Luke Martinez(Chippewa)

“We focused more on defense for this game and we had a couple of combinations that played really well on that end tonight,” UW head coach Larry Shyatt said. “We had a group of six that played the first and third quarters and held Mount Royal to eight points in each quarter.”

Martinez reach double figures for the second consecutive game thanks to a 5-of-11 shooting performance, including 3-of-7 from three, while adding three rebounds, four assists and five steals. Sobey hit 4-of-9 from the floor, 2-of-6 from deep and 4-of-5 at the free throw line to go with three assists and two steals.

Wyoming shot 44 percent (31-of-70) from the field and 30 percent (9-of-30) from deep, while holding the Cougars to 28 percent (15-of-52) and 17 percent (3-of-17). Mount Royal earned a 44-38 advantage in rebounds, but committed 34 turnovers to 18 for UW. The Cowboys earned a 20-11 lead in steals.

Wyoming concludes play at the Battle of the Border tournament against Calgary at 8:15 p.m. on Friday.

To read more, please visit http://www.wyomingathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/080812aaa.html

Newcomers Leah and Mykala on every word of Coach Allison-Brewer

The Lady Indians return 5 starters for head coach Nana Allison-Brewer’s second season at Haskell Indian Nations University. Also, all three top hitters return, including leading hitter Sophomore Tiffany Runs Through, from Fort Worth, Texas, who averaged 2.3 kills per set last season for the Indians.

“It’s been a good fall camp so far,”  head coach Allison-Brewer said. “I think we’re definitely further than we were last year.”

Runs Through will be joined on the court by other top hitting returners Alyssa Curley (1.3 k/set) and Lisa Atcity (1.1 k/set).

The Lady Indians finished 7th in the Midlands Collegeiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) last season and this years pre-season camp will afford Allison-Brewer a chance to work with the several newcomers, including five transfers this season. “I’m really excited about depth we have right now” Allison-Brewser added.

One of those not so newcomers is Chamisa Edmo, who previously played for Haskell before transfering a year ago, but is now back with the program who coach says is doing a great job as well as newcomer Makayla King. “Also, I think Leah Brown is able to give us some depth in the middle,” coach said. “But I am impressed with her (Leah) athleticism and it’s exciting to see them all come together.

Another one of those newcomers this season is transfer Senior Rhonda Tree-Mangan, who is a 5-11 right side hitter who will look to make an immediate impact for the Indians. “She (Rhonda) is a solid and a standout player,” Allison-Brewer said.

The Lady Indians open the season on the road at the Sterling College Tournament in Sterling, Kansas on August 24th where they will have six mathces before returning to Coffin Sports complex for their August 28th home opener against Ottawa University.

MCAC conference play opens for Lady Indians on September 14th against Oklahoma Wesleyan University at Coffin sports complex and finishes on October 27th at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri. The top six teams in the final conference standings advance to the MCAC conference tournament which is scheduled for November 9th and 10th at a site yet to be announced.

To see a full athletic schedule for Haskell volleyball  this season please visit: http://www.haskellathletics.com/schedule/10/12.php

Alex Schulte (Northern Ute)

Schulte, a former University of Arkansas golfer and recent graduate, shot a 75 on the opening day despite having six 3 putts in the round. “Hopefully I can figure out the speed of these greens, they are so slow compared to what I have been practicing on, but I will get them figured out.” said Schulte. The 75 opening round left her in the third position after the first day.

On the final round, Schulte performed much better on the greens and was able to improve her position into the second place where she remained for the tournament. Alex also had the third best score on the final round with a 74 in the heated conditions.

Next up for Alex is another Cactus Tour event in Glendale, Arizona at the Ocotillo Golf resort which is taking place on August 13-15th, so if your in the area go and check out Alex and support our Native American athletes.

Official Results: http://www.thecactustour.com/2012results.html

About the Cactus Tour
Is to provide the opportunity and environment so players can build and develop their  game to compete on the LPGA Tour.

Drake and Caleb working a drill for Coach McGee

The Indians, which open the season on Sept. 1st against Presentation College in Aberdeen, SD, continued the teaching mode to its 60+ newcomers while increasing the tempo in several drills and running through some of new plays returing offensive coordinator Joe Claunch has chalked up for this season.

All practices are open to the public.

“We’re working on fundamentals, blocking and tackling and the finer points of running the routes and getting in pass coverage. All the things you’ll do with a young team,” Head coach Jimmy Snyder said.

With much of the teaching mode still being implemented and his team moving closer to working out in full gear, Snyder and his coaching staff can begin the process positioning the players on the depth chart. When asked about what the coaches are liking thus far Snyder said, “Athletes!.. some of the kids are faster and quicker than we had thought but more importantly is the attitude so far, things are positive and optimistic.”

