EDMOND —
Three basketball standouts, a top sprinter, a four-time All-American in tennis and the Oklahoma Christian golfer with the most career wins were inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame Friday night.
Bruno Buccolo (men’s golf), Mike Gipson (men’s basketball and baseball), Gabriela Lancman (women’s tennis), Jarred Merrill (men’s basketball), Sarah Reese (women’s basketball) and Damon Sims (men’s track) received OC athletics’ highest honor.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden was the keynote speaker.
The inductees were selected by a committee comprised of OC athletic department administrators, current OC coaches and faculty and staff members from outside the athletic department.
“Bruno, Mike, Gabriela, Jarred, Sarah and Damon represent the best of OC athletics,” OC Athletic Director Curtis Janz said. “They were stars in their respective sports and brought honor to themselves, their teams and their university. We are proud of what each of them accomplished during their time at Oklahoma Christian.”
Buccolo recorded 10 tournament wins during his OC career from 2004-2008. Buccolo, from Tandill, Argentina, was a four-time first-team NAIA All-America selection (2005-2008) and a four-time PING All-America, making the second team in 2005 and the first team in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He was named to the All-Nicklaus Team — a list of the top 20 collegiate golfers in the U.S. at any level — in 2008.
Buccolo holds school records for career scoring average, freshman scoring average, junior scoring average and best 36-hole score.
Gipson was one of OC’s best student-athletes during the formative years of the university’s athletic program. He led the OC basketball team in scoring for three straight seasons, from 1963-64 through 1965-66. He averaged a double-double during his senior season in 1965-66 at 20.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
He finished his career with 1,472 points, which remained as the university’s scoring record until 1980. He still ranks 20th in career points. Gipson, from Jonesboro, Ark., also pitched for OC’s baseball team.
Gipson went on to serve as a professor of biology at OC from 1970 to 2009.
Lancman helped vault OC’s women’s tennis program into national prominence, earning NAIA All-America first-team honors in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and All-America second-team honors in 2001. She led the Lady Eagles to the program’s first two NAIA national tournament appearances in 2000 and 2001.
Also a three-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete, Lancman, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America pick, making the third-team list in 2000 and the first-team list in 2001. She was named as the winner of the Tennis magazine/Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA Arthur Ashe Award for Sportsmanship and Leadership in 2001.
Merrill, from Abilene, Texas, was the top post player in OC men’s basketball history, earning NAIA player of the year honors as a senior in 2005. The two-time NAIA All-America first-team pick finished his career as OC’s leading career scorer with 2,189 points and second on the career rebounding list with 1,120. He was the first Sooner Athletic Conference player to record 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
He twice was named as the NAIA player of the week and also holds school records for single-season scoring (821 points), career field goals attempted (1,487), career free throws made (650) and attempted (795) and season free throws made (259) and attempted (311). He shares OC’s record for career double-doubles with 59.
Merrill went on to play professionally in Spain, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Bahrain, Lebanon and South Korea, as well as in the U.S. in the NBA Development League, the American Basketball Association and the United States Basketball League.
Reese is one of only five OC women’s basketball players to earn NAIA All-America status at least three times. After transferring to OC from Cameron, Reese was an All-America third-team pick in 2000, a second-team pick in 2001 and a first-team selection in 2002. She made the All-Sooner Athletic Conference first-team list each of those seasons and was the SAC newcomer of the year in 2000.
Reese, from Owasso, holds OC records for rebounds in a season (395) and career rebounding average (10.5). She is sixth on OC’s career scoring list with 1,707 points and fifth on the single-season scoring (661) and career rebounding (996) lists. She led the Lady Eagles in scoring in each of her three seasons. OC made the NAIA tournament in 2000, 2001 and 2002, reaching the second round in 2000 and 2002.
Sims was one of the top sprinters in OC history. The six-time NAIA All-America honoree from Baton Rouge, La., won the NAIA championship in the outdoor 200 meters in 1994. He also finished in the top six in the NAIA in the outdoor 100 (1994), the outdoor 200 (1995), the indoor 200 (1995) and the indoor 400 (1994, 1996).
He still holds OC records in the indoor 200 (21.72 seconds) and 400 (48.09 seconds) and the outdoor 200 (20.85 seconds). In 1996, Sims was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America third-team list and as an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar by Black Issues in Higher Education.
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6 inducted into Oklahoma Christian Athletic Hall of Fame
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Bronchos hit final match play spot in first round
Dillon Rust got off to a blazing start and ended up shooting a one-under-par 70 to lead Central Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. Tuesday.
Rust birdied four of his first five holes en route to his under-par round and the Bronchos ended up with a 300 on the day, giving them a 36-hole total of 597. The 300 leaves UCO eighth in the 20-team field heading into final round of stroke play, with the top eight teams advancing to match play that will determine the national champion. -
Area players earn All-State honors on the diamond
Three area baseball players were selected to the All-State Team this week.
Right-handed pitcher Holden Lyons from Edmond North, made the team after posting a perfect 7-0 mark with a 1.65 earned run average.
Deer Creek’s Cole Lindley made it as an outfielder and Oklahoma Christian’s Austin Brooks landed on the list in the designated hitter’s spot.
The threesome will compete on the Large West squad on July 30 at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. -
Tennis camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Raquet Club is offering a pair of tennis camps beginning May 28.
For ages 5-8, a camp is offered from 8:45-9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and for ages 7-15 a tennis camp is available from 6-6:55 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Both camps run from May 28-June 13 and cost is $99 per camp.
A camp session for ages 8-16 will run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30-9:25 a.m. May 29-June 12 for the identical cost.
For more information concerning these camps and others, call 341-4241. -
UCO winds up 10th nationally
Taylor Neidy fired a final-round 75, but Central Oklahoma failed to move up in the team standings at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday.
The Bronchos closed with a 323 — making 11 double bogeys and three triples — and finished 10th in the four-day, 72-hole tournament with a 1,298 total on the 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International.
Lynn ended Nova Southeastern’s four-year reign as national championships, finishing with a 1,187 total to edge the Sharks by three strokes. -
Central Oklahoma softballers make World Series again
Hayley Hudson gave Central Oklahoma a 5-4 lead with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos staved off a seventh-inning Winona State threat to capture the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional championship Saturday afternoon at Edmond North High School.
The Warriors put two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in a bid to pull out a late win and force a deciding game in the best-of-three series, but left fielder Devyn Frazier made a running catch in foul territory for the final out to set off a wild celebration on the field.
UCO improved to 47-11 — a school-record for wins — with its 23th consecutive home victory and advanced to the Division II World Series for the second straight year. The Bronchos will face Armstrong Atlantic in the eight-team World Series at 11 a.m. Thursday in Salem, Va.
“I’d say that was a nail-biter,” head coach Genny Stidham said. “It was a good game, both teams played well. Winona has a great team and they didn’t give up, but we came up with some big plays and came out on top. -
Central Oklahoma golf coach picks up award
Central Oklahoma’s Michael Bond has been named the NCAA Division II Central Region Coach of the Year by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, with Aly Seng and Erica Bensch both earning All-Central Region honors.
Bond led the Bronchos to perhaps the best season in school history in 2012-13 with top-five finishes in 10 of their 12 tournaments. UCO won three titles, including the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association crown and its first-ever regional championship, and finished 10th in the Division II national tournament. -
Workman's blast cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. - More Sports Headlines
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Bronchos hit final match play spot in first round
