CSU-Pueblo Today » Sports

Transfer proves dividends to CSU-Pueblo wrestler

Josiah Rodriguez — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:48:37 +0000

Transferring to another university can be difficult for any student athlete. But for wrestler Patrick Carey, a transfer from the University of Northern Colorado, it has offered a positive alternative in both academics and athletics here at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Carey, 22, mass communications major, made the transfer from UNC to CSU-Pueblo in the spring of 2010 for what he said was because of a coaching change in UNC’s wrestling program his third year there.

In addition to the coaching change, Carey pointed out that the large university atmosphere, like UNC, brought many distractions. This hindered his already hectic wrestling and academic schedule.

“There are a lot more distractions at a bigger school like UNC,” Carey said. “It was tough to balance school and wrestling with all of them.”

Last season, Patrick Carey was a heavyweight division national qualifier. Photo contributed by CSU-Pueblo Althetics Website gothunderwolves.com

He was not alone in the transfer however. His brother Adam, a sophomore who also wrestled at UNC, joined Carey in 2009 to compete in the upcoming 2010 season.

“Me and my brother thought it was best to go somewhere else after the coaching change,” Carey said.

Carey said he enjoys having Adam here with him: “Having my brother here is great because I always have a partner with me to workout with.”

Having his brother on campus to help him compete allowed Carey to have a very successful season for the ThunderWolves as well.

CSU-Pueblo’s wrestling head coach, Dax Charles, said Carey finished an impressive 37-13 in the heavyweight division as a national qualifier in the Division II ranking. He said he believes Carey has a chance to win a national championship for the team this year.

Carey said he credits his success to the competition he faced at UNC, which gave him experience. With that said, Carey came within one round of becoming a Division II All-American last year and yearns to become one this upcoming spring.

He also predicted a standout season this year because of a rigorous training routine this summer with his brother Adam and the U.S Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

With all of his wrestling success this past year, Carey still has not forgotten about his academics while at CSU-Pueblo. When he is not punishing his opponents in the wrestling mats, Carey is working towards his degree in mass communications department with an emphasis in journalism.

Carey, who carries a large figure at a 6-foot-4-inch 295 pound frame, said he found his interest in journalism when he attended UNC.

Although this major is one that interests him, Carey admits that school is still very tough to manage with wrestling. He said however that the peaceful and less distracting environment offered at CSU-Pueblo has allowed him to manage both wrestling and school much easier however, unlike that of UNC.

Carey simply said that when trying to manage wrestling and school, “I find a way to get it done.”

Carey has plans on becoming a news reporter after wrestling and if all works out, will be receiving his degree in mass communications in spring 2011.

However, Carey has not given up on his wrestling goals and will begin training again September 7 for the 2011 wrestling season, in which he plans to continue the success he has obtained at CSU-Pueblo.

Bring the Thunder MMA comes to CSU-Pueblo

Nick Townsend — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:30:04 +0000

Finished in Feb. 2008, the Massari Arena, home to the ThunderWolves' men's and women's basketball teams, will now take on the MMA. Photo by Orlando T. White.

On September 11, the Colorado State University-Pueblo athletic department will host “Bring the Thunder MMA,” the first Mixed Martial Arts event to take place at Massari Arena.

Two Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans, Alvin “Kid” Robinson and Eliot “The Fire” Marshall will be fighting that night, the Colorado State University – Pueblo Department of Athletics said in a press release.

Robinson actually has ties to CSU-Pueblo when he wrestled here in 2001, right before the program folded and was coached by Dax Charles. Another participant who will be fighting that night, Brett Roller, was recruited to CSU-Pueblo before the program folded, Charles said.

The CSU-Pueblo Department of Athletics also said that Colorado’s Shane Carwin, who is currently ranked as the third best heavyweight in the world, will also be making a special appearance.

Charles, head coach of the CSU-Pueblo wrestling team, said that Carwin will most likely get in the ring, do a meet-and-greet with the fans and be a supporter of the event going on that night.

