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SPORTS

THE LATEST REGIONAL SPORTS

Green Shines as Griz Finish 4th

INDUSTRY HILLS, Calif (NMB) Although the Montana Grizzly golf team finished fourth in the Folino Invitational Tuesday, Freshman Tara Green took the tournament's individual championship. After tying a school record in the second round with a score of 68, Green struggled on the final day of the tournament shooting a 78. On the front nine she shot 5 over, and continued to struggle on the back nine, bogeying the 10th, 14th and 16th holes. Through her struggles, Green was able to hold off Gonzaga's Alice Kim, who trailed by 4 strokes. Gonzaga took the top team spot in the tournament with a score 897, Cal State Fullerton finished second with a 910, and Long Beach State finished third wit a score of 918. Montana will be back on the course at the Northern Arizona Invitational March 3-4 in Sedona, Arizona. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Griz Appear at 18 in Mid-Major Top 25

MISSOULA, Mont (NMB) Sitting at 20-6 on the season and coming off a a big win over Hawaii, the Montana Grizzly men's basketball team is ranked 18th in the most recent Mid-Major top 25 poll. "You know its neat" Griz head coach Wayne Tinkle noted. "But obviously we have our eyes on the prize and there are some big games in front of us. We need to stay focused on on those." Those games Tinkle referred to are consecutive Big Sky Conference games starting Thursday with the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, Saturday against Montana State, then Long Beach State next Tuesday, February 28th. "We're excited we're getting some recognition, but we certainly want to keep that moving forward and keep the momentum building" Tinkle added. Murray State, ranked in the top 20 in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, took the top spot in the Mid Major Poll. The Racers are 26-1 on the season. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Westminster's Roberts Qualifies for Nationals

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (NMB) Westminster College's Nicole Roberts didn't wait long to make an impact for the Griffins track and field team as the freshman has qualified for the 2012 NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships. After posting a time a time of 8.7 seconds during last weekend's Wildcat Indoor Open in the 55 meter hurdles, Roberts qualified for the 60 meter hurdles. The time translated to a 9.29 in the 60 meter event, placing her 30th in the NAIA to become the first Griffin, male or female, to qualify for the NAIA National Championships. The 60 Meter Hurdle event will feature the trials at 11am on Friday March 2nd, while the finals will be run at 10:45 on Saturday, March 3rd. The meet is being held at the SPIRE Institute Track and Field Sports Complex in Genva, Ohio. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Bobcat Volleyball Welcomes New Coach

BOZEMAN, Mont. (NMB) - Montana State introduced Kyle Weindel as its 9th volleyball coach Monday, after serving as an assistant at Ohio University. "I'm super excited to be here" Weindel said. "I couldn't sleep last night and it felt like I was back in college before a big match." Weindel hit the ground running on his first day, hitting the gym for a team workout. "I just kind of sat back and watched and did a little evaluating" he added. "We worked on some terminology and moved towards getting everyone on the same page. I like the potential of this group." The Bobcats return eight letter winners, including four starters. Weindel will also welcome four newcomers to the program in the fall as well. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Bobcats Show Strong in Final Meet

BOZEMAN, Mont. (NMB) - In their last chance to qualify before the Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, Montana State finished with 12 first place finishes that the Bobcat Open last Friday. In the 55 hurdles, Asa Staven took the gold with a 7.56 Meanwhile Senior Matt Nicholas pounced his ticked to Flagstaff with a long jump of 22-11. In the 800 meters, the Cats took every spot on the podium as Matt Tex finished first, followed by Jacob Kirk, and Jake Turner. The Bobcats men's team finished out their performance taking the top two spots in the 200 meter as Gage Pickering won with a time of 22.17 and Nick Melone. On the women's side of things Amanda Murphy produced her best performance in the weight throw, setting a new Montana State record with 19.34. Sonia Anta won her second college race with a time of 56.04 in the 400 meters. Rebecca Sorenson finished first in the 3,000 meters with a Big Sky mark of 10:18.05. Finally, Chantel Jaeger earned gold in the 200 meters with a time of 24.56. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Jager Runs Her Way to Athlete of the Week

