The O'Colly, Friday, March 15, 2024

Friday, March 15, 2024

national Sunshine week

The O’Colly’s ongoing fight for freedom of information

Luisa Clausen, Kennedy Thomason, Bella Casey Editorial Staff

Column

Letting the sun shine: National Sunshine Week I always dreamed of being a journalist. Yet, for years, I was terrified of people.

Confrontation was my biggest nightmare. Although injustice outraged me, I was too scared to speak up because I did not have the necessary information.

Journalism has proved to me over and over that people should be scared of me.

Not because I am mean or rude. I am not. But because I am wellinformed. Because I know my rights, and I will fight for them. When you have information, you have everything.

One year ago, I thought it was normal for open records requests to take a long time. I thought I couldn’t go to extra public meetings that happened before or after the actual public meeting and I thought public information was a lot more limited than it is.

I was wrong. As a student journalist, I have heard sources say they do not trust the media enough to give me an interview, or that journalists are biased and liars. Although some news channels have fallen short and chosen money over the truth, our gen-

eration is eager to fight for the public.

On March 8, I woke up at 6 a.m. and walked to the Student Union, where the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents met for a public breakfast before their regular meeting at 10 a.m.

I knew no one from the public would be there, and I would catch their attention. When I arrived, I asked two women who were sitting outside of the breakfast if I could go in. One of them insisted the breakfast was not public, and I insisted it was. The confusion on her face was clear. It’s uncommon for members of the public to show up to these extra meetings. After some insistence and confirmation from a board member, I found my way inside and sat down. I could feel their eyes on me, wondering what I was doing there.

See Information on 2A

Raynee

19-year-old student last month.

Pedestrian safety top-of-mind for OSU students, faculty, community

Raynee Howell Staff Reporter

Once a month, Ian Gresley, a student from Texas, would attend Critical Mass, an arranged bike ride in downtown Houston.

Bicyclists, including Gresley and his group of friends, would dress up, decorate their bikes and listen to music as they dominated the streets for a night.

One night, the festivities took a turn when a car blew through a stop sign on a neighborhood road.

A car collided with his friend, and he rolled onto the hood; caving the windshield in. Gresley and the rest of his friends were in shock as the ambulance loaded him up.

Gresley’s friend spent a night in the hospital but left with only a broken leg. After witnessing the accident, biker safety became a priority for Gresley when

riding in areas such as Houston.

He never thought moving it would remain a concern when he moved to small-town Stillwater.

“I grew up riding my bike all around Houston; I’ve seen countless people almost killed because someone was on the phone while driving, and it’s no different here,” Gresley said. “I watched a guy blow through a stop sign today on Hester Street by the Endeavor Lab as I was crossing the street in front of him. “He couldn’t be bothered to slow down his Jaguar.”

At OSU, there has been an increase in pedestrian accidents since the beginning of 2024. One of the most recent killed Gabrielle Long, a 19-year-old OSU student. OSU created a Pedestrian Safety Task Force in response.

With walking being the main mode of transportation on campus, there is an

emphasis on walkers’ safety. Bicyclists can also be in danger on campus.

Oklahoma is the ninth most dangerous place for cyclists, yet there has not been much done to ensure the safety of those who ride bikes, especially on college campuses, according to the U.S. News & World Report. Bicyclists are technically considered vehicle operators, not pedestrians, making it hard for there to be regulations on how to safely travel by bike. OSU Pedestrian Task Force Committee Chair Joe Weaver said all vehicles must yield to pedestrians, but the laws surrounding bicycles, scooters and cars can be harder to manage.

“How we control it and manage it (transportation) is going to be a constant challenge as we go forward,” Weaver said. “They all think they have the right of way, and it’s tough.”

Courtesy of sunshineweek.org

Students elect new SGA president, vice president

Lifestyle Editor

The Student Government Association has a new president and vice president. In an email from SGA coordinator Melisa Echols on Thursday, Aubrey Ruffin and Landry Baker were announced as the president- and vice president-elects for the 2024 term. They won against candidate pairs Audrey Bishop and Kaytly Clift; and Ty McLaughlin and Riley Flickinger.

Ruffin and Baker weren’t together when they saw the results; Ruffin had finished taking a midterm and Baker was doing homework.

“I was just sitting there alone,” Baker said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.’”

The pair earned 49.6% of the vote, with the majority coming from the Greek vote. Ruffin and Baker are members of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

This election drew the highest voter turnout post-pandemic with 1,190 voters.

OSU’s veterinary hospital in search of new faculty

Under new leadership, OSU Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is focused on its improvement. A multifactorial set of challenges arose because of the lack of money and the COVID-19 pandemic. The closing of departments such as oncology, cardiology and radiology, the departure of all specialists, including surgery and radiology, not enough money to hire more faculty,

reduced emergency room hours for small animals from being open 24/7 to being open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and a decrease in student caseloads are present issues. In 2023, state lawmakers created the Oklahoma State University Veterinary Medicine Authority and secured $84 million for the veterinary college. The money will allow the college to increase the number of faculty, expand clinical services and upgrade facilities such as the disease diagnostic lab.

See Faculty on 4A

Courtesy of Aubrey Ruffin

Aubrey Ruffin (left) and Landry Baker were elected on Thursday as the new Student Government Association president and vice president.