Charles, who also said he is a big MMA fan, said that the event will be a fundraiser for the athletic department. Charles was able to make the pitch to the athletic department telling them that MMA is the fastest growing sport and that can benefit the University.

Charles also said that they had the resources to run a first class event.

The match card that night will consist of 12 fights. There will be both professional and elimination fights including female fights Charles said.

Charles said that all fights will have three five-minute rounds, and that the difference between the professional fights and the elimination bouts is that the professional fights are paid fights while the elimination bouts are not.

There will also be fighters taking part from Pueblo as well including professional fighter Prentice Ingram from Southern Colorado MMA. Ingram will be taking on Nick Macias from Denver that night,Charles said.

In addition to Ingram, Pueblo fighters Nick Portillos and Dominic Montoya, both from team “Rude Effex” will be taking part in the fights that night as well, Charles said.

Charles also said that there will also be fighters from Colorado Springs, Denver, Trinidad, California, Kansas and New Mexico.

“Bring the Thunder MMA” will also be getting national attention as well, as it will be advertised on national channels such as ESPN, Spike, MTV and Comedy Central, Charles said.

The event will also have internet marketing and will be covered on a tape delay through the Internet on www.HD.net, Charles said. The show will also include Inside MMA, as well as post fight interviews of the pro fights.

Charles said he is a big supporter of this event as well as the fighters fighting in the event.

“Most MMA fighters are former college wrestlers, and events like Bring the Thunder are a great way to support those fighters, and raise money for future college athletes,” Charles said.

Although this is going to be the first year of this event, it is unclear at this time if this will become an annual event or not.

“Gotta get through the first one,” Charles said. “We will evaluate how this event goes, and as an athletic department we will make a decision on next steps.”

Tickets for “Bring the Thunder MMA” are on sale through TicketsWest.com. Student and military general admission is $20, while there are reserved seats at $35 and East side Reserve seats going at $45. Floor seat will also be going at $75 the CSU-Pueblo Department of Athletics said.

United States soccer: A tale of what could have been?

Joe Foley — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:02:04 +0000

Photo courtesy of the USA players website.

Well it was a good run.

Good enough in U.S. soccer standards, I suppose. Save for a miraculous third-place finish in the inaugural 1930 World Cup and a quarterfinals appearance in the 2002 World Cup, this round-of-16 appearance is tied for the fourth best appearance from a United States squad in nine tries.

Unfortunately this doesn’t take into account the 10 times the U.S. didn’t qualify for the World Cup. It also doesn’t include 1938 and a terrible 32-year draught that began in 1954, and lasted all the way until 1986.

But let’s all be completely honest with each other. The U.S. isn’t exactly a fútbol powerhouse. Wait, did you mean football? No, unfortunately I’m referring to the football you actually play with your feet. The beautiful game; something the U.S. has managed to make ugly at some points in its courageous World Cup runs.

If we ever had a year to make an impact and show the world we know how to play soccer, it was this year. (I’ll call it “soccer” to save the confusion that sometimes comes in explaining the sport to common Americans).

First, let’s start with our group. The United States, for once, looked superior to big brother England. Although the English National Team is full of Premiership players, the “Three Lions” never looked ferocious enough to warrant a number eight International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) ranking. Granted we did earn a draw against them with a fluke of a goal, but England never got on track in the World Cup and is consequently in the same place the United States is.

The other teams in our group, Slovenia and Algeria, were nothing to be worried about as they are ranked 25and 30 respectfully. You’ll find the U.S. 11 spots higher, ranked 14 by FIFA.

Thanks to a courageous Landon Donovan goal in a last gasp effort by the United States, we saw a glimpse of what could have been. We were lucky enough to win our group, to set up a rematch with Ghana.

A far better matchup than the group runner-up England who went on to see Group D winner Germany counter-attack to turn their dreams into nightmares by beating them 4-1.

Ghana really looked like a team the U.S. could beat. Not only did we have revenge on our minds from the 2006 World Cup, but the momentum of referee gaffs and a resilient U.S. squad was also working in the United States favor. Ghana was also missing arguably their most decorated player, Michael Essien, to injury.

