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(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) -The top female boxers from the United States will return to action, November 22-29 at the 2008 AIBA Women's World Championships in Ningbo City, China. The squad will depart for China on November 15 for an acclimation training camp, November 16-21, prior to opening competition on November 22.

The United States team boasts a strong squad of young, talented newcomers and experienced international veterans. Reigning Pan American Champion and 2006 World Championships light flyweight bronze medalist Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas) will lead the team into action in Ningbo City. She is joined by two-time World Championships team member and 2008 Pan American light bantamweight champion Sacred Downing (Trenton, N.J.); 2005 World Championships participant, flyweight Cheryl Houlihan (Santee, Calif.) and 2006 World Championships competitor, lightweight Carrie Barry (Colorado Springs, Colo.). 2008 Pan American bantamweight titlist Cynthia Moreno (Phoenix, Ariz.) will vie for her first World Championships hardware in Ningbo City, China.

The eight athletes completing the United States roster are: pinweight Sylvia Villapando (Houston, Texas), featherweight Alexandria Cardenas (San Angelo, Texas); light welterweight Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.); welterweight Vanessa Jackson (Columbus, Ohio); light middleweight Grace Parks (Bellingham, Wash.) middleweight Meredith Della Giustina (Versailles, Ky.); light heavyweight Miosha Wagoner (Lawrence, Kansas); and heavyweight Tiffanie Hearn (Versailles, Ky.).

Coaches Ted Palac (Hamtramck, Mich.), Harry Thomas (Stafford, Texas), and Bonnie Canino (Dania Beach, Fla.) will lead the U.S. team into competition in Ningbo City. Krysti Rosario (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) will serve as Team Manager for the event with Mike Rosario (New York, N.Y.) working as the AIBA Official and Dr. George Palmer (Scottsdale, Ariz.) joining the squad as the Team Physician.

The event draw, opening ceremony and first session of preliminary round action will all take place on Saturday, November 22. Preliminary round competition will run through November 25 at the Ningo Youngor Gymnasium in the Ningbo Sports Center. Quarterfinal action will be contested on November 26 with all the competitors enjoying a rest day on November 27. Competition will resume on November 28 with semifinal action and end with the championship round on November 29.

The United States won three medals at the most recent World Championships in 2006, earning two silver and one bronze. The 2008 edition will be the fifth Women's World Championships, with the first taking place in Scranton, Pa., in 2001.

Team USA

101 lbs: Sylvia Villapando, Houston, Texas
106 lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas
110 lbs: Cheryl Houlihan, Santee, Calif.
114 lbs: Sacred Downing, Trenton, N.J.
119 lbs: Cynthia Moreno, Phoenix, Ariz.
125 lbs: Jody Ann Weller, Pomona, N.Y.
132 lbs: Caroline Barry, Colorado Springs, Colo.
138 lbs: Queen Underwood, Federal Way, Wash.
145 lbs: Vanessa Jackson, Columbus, Ohio
154 lbs: Grace Parks, Bellingham, Wash.
165 lbs: Meredith Della Giustina, Versailles, Ky.
176 lbs: Mioshia Wagoner, (Navajo), Lawrence, Kansas
189 lbs: Tiffanie Hearn, Louisville, Ky.

Coach: Ted Palac, Hamtramck, Mich.
Coach: Harry Thomas, Stafford, Texas
Coach: Bonnie Canino, Dania Beach, Fla.
Team Manager: Krysti Rosario, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
AIBA Official: Mike Rosario, New York, N.Y.
Team Physician: Dr. George Palmer, Scottsdale, Ariz.

By Wesley Mahan, Cherokee Phoenix Sports Writer



NORMAN, Okla. – It’s one of the most unsung positions in football. One never hears about it until a mistake is made. Yet, it’s one of the most important – deep snapper on field goals and extra points.

This season on the University of Oklahoma Sooners football team, Cherokee Ben Hampton is filling that position.