Kennedy Thomason News &

Luisa Clausen Editor-in-Chief

Continued from 1A

After a few minutes, one member approached me and said, “We are just having breakfast,” with a smile on his face. I said, “That’s OK, I will stay anyway.”

I didn’t get any breaking news or major story ideas, but I got something bigger than that. I got to make a statement, “we are here, we are watching, we are holding you accountable and we will not back down.”

That day, I learned one of my most valuable lessons. I should not fear politicians and people in power; they should fear journalists. People in power may try to manipulate people around them to not talk to the media, but there will always be documents that can overrule any PR statement.

There is always evidence.

Maybe I’m committing the crime of being too hopeful, but there will always be people who believe in the truth, who believe in freedom of information and a journalist’s work.

National Sunshine Week highlights journalists’ fight for an open and transparent government where public information is easily accessible. Without journalism, democracy is in danger. And though the students who work for The O’Colly are young, we are committed to making a difference by reporting on our school administration and local government. Gene Policinski, the senior fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, said Sunshine Week annually celebrates freedom of information laws in every state. It also salutes efforts by good government advocates and journalists to use and ensure the effectiveness of those laws to get the information we need as self-governing citizens.

To the hard-working public we serve, don’t let people of power bully you. Agendas for public bodies are public, and their meetings are open to the public. Information is power, and the politicians you hire to represent you have a duty to fulfill.

Then to now: The O’Colly’s fight for freedom of the press

Free press suppression is not a new conversation on campus.

On April 18, Human Resources sent out its monthly update email to faculty. In this email, there was a section titled, “Respond to Requests from the Media, Attorneys and Others, Stillwater Campus Only.”

It encouraged faculty, when asked questions “outside of the normal scope” of their position from the media, to contact Brand Management.

“Doing so ensures consistency of response as well as minimizing disruption to operations,” the email said.

The O’Colly was specifically named in this email.

The email coincided with an article Luisa and I were working on about six deans who left campus after the spring semester.

In a Faculty Council meeting on May 9, Provost and Senior Vice President Jeanette Mendez clarified that faculty could agree to an interview if they felt it was within their expertise. She said the HR email was sent out because OSU has faced pending litigation and wanted the blanket OSU response delivered with matters of legal importance.

Since, faculty have become more rigid in responses to requests for comment from The O’Colly. Requests for interviews are often met with hesitancy, and sometimes requests via email are directly forwarded to Brand Management without response from the potential interviewee.

Most of the time, when university figureheads, such as deans or vice provosts, are interviewed, a person from Brand Management sits in.

Brand Management was formed to create OSU-related content and keep a consistent image for OSU. It is in charge of items such as OSU news, building a cohesive social media presence and creating trademarks and designs. Its 36-member team ranges from public information officers to marketing and communications specialists.

When necessary, The O’Colly works through Brand Management to have access to higher-profile administrators, such as Mendez or President Dr. Kayse Shrum.

It’s the only way to access them.

Public officials, across the spec-

trum, are protected. It is to be expected for Brand Management to sit in on interviews with prominent campus leaders.

However, it becomes a different situation when directly asking faculty to not take interviews with The O’Colly.

“When contacted by reporters, please refer all contacts and questions to OSU Brand Management at (405) 7446260,” the email said. “This includes requests from the Daily O’Collegian/ O’Colly.”

This takes the level of protection Brand Management seeks to provide and magnifies it. It makes it harder for student-journalists to report on the university’s operations and moves in administration, beyond writing fluff pieces about campus.

As it sits, The O’Colly will continue to work on important articles. Our work as journalists doesn’t stop because we hit obstacles.

It reinvigorates us.

under investigation, and it could take days for the report to be completed.

I explained this violated the Oklahoma Open Records Act. In the same email, I copied OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum and the OSU Legal Counsel.

I expected to receive the records I requested in return.

Instead, I received a scolding.

Brand Management Chief Communication Officer Lance Latham told me my requests for investigative reports were uninformed and copying President Shrum and the legal counsel to the email was unprofessional.

I never requested investigative reports.

I requested an incident report, and told them under the Oklahoma Open Records Act what information I was entitled to.

Freedom of Information Oklahoma emailed Brand Management expressing its support for me. The incident report I requested was shared the next morning.

Open records are open for a reason

The first time OSU Brand Management denied my request for an incident report, I didn’t know better.

The next time it happened, I knew better.

In the time that passed between the two denials, I learned that under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, “law enforcement agencies shall make available for public inspection, if kept, ‘A chronological list of all incidents, including initial offense report information showing the offense, date, time, general location, officer and a brief summary of what occurred.’”

Brand Management violated the Oklahoma Open Records Request by denying me that information.

I requested an incident report for the incident on Nov. 30, 2023. Brand Management said it could not share it because the incident was still under investigation.

I wrote the story without the report. I didn’t know better.

When Brand Management denied my request for an incident report on Feb. 21, 2024, I knew better.

Once again, Brand Management told me they could not share the incident report with me because the incident was

After a string of back-and-forth emails that involved my repeated requests for the information, Brand Management asked to meet with The O’Colly’s editor-in-chief Luisa Clausen and me to “meet and discuss what information or education might be needed to prevent such an exchange from happening again.”

We agreed, but requested the meeting be on the record. Brand management responded, asking for it to be off the record, and we reiterated the importance of the meetings being on the record. Brand Management has not initiated any further meeting plans.