The Indians first home game of the season will be Sept. 8 against Robert Morris College at the historic Haskell stadium, kick-off is scheduled for 12 noon.

Team Notes:
Newcomer Stephen Edmond(Cherokee) from Mannford, Oklahoma recently learned that the fires that raged through northeastern Oklahoma this past weekend ravaged his families home in a total loss. Thankfully, none of the members of Stephens family were harmed or hurt the in the fires but they did however lose all of their belongings to the fires. The Haskell athletic department is accepting donations of clothes and other items to help Stephen and his family through this difficult time. For more information on how one can help please contact the Haskell Athletic department at (785) 749-8459 Monday thru Friday from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM CST.

Football Alumni Note:
On a lighter note, Ryan Alden (Siletz tribe of Oregon), who was last year’s starting quarterback for the Haskell Indians, is finishing up playing his first season of football overseas in Germany. Ryan has a few more games left before play-offs begin and the off-season begins.

His stats on the season this far are:
112-165 Passing, 68% completion rate, 1,293 total yds, 14 tds, 69 rush yds, 2 rush tds

Levi Horn (Northern Cheyenne)

Horn is a Native American and a member of the Northern Cheyenne-Montana tribe. Like a lot of young football players, he dreamed of making it to the NFL and having a professional football career. However, when he was looking for someone of his own race to emulate, it was difficult. In terms of representing his race, Horn has become an icon in the Native American community and an NFL trailblazer.

“There aren’t many Native Americans in the NFL,” Horn said. “It’s a source of pride – both for me and the native country. I go around to reservations and talk to kids. I had somewhat of a troubled background when I was a kid so I can relate to those kids that aren’t on the right path and show them someone can succeed. I’m kind of a worker bee around here, but it counts. “It was important to me to make it to the NFL because I love the game,” Horn said. “I want to be a role model, because when I was kid, I wanted to be in the NFL and noticed that there weren’t any Native Americans in the league and wanted to change that.”

His chances of getting to the NFL didn’t look great early on. He was recruited to play at the University of Oregon, where he redshirted his freshman year as the team tried to convert him to tight end. However, it became clear to him that he wasn’t going to get much in the way of playing opportunities, which led to frustration. Following his freshman season, Horn was one of four Oregon players to transfer out of the school to go to different programs in hopes of getting the playing time he needed to get noticed and succeed.

The University of Montana became his landing spot and going there significantly changed his life both on and off the field. Not only did he become an All-America offensive tackle, he got in touch with his roots and the tribal traditions of the Northern Cheyenne community. He credits that moves as one of the great blessings of his life.

“It was a great fit for me,” Horn said. “From the football side of things, I went there because they have a great tradition. It was close to my home (in Spokane, Wash.) and there is a very large Native American population there. It was great to be there and I was able to be someone that Native kids could look up to on the local college team. That was what really got me started in wanting to work with kids and let them know there are opportunities out there if they’re willing to work hard to reach their goals – whether it’s football or going to college or preparing for life as adults.”

Horn was shocked to see the depth of despair that exists on Native American reservations. The practice of taking land that was home to Native Americans dates back to the 1850s, when conflicts in what would become Oklahoma raged between settlers heading west and the Native Americans who lived on the land. As a compromise solution, Native Americans were forced onto reservations, where many generations have remained for the last 150 years. The problems of crime, alcoholism and poverty have long been issues in the Native American community and it has become systemic.

Horn hopes that his celebrity status can help bring about change among Native Americans and his efforts are part of a new generation hoping to break the stereotypes and ongoing problems that affect his people.

“There are a lot of problems on reservations and there is somewhat of a sense of hopelessness,” Horn said. “Right now, people like me and the younger generation are trying to uplift that. I’m in contact with a lot of people who do a lot of good things on reservations and we’re all just trying to change things for the better. Being a football player gets their attention and shows them that there are opportunities out there. I see a lot of good things happening and hopefully it will remain on the upswing.”

In the process, Horn has become a person that the next generation of Native Americans can look up to and hope to emulate. He wouldn’t have thought that was possible when he was growing up, but he hopes to part of the process of bringing about positive change.

“When I was a kid, I never would have thought that I could be a role model, but Native kids need someone they can look up to because, for the most part, we aren’t represented that much in things like sports or entertainment,” Horn said. “I’m hoping to change that and being someone positive that kids can look up to. If we are going to make a change take place, we need more Native Americans to step up and be part of making a change for the better. If I can help move some kids in the right direction, I’ve done my job and have helped my people and my community.”

Reprinted with the permission of the Vikingupdate.com, written by John Holler who has been writing about the Vikings for more than a decade.

The tournament went well with Team Tvshkahoma finishing fifth of the 16 teams competing.Several Chikasha Toli players were also asked to compete in the 35+ division on a team named 16 Pow Wow. That team finished third in the competition.

