Linfield College softball infielder Staci Doucette was named the female recipient of the Ad Rutschman Small College Athlete of the Year Award as part of the annual Oregon Sports Awards held Sunday at the Stanford Theatre on the campus of Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.
The Evergreen High School graduate is the first Linfield female athlete to receive the prestigious award and the sixth overall winner from the McMinnville, Ore., college since the honor was established in 2001.
Doucette topped a field of five finalists for the Rutschman Award that included current Linfield teammate and fellow All-American Karleigh Prestianni, as well as Concordia University golfer Lindsay Aho (a graduate of Prairie High School), Concordia soccer player Brittany Orr, and Southern Oregon University basketball player Jacki Speer.
Doucette, a junior infielder, led Linfield to Northwest Conference and regional championships, and helped the Wildcats advance to within one victory of claiming the program’s second NCAA Division III championship in four years.
Linfield finished its record-breaking 2010 season with a 5-4 loss to East Texas Baptist in the national championship game.
Doucette was the NWC Player of the Year and a first team All-American for a second consecutive season. She set school records for batting average (.477), on-base percentage (.550), slugging percentage (.935), RBI (66), while hitting a NCAA-best 20 home runs.
“Staci’s ability to hit for average and power, along with everything else she does on the field, really sets her apart,” Linfield softball coach Jackson Vaughan said. “It’s neat to see what she has been able to accomplish in such a short time.”
Rutschman guided Linfield to four national championships, three in football and one in baseball, in 24 seasons. He is the only college coach at any level to win national titles in two different sports.
The Rutschman Award is presented annually to the outstanding male and female student-athletes representing the state’s 14 NCAA Division II and III and NAIA-affiliated colleges and universities, and 10 community colleges.
Simmons third at wrestling nationals
Oklahoma City University senior Melissa Simmons placed third at the Women’s College Wrestling Association (WCWA) national championships Saturday in Atherton, Calif.
The Ridgefield High School graduate bounced back from a loss in the semifinals at 72 kg (158 pounds) with two wins to place third.
Simmons won four of five matches at Menlo College’s Haynes-Prim Pavilion, with all of her wins by pinfall.
Simmons pinned her first two opponents, Megan Agajanian of Cumberlands in 57 seconds in the opening roiund then Justina DiStasio of Simon Fraser in 1:58 in the quarterfinals, before dropping a decision to Lindenwood’s Kendra Lewis in the national semifinals.
She pinned Brittany Jones of Missouri Valley in 1:20 in the consolation semifinals to reach the third-place match, where she stuck DiStasio again, this time in 1:18.
Simmons’ finish helped the Stars win the team championship for the third consecutive season. OCU also garnered the WCWA scholar team award with a cumulative grade piont average of 3.10.
Simmons, who completed her OCU degree in kinesiology in December, achieved All-America status in each of her three seasons of collegiate eligibility.
With her collegiate career now completed, Simmons begins focus on qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games by competing next week at an international tournament in India.
Porter breaks own record in 5,000m
Western Washington University senior Sarah Porter ran an NCAA Division II automatic national qualifying time in the women’s 5,000 meters as she placed third Friday at the University of Washington Indoor Invitational at the Dempsey Indoor facility in Seattle, bettering her own school record by over 20 seconds
The Hockinson High School graduate’s time of 16 minutes, 26.66 seconds was just three seconds off her personal best in either indoor or outdoor competition.
Porter’s previous indoor best was 16:47.07.
Placing first in 16:11.50 was Kara Goucher, representing Nike, who is a two-time World Championships participant and 2008 Olympian with a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2007 world championships.
Oregon’s Bronwyn Crossman was second in 16:20.83 among the field of 17 runners competing.
The performance qualifies Porter for a fourth consecutive appearance at the NCAA II National Indoor Championships on March 11-12 at Albuquerque, N.M. She is a two-time indoor All-American, placing fourth in 2010 and sixth in 2009, and was 15th in 2008.
Dixson garners CCC field honors again
Concordia University sophomore Gabi Dixson was named Cascade Collegiate Conference women’s Field Athlete of the Week after moving into No. 6 in the NAIA in both the shot put and the weight throw with season-best marks Saturday at the University of Washington Indoor Invitational at the Dempsey Indoor facility in Seattle.
Competing against primarily NCAA Division I athletes, Dixson — a homeschool graduate who competed for Battle Ground High School — automatically qualified to indoor nationals in both events.
Dixson’s mark of 44 feet, 3¼ inches in the shot put ranks No. 2 in school history, while her 54-1 in the weight throw nearly broke her own school record in the event.
CU’s Andrews helps relay to ‘A’ standard
Sami Andrews was part of Concordia University’s distance relay team that ran a qualifying time for NAIA track and field indoor nationals Friday at the University of Washington Indoor Invitational at the Dempsey Indoor facility in Seattle.
Andrews, a Camas High School graduate competing in track after completing a four-year soccer career for the Cavaliers, joined Andria Scheese, Stephanie Persaud and Linsie Michels for a time of 12 minutes, 24.12 seconds, which was just shy of a school record.
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