The O’Colly is interested in having an on the record conversation with Brand Management.

Sunshine Week celebrates freedom of information laws and highlights efforts of government advocates and journalists to ensure the effectiveness of those laws.

The O’Colly will continue to do our work. Because it’s important. Students deserve the truth.

“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,” said U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.

OSU maintenance worker retires after 30 years

Maddie Swain Staff Reporter

Curtis Cooper stepped foot on campus almost 30 years ago.

Hired in 1994 as a carpenter, Cooper began working at the Physical Plant Building, which is now facilities management. Cooper said many of the qualities he brings to campus come from his experience in construction when he owned a business for more than a decade.

“When I came to work here, I was very skilled as a craftsman and in carpentry,” Cooper said. “My strong point is trim work.”

The skills and hard work Cooper contributed to OSU’s maintenance department have paid off.

In the past 30 years, Cooper transitioned from carpenter, foreman and supervisor, to claiming his current title, structural trades manager, in 2019.

Since earning his title, Cooper has been in charge of three maintenance departments: asbestos, roofing and interior and exterior restorations on OSU’s buildings.

With his experience, Cooper said he knew how to effectively run crews and maintain a good relationship with those that he works alongside.

When asked about his favorite part of his job, he kept it simple: his team.

“My favorite thing is just being a team player,” Cooper said. “I want to be on the same level as all my people. I’m not above them.”

Aside from being in the office, Cooper loves getting out in the field with his coworkers and seeing their work come to light.

However, this can cause problems. The first is timing. “A lot of times, our struggles would be schedules,” Cooper said. “Trying to work our schedules to be able to accomplish the work we’re trying to do can be difficult working in busy areas.”

With the amount of students, faculty and staff, it can be a challenge for Cooper and his crews to do their work without getting in the way of others. This brings another issue: appreciation.

Cooper acknowledged that individuals can often be unhappy with his crew’s presence, specifically when dealing with asbestos.

Sometimes, Cooper said, his crews can feel unappreciated.

“Asbestos is probably the most challenging,” Cooper said. “They’ve always felt like they’re unnoticed. We come in, and we do the work that nobody sees.”

Despite his crew sometimes feeling under-appreciated, Cooper said his team remains humble.

“They’re not out here for

recognition, they’re out here to do their job and make OSU a better place,” Cooper said.

Cooper said students can show their gratitude toward facility and maintenance workers through respect for safety regulations.

“We are here for the campus and its people,” Cooper said. ”Please abide by our safety regulations, we don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

Outside of work, Cooper enjoys camping and fishing with his wife, Janice, two sons Jayson and Nathan, and daughter-in-law Jordan. Cooper is passionate about his walk with God and being a part of a prison ministry “Kairos.”

One colleague, Gabe Dreiling, who is in Construction and Contract Services, said Cooper’s faith is shown in his work.

“Curtis has sought to lead others and work hard from his strong faith position,” Dreiling said.

Cooper plans to retire this year. He said he has been grateful for those he works closely with.

Tyler Toland, a Structural Trades Supervisor and Cooper’s colleague, said he looks up to Cooper.

“Curtis has been an exceptional mentor and role model to me,” Toland said. “He is an individual rooted in ethics, morals and strong faith.”

Jeff Sweeden, Cooper’s supervisor as the Director of Operations and Maintenance, said Cooper cares for OSU’s campus passionately.

“I have found him to be a knowledgeable professional,” Sweeden said. “He genuinely cares for OSU and those that come to campus.”

That has always remained true for Cooper.

“We are just happy to be a part of this,” Cooper said.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Juggling Club returns to campus

Jocelyne Perez Staff Reporter

As some students struggle to juggle priorities, others try a more literal juggling act.

OSU’s juggling club is back to connect students with the art of juggling.

The club’s president, Scotland Souders, restarted the club after enjoying it during her freshman year. Souders was determined to learn how to juggle and can now juggle four balls and three pins. She said she wants to teach others who are willing to learn.

“I thought it was cool how it brought people together,” Sounders said.

The team said learning the new skill is a great pastime when times are stressful, and it provides a great space to meet new people.

Sounders said juggling is

a great mind exercise. She said it helps with focus and vision, as well as hand-eye coordination.

Carter Smith, vice president of the juggling club, said the club is a great stress reliever. Although other organizations can get intense and somber, the juggling club can be a place of fun.

“(Other clubs) can be kind of serious,” Smith said.

He said juggling club, on the other hand, is one of pure enjoyment.

Although being able to juggle is a great party trick, the reaction to sharing you’re in the juggling club varies.

Elizabeth Struble, the treasurer, said her friends and family were in shock when she dropped the news about her participation in the club.

“I texted my mom, and she was like ‘Is this real?’” Struble said. “’Is this a euphemism for something?’”

Overall, the responses all three have received follow the same formula: confusion, then realizing it is cool.

The juggling club met for the first time on March 4, and the club made its own juggling balls with balloons and rice. Souders said when the club’s members begin the learning process, the results vary.

“Some people get it pretty quick,” Souders said. “It took me like three weeks straight.”

When group gatherings seem to drag, Smith grabs what he can and amazes all with his juggling skills.

“Maybe there’s tennis balls or something where I just start juggling,” Smith said. “And then I teach other people because they want to learn.”