But by the end of the 120 minutes played in the United States’ Round of 16 game against Ghana, the results had managed to again not be in the U.S. favor. In the 93 minute, Asamoah Gyan managed to sneak a goal passed goalkeeper Tim Howard to end the U.S. run.

Looking ahead, I feel as if we had a reasonable chance to beat Uruguay. They are certainly a favorable matchup for the United States, in that they don’t possess the star power that countries like Brazil, Argentina or Germany has. But even the loud-blowing Vuvuzelas couldn’t wake the United States from another World Cup nightmare.

I guess it’s time to face the facts. The United States isn’t a soccer country. North America isn’t a soccer continent. Welcome home Mexico and Honduras.

The general population of the United States just isn’t interested in 0-0 draws or 1-0 victories. Think basketball with a ton of turnovers and one basket, to get an idea of how the United States views soccer.

The “physical contact,” or should I say the lack thereof, is also a turnoff to the U.S. population. The diving from Paul Pierce and Manu Ginobili over the course of a basketball season are enough for me. Seeing Brazilian Kaka sent off for a red card when he clearly was ran into finally pushed the limit.

The officiating was also suspect in this World Cup, with not only one but two goals taken from the United States. Now ask any American sports fan the reason their favorite team in any sport lost this past year and seven out of 10 will point to the officiating. It’s just what we as Americans do. It is also a pain felt in England and Mexico.

Now throw in the fact that we just aren’t good enough as a country to be competitive in international soccer and it’s easy to see the disinterest in the sport. I will continue to watch the beautiful game throughout the tournament to hopefully wipe away the pains from what could have been.

But with the World Cup now over for the United States, I’m sure many people can agree, the next question on everybody’s mind is, WWLD. “What Will LeBron Do?”

Dodgeball league hits campus

Nick Townsend — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:23:43 +0000

Photo courtesy of the Colorado State University website.

If you’re looking to get into some dodgeball action at Colorado State University-Pueblo, then you’re in luck because there is plenty of it going on.

During the summer semester there is a three-week dodgeball league that started on June 21 and will last until July 6, Bill Moorman said, an intramural supervisor at the CSU-Pueblo recreation center.

Like many of the leagues that go on in the summer, dodgeball is a noon league that requires no charge, Moorman said. All games are usually from noon until 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

This summer there are only five co-ed teams that are participating in the league, mainly because it is hard to get a full team in the summer, Moorman said. He also said that the summer staff would play in the summer to try and even teams out.

The rules for the summer league are still the same rules you can expect to find in a regular dodgeball game, Moorman said. Every match consists of a best-of-seven-series, and the basics, such as trying to catch balls being thrown at you and trying to hit the other players, are in effect.

However, there are a few twists with the rules in this summer league. All games are played in the lines of the basketball court, but if the officials feel that the game is moving really slowly, they can decide to move the players in the lines of the volleyball court to speed up the game, Moorman said.

Any player may also try to get all their players back into the game if they can successfully shoot the ball into the other team’s basket, Moorman said.

The rule in dodgeball where a player catches a ball and the person who threw it is out, is still in effect provided the person caught the ball cleanly.

However, Moorman also said that if a thrown ball hits a player, and another one of his teammates catches the ball before it hits the ground, then the player who threw it is the one who is out, and not the player who first got hit.

The five teams that are playing this summer will compete in a tournament July 5 and 6 Moorman said. The team with the best record will get a bye in the first round and the team with the second best record will play the team with the worst, while the third seed will play the fourth in the first round.

The winner of the two-five matchup will then go on to play the first ranked seed for the rights to compete in the championship, while the winner of the three-four matchup will automatically play for the championship.

Although Moorman is an intramural supervisor, he said he still participates in the league mainly because it is really fun for him. “The dodgeball league is a blast,” Moorman said, “because of all the people that participate in our leagues and because we get to have a good relationship with them.”

Moorman also said that he is not the only person who is having a blast playing dodgeball. “Everyone likes to have fun from the intramural supervisors to the participants.”

