement that was reversed by replay. This resulted in Northern Arizona replaying a second down when it should have been third down. Subsequently, Northern Arizona reached a first down on third and 11 when it should have faced fourth and 11. The end result of the drive was an NAU touchdown.

Idaho State won the game, 56-42.

Spokane selected to host 2019 USA Roller Sports National Championships

SPOKANE — Spanning 22 days next summer, Spokane will host the 2019 USA Roller Sports National Championships. Not your typical national championships, it’s mammoth in size and economic impact.

Approximately 3,000 athletes will be competing for dozens of national titles and 4,700 spectators are expected to travel to Spokane during the event, scheduled for July 17-Aug. 7 at the Spokane Convention Center.

The Spokane Convention Center will be transformed into a championship venue for four distinct roller sport disciplines — figure skating, rink hockey, speed skating, and roller derby.

EWU hires new Senior

Associate AD/SWA

Sarah Adams, an administrator at Northern Colorado for the past 10 years, has accepted a position as Senior Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator at Eastern Washington University. She will begin her new duties on Oct. 21.

Since February 2014, Adams served UNC as its Associate AD/SWA. She was previously Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and Student-Athlete Support Services, and before that was Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance. She started at the school in 2008, and also spent one year at Weber State as compliance coordinator.

Adams replaces Pamela Parks, who retired from EWU after 40 years as a student-athlete, coach and administrator at Eastern.

While at UNC, Adams had oversight of the department’s internal operations, including compliance, facility and event management, sports medicine and sports performance, and was the department liaison for academics during much of her tenure. Adams was the sport supervisor for six sports — soccer, softball, swimming and diving, volleyball, women’s basketball and wrestling, and previously had oversight of cross country and track and field.

For all but the last two years at UNC, Adams was also in charge of financial aid for every student-athlete for all 19 of Northern Colorado’s sponsored athletic programs.