The club will hold its second meeting on March 25 in Ag Hall 169.

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FAFSA delays leave students to foot bill

Baylor Bryant Staff Reporter

OSU extended the date to accept financial aid and scholarships to June 1 because of FAFSA delays.

Delays to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid stem from the U.S. Department of Education’s attempt to streamline the online FAFSA form that was riddled with glitches.

The FAFSA delays could cause the retefntion of students to drop. The Director of Scholarships and Financial Aid Chad Blew said drop outs are a real concern.

“It’s a concern because it’s delayed the process particularly for the prospective students,” Blew said. “Besides the fact it may alter the decision, even if it doesn’t, it’s putting undue worry and stress on families, so it’s an unfortunate situation.”

OSU anticipates getting the FAFSA information in late March, and processing the FAFSA information will begin in early April, said the vice president of enrollment management Karen Chen in a message sent out by the Division of Enrollment Management.

Incoming students can expect to receive their financial aid and scholarship award offers beginning mid-April, and current students should receive award notifications in late April, said Chen in the message.

More than 80% of students

receive some type of financial assistance to fund their education through programs such as scholarships, grants, loans and part-time jobs, according to OSU’s 2023-24 Academic Catalog.

The FAFSA delays are halting students’ financial aid and pushing back the timeline for the fall. Blew said normally at this time, students’ financial aid would have been packaged. “We have been unable to do either one of those, and no one has nationally,” Blew said. “It’s a real concern for the incoming particular freshmen who are making a decision where they are going to school or whether they can go to school next year.” Student Government Association Off-Campus Student Association Senator Grantham Hamm said the FAFSA delays are affecting students’ livelihood.

“What these other students may not have access to is that they cannot pay the tuition,” Hamm said. “They’re not able to attend college, or they’re not able to pay for things they need like books or certain items for their college experience. Personally, that is probably the worst thing to happen to anybody.”

The four-year Army veteran is unable to update his laptop and get books he needs because of the delays. Hamm’s G.I. Bill covers his tuition, but the financial aid delays are limiting what he can do in his online classes.

“I have had the same laptop for a long time, and with

most of my classes being online, it’s imperative that I have one,” Hamm said. “Being able to have everything on my own personal device is paramount, and it will push back; essentially next semester I may not be able to attend.”

Hamm encourages students to reach out to himself and other senators to ensure their voices are heard. Hamm said that if students have problems they think the university can solve, the senators will help in any way they can.

Another Student Government Association official said she was concerned that the FAFSA delays would cause her to lose her Oklahoma Promise, a program that helps pay for tuition.

“There were concerns within my family like how do we plan for college when we’re not going to have that last little amount of money that I needed,” Amy Campbell said.

OSU has 19,855 undergraduate students and 4,218 graduate students, according to the Spring Student Profile. OSU had a 93.5% retention of freshmen and a 90.7% retention of transfers from the fall semester to the spring semester.

Campbell said FAFSA delays are causing unnecessary stress to the students at OSU.

“I think that’s a big thing, especially with incoming students,” Campbell said. “They’re not knowing how much money they’re receiving, especially for people who get need-based money.”

OSU athletes talk mental health, stigma, recovery

Jocelyne Perez Staff Reporter

Brand Squad and Active Minds collaborated to bring the discussion of athlete mental health to the table.

The two organizations partnered to bring OSU athletes together to speak about their struggles with mental health. The athletes were KT Hylton, Marlie Armatta and Luke Surber.

Hylton spoke about his struggles and suggestions to others who are struggling. Getting a pet or gaining a new hobby can help when trying to cope with mental health struggles, Hylton said.

OSU is his fifth school to play football at. Now, Hylton said OSU feels like home, especially after his first meeting with the coaching staff. They assured him they had mental health resources for their athletes.

Armatta shared her cheerleading journey as she recovered from a seasonending injury, college try-out rejections and how to bounce back. After tearing her ACL, Armatta struggled mentally

with how to identify herself without cheer. The injury gave her the opportunity to see life without cheer, which put life in a new perspective.

Surber shared how his wrestling performance weighed heavily on his mental health.

With some losses under his belt, Surber struggled with mental blocks and had trouble believing in himself. The solution to his problem was to see a sports psychologist. Surber said everyone should get help in any form they can. Talking to friends or meditating can help with mental health, he said.

The three athletes answered questions from students who attended the lecture. Their answers about how to handle mental health struggles included scheduling yourself to accomplish goals and taking baby steps to recovery.

Erin Vierra, a lecture attendee, said she feels as if she sees mental health differently after the lecture.

“It impacted my views in a more positive way,” Vierra said. “I was able to connect with them on a more personal level. Our college athletes may be bigger

than life, but they are still people.”

Logan Lieder and Brianna Hall planned the lecture with the hopes of prioritizing and bringing awareness to mental health. Both are involved in Active Minds and Lieder is involved in

Brand Squad.

Hall said mental health awareness could be helped if professors would talk about OSU’s resources.

“We could just talk about the resources we have on campus,” Hall said.

Payton

Courtesy of Scotland Souders

Scotland Souders, president of the Juggling Club, restarted the club to share her love of juggling.

KT Hylton (left), Luke Surber and Marlie Armatta talked with attendees during the Q&A portion.

Faculty . . .