In 2006, Hampton graduated from Grove High School in Delaware County as an all-state offensive lineman. Coming out of high school, he was ranked 10th nationally as a deep snapper.

Hampton didn’t receive many college offers, but a former high school coach at Grove offered him a scholarship to come to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami to deep snap for its football team.

“I jumped on the opportunity to be able to be close to home and have my school paid for,” Hampton said.

After two years at NEO, Hampton again went through the recruiting process. He talked to some NCAAA Division I schools, but eventually settled on OU. It was a tough choice since his grandfather Kelly was an offensive lineman at Oklahoma State in the 1960s.

“I grew up an OSU fan my whole life, so it was a little bittersweet coming here. But I felt like OU was the place for me to continue going to school and finish up my football career,” Hampton said.

He said he is proud to be on the OU football team and described the experience as huge, with the biggest difference between playing at NEO and OU being that 84,000 people attend every OU home game.

Hampton has already picked up some awards since arriving at OU.

“After the Cincinnati game, Carter Whitson, our holder; Jimmy Stevens, our kicker; and I received game balls. Then on Monday we were named the special teams players of the week. We were also named special teams players of the week for the TCU game,” he said.

Hampton credits a lot of his success to Shane Hackney, who is considered the guru of deep snapping in football. Hackney helped Hampton hone his craft at his camps and has aided Hampton and others with the recruiting process.

But football isn’t the only thing Hampton thinks about. He said he has chosen a major that he enjoys and helps people.

“At NEO, I was trying to complete the courses to get into dental school,” he said. “I graduated from NEO with an associate’s degree in natural sciences. When I got to OU, I was going to major in Native American studies, but I had too many science classes to do it, so I changed my major to chemistry.”

He said he wants to complete his degree, go to dental school and then work for the Indian Health Service.

“I want to get accepted to dental school and try to get a job with Indian Health Services. OU has a health science center in Oklahoma City and a dental school, so I can finish up there,” Hampton said.

His desire to give back to the Cherokee people isn’t something he took on recently either. In high school, he served on the Cherokee Nation Youth Council and even knows some of the Cherokee language, thanks to his grandmother. He said he still takes a Cherokee language class at OU.

“When people ask me if I’m Cherokee, not only can I say yes, but I can enlighten them on other parts of being Cherokee,” he said.

11/20/2008 - Cherokee Phoenix Story - Cherokee Deep Snapper wants to give back

By Jim Trickett, Cherokee Phoenix Sports Writer






TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – It’s a huge difference from playing at Sequoyah High School’s Thompson Field to entering the large college football stadiums in the Southeastern Conference. But for former SHS quarterback Nathan Stanley, he is making that adjustment in one of the toughest football conferences in America.

Stanley became the Indians’ starting quarterback in the fourth game of his freshman season, and the 6-foot, 5-inch signal caller never missed another start. He started 43 games for Sequoyah and led the Indians to district titles in 2006 and 2007.

At SHS, Stanley completed 329 of 601 pass attempts for a 54 percent completion percentage, 5,260 yards and 62 touchdowns. He was named the District 2A-8 Player of the Year and was selected by the Oklahoma Coaches Association as an All-State athlete.

After his senior season, Stanley was recruited by the University of Arkansas, but head coach Houston Nutt resigned in December 2007 and was hired as the head coach of the University of Mississippi Rebels.

Nutt highly regarded Stanley, who was at the top of Nutt’s list while at Arkansas. The new Rebels coach took little time in offering Stanley a scholarship to Oxford, Miss., with Stanley signing his name on a letter of intent in February.

But since going to Ole Miss, Stanley has had to adjust from being not only a high school football player to a college player, but also to college life.

“It’s a big adjustment, but I’m taking it day-by-day,” Stanley said in a phone interview after a Rebels practice. “I’m taking in as much as I can (of the college life).”

After class, Stanley heads to the practice field. He is using this season as a learning experience and redshirting so he can have four years of eligibility.