For those interested in more information about dodgeball leagues, a place where you can visit is a new website called IMLeagues.com. Moorman said it is like a combination of ESPN’s website and Facebook. It keeps track of stats, schedules and standings.

Pretty soon IMLeagues.com will even allow people to register for intramural leagues that will be forming in the upcoming semester, Moorman said.

Women’s basketball adds new recruits

Nick Townsend — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:36:57 +0000

Every year the Colorado State University-Pueblo women’s basketball team goes out all over the country and recruits really talented basketball players.

This year’s upcoming freshman class has the potential to be a really good recruiting class, according to Kip Drown, the head coach of the women’s basketball team.

Although it will take time to see how great this class can become, “wait three or four years to get a judge of the class,” Drown said.

The recruit that is getting the most attention in this recruiting class is 6-foot-2-inch Taylor Fox from Santa Cruz, Calif. Fox was the last player Drown signed after seeing her play in Phoenix.

Fox averaged 21.6 points per game while playing at Santa Catalina High School. She also earned Mission Trail Athletic League MVP honors for the second time, leading the Cougars to their second straight MTAL Championship and third league title in four seasons.

Fox has scored nearly 1,500 career points in 90 games, averaging 16.1 points per game, a press release from the Recreation Center at CSU-Pueblo said. Fox was also a very strong perimeter player who averaged 1.5 three-pointers per game.

Drown said recruiting Fox came down to CSU-Pueblo and Seattle University, which is a Division I school. Drown also said that at CSU-Pueblo, he expects Fox to play the small forward position.

CSU-Pueblo basketball fans can expect to see Fox, Evans, Castillo and other recruits at the Massari Arena in 2010. Photo courtesy of the GoThunderwolves website

In addition to Fox, Drown was also able to recruit player’s right here in Colorado. Point guard Alex Evans from Louisville Colo, and Taylor Castillo, a 6-foot-2-inch post player from Kiowa are two of these players.

Evans has had a stellar career while playing at Monarch High School, leading Monarch to the final four the last two years, Drown said. Evans was also named the Boulder Daily Camera Regional Player of the Year in 2010.

Castillo is a very good post player who has real good upside, Drown said. Castillo was also able to help lead Kiowa to the Colorado 2A state semifinals this past year.

Drown was also able to recruit two players from Arizona. These players include Paige Ramm from Prescott Arizona, who was the 2010 Arizona high school three-point champion, and Katie Tomlinson, a 6-foot-1-inch post player from Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz.

This year’s recruiting class also includes one walk-on, Kacey Pfannenschmid from Centennial High School, a native from Pueblo.

Although this year recruiting class looks to be really strong, there were some restrictions as to how to recruit players. During certain periods of the year, there are times where there can be no contact with a potential recruit or very little contact.

Once coaches have begun talking to players, they still cannot recruit until a player plays their first game of that particular season. Despite all of these restrictions, there is still one main objective when it comes to recruiting: “Try to find the best kids we can find,” Drown said.

Once school starts up in the fall, all of these players can begin a conditioning program before their first official practice, which will take place Oct. 15.

This year’s women’s team will start their season on the road at Panhandle State on Nov. 20. Then they will have their home opener on Nov. 26 against the University of DeBuke Iowa, and again on the next day against Drury College, which is one of the top Division II teams in the country.

Club Sports Make a Name

Nick Townsend — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 23:17:02 +0000

For anybody who is not on a varsity squad team, club sports are available here on campus for students to participate in sports at any time of the year.

Like the intramural leagues, at the Colorado State University-Pueblo recreation center, anybody who is interested in club sports can join said Michael Hughes, the assistant director of student recreation at the recreation center.

Although there are many similarities between the club sports program and the intramural leagues, there are also many differences.

The club sports program only has four different sports, which consist of lacrosse, rodeo, wrestling, and racquetball Hughes said. Although Hughes would go on to state that in the past the university has offered men’s and women rugby, cycling and sailing as club sports too.