Continued from 1

The to-do list for Dr. Kelly Black is long. The hospital director started in July and has been organizing the hospital’s priorities since then. The biggest one is to have the small animal emergency room open 24/7 by the end of 2024.

“We are targeting specific positions that we are wanting to rehire so we can get the ER back up and running 24/7,” Black said. “We’re also focusing on rehiring staff so that we can make sure everybody is able to bring animals in whenever they need.”

Significant shortages of veterinarians are present across all sectors of the profession and levels of specialization, according to the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges.

Black said the veterinary industry lost several professionals after COVID-19 and that led to a high demand for veterinary specialists.

“The salaries demanded have gone up significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic,” Black said. “So that really put us in a position as the university where we really had difficulty keeping those that were in really, really high demand because they could go somewhere else and get a lot more money.”

Without specialists, the caseload for the hospital and for students changed and decreased. The hospital is taking general cases in the small animal department, and if necessary, referring the cases to other veterinary businesses in town.

Sara Schmidt said most of her classmates are interested in general practice, but she is concerned about the students who want to specialize in an area. The second-year veterinary student said they have fewer options and opportunities to see different cases before they choose their specialization.

Schmidt said Black is listening to the students’ concerns and changing the school for the better. She is aware of the clinician shortage across the country but said she is confident by the time her class gets to the fourth year, the school will have hired qualified professionals to improve students’ learning.

“They are trying their best,” Schmidt said. “There’s a mindset that the clinic is falling apart, and I don’t think it is, I think it’s going to be fine.”

To make up for the decrease in caseloads, the veterinary school offers an externship program that partners with practices, such as where students can go and get hands-on experience such as surgery.

“Obviously, we would prefer to have that here, so students aren’t having to travel,” Black said. “But we do have things set up so that the students are still getting that experience.”

In the fall, Dr. Danielle Dugat was the last specialist to leave the hospital.

Dugat, a small animal surgeon, and Carey McCully, a veterinary nurse, worked together at the hospital for 16 years. They planned to retire at OSU, but as the school started to struggle, the coworkers and friends started to wonder what it would be like to open their business.

In February, Dugat and McCully opened a veterinary clinic in Stillwater, on Star Boulevard, specializing in services such as surgery for cats and dogs. Dugat denied The O’Colly’s request for an interview.

“I think the change was difficult for all of us involved,” McCully said. “I think it’s still difficult for those involved at OSU because the thing about the vet school is that the people there are passionate about teaching, they love students and they only want to see that place prosper.”

McCully said there is not one specific reason that led the veterinary school to struggle. She said it’s hard to attract faculty in academia in general but especially in rural settings. McCully watched colleagues leave their positions not because they were unhappy at OSU but because they were offered better opportunities.

Black said the money from the budget authority will put an end to that.

“We’re trying to make sure that we do very targeted things and things that really need to be fixed and really need to be upgraded with that money,” Black said.

In November, the OSU Veterinary Medicine Authority had its first meeting to decide on preliminary authorizations on where the money will go first. The members, which include Dr. Carols Risco, the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, discussed the possible approval of transferring $5,163,500 for the first six months of the 20232024 fiscal year to support costs related to the employment of existing and new faculty and staff and operational costs.

Black took more than four years after the changes started to happen. The O’Colly reached out to Wendy Newport, the teaching hospital administrator, who has been working at the veterinary school for longer, to understand when and how administrative changes started to happen. Newport denied an interview.

As Black works on issues left by the previous leadership, his goal is for qualified veterinarians to graduate and have a successful future, so he will listen to their concerns to make sure that happens.

“It’s definitely difficult coming into a position where you’ve had a lot of issues in the past because I think everybody’s sort of on edge and they are not sure what’s going to happen,” Black said. “(I’ve been) trying to come in and show that we’re going to try to do things a little bit different, show that I’m here to definitely improve things, that we’re not going to keep doing things the same way.”

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SGA . . .

“I think it was an emotional roller coaster because there’s just a lot of feelings that go involved when you put yourself out there so much for something, and you want something so bad,” Baker said. Although Ruffin and Baker were victorious, Bishop, Clift and McLaughlin will continue to be members of SGA. Bishop and Clift were elected to serve as residential life senators.

After spring break, Baker said the first step will be looking for candidates to appoint to their cabinet and familiarizing themselves with the day-to-day duties.

Both said they are excited to step into their new roles with the same team mentality they have had throughout the campaign.

“I might have the title of president, she might have the title of vice president, but it is not concrete. It’s cohesive together; it is one,” Ruffin said.

less than 24 hours after voting ended. Ruffin said the positive intentions of all candidate pairings made it a smooth election.

Ruffin and Baker will officially begin their term in August, though they will begin work over the summer. Until the end of the semester, sitting President Ashley Peterson and Vice President Hilary Albrecht will serve out their term.

Last election, there were violations and SGA Supreme Court hearings that delayed results. This time, the results were announced

“We had so many ideas, and it’s a dream now that we’re like, ‘OK, it’s time we have the opportunity to get to put these ideas in place,” Baker said.

Continued from 1A news.ed@ocolly.com

Women’s history month

Alumni Association celebrates female leaders with Miss OSUs

Grace Balducci Staff Reporter

OSU’s female leaders are sharing their expertise with students.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Alumni Association’s Student Network hosted a panel of the four current multicultural Miss OSUs on March 7. The event was in the Alumni Center at 5:30 p.m. It had appetizers, networking and a panel for questions.

