The Official Blog of OC Athletics
Friday, August 03, 2007
The Edmond Sun runs a regular feature on the front page of its sports section that highlights “Athletic Achievers” who excel on and off the field. The Sun has featured Oklahoma Christian often recently, profiling one of OC’s 10 NAIA Scholar Teams per day. Click here to read about this remarkable achievement by OC’s athletic programs.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
The July 26 edition of Edmond Life & Leisure featured several articles about OC Athletics, including a preview of the Eagle and Lady Eagle soccer schedules and a story about All-American Adam Barnes playing soccer with a Swedish team this summer. The edition also contains an article about the Lady Eagle basketball team’s selection to the WBCA Academic Honor Roll. Click here to read the Life & Leisure‘s online version.
Monday, June 18, 2007
WES McKINZIE, Blog Host
Here is one man’s opinion on the top five stories of the year in OC Athletics ...
1. The undefeated
Though the women’s soccer team has enjoyed quite a bit of success in recent years, nothing compares to what the Lady Eagles did this year. They went undefeated (17-0-2) during the regular season and won the Sooner Athletic Conference championship, OC’s only team title this year. The Lady Eagles rewrote OC’s record books, dominated the all-conference team and advanced to their third national tournament in five years.
2. Elite on the links
I can basically reprise what I wrote about the golf team last year … so I will! The OC golf team spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in the country. Though a tough second day of the NAIA tournament meant a third-place national finish, it speaks volumes about the program’s premier status that placing third was a disappointment. In an unparalleled run of success in OC’s rich athletic history, the golf team has now placed in the nation’s top four for eight straight years.
3. A 30th year to remember
The women’s basketball team celebrated its 30th season in style, winning the 600th game in program history, beating rivals SNU (twice), OCU and LCU, staying in contention for the league title until the final weekend of the regular season, and advancing to its eighth straight national tournament. The Lady Eagles capped off the year with a Sweet 16 appearance, national honors for Rachel Martin and Katie Fariss, and the prestigious distinction as the NAIA’s “Champions of Character” team for 2006-07.
4. Men’s soccer success
It was a great year on the soccer pitch all the way around. The Eagle soccer team turned in one of the best regular seasons in men’s program history, then made a big splash at the national tournament by advancing to the “Elite Eight.” The accomplishment was all the more impressive considering the Eagles came from behind against host school Embry-Riddle (Fla.) to win their Sweet 16 game.
5. From adversity to All-Americans
At indoor nationals, the 4x800-meter relay team lost top runner Jordan Powell to illness the day of the meet, but Curtis Pratt, Cole McAllister, Eric Poole and Josh Wayland stayed focused and earned All-America honors with a sixth-place finish. At outdoor nationals, one of OC’s runners fell during the preliminary race, but the team rallied to qualify for the final. Powell, Pratt, Poole and Wayland placed fifth to bring home All-America honors again.
Honorable mention: OC wins three ITA regional tennis titles; Le honored with Ashe award; Strohman and Thompson join coaching staff; Baseball team and Dobson Field taking shape; Weather wreaks havoc on multiple sports.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
In late April, Oklahoma Christian hosted the inaugural OCPY Awards, which honored the “best and brightest” from the past year in OC Athletics. Click the icon below to watch excerpts from this special event. For the full story, click here.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
In this edition of the Eagle Eye Podcast, Wes McKinzie talks to women’s soccer coach Sean O’Connor from the NAIA national tournament and discusses a busy weekend for OC Athletics. The men’s and women’s soccer teams and cross country teams compete in their respective national tournaments/meets while the Eagle and Lady Eagle basketball teams each play a pair of tough games.
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Thursday, November 02, 2006
Wes McKinzie talks to OC basketball coaches Stephanie Findley and Dan Hays as the Lady Eagles and Eagles prepare to open the season Saturday in their annual Homecoming games. Click here for a written preview of both teams.
This edition of the Eagle Eye Podcast also includes news about the golf team’s latest accomplishments and the upcoming regionals for cross country and soccer.
