UCO heavyweight Shawn Streck named NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year
UCO's Shawn Streck named NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year
Shawn Streck couldn’t have written a better script for his junior season at Central Oklahoma. The agile 260-pounder went a perfect 26-0 to become UCO’s first-ever heavyweight national champion in helping lead the Bronchos to their 16th team title and Friday was named the NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
“It feels really good,” Streck said. “I’m grateful to my teammates and coaches for all they did to help me get to this point, all credit goes to them. An award like this makes me realize people appreciate the work I put in.”
Streck joins Chris Watson (2015) and Heath Gray (2020) as UCO individuals to win Division II’s top award, which started in 2008 and is voted on by every head coach in the country.
“This is an amazing achievement for Shawn and he earned it,” head coach Todd Steidley said. “He won at what I think was the strongest weight in the country this year. Shawn’s a guy who comes to the room every day ready to work and we’re excited for all the success he’s had.”
Streck missed the first month of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, debuting at the Drury Open on Dec. 3. He breezed to that title, then added gold medals at the prestigious Midwest Classic and the Division II Super Regional IV Tournament in earning the No. 1 seed for the national meet.
Streck made that stand up with four easy decisions during the NCAA Division II Championships March 10-11 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, capped by an 8-3 finals win over Glenville State’s Jared Campbell.
More: OU wrestling coach Lou Rosselli departs Sooners after seven seasons
Bengals' Joe Mixon recharged with pointing gun at woman
Bengals running back Joe Mixon is again facing a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing over allegations that he threatened and pointed a gun at a woman in Cincinnati earlier this year.
City police issued a statement Friday announcing that they had refiled the charge “following the discovery of new evidence during the investigative process” but did not provide further details. The statement also noted no investigatory details or evidence will be disclosed outside of official court proceedings “to preserve a fair and impartial judicial process for all parties involved.”
A warrant for Mixon was issued in February. A police officer’s accompanying affidavit alleged that the 26-year-old pointed a firearm and told the victim: “You should be popped in the face. I should shoot you, the police (can’t) get me.”
It said the altercation happened a few blocks from the Bengals’ stadium on Jan. 21 — the day before Cincinnati beat the Buffalo Bills in a divisional-round playoff game — but included no other details about the circumstances.
The warrant was dismissed in Hamilton County Municipal Court the day after it was issued. That order said only that the city prosecutor’s office requested the dismissal “in the interest of justice.”
A statement issued Friday by the Bengals said they were aware of the charge and were “monitoring the situation.” The team said it would have no further comment.
Mixon’s agent, Peter Schaffer, did not immediately respond Friday to a message seeking comment on the refiling. When the charge was dismissed, he had said, “I really feel that police have an obligation before they file charges — because of the damage that can be done to the person’s reputation — to do their work.”
Mixon rushed for 814 yards and seven touchdowns this season, his sixth. He also had 60 receptions for 441 yards, both career highs, and two touchdowns.
In 2021, he had rushed for career highs of 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns for Cincinnati, where he has spent his entire career.
Mixon was a second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2017. Several teams said they passed on him because of concerns about his character after Mixon punched a female Oklahoma student in the face in 2014.
He was suspended from the football team for a year and entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction. He received a deferred sentence and was ordered to perform community service and undergo counseling.
More: Tramel: Dario Saric helps save OKC Thunder hopes for NBA play-in tournament
Climate change adding 50 homers a year in MLB, study says
A new study finds that climate change is making major league sluggers into even hotter hitters, sending an extra 50 or so home runs a year over the fences. A study published Friday by Dartmouth College scientists did a statistical analysis of more than 200,000 balls put into play in the last few years. They say climate change added about 1% to the homer totals. The answer is physics — warmer air is thinner, and that's less resistance on a batted ball. Climate change's effect is not nearly as much as other factors, but the scientists say it will likely grow as climate change progresses.
Extra points
OKC DODGERS: Down by one run with the bases empty and two outs in the ninth inning, the Oklahoma City Dodgers rallied for two runs to stun the Las Vegas Aviators, 5-4, Thursday night at Las Vegas Ballpark. The Aviators had a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth inning, and each of the first two OKC batters struck out. Down to the team’s final strike, Michael Busch was hit by a pitch and Luke Williams followed with a double. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, Steven Duggar sent a single to right field, scoring both Busch and Williams to put the Dodgers ahead.
COLLEGE BASEBALL: No. 11 Oklahoma State mashed five home runs en route to a 7-6 win over TCU in Thursday night’s series opener at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. David Mendham and Roc Riggio each delivered their team-leading ninth homers of the season, while Marcus Brown, Zach Ehrhard and Tyler Wulfert also went deep for OSU (23-8, 7-3 Big 12). ...
Jackson Nicklaus drove in two runs and seven different batters recorded a hit, but OU fell at Baylor 10-6 Thursday on a cold and wet night at Baylor Ballpark.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL: Micaela Wark’s seventh-inning, two-run home run propelled the No. 2 Oklahoma State team to a 7-5 win at Big 12 foe Kansas on Thursday. Lexi Kilfoyl improved to 10-1 in her complete game performance for the Cowgirls (33-3, 4-0 Big 12). ...
Texas Tech used a different pitcher every inning, keeping OU’s hitters off balance and holding the Sooners to just three hits. Still, top-ranked OU came out on top, riding an excellent performance from Alex Storako to a 3-0 victory to open the three-game series at Marita Hynes Field on Thursday.
—Staff and wire reports
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: UCO heavyweight Shawn Streck is NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year