The panel consisted of Miss Asian OSU Hannahmei Carton, Miss Black OSU Albony Bryles, Miss Hispanic OSU Michelle Salazar and Miss American Indian OSU Shaleigh McGee.

The panelists shared advice on various aspects of leadership. Topics included how they empower other women, how they empower their communities and how to juggle the pressures of being a full-time student and prominent figure.

Junior Shaleigh McGee, Miss American Indian OSU since April 2023, shared how she has had the opportunity in her position to implement actions to share and educate others more about the Native American population in Oklahoma.

She said about 10% of students self-identify as Native American.

“It’s pretty small,” McGee said. “I pretty much know the majority of people that are involved on campus that identify as Native American, and we’re all pretty close. And so I think being able to represent them in some way or make them feel like they’re seen is super important.”

The women shared how one of the most important elements of being a leader in their communities is confidence. They said that through confidence, they have been able to take hold

of their leadership opportunity on campus through implementing safe spaces, facilitating difficult conversations and advocating for improvement for their communities.

McGee opened up about how she was able to display female empowerment in her position.

“I think if you stay true to who you are, which I know is very cliche, but sticking to what you know, what you’re confident and what you believe in is the best thing,” McGee said. “Because if you’re leading people, and you don’t feel like you know which direction you’re going, how are you supposed to beat everybody else?”

The audience included several students affiliated with the Alumni Association as well as curious, supportive students.

Freshman Rylie Weber attended the event in her position as an alumni ambassador for OSU. While in her position, Weber said she has met with many influential OSU alumnae in positions of leadership.

“I just think it’s so interesting to listen to other women and just be inspired

by their stories and what they’ve went through and how they’ve persevered,” Weber said. “I think it’s super important as a woman just to know our history and know what we’ve come from and what we’ve overcome. And all the work that we’ve done to get where we’re at today.”

Freshman Isabella Garcia attended the panel as a part of her position with the Student Network. She came to the event looking forward to networking with her fellow peers.

“I honestly think that I want to look more into the multicultural Miss OSU, just because I think that it’s really cool that they have such a big impact on people being people from different communities and different cultures,” Garcia said. “So I look forward to looking into it to see if I can learn more about it.”

The four Miss OSUs act as a reminder to some students of the scope that not only OSU women, but all OSU students have at being a leader on campus and advocating for change within their communities and beyond.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Alexis Higgins

OSU Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital plans to open back up the emergency room for small animals for 24/7.

Marcus Conrad

Miss American Indian OSU Shaleigh McGee (left) said staying confident and true to yourself are necessary to be a leader.

Shelby Keller, an employee in the Department of Wellness, said she feels unsafe riding her bicycle to work because of the number of distracted drivers on the road. She said the recent accidents around campus have felt personal to her.

“With the recent death of Gabi Long and the other student hit that night on campus, I’m angry,” Keller said. “Many students and staff use biking or walking as their sole means of transportation, and it’s unfortunate that we have to worry so much about potentially being hit by cars.”

As co-chair of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Ad-Hoc Committee, a voluntary committee for the city of Stillwater, the safety of pedestrians is a topic Keller is passionate about. She said the task force should have been created before Long’s death.

“I was upset that no contact information for the new task force was added to the email (OSU) sent out because I want to connect with them,” Keller said. “I really hoped that the new task force would reach out to us to join forces, but that hasn’t happened yet.”

The task force will study pedestrian accident records, but Weaver said the record is incomplete because many do not come forward. Weaver and the task force have hired a consulting group to make changes to problem areas.

“I need a traffic consultant to go look around,” Weaver said. “That’s where something can happen. He doesn’t need to look at data; I want him to look through the lenses of a traffic engineer to say this is not safe, and we need to fix this.”

Weaver said more than 25,000 students walk on campus every day. Despite many other students riding bicycles, scooters and skateboards, Weaver said the task force will solve pedestrian safety issues

first before the other populations will be addressed.

Keller does not agree with this method. She said all forms of transportation safety should be prioritized on campus.

“While the task force is technically for pedestrians, they have to be inclusive to bikes, skating and scootering,” Keller said. “If they aren’t, they are doing a disservice to the safety of students and employees.”

Watch For Me OK, a campaign in Oklahoma City that addresses pedestrian and bicycle safety, has worked to create public messaging and infrastructure updates for metro areas since 2016. The Oklahoma City Planning Department started the campaign, but the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments now manages it.

Maxton Harris, Senior Planner in OKC, has worked closely with Watch for Me OK since his initial internship with the city. He said he wants to protect people engaging in all forms of transportation.

“We are trying to redesign some of our streets to be oriented towards cycling, walking and rolling a wheelchair,” Harris said. “It’s important for everyone to pay attention; we have people dying every year, and that number has been

effectively reduce accidents. Based on his experience working in downtown Oklahoma City, he said there are specific ways of dealing with areas that have heavy foot traffic.

“It’s small enough that you can almost map out where the most dangerous spots are, and looking closer into that is a good idea,” Harris said. “It’s important to ask people where

“Whether you’re a pedestrian, skater or biker, you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times because the fact of the matter is drivers are often distracted and have limited visibility.”