“I’m very happy that I’m getting to redshirt this year and I get to absorb everything and get to learn the offense more by watching the game and not out there playing” he said. “During the games, I have a headset on and listen to the plays being called, and I help signal the plays in. Several of us, including coach Nutt signal the plays in and we know who is giving the real play and who are the decoys.

“Practices have been not been too bad, and I’m learning a lot,” Stanley added. “(Sequoyah) Coach (Brent) Scott definitely helped get ready for college practices and everything he told me has happened. He’s been through it all when he played, and it has helped me as everything that he’s told me has happened. It helped a lot in preparing for the practices here at Ole Miss.”

The biggest change for Stanley was going from playing in front of 5,000 fans at Sequoyah to walking into some of the largest stadiums in the country. His first experience of road life in the SEC was the Rebels’ trip to Florida Field or “The Swamp” to play the Florida Gators, winning 31-30 over the fourth-ranked Gators.

“It was a pretty awesome experience to walk into a stadium with 95,000 fans screaming as loud as they could. I had never seen anything like it,” he said. “Alabama was the same way, 95,000 fans and sold out. It’s a great atmosphere and the fans love their football.”


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By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information



Ben Carry Water reached behind himself about six feet from the basket as the clock neared zero and tipped up the ball that rattled around and bounced in as the end of period lights lit the backboards of Mabee Arena, giving Haskell Indian Nations University a 72-70 win over Kansas Wesleyan on Wednesday night.

The bucket negated Willie McCarty's game-tying shot, all part of a wild finish in the final minute. Haskell’s Solomon Horse Chief was fouled and converted a three point play with 1:06 left in the game to put the Indians up three, 68-65, but the Coyotes answered back as Trey Sims nailed a three with 53 seconds left to tie it.

DJ Fish then gave Haskell a 70-68 lead with 33 seconds left on a bucket, only to be answered by Willie McCarty on the other end with ten ticks left. McCarty made an incredible defensive play on a shot by Dan Brown with three seconds left, setting up the final moments.

Haskell inbounded the ball and dumped inside to Brown, whose shot was partially blocked and snagged out of the air by Carry Water who got the lucky bounce as time expired.

The game was a see-saw affair throughout, neither team was able to take more than a three-point lead at any point. There were 13 lead changes and 16 ties in the game as well.

The Coyotes jumped out to an early 7-2 lead on a bucket by McCarty off an assist from Eric Hammond, but the Indians answered back, using a 9-2 run to take an 11-9 lead with 14:30 left on Brown’s layup.

Sims tied things up at 11-all, but Wesleyan (3-2) could not shake Haskell, as the Indians remained close, only allowing the Coyotes to build a slim four-point margin with 9:17 left in the first half on a bucket from Brad Wespieser.

Again the Indians (4-6) would rally back, tying it up at 19-all on a Vince Chavez bucket with 7:59 left. Wesleyan never relegated the lead to Haskell the remainder of the half, taking a 27-22 lead with 2:53 left on a bucket by Matt Dickman. The Indians again answered the Wesleyan lead, tying things back up with 1:10 left on Carry Water’s score.

Byron Grant converted a pair of free throws with 37.9 seconds left for Haskell to tie things up at 31-all, but Rodney Brown would find Sims on the right wing as time expired for a three to send Wesleyan to a 34-31 lead at the half.

Horse Chief nailed a three on Haskell’s first possession of the second half, sparking a 10-2 run by the Indians to give them a 41-36 lead with 17:42 left in the game.

Wesleyan battled back, eventually taking a 43-41 lead thanks to seven straight points from Melvin Underwood with 15:48 left.

After Horse Chief converted another three-point play to give Haskell a 44-43 lead with 15:01 left. Sims gave the Coyotes the lead back with a layup, only to be answered by Fish on the other end to give Wesleyan a 47-46 lead. Underwood put the Coyotes up by four, 50-46 with 12:01 to go on a free throw, but the Indians answered back to tie things up at 50 when Lenny Miles converted with 10:31 to go.