Unlike intramurals, the lacrosse program competes all over the Rocky Mountain region, and the rodeo and racquetball programs compete all over the United States.

Students looking for fun and competition outside of the varsity realm can join in club sports. Photo courtesy of Stock.XCHNG

All four teams that participate in club sports typically do not have a coach that is in charge, but “instead will have a captain on the team, who holds a leadership role.” However having a coach is not unheard of, as the lacrosse team has had a coach in charge in the past Hughes said.

All of the club sport programs are well funded through a student recreation fee that is comparable to the University of Northern Colorado, Hughes said, and anybody can join all four of the clubs at no charge with a few exceptions.

The lacrosse team is the only one of the four that does have a fee that is required to play, although how much the fee is varies from year to year. The racquetball ball team also tends to recruit some of its players, Hughes said.

Lacrosse does a lot of traveling to play in matches, but they also play on the student recreation field by the dorms. The lacrosse team plays a full season in the spring and also have a few games in the fall. They can also compete in a tournament at the end of year depending on how they did during their season.

The rodeo program is currently in a restructuring time due to the amount of people participating and how expensive it can be. Most of the people that are interested in taking part in the rodeo are actually members of the varsity wrestling team Hughes said.

The rodeo competes all year long and they compete in professional tournaments. Competing in these tournaments builds up points towards a national final both for the team and individuals Hughes said.

The wrestling program is a good program for wrestlers who did not make the varsity team said Hughes. There is a big difference between the skill levels of the varsity team and the club program. The reason for this is because varsity is associated with the NCAA where the competition is a lot more competitive, whereas the club team is not Hughes said.

Like the rodeo program, wrestling competes in tournaments to build up points in order to take part in a national tournament. Unlike the rodeo program however, wrestling does not compete all year. Instead, the wrestling season begins in the spring and continues into the summer months.

The racquetball program is one of the top club sports programs throughout the entire country, with several national championships Hughes said. When the racquetball team competes in the intercollegiate championship, they are allowed to bring six male and female participants.

Every tournament racquetball competes in are professionally run and they do not have to build up points unlike some of the other club programs Hughes said. They do however compete for prize money when they compete in professional tournaments.

To learn more, call Hughes at 719-549-2087.

Sports for the non-college athlete

Nick Townsend — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:18:56 +0000

Students can participate in a variety of intramural sports during the fall, spring or summer semesters at CSU-Pueblo. Photo by Zak Bratton

Just because you don’t play sports for Colorado State University-Pueblo does not mean that you’re not allowed to play sports on the campus. Many intramural leagues are formed all year long at the CSU-Pueblo recreational center for a variety of different sports, according to Jack Krider director of operations at the Recreational Center.

Krider mentioned that the recreational center has leagues for volleyball, softball, football, soccer and basketball, which are the most popular sports leagues at the recreational center. In addition to those sports, Krider also said that there are leagues for lesser-known sports as well such as pickleball and broomball.

There are many options available if you decide to take part in one of the leagues. The leagues consist of men’s, women’s or coed leagues. On which semester students decide to participate in a league, there could be a entry fee.

For the fall and spring semesters, there is usually a fee around a $30 charge for a team, but in the summer, all leagues are free of charge.

The summer ports leagues are usually laid back according to Krider. Leagues participating in the summer are what they like to call “noon time leagues.” These leagues are usually played from 11a.m. to 1p.m. and consist of sand volleyball, dodgeball and basketball.

The fall and spring semesters are when things really start to pick up at the recreational center. In these semesters the level of play is much more competitive, and the turnout of people playing in intramural leagues is much higher than in the summer.

There are also more sports taking place during the fall and spring semester which include, flag football, soccer, pickleball and softball.

For every league there is usually some sort of playoff system that is used for the season. However, qualifying for the playoffs does not necessarily revolve around wins and losses.

According to Krider, teams can also clinch or forfeit a playoff spot based on sportsmanship as well. Krider said that sportsmanship with these leagues involve how many technicals a player can get, if there is any fighting involved, and the use of profanity. A player may possibly get kicked off the league if they’re a poor sport.