Ian

Gresley

Student

increasing amongst pedestrians and cyclists in almost all cities, especially in the south.”

Harris acknowledged the importance of educating the community on pedestrian safety, but he said making changes to infrastructure will more

they considered a dangerous location to walk and bike.”

Kassidi Tidwell, a student who has ridden her bike on campus for four years, said she has always been slightly concerned about her safety because people around her do not pay

attention to their surroundings. Her biggest concern is the lack of bicycle lanes on campus, causing her and many other bicyclists to ride on the road or sidewalk. “I have been close to having who knows how many accidents, whether it was with someone walking, riding the electric scooters and even vehicles because they don’t pay attention,” Tidwell said.

Long’s death stuck with Tidwell. She said it was a tragedy that a girl lost her life because someone else did not pay attention.

Community members have also noticed the reckless interactions between pedestrians, bicyclists and other vehicles. Hank Allmand, Stillwater community member, said he witnessed a college student jump off her bike in time to avoid being crushed underneath the car where her bike ended up moments later.

“She had the right of way on the crosswalk sign, but instead of walking her bike across, she took off riding it across; the car proceeded to turn right on Duck (Street) to head north and smashed her off the bike and ran the bike over,” Allmand said in an email.

Mary Cash, owner of Cooper’s Bikes, a local bicycle shop in Stillwater, encourages everyone to be alert and aware of their surroundings, whether they are on a scooter, bicycle, car, bus or walking. In her shop, Cash supplies her customers with safety gear.

“The most important gear would be a helmet and gloves; we also sell shoes and cleats for clip-in pedals,” Cash said.

Cash said she sees college students in her shop daily, and the safety of her customers is important to her.

“Having a bike that works well and fits is very important, and having brakes that you can rely on,” Cash said.

Gresley has been riding bikes for 11 years, similar to the experienced riders who normally enter Cash’s shop. In his years of experience, he has seen an increase in distracted driving.

“Whether you’re a pedestrian, skater or biker, you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times because the fact of the matter is drivers are often distracted and have limited visibility,” Gresley said. “You never can really count on them looking out for you, so you have to look out for yourself.”

Raynee Howell

OSU recently created the Pedestrian Task Force to keep pedestrians, including bicyclists, safe on campus.

6

New members only. Terms apply.

OSU fires Mike Boynton after seven seasons

Gabriel Trevino Staff Reporter

It’s the end of an era in Stillwater.

Oklahoma State fired men’s basketball coach Mike Boynton after seven seasons with the program on Thursday, first reported by CBS’ Jon Rothstein and confirmed by The O’Colly. The Cowboys’ ended the 2023-24 season 12-20, tied for the worst finish in Boynton’s time.

OSU will buyout about $9 million for the remainder of Boynton’s contract, which was set to end in 2028.

Boynton told reporters on March 7, two days after an 18-point loss to Texas Tech that he expected to return as the team’s head coach for next

season. “If I’m fortunate to be back, which I don’t have any reason to believe I won’t,” he said. “I’m not trying to speculate but I know that’s a question. I don’t want to pretend like it’s not.”

When OSU’s season ended on Tuesday after a 15-point loss in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, Boynton again was asked about his feelings regarding job status.

“I’m not in position to answer that,” Boynton said Tuesday. “I haven’t thought about it to this point today at all.”

Boynton took over the program after one year as an assistant under Brad Underwood. When Underwood left for Illinois in 2017, OSU promoted Boynton. OSU went to the NCAA Tournament once with Boynton, when freshman and eventual No. 1 overall draft pick Cade Cunningham decided to play for the Cowboys. Boynton was

OSU must win tough matches to make run

Braden Bush Sports Editor

The NCAA Wrestling Championships are next week, but Daton Fix isn’t looking ahead too far.

On Wednesday night, the NCAA released seedings and brackets for the NCAA Championships in Kansas City, Missouri, and Fix is the No. 1 seed at 133 pounds. The only Oklahoma State wrestler to earn a top seed.

“It doesn’t really matter at all,” said Fix, who is looking for his first national title. “Just places me in the bracket. I’ve gotta win five matches, and it doesn’t matter who I’m wrestling.”

OSU coach John Smith agrees. All 10 of his starters are seeded in the bracket, with five Cowboys ranked in the top 10 of their weights. For the Cowboys to make a run, it will take a gritty performance from seniors like Fix down to the four freshmen.

“Our draws are tough

– we might have a couple that we have an opportunity to maybe squeeze out some bonus points,” Smith said. “I don’t think it’s gonna be any different than Big 12s. We’re gonna have to win tough matches. We’ve got four freshmen, and they’re gonna have to go win tough matches. Expect that.” Fix was ranked No. 2 to begin the year, then dropped to No. 3 for the rest of the season after now-No. 2-seeded Ryan Crookham of Lehigh defeated defending national champion Vito Arujau of Cornell. In conference championships, Crookham again defeated Arujau for the EIWA title. But Fix won his fifth Big 12 title and jumped Crookham and Arujau for the top spot. “It all comes down to the end and how your conference tournament goes,” Smith said. “And after seeing what happened in some of the conference tournaments, I thought, ‘Yeah, there’s gonna be a good chance (Daton’s) No. 1. If you’d asked me two weeks ago, probably not. But the way it played out, that’s where he’s at.”

known for recruiting, getting players like Cunningham, and four-stars like Rondel Walker, Donovan Williams, Brandon Garrison and Eric Dailey Jr., and transfers Bryce Thompson and Moussa Cisse.