BOZEMAN, Mont. (NMB) - Montana State's Chantel Jager was named the Big Sky Conference's women's track athlete of the week. The Freshman from Yakima, Washington won the 200 meter dash at the Bobcat Open in Bozeman, clocking a time of 24.56 seconds. Jager also finished fourth in the 55 meter dash with a time of 7.34 seconds. The Bobcat Open served as a final opportunity to qualify for the Big Sky Conference meet, which begins this Friday in Flagstaff Arizona. Montana's Ani Haas and Northern Arizona's Haley Lawrence were also nominated for the weekly award. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MSU-B Tennis Goes 2-1 Over Weekend, Heads to Bozeman

BISMARCK, N.D. (NMB) - The Montana State University Billings women's tennis team competed in three matches over the weekend, going 2-1 with wins on Saturday over the University of Mary as well as Southwest Minnesota State before falling to Augustana on Sunday. The Yellowjackets started with a 5-4 victory over Mary Saturday morning, then picked up a 7-2 mach over Southwest Minnesota. However the momentum would come to a halt on Sunday for MSU-Billings, as the Yellowjackets fell to Augustana 9-0. Laura Housinger, Kendyall Rochin, Amanda Milliard and Libby Rutz all recorded a pair of wins in singles competition over the Marauders and Mustangs on Saturday. In doubles action, Housinger and Paffhausen swept their competition on Saturday with wins of 8-3 and 9-7. The Yellowjacket women will be back in action this weekend with a pair of matches on Friday and Sunday joining the men's team for matches with Portland State University and Montana State University in Bozeman. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Yellowjackets Stung in Bozeman, Chance at Revenge this Weeke

BOZEMAN, Mont. (NMB) - The Montana State University-Billings men's tennis team took part in just one match the weekend, falling to Montana State University Sunday 1-6. The match against the Bobcats was scored using NCAA Division 1 rules, only awarding one point for doubles as compared to the two points awarded in the NCAA Division 2. The Yellowjackets up-ended the Bobcats at No. 1 doubles as Alonso Leon and Navin Marimuth bested then reigning Big Sky men's tennis player of the week Niklas Brandes and his partner Markus Schuelter 8-4. Leon also won at No. 2 singles. The men will be back in Bozeman this weekend, taking on the Bobcats and Portland State. The Yellowjackets square off against Portland State on Friday and MSU again on Sunday. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Battelin' Bears Beat Lady Argos

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (NMB) - A late rally fell short at the University of Great Falls Lady Argos fell to Rocky Mountain College 70-59 Saturday night. The Lady Argos pulled to within two, down 54-52 in the second half, but just as the Argos found some momentum, Rocky was there to squash it. Rocky then jumped out on a 9-0 run to secure the win down the stretch. With the win the Battelin Bears moved to 18-9 on the season, while UGF fell to 9-16. Rocky is now tied with MSU-Northern for 3rd place in the conference, while the loss puts the Argos tied with Carroll for last place. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Griz Add 8 Qualifiers for Big Sky

BOZEMAN, Mont. (NMB) - Montana State hosted a small, last-chance meet in the Bobcat Open Friday and the visiting Montana Grizzly track and field teams capitalized with their best meet of the season adding eight new Big Sky qualifiers. On the women's side Courtney Kosovich and junior Gween Abbot set lifetime best at the open. Kosovich went 12-9.5 to win the pole vault to move up to third in the Big Sky performance list. Abbot however moved into a three way tie for first with a 5-7.75 high jump. Big Sandy native Kourtney Danreuther will have company in the Big Sky Conference indoor championships as fellow juniors Melissa Jenkins(56.77) and Brittany Schroder (57.44) registered qualifying times. Rounding out the qualifiers for the Griz track team were Anika Green in the 60 meter hurdles and Ani Haas in the 800 meters. For the men's team: Senior Donny Lisowski and Don Danns qualified in the 55 meters; Freshman Jacob Leinger qualified in the 55-meter hurdles; and Senior Christian Segota won the triple jump with a season best 46-2. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Griz Soccer Signs Class of 6

