By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 18, 2012
Chris Frazier, a three-time basketball all-European at Heidelberg High School who’s now a sophomore at the University of Dubuque, an NCAA Division III school, has earned honorable mention for the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference all-conference team, according to a news release forwarded by his father, Gaudie Frazier.
The younger Frazier, who averaged 13 points per game while starting all 26 UD games, sank 40 percent of his shots from behind the arc this season. His 66 three-balls were the fifth-highest single-season total in school history, according to a UD news release.
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 15, 2012
Lali Baratashvili, who earned All-Europe honors after leading the Vicenza Lady Cougars to the 2011 European Division II girls’ basketball title, has received the “Coach’s Award” for her play during her freshman season at Monterey Peninsula College, according to her father, Peter Huller.
In an email, Huller reported Baratashvili, who received the award at the team's banquet on Wednesday, started every game at guard for the Lobos, one of 110 schools in the California community college system. The 5-8 freshman averaged six points, five rebounds and 1.3 steals per game during her initial season at MPC, according to Huller.
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 15, 2012
Heidelberg High School alum Ashley Hicks, MVP of the 2009 European Division I tournament who began her high school career at defunct Wuerzburg, has taken her game to the next level and then some, according to her mother, Karen Hicks.
The younger Hicks, a 5-10 junior forward at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, shot 40.2 percent from the floor in 32 regular-season games as the OLLU Saints won the Red River Athletic Conference tournament and earned a No. 8 seed in the NAIA Division I event which began Wednesday at Frankfort, Ky. OLLU drew top-seeded Oklahoma City University, a five-time NAIA national champion, in Wednesday morning’s first round and fell 91-73.
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 14, 2012
Vilseck volleyball coach Brian Swenty emailed Wednesday to tell us that Sidni Beaulieu-Hains, a 5-9 senior outside hitter and middle blocker for the his Falcons, has agreed to play next season for Monroe College in New Rochelle, N.Y. Monroe competes in the NJCAA’s Division II.
Beaulieu-Hains is the first from the Class of 2012 to sign with the college, the school's website reported. Here’s the link: http://www.monroecollegemustangs.com/news/2012/3/8/WVB_0308125619.aspx
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 13, 2012
Chief official Tomas Villegas desperately is seeking people interested in paid positions as high school baseball and softball umpires for the season which opens Saturday and gets into full swing the following weekend.
Just half of the needed men and women in blue showed up for last Saturday's clinic, Villegas said, but there's still time to sign up. Just give him a call at 0170-205-9462 or e-mail him at info@tomasvillegasjr.com. Callers from outside Germany must drop the initial zero after dialing country code +49.
Cristian Turain
Andrew Guelle
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 7, 2012
Even though they spent last weekend training with high level-coaches and 35 or so of the best high school players in the Eastern United States, don’t worry that Heidelberg’s Andrew Guelle and Ramstein’s Cristian Turain might lose interest in the upcoming high school season over here.
It’s not going to happen.
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 7, 2012
News arrived here just yesterday about the death of a longtime former colleague of mine, Benjamin “Boo” Odem, who passed away at his home in the Texas Hill Country not long ago.
Although Boo, who was born in Corpus Christi but grew up in Houston, was 81 when he died, the news was hard to accept. It seems like only yesterday that he was sitting at the sports desk, regaling the rest of us with tales of his days as a minor-league pitcher, or with little-known facts about the sports world in general.
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 6, 2012
Damien Kirk, a quarterback-cornerback; Rodney Lucas, a running back-kick returner, DaQuon Hall, a running back, and Jaymes Bradley, a wide receiver, recently were added to Ansbach coach Marcus George’s “rising seniors to watch” list by Kaiserslautern coach Aaron Scalise.
The four, all of whom are expected to perform for Kaiserslautern this fall, join the 69 players from the class of 2013 in Europe previously identified by their coaches as having the potential to play college football.
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 6, 2012
Haley Faruqui, a 2011 All-European who helped Patch’s Lady Panthers to consecutive European Division I soccer titles in 2010 and 2011 before moving to Alabama over the summer, has signed to play for Columbia College, an NAIA school in South Carolina's capital city.
Faruqui “was instrumental in securing our left side,” Patch coach Tom Manuel wrote about his defensive midfielder in nominating her for the 2011 All-Europe team. “Our 56-7 goals-for, goals-against ratio was a result of Haley’s hard work.”
According to a news release on the Columbia College website, Faruqui joined Alexa Zolman of Wichita, Kan., as the school's first signees from the Class of 2012. The release quoted Columbia coach Josh Kiper as saying, "I'm excited to see what Alexa and Haley will bring to our program. I know each is a strong skill player with the drive and determination to succeed."
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 6, 2012
Jaap Van Gaalen, a Ramstein senior who’s the defending European silver medalist in the 400 meters, signed a letter of intent recently to run next season for Concordia University in Seward, Neb., an NAIA school.
He was the third Royal athlete to find an athletic home at the next level last month, joining All-Europe midfielder Josie Seebeck and All-Europe defensive end Justin Dickey in signing college letters of intent.
Senior midfielder Josie Seebeck, the 2011 Stars and Stripes female player of the year, is joined by her coach, Ricardo Buitrago, after she signed a letter of intent at a February ceremony at Ramstein High School to play for Central Michigan University next season.
Photo courtesy of Ramstein HIgh School
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 5, 2012
Ramstein senior midfielder Josie Seebeck decided on her soccer future last month when she signed a letter of intent to play college soccer with Central Michigan University, an NCAA Division I school.
“I’m very excited,” Seebeck said by telephone on Monday. “It’s a great honor to be able to sign with Central Michigan. I’ve always wanted to play Division I.”
Rota sophomore Aspen Luna uncorks a jump-serve during an Andalucian all-star tournament last month in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain. Luna, a two-time All-European outside hitter for the Rota Lady Admirals and the Stars and Stripes 2011 player of the year, was voted MVP of the tournament after leading the Cadiz all-stars to the tournament title.
Photo courtesy of Melinda Luna
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 5, 2012
Rota sophomore Aspen Luna capped her selection to a 10-player all-star team which represented the province of Cadiz by leading her team of 13-15-year-olds to an Andalucian regional championship and earning MVP honors in last month’s three-day event, according to Rota coach Melinda Luna.
Coach Luna added that the Cadiz stars downed selected players representing Almeria, Cordoba, Jaen, Malaga and Granada en route to the title.
By Rusty Bryan
Published: March 5, 2012
Chief umpire Tomas Villegas Jr. is looking for people interested in umpiring high school baseball and softball games this spring.
Prospective men/women in blue should plan to attend a mandatory meeting on Saturday at the Digital Training Center, Bldg. 2847C on Pulaski Barracks in Kaiserslautern. The meeting begins at 9 a.m.