Romero Hood again gave the Coyotes a four-point lead 56-52 with 9:14 to go on a pair of free throws, but the Indians answered back, taking a 57-56 advantage with 7:15 to go on another bucket from Carry Water. McCarty put Wesleyan back up with 6:46 left, and Sims eventually gave the Coyotes a 63-61 lead with free throws with 3:21 to go, but a Carry Water score tied things up and Horse Chief then took over the game, scoring five in a row for Haskell to give the Indians a 68-65 lead with 1:06 to go.

Sims’ three tied things up setting up the wild finish, culminating with Carry Water’s tip in of the miss by Dan Brown at the buzzer to give Haskell the win.

Carry Water led Haskell with 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while Horse Chief added 17 and Fish pitched in 10. The Indians shot 30-of-64 from the field for 46.9 percent, aided by a 51.4 percent effort in the second half. Carry Water also added 11 rebounds for the Indians.



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By CINDY PETERSON
Bismarck Tribune


Jenna SkunkCap showed up for women's basketball practice at United Tribes in her workout gear.

SkunkCap, however, looked unique. She was pulling her 14-month-old son, Shayde, in a John Deere wagon.

Once the men's team finished practice, SkunkCap handed Shayde off to his dad, Maurice St. Goddard, a freshman guard.

SkunkCap and Goddard both came to United Tribes from Browning, Mont. They have successfully combined school, parenthood and basketball. SkunkCap is majoring in elementary education and Goddard in environmental science.

"It kind of seems frustrating at times, but we're making it work," said SkunkCap, a 5-foot-10 sophomore. "This is the best decision we have made. If we were home, we'd probably be nothing. Being here has brought some light into our family, and we're both doing what we love."

SkunkCap, a point guard, has a hard time staying away from basketball. She was a Montana Class A all-stater and a well-known athlete. She was heavily recruited at all levels, including some NCAA Division I schools.

SkunkCap also stood out in volleyball and softball and was recruited.

SkunkCap's heart was set on playing Division I basketball in her home state, but she was passed over for scholarships.

"Both of my parents have high-paying jobs,"SkunkCap said. "I didn't qualify for the low income to get all this big money from the government. I was not offered a scholarship. Indians have a profile. Their stereotype is drinking and alcohol and not staying in school. You can't base every Indian athlete on that basis because I'm not like that."

SkunkCap ended up signing at Lethbridge College in Alberta. As a starter, she helped the Kodiaks win a national title at the 2007 national championships.

Then Shayde came along, and SkunkCap missed last season. But she has managed to keep her basketball skills sharp.

"I'm back to my normal size,"SkunkCap said. "Physically, I'm back in shape. One month after I had him, I played. I played until I was about eight months with him."

To UTTC

United Tribes coach Daryl Bearstail took over the head coaching reins last spring. Bearstail noticed SkunkCap when she played on a throw-together team for Black Feet Community College of Browning at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium tournament in Bismarck.

Bearstail approached SkunkCap about restarting her career and continuing her education at United Tribes.

"She can play," Bearstail said. "She can play any position on the court. She's fundamentally sound. She can handle the ball, she can score and she's a good leader on the court."

SkunkCap grew up with a basketball in her hands. She's more than eager to play competitive ball and be part of a team again.

"Something was missing in my heart," SkunkCap said. "Now, I feel whole again. This is my stepping stone. I want to get back to being known again. I don't want to go home. There isn't anything. There's a lot of alcohol abuse and drug abuse going on."

Bearstail believes SkunkCap will be a pleasant addition to the Thunderbirds. SkunkCap has been committed to being a good mother and student, and Bearstail believes that will carry over to the court.

"She's a committed mother,"Bearstail said. "She's a dedicated student. She's an honor-roll student. She's committed to her future."

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