MISSOULA, Mont. (NMB) - Montana soccer coach Mark Plakorus announced the signing of six players to the Lady Grizzly program. The Griz soccer team is coming off a Big Sky Conference championship and their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2000. Headlining the class from Montana, is Savannah Witt of Billings, a player Plakorus is one of the top players in the state. "If you asked around the state, I think you get the same answer" Plakorus said. "and that's that Savannah is one of the best players in Montana. Witt had 12 goals and seven assists as a senior and finished her prep career with 42 goals and 24 assists. She was a tree-time Class AA all-state player for West High, which she helped lead to 2009 and 2010 state titles. "She'll bring a lot of athleticism to the team, and is an extremely competitive player. She is going to fit into our system really well." Plakorus added. Also joining the Griz will be: Taylor Rhodes of Fort Worth, Texas; Madison Vessel of Dallas, Texas; Mackenzie Akins of Lake Elsinore, California; Mary Gintz of San Jose, California; and Emily Kardash of Calgary, Alberta. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Jamar's Tripple Double Earns POTW Honor

MISSOULA, Mont. (NMB) - Kareem Jamar from the University of Montana has been selected as the Big Sky Conference men's basketball player of the week after recording the leagues first tripple double in 12 years. The 6-foot-5 inch guard/Forward from Venice, Calif., recorded 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Grizzlies' 94-79 non-conference win over Hawai'i on Saturday in Missoula. Jamar made 5-of-8 shots from the floor, 2-of-4 from 3 point range, and 9-of-13 from the free throw line. Jamar's triple-double was the 11th in a Division one game this season and the first by a Big Sky player since February 26th, when Weber State's Eddie Gill scored 15 points with 14 assists and 11 rebounds in a win against Montana State. The honor is Jamar's first of his career. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Johnson and McSurdy to Represent Griz at NFL Combine

MISSOULA, Mont. (NMB) - Three former Big Sky Conference football players have been invited to the NFL Combine, including two from the University of Montana . Cornerback Trumaine Johnson and linebacker Caleb McSurdy are among the more than 300 players invited to this year's combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound defensive back from Stockton, California, was a three-time All-Big Sky selection, and was named to several All-American teams throughout his tenure in Missoula. Johnson finished his career with 15 interceptions and 35 pass breakups. He is projected as a second or third-round draft pick. As Johnson anchored the Griz secondary, McSurdy made his prescience felt with his dominating play from the linebacker position. The 2011 Big Sky Defensive MVP was named to several All-American teams after a senior campaign that saw 130 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and four sacks. Portland State's Dustin Waldon will also represent the Big Sky Conference at the NFL Combine. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Sacremento State's Kuhns Scores 17, Earns POTW Honor

OGDEN, Utah (NMB) - Sacramento State's Kylie Kuhns has picked up her third career Player of the Week Honor by the Big Sky Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week. The honor also marks the second time this season Kuhns' has been recognized. Kuhns helped keep the Hornets in the hunt for the sixth and final spot in the Big Sky Conference tournament with a 17 point, 9 rebound performance in Sacramento State's 71-67 victory over Portland State. Kuhns went 8-of-13 from the field, adding three blocks and three steals. The Salem Oregon native leads the Hornets with 14.1 points per game and is fourth in the nation in 11.8 rebounds per game. Montana's Katie Baker and Montana State's Katie Bussey were also nominated. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

UGF Gets Past Rocky

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (NMB) - With the game tied and under a minute to play, University of Great Falls Guard Marcel Towns drained a three pointer to break the tie, propelling the Argos to a 76-71 win over Rocky Mountain College Saturday night. The Argos (18-9, 6-6) were lead by Towns, the sophomore guard who connected on 5-8 three point attempts in finishing with 29 points. Towns continued to fill out the stat sheet falling one rebound shy of a double-double, seven assists and four steals. Meanwhile Rocky Mountain (11-16, 4-8) was led Matt Fogarty's 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Doundreckyc Parham finished with 10 points and 7 assists. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Griffins Win Game of the Week

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (NMB) - In a game recognized by the NAIA as the women's game of the week the Westminster Griffins women's basketball team picked up a big upset win over the visiting 8th ranked. Lewis-Clark State Lady Warriors 78-56 Saturday With the win Westminster (18-7, 11-1) will need to add just one more victory to claim the Frontier Conference title. Meanwhile LCSC dropped their 4th game of the season to slip to 23-4 on the year. Lewis-Clark started the game with an early 12-4 advantage to start the run, but that was before the Griffin offense would Awaken. After Tia Pappas connected on a free throw with 1:38 seconds remaining, the Griffins would never trail again. With the game tied at 31 a piece with 16:30 remaining Westminster would go on an 11-0 run, before adding a 10-0 run minutes later. Dana Bates was not only the Griffin's high scorer, but the game's high scorer as well with 18 points. The Lady Warriors, known for their offensive fire-power as the Frontier's highest scoring team, struggled to find their offense shooting just 38.8% from the floor, including an 8-21 effort after halftime. Jasmine Stohr would finish the night as the team's high scorer with 13 points. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Montana State Track and Field Signs 2