Team Tvshkahoma won its first match against an Oklaho-ma team named Okla Hannali (Sixtown). The squad lost its next match against Team Unified, a Mississippi team. Chikasha Toli players who participated on Team Tvshkahoma included Jeremy Wall-lace, Levi Hart, Aaron (Chance) Factor, Brandon WhiteEagle, Clovis Hamilton, Rick Miller, Ric Greenwood, Josh Alexander, Clay Moore, Ronnie Hicks, Terrence Underwood, Sunhawk Hill, Dalton Gaines, Boomer Factor, John Paul (JP) Underwood and Chad Wallace.

Participating on the 16 Pow Wow team were Jeremy Wallace, Aaron (Chance) Factor, Rick Miller, Terrence Underwood, Ric Greenwood and Ronnie Hicks.

Chikasha Toli has been in-vited to compete in the 2013 Stickball World Series. The next tournament for Chikasha Toli will be at the Labor Day Festival in Tushkahoma, Okla., August 31 through September 3.

The team asks that you come out and cheer your Chikasha men and boys on as they play the ancient game and pass it down to the next generation.

(Story provided to us by the Chickasaw Times, to read this and more please visit @ http://www.chickasawtimes.net/)

Allison and Natalie Keel (Photo courtesy of Chickasaw Times)

Chickasaw sisters paired up to claim a runner-up spot at the Oklahoma 4A State Tennis Championships in May.  Allison and Natalie Keel teamed up to form one of Okla-homa’s top Class 4A girls num-ber one doubles teams. The sis-ters played for Ada High School where Allison was a senior and Natalie a freshman.

The girls’ high school coach, Skip Griese, took a gamble by putting the experienced Alli-son with her freshman sister Natalie.But the gamble paid off in a big way.“They were a good combi-nation,” Coach Griese said. “It was an experiment at first to see if they would get along on the court. After watching them in practice, there was no doubt they would be a good team.”

The Keel sisters marched their way through the Spring 4A tournaments on the road to the State Tennis Champion-ships. At the state tournament, the Keels didn’t lose a set as they moved through the num-ber one doubles bracket. They would face perennial power Metro Christian in the state finals.The Keels started the match strong winning the first set 6-4.  But things went awry when the powerful Metro Christian duo of Becky Orr and Becca Richardson reeled off 11 straight games to win the second set 6-0, and hold a commanding 5-0 lead in the third set.

But the Keel sisters once again caught fire.  After dodging match point in the sixth game and breaking Orr’s serve, Allison and Natalie rattled off five straight games to knot the third set at 5-5. The set would soon move to 6-6 and a tie-breaker.

The Keels ended up with a runner-up finish, losing the tie-breaker 7-4. But the comeback effort left the Metro Christian champs drained.“That was one of the best comebacks I’ve seen,” Coach Griese said. “It just came up a little short. “I’m very proud of these girls. We saw state tour-nament tennis at its very fin-est.” Allison finished her high school tennis career with a 95-25 record. She was a three-time regional champion.

Following the state tournament, Allison was named to the East squad for this summer’s All-State Games in Tulsa.Allison and Natalie are the daughters of Jay and Donna Keel, of Ada.

(Story provided to us by the Chickasaw Times, to read this and others please visit @http://www.chickasawtimes.net/)

Assistant Coach Rich Brewer assist a player with his pads (Photo courtesy Haskell Athletics)

Players offically checked into the football facilities and begin going through team meetings and orientation with the football staff as well as checking out equipment all in preperations for the fall season. “The first few days are about getting the players situated with all the necessary equipment and learning the expectations of the program,” Snyder said. “We have about 65 new players (including transfers) on this year’s squad so we want to make sure they get accustom to how we do things. We are just going through conditioning with them at this point and after this weekend we’ll start getting into pads and split into our offense and defense.”

All practices are open to the public but times and locations will vary depending on weather and workout scheduled for that day but most activities are taking place at the practice field and the old baseball field south of campus.

Haskell will open its season on the road on September 1st at Presentation College in Aberdeen, South Dakota and the home opener is scheduled on September 8th at Haskell Stadium against Robert Morris College.

Snyder also announced that a pair of players  have been named to the USA College Football NAIA Pre-Season team for this season. Seniors Caleb Chaffin and Jesse Hammer were selected last month to the squad. Chaffin, a wide receiver from Lone Grove, Oklahoma finished the 2011 season ranked 8thin the nation in receptions per game, and 11thin total receptions. Hammer, also a First Team Selection, is from Kansas City, Kansas, and primarily takes the field as an offensive lineman.

On the newcomer side of the ball coach Snyder also talked about Van Gray, a transfer from Southwest Oklahoma State University, who is an 6-5 325 Offensive Lineman that coach expects to have an immediate impact for the Indians. “He is real athletic for such a big guy” Snyder said. “He will definately have an impact us up front,  he is a big body that will help improve our size and physicality on the line”.

