Vivian Gray was one of the most prized recruits in the nation, and the freshman lived up to the hype in her first season for the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team.
Gray, a 6-foot-1 forward from Argyle, Texas, was named to the All-South Central Region second team this week. She was the only freshman to earn the recognition.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said of Gray. “We’ve had I think one other player in program history able to do that, so it’s definitely not the norm. But it’s well deserved and (Gray) is definitely one of the best players in the region.”
Amy Mohr was a second team regional selection for FLC for her junior and senior seasons in 2003-04 and 2004-05 when the program was in the North Central Region.
The team was selected by sports information directors from the region.
Gray led the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with 18.5 points per game.
She also ranked second in blocked shots (1.9 per game), fifth in the RMAC in steals (1.8 per game), fifth in free-throw percentage (82.1 percent), sixth in rebounding (7.8 per game), 12th in assists (2.9 per game) and 13th in field goal percentage (46.9 percent).
Gray cleaned up regular-season awards for the 2017-18 season. She was named the RMAC freshman of the year, was an All-RMAC first team selection and won seven RMAC player of the week awards. She was also named the Hero Sports D-II women’s basketball newcomer of the year, which was a fan vote.
In its second tournament of the spring season, the Fort Lewis College’s men’s golf team showed improvement and battled through cold and windy conditions at the West/South Central Region Preview.
The Skyhawks finished tied for 19th with Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, with a team score of 36-over par 604 at the tournament, which was hosted by West Texas A&M University on Monday and Tuesday at La Paloma Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas.
“I think they handled themselves pretty well, considering what our position is and our ranking in the region compared to the teams that were there at the regional preview, which was all the best teams in the region,” FLC head coach Guy Begay said. “I think we’re ranked 23rd in the region and finished 19th, so we climbed up a couple spots as far as our placement in the tournament goes.
“I think they did pretty well considering the wind and the cold. It’s hard to imagine we’d go seven hours south and it’d be colder than Durango.”
While the Skyhawks had a strong showing, Begay said they’re still working off the rust of the winter months. The Skyhawks didn’t hit the ball or putt as well as they would have liked, but Begay said the overall performance was a “drastic difference” from last week’s season opener and that the team is “trending upward.”
University of Colorado-Colorado Springs took the team title with a two-day score of 574 to finish at 6-over. UCCS finished one shot ahead of Chico State at 7-over and two shots clear of Holy Names University at 8-over par.
There were 120 players and 23 teams at the tournament.
FLC junior Matt Huntley, who is from Amarillo, posted the lowest score of the Skyhawks and finished tied for 32nd with a two-round score of 6-over 148. Huntley shot 74 in both rounds. There were 10 other players tied at 6-over. Huntley’s family hosted the team at their home for the tournament.
“The Huntley family did a great job welcoming us to Amarillo,” Begay said. “We had a good time and we were fed well, I’ll tell you that. They do do it bigger in Texas it seemed like.”
Tyler Blohm, Austin Lienemann and Hugh Taylor tied for 69th at 152. Blohm shot rounds of 78 and 74, while Liennemann and Taylor both shot 76-76 in their two rounds. Eric Neal tied for 115th. He struggled on Monday with an 86, then shaved 10 strokes off his round Tuesday to post a 162.
Tanner Comes of UCCS won the tournament with a 6-under 136. Rate McVay of West Texas A&M was second at 4-under and Chico State’s Serge Kirliuk was third at 3-under.
FLC will have a couple weeks off to get ready for the St. Edwards Invitational March 26-27 in Austin, Texas.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