BOZEMAN, Mont. (NMB) - Montana State Track and Field has announced the singing of two more student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at MSU. Head coach Dale Kennedy announced the recent signings of John Daubert and Casey Teska. Daubert is a 2012 graduate of Billings Senior High School. He's earned three letters in track and field, as well as football. In 2011, he was the Class AA State Champion in the 400 with a time of 49.25 and placed third in the 200 in 22.50. He was also part of the championship 4x100 and 4x400 relays. He is the team's captain for the 2012 season. Teska comes to Bozeman from Stow, Massachusetts, where she earned four letters in outdoor track and field, one in indoor and two in cross country. As a pole vaulter for the Chieftains, she leaves high school with a personal best height of 12-00.00 and also holds the school record in the event. She served as team captain her senior season. Montana State signed six student-athletes back on Feb. 1. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MSU-B Thump Thunderwolves

PUEBLO, Colo. (NMB) - After dropping a pair of contests on Saturday to Colorado State University-Pueblo, the MSU-Billings Yellowjackets trumped the Thunderwolves 7-2 Sunday afternoon. Both squads now sit at 2-2 on the season. MSU-B not only outscored the Thunderwolves on Sunday, they Also out-hit CSU-Pueblo as well 12-6. Montana State Billings started their offensive performance with a RBI base hit in the second inning, before adding runs in the third, fourth, fifth (3 runs), and ninth innings to record the win. CSU-Pueblo registered both of their runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Trevor Wilson finished the day 2-3 at the plate with a run scored while Mack Unruh went 2-4 with a pair of runs scored. MSUB will now get a week off before they travel to St. George, Utah where they will take on Dixie State College in a pair of doubleheaders on Sunday, March 4 and Monday, March 5. Both games are slated to start at 2 p.m. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MSU-B Track and Field finish 7th at GNAC Meet

NAMPA, Idaho (NMB) - The Montana State University-Billings track and field teams wrapped up the Ninth-Annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday afternoon with both squads finishing seventh of the eight schools in attendance, but both squads made significant improvements over previous years. Tanner Rottrup started things off on day one with a shot put of 50-2, becoming MSUB'S first ever individual winner. The Yellowjacket men finished with 31 points and a seventh place finish. Also for the men, Taylor Firestone finished fourth in the men's long jump with a jump of 22-7 which set a new school. Tyson Vanderby also put himself in the record books, breaking the school record in the men's mile with a time of 4:24.37 to finish ninth. The men's 4x400 meter team made up of Reilly Winebrenner, Logan Mossey, Rory Bauer and Drew Galahan set a new school record in the event with a time of 3:23.38. The Yellowjacket women also scored 23 points on the first day which was the second-most total to only the 30 1/2 points they earned in last season's meet. They would go on to score a new school record of 49.5 points by the end of the two-day event. Anica Knispel placed second in the women's weight throw with a toss of 50-01.25 while Leeza Henry finished the event in fourth with a distance of 47-5.25. The duo would also finish 2-3 in the women's weight throw, only reversed as Henry had a new school record put of 44-08. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Seatle Pacific Wins Big Over MSU-Billings

BILLINGS, Mont. (NMB) - During the annual "Pink Zone" game, the Montana State University Billings women's basketbal team could not find their "zone offensively Saturday night, falling to Seattle Pacific University 70-56. Down by as many as 22, the Yellowjackets attempted to mount a comeback, twice pulling even in the second half, but every time MSUB rallied they Falcons responded. MSU-Billings struggled with their shooting in the first, hitting less than 20% of their shots before shooting 48% in the second half. However the early deficit proved to be too much as the Yellowjackets could not over come the 33-18 halftime deficit. Malta High School Product Bobbi Knudsen finished the night 8-20 for 17 points, again leading the Yellowjackets in scoring. MSUB will look to change their luck next week as they wrap up their 2011-12 regular season with a pair of games. The Yellowjackets will first welcome Simon Fraser University on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. before they welcome Western Washington University to Alterowitz Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 25. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