Teams that go on to win the playoffs at the end of the league don’t go on to win fancy trophies, but they do get prizes, Krider said. The director went on to state that in the past, the winning teams usually walk away with either a pair of gym shorts or a T-shirt.

Krider also stated that new prizes could be coming soon, although he did not say what they would be yet.

There are also some restrictions on athletes who play on some of the sports teams at CSU-Pueblo who decide to get involved with intramurals. Any team that is formed for intramurals is only allowed to use one CSU-Pueblo athlete for that athlete’s particular sport.

The reason for this is to try and make the level of the playing field more even, and so one particular team cannot dominate the entire league.

There are no restrictions however on a CSU-Pueblo athlete who wishes to play on an intramural team that does not take part for that team’s sport for CSU-Pueblo.

These intramural leagues are also going online as well. According to Krider they will be starting there own website where you can register for leagues as well as check out schedules, standing and previous results. The website will be IMLeagues.com and it is yet to be determined when the website will be up and running, but it is expected to be soon.

CSU-Pueblo football player juggles many responsibilities

Joe Foley — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:48:24 +0000

photo by Joe Foley

Attending college full-time can be difficult for any student. However, it can be almost unbearable if you’re also a Division II student-athlete with a part-time job.

But not for Colorado State University-Pueblo football player Daveon Ackinsaya.

Ackinsaya, a junior majoring in mass communications, attacks the tasks at full speed and head on as if he’s in the trenches during a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game.

“I’m working to pay bills and rent because I live off-campus,” Ackinsaya said. “I have more stuff to worry about in terms of bills, food and rent as opposed to people who live on-campus, whose stuff is already paid for.”

Ackinsaya works in the Office of Residence Life at Belmont Residence Hall to help pay for all of his expenses. He said he chose the job because of the flexibility the hours afford him and because it also gives him time to complete homework.

He said he works anywhere from eight to 20 hours, depending on his football and school schedule for the semester.

But with all these tasks to complete in one day it can be very difficult to find enough hours in the day to not only work, but also fulfill his athletic obligations, and keep up with his classes as a full-time student.

“I’m up around 1 or 2 a.m. getting ready for work, and then I have class at 8 a.m.,” Ackinsaya said. “After school I usually have a film session with coach and lifting right after.”

The schedule is also subject to change, and during spring football, Ackinsaya had a morning practice during the week from 7 to 9 a.m. in preparation for the upcoming season.

Ackinsaya admitted he made an error in his scheduling this semester. He scheduled his work in the early morning before most people typically start their day.

“My thinking for that was, I’m going to be up early anyways, so I might as well wake up and get the blood flowing,” Ackinsaya said. “There is a downside to that because later on in the day, at some point, I lose all of the energy I have.”

In addition to being a student-athlete and employee, Ackinsaya also has to play the role of big brother. His younger sister, Porcha, is also enrolled at CSU-Pueblo.

“I try to take care of my sister as best as I can,” Ackinsaya said. “There are times when she needs help and I try to give her what I can.”

Ackinsaya admitted he has had to learn to grow up fast. Being 18 hours and more than 1,000 miles from his home city of Long Beach, Calif., can take a toll on most people, but not Ackinsaya.

However Ackinsaya said he isn’t done tackling responsibilities. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound gentle giant plans on not only finding a second job, but plans on taking summer classes as well.

Pack stamps tourney ticket with third consecutive RMAC Shootout title

Joe Foley — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:52:11 +0000

Good things come in three’s. Well at least that is the case for the Colorado State University-Pueblo women’s basketball team.

For the third consecutive year the CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves claimed the RMAC Shootout title by defeating number one seeded Fort Lewis College, 61-60.

The Pack got a huge effort from RMAC freshmen of the year Katrina Selsor who was efficient on the floor shooting 80 percent (12-15), including being perfect from beyond the arc in her three attempts.

Selsor finished the day with a game-high 28 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists.