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Thursday, October 26, 2006
CASSIE TYLER, Women’s Soccer
Time has slipped through my fingers since my last blog. The funny thing about soccer season is that you get going and before you know it, a few months have passed and you only have two games left in the season, which is where I find myself presently. So much has happened since my last update. We have added some more wins and another tie to our record. We have climbed our way up the polls to our present #9 ranking. The countdown to the end of the regular season has begun and it is now nearly over. We will head up to Alva this Saturday for our match against Northwestern and then we will finish our regular season action on Halloween against OCU. This season has been a whirlwind of activity and I can’t believe how quickly it has gone.
As we stand right now, we have to at least tie or win one of our last two games in order to be SAC champions. We have also positioned ourselves in such a way that we could possibly host the regional tournament. That would be ideal. I would love to have all home games during that tournament. Our fans would also have the opportunity to come out and cheer us on at home for the last time this season. There’s just nothing like playing on your own home field in front of all of your friends and peers.
Overall, I am so proud of our girls and the success we’ve had so far this season. Our projected outlook as a team at the beginning of the season was very positive and we have so far accomplished what we set out to do. We still have quite a road ahead of us as we face the regional, and hopefully, the national tournaments. I have confidence in this team and our abilities and I am so excited for our playoff season.
“Failure is not failure to meet your goal. Real failure is failure to reach as high as you possibly can.”
~Dr. Robert Schuller
Click the box below for highlights from Tuesday’s soccer games against John Brown. In the Lady Eagles’ 2-0 win, Heather Spencer scored off an assist from Meagan Pless, then Kristin Brown scored off an assist from Spencer. In the men’s game Brady Nikkel scored on a late breakaway to give OC a 1-0 win.
Monday, September 25, 2006
CASSIE TYLER, Women’s Soccer
Another Monday has come and gone and we are about to kick off another fabulous week of soccer. Yesterday concluded what was one of my most taxing weeks so far this year. The week consisted of three games with a day of practice between each game. We started off strong in our Tuesday game, beating Oklahoma Baptist in overtime. Thursday was another challenging game against Division II Southwestern OSU. After 90 minutes of hard work, we ended the game with another “W.”
Saturday proved to be the most tiring game of all. I have found that as the years progress my body seems to take more of a beating, and it takes longer to recover. Therefore, Saturday’s game proved more challenging than necessary. My body was tired, and I could see the fatigue in my teammates as well. However, we got the job done and improved our record to 8-0 for the season. Not a bad week, if I may say so myself.
Yesterday, we had a much needed day off to recover and today we picked right back up where we left off. Tomorrow morning we head off to Arkansas with our guys for a doubleheader against John Brown. I’m particularly excited about tomorrow’s game. Last year, John Brown came here and taught us a thing or two about soccer (to put it mildly). However, we are a different team this year and we hope to get our revenge.
“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”
~Vince Lombardi
Saturday, September 16, 2006
CASSIE TYLER, Women’s Soccer
I figured today would be as good a day as any for me to start my blog so you can catch a glimpse of what life on the women’s soccer team is like. This morning, we started the day off right with the dreaded fitness beep test. Although despised by everyone, the fitness will pay off in the long run. Coach Sean set a standard for us to reach before we began the run. Last season, half of our team struggled to make it to this particular goal; however, this season our team obliterated this standard. All of my teammates are working incredibly hard and it is so refreshing to be a part of a team that is dedicated to becoming better players.
After the fitness, we got to play a little small-side indoor soccer tournament to help us with our foot skills and speed of play. These practices are by far my favorite. I love the small-sided games and the competition. Throw in a bit of recklessness and our “we just ran a hard fitness test” wobbly legs and you’ve got yourself a great time. It was not a bad start to the day. Luckily for us, we are going to have an opportunity every week to run ourselves crazy in a fitness test and then to further test our legs with a little bit of playing. Now with my weekend fun out of the way it is time for me to start studying for some upcoming exams. Until next time ...
A fitting quote for the day:
“For me, winning isn’t something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream.”
~ Emmitt Smith, American Football Player