UM Tops Hawaii 94-79

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - Kareem Jamar had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as Montana reached the 20-win mark for the third straight season with a 94-79 victory over Hawaii on Saturday night. Will Cherry had 24 points and Mathias Ward 18 for the Grizzlies (20-6), who shot 58 percent from the floor and connected on 11 of 23 3-pointers in the BracketBusters game. Vander Joaquim led Hawaii (15-11) with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Warriors also got 13 points from Shaquille Stokes, 12 from Hauns Brereton and 11 from Joston Thomas. Montana took control early, getting two 3-pointers from Cherry and a dunk from Ward en route to a 9-2 lead. The Grizzlies led 47-34 at halftime and stretched that to as many as 20 in the second half when Jamar hit two free throws to make it 81-61 with 7:34 remaining. (Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Umipig Scores 24 to Pace Cal St.-Fullerton Past MSU

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) - Isiah Umipig scored 24 points, one of four Cal State Fullerton players in double figures, in an 80-66 triumph over Montana State on Saturday night. Cal State Fullerton (18-7) scored eight 3-point field goals, four by Umipig, in the BracketBusters game. Umipig made all four of his free-throw attempts, and his team was perfect from the line at 12 of 12. The other double-figure scorers for the Titans were Orane Chin (14) and Kwame Vaughn and Sedric Martin (13 each). Vaughn also had five assists. Shawn Reid led Montana State (11-15) with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Tre Johnson scored 14 points and Mohamed Fall 10. Rod Singleton had six assists. (Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Westminster Men Stay in Conference Hunt

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (NMB) - AJ Reilly scored a game high 17 points as the Westminster College men's basketball team picked up their 19th win of the season knocking off Lewis-Clark State College 69-53 Saturday night. With the loss LCSC find themselves with a 5-7 mark in conference play. However the Griffins find themselves in a much better position with a 7-5 mark in the league, trailing first place Montana-Western by 2 games, and MSU-Northern, the second place team by one-half game. Westminster struggled to stay consistent in the first half, giving up leads of eight and seven, before trailing 29-27 at the half. The second half was a different story as the Griffin offense got in sync to put together a 22-6 run in the second half to bring the game to 52-36 with 8:09 to play. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Yellowjacket Men Slip in Seattle

SEATTLE, Wash. (NMB) - The Montana State University Billings men's basketball team fell behind early Saturday night, never fully recovering, as the Yellowjackets fell to Seattle Pacific University Saturday night. With the loss the Yellowjacket men slip to 14-10 on the season, while the Falcon's improve to 20-5, 12-4 in the GNAC. The Falcons started fast and furious, with a 23-2 run over the first nine minutes of the game before the Yellowjackets were able to work their way back into the game, trailing by just nine point, 34-25. MSUB would keep batteling in the second half, pulling within one point with just over four minutes remaining. However that is as close at it would come. Antoine Proctor led MSU-B in scoring with 21 points while David Downs, aided by a 14-14 performance from the free throw line finished with a game high of 24 points. The Yellowjackets will remain on the road for their final two games of the season, first traveling to Simon Fraser University on Thursday, Feb. 23. MSUB will then head to Washington to take on the nationally-ranked Western Washington University Vikings on Saturday, Feb. 25 to end their season. (Copyright 2012 New Media Broadcasters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

* KOJM Regional Sports *

KOJM delivers comprehensive coverage of area sports that includes "live" coverage of the Havre High School "Blue Pony" football and basketball programs. Daily reports give our listeners immediate, updated information on area sporting activities that include football, basketball, volleyball, track and field, cross country, tennis, golf and softball results for area College programs, High Schools, American Legion Baseball, and numerous city league activities. Sports Roundup can be heard daily, Monday - Friday in the 8 a.m., Noon and 5 p.m. hours. Weekend Sports update shows are programmed hourly throughout the day on both Saturday and Sunday. Coverage of sporting events throughout the Big Sky Country of Montana is no easy task. Team travel to great distances, communication logistics, scheduling conflicts and the huge amount of sports activities we broadcast require a well staffed, professional sports department that features four play-by-play announcers.