CSU-Pueblo (20-10) also got help off the bench from senior guard Kami Dahlberg. Dahlberg entered the game as an early first half substitution for senior guard Kristi Arness and made her presence felt immediately.

Dahlberg got in sync quickly with a layup in the lane before connecting on three 3-point attempts to open up an 11-point lead for the ThunderWolves.

“We knew we all had to do our part,” Dahlberg said. “Everyone was just doing their part.”

Fort Lewis (30-3) would keep the game close though, cutting the CSU-Pueblo lead to eight at the half, trailing 34-26.

As all teams do the Skyhawks were poised for a run in the second half. Behind senior forward Alison Rosel, the Skyhawks were able to make a run at the ThunderWolves to keep the game close.

With 45 seconds remaining in the game and the ThunderWolves up one point with possession of the ball, Rosel stole the ball from Pack forward Amanda Bartlett to give the Skyhawks the chance to take the lead.

On the next play Rosel would come up big again scoring the go-ahead layup to put Fort Lewis on top with 32 seconds remaining.

The game was now in the drivers seat of the ThunderWolves who looked to their freshmen sensation to make a play.

Selsor received the ball at the top of the key and drove to her right where she tossed in a layup over two defenders to give the ThunderWolves the lead, 61-60, with three seconds remaining.

“When the ball came to me I just tried to take it as hard as I could and do it for my team,” Selsor said.

After a desperation 3-point shot from Laura Haugen fell short, CSU-Pueblo could finally celebrate its third consecutive RMAC championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II national tournament.

“To do what we’ve done this week, to win on the road, and knocking off two number one seeds back-to-back,” said coach Kip Drown, “this one was extra special because of that adversity.”

The win was also CSU-Pueblo’s first over the nationally ranked Skyhawks in three tries this season. In the previous two games the ThunderWolves lost in the regular season at Fort Lewis, 82-68, before dropping a thriller to the Skyhawks at home, losing 64-59.

Rosel led the Skyhawks down the stretch shooting 79 percent (11-14) and finishing with 24 points. Haugen was the only other Skyhawk to net double digit points, ending the game with 15 points.

CSU-Pueblo had three players named to the all-tournament team with Dahlberg and senior center Caitlyn Jewell being name to the team. Selsor was also honored for her play by receiving MVP of the tournament.

With the win CSU-Pueblo stamped its ticket to the national tournament with a No. 7 seed. The ThunderWolves will play No. 2 seed Wayne State (Neb.) in Durango, Colo., when the tournament kicks off Friday.

CSU-Pueblo is seeking its first ever win in the national tournament.

Pack in position for RMAC title

Joe Foley — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:41:26 +0000

For the third year in a row the Colorado State University-Pueblo women’s basketball team is returning to the RMAC Shootout championship.

Behind a 19 point and 15 rebound performance from RMAC freshmen of the year Katrina Selsor, the ThunderWolves defeated Colorado Christian University, 66-63.

With the Pack playing without do-it-all guard Rachel Espinoza, who was lost for the season to injury, the team looked for a spark to shake the Cougars.

“The number one thing we talked about was executing and playing together as a group,” said coach Kip Drown.

Colorado Christian played a strong first half, leading the game for all but two minutes of the game. The Cougars found most of their offense in the paint and were paced by forward Juanise Cornell, who led all scorers in the game with 20 points.

In the second half, Colorado Christian fought off several ThunderWolf rallies and found themselves tied with the defending RMAC Shootout champions with only 2:57 remaining in the game.

That’s when the spark was found inside Selsor who took control of the game, scoring the game-tying basket along with the layup and a free throw that put the Pack ahead by three with 2:10 left.

Selsor would again show a spark by coming up with a crucial block on Cornell that all but sealed the game for the Pack.

“After losing Rachel we knew the team had to step it up,” Selsor said. “Pueblo is known for winning championships and we all have the mindset we’re going to do it again.”

The win by CSU-Pueblo puts them into the RMAC Shootout championship game against Fort Lewis, who has beaten the Pack both times they played during the regular season.