Haskell Offensive line player walking through drills (Photo courtesy of Haskell Athletics)

Also, from the newcomers list of players that could have an impact this season is incoming Freshamn Trey Harjo from Holdenville, Oklahoma. “Trey is a real explosive runner,” Snyder said “He is versitle and he can be used in different situations on the offensive side of the ball and could come in here and push for a starting job.”

Snyder said they will announce later on when the first scrimmages will be but any and all are welcome to attend when they are announced.

To to get a complete schedule for the Haskell Indian Nations University upcoming football season, visit the athletics website at http://www.haskellathletics.com/schedule/0/4.php

Ada, OK – While the late Jim Thorpe is a household name in Oklahoma, the second Native American from Oklahoma to win Olympic gold is not nearly as well known. But that will change to some degree when the late Jesse “Cab” Renick is inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame by the Jim Thorpe Association August 6.

Renick, a Chickasaw and Choctaw who got his start in basketball on a dirt court in Marietta, Okla., led the 1948 U.S. Olympic basketball team to a gold medal.

The 1948 team was known as a team of diversity, with players representing different ages and races from many different areas of the country. Another Oklahoman, Bob Kurland, from Bartlesville, was also on the team. Kurland, one of basketball’s first great seven-footers, led Oklahoma A & M to two consecutive NCAA Championships in 1945 and 1946.

“It is significant that Cab Renick won an Olympic gold medal as captain of the team,” said Bill Anoatubby, Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. “He was not only a great basketball player known for his energy and enthusiasm; he was a leader on the court. He had a unique ability to unite team members of diverse backgrounds.”

As comparisons abound between the 2012 Olympic Basketball Team and the 1992 Olympic Basketball “Dream Team,” the 1948 U.S. Olympic team that dominated the basketball competition in London is also gaining some recognition 64-years after the fact.

As captain of the squad, Renick led the 1948 team to eight consecutive wins with an average margin of victory of more than 33 points per game.

Most of the players on the U.S. Olympic team 64 years ago were recruited from the Amateur Athletic Union or university squads.

Professional athletes were not permitted in Olympic competition at the time, and professional basketball was in its infancy.

As the Olympic Games got underway, the U.S. team won virtually every game handily. The only exception came in the preliminaries with a narrow 59 to 57 defeat of Argentina.

The margin in other games ranged from 25 points to 65 points.

In eight games that Olympic year, the U.S. scored a total of 524 points while their opponents scored a total of 256 points.

After the games, Renick returned to Oklahoma where he coached four years with the Phillips 66ers – an American Athletic Union team – for four years, winning one National Championship in 1949-50 as a coach.  The AAU was pre-NBA where teams competed for national championships. In fact, before being named to the Olympic team, Renick played for the 66ers who won AAU National Championships in 1945-48.

After his start on a dirt basketball court in Marietta, he honed his court skills until his graduation from high school in 1934. He wanted to continue playing basketball, but no college was interested at the time.

With the country mired in the Great Depression, Renick joined the Civil Conservation Corps and helped construct buildings at Lake Murray State Park. That job also gave him the opportunity to play basketball for the Corps team where he was known as “Point a Minute” Renick.

He was soon recruited by Murray State College, where he played from 1936-38. Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University) coach Henry Iba heard about Renick and invited him to play for his team. After the first game, Renick was a starter for Oklahoma A&M for the rest of his college career. He played in the 1938-39 season in the new basketball arena now known as Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Throughout his time at the university, Renick was a crowd favorite. According to a press release at the time from Oklahoma A&M, Renick:

“…seemingly performs the work of two players. After he snares the ball off the defensive blackboard, tosses it to a teammate, races ahead down the floor to post position; and, after his club brings the ball up the court, receives a pass for a lay-up and two points.”

But it was his experience in London in 1948 that kept people coming to ask about what it was like to compete in the Olympics. In his later years, and living at the Veterans Center in Ardmore, he would keep his Gold Medal in a pouch secured to his wheelchair and would ask people to hold out their hand. When they did, he would plop the medal in their hand and smile because he knew they would ask about it and he could tell them the story of the 1948 Olympic dream team.

Renick was elected to the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Chickasaw Hall of Fame in 1996. He died on Nov. 29, 1999.

Watch OSU Hall of Fame video about Jesse Renick:

Capturing an in-depth and exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the life of this MLS superstar, MLS 36 takes viewers into Wondolowski’s world for 36 straight hours as he and his fellow MLS All-Stars prepare to take on current European champions, Chelsea FC, in the AT&T MLS All-Star Game at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. The 30-minute episode will grant unparalleled access and give unique insight into Wondolowski’s life as a professional soccer player, and his goal that opened the scoring in the All-Stars’ 3-2 victory last week.

Check our local cable listing for exact times and channel number.