The Cowboys did not see much success, though. OSU went 119-109 overall and 51-76 in Big 12 games under Boynton and reached the NCAA Tournament once in the seven years.

Weiberg released a statement shortly after reports surfaced on Thursday morning.

“For seven years, Coach Boynton has led this program and represented this university with class. We’re grateful for the genuine passion and care he has for the student-athletes on our team. Unfortunately, the desired results have not followed. Therefore, it is time to part ways and begin a new chapter. We wish Coach Boynton and his family the very best.”

OSU’s run to 2004 Final Four defined by

It made too much sense for John Lucas III to get the ball like he did with a chance to take OSU somewhere it hadn’t been in almost a decade.

The seconds leading up to it were nearly disastrous, but when the ball touched Lucas’ hands, his late-night shooting sessions and workhorse mentality kicked in. He was ready for it.

“To see him (and how he worked) on a day-to-day basis and going into the gym at night to put shots up, it’s not by mistake that he ended up doing what he did,” Terrence Crawford, a teammate of Lucas’ said.

Twenty years ago, Oklahoma State was gearing up for the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Coach Eddie Sutton and his squad, a combination of new-face transfers and homegrown talent, had coasted to a Big 12 championship, looking to do the same in The Big Dance.

*****

Lucas had a smile he wore so often that his Cowboys teammates saw it as much as all the jump shots he hit.

Born in Washington, D.C., Lucas grew up with a father who played and coached in the NBA, constantly keeping him around the sport. Despite that, he never thought he was above anybody and carried a real genuineness to OSU as a transfer from Baylor.

resilience, selflessness

from a Florida military family and were all about hard work. McFarlin was the ultimate teammate who was the biggest cheerleader when he wasn’t out on the court grabbing rebounds and diving for loose balls. Bobik, who started his career at BYU, had a father who reached the NBA, too. He played hard and loved to talk, sometimes so fast assistant coach James Dickey and the staff had to tell him to “slow down just a little bit.”

And Allen, nothing came easy for him. He grew up in a rough neighborhood and grinded his way to OSU, and later Big 12 Player of the Year, from two community colleges.

“The nuts and bolts, tough kid from Chicago,” Randy Rutherford, a former OSU player and assistant for the 2004 team, said of Allen.

All those personalities needed to put their egos and on-court skill sets aside. Sutton schooled them on strength in numbers, and by then, they had grown to love each other which made it an easy sell.

“The way coach blended them made them understand to play for each other,” Rutherford said. “You can do a lot of things by yourself, but you do great things as a group.”

While the Cowboys put the finishing touches on a 20-point thrashing of Iowa State in Ames, Bobik remembers what an ISU player told him.

“Man, you guys are good.” It was OSU’s fourth-consecutive Big 12 road win. Whoever offered respect to Bobik felt the beatdown.

When their regular season was over, the Cowboys had done that a number of times on the road to conference opponents. Multiple wins versus top 12 teams — some in which OSU had to survive late — and after doing it over and over again, the Cowboys felt their rise.

“You have to be able to believe, and the only way to believe is by going out and doing it,” Bobik said.

OSU took the confidence it gained from those victories into the postseason. They downed Iowa State, Texas Tech and Texas to win the Big 12 Championship and finish 27-3 overall headed into the NCAA Tournament. With a shifted mindset and a conference championship, the only thing stopping OSU was itself.

“We knew we were built for March,” Rutherford said. “Coach Sutton’s teams were always built for the tournament.”

Payton Little

With Mike Boynton’s firing on Thursday morning, OSU will be a priority landing spot for coaches.

Courtesy Tulsa World

Twenty years ago, OSU reached the Final Four for the sixth time in program history in a dominant season.

Payton Little

OSU coach John Smith said OSU’s NCAA Championships seedings were fair and he “expects a pretty good tournament from his team.”

See more on Boynton on 2B

Parker Gerl Staff Reporter

Potential candidates for next OSU coach include Sprinkle, Gottlieb

Ashton

Assistant Sports Editor

Oklahoma State will be searching for a new men’s basketball coach this offseason.

OSU fired Mike Boynton on Thursday morning, as first reported by Jon Rothstein. This comes off the heels of the Cowboys going 12-20, tied for the worst record in the Boynton era.

Here are some candidates for OSU’s head coaching opening:

Danny Sprinkle, Utah State:

The 2024 Mountain West Coach of the Year will be a top target for many.

After two NCAA Tournament appearances at Montana State, Sprinkle, in his first year at Utah State, led the Aggies to their first outright MW conference title.

Will Wade, McNeese State:

Wade has coached McNeese State for one season and, on Wednesday, coached the Cowboys to a Southland Conference Tournament Championship, automatically qualifying them for The Big Dance.

A 30-3 record this season comes two years after LSU fired Wade for alleged recurring violations. His record coach-

ing the Tigers was impressive, though: 105-51 in five seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Expect plenty of high-majors to be calling Wade this offseason.

Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon:

Drew’s already got family ties in the Big 12.

Bryce’s brother, Scott, is the head coach of Baylor, and Bryce, who’s in his fourth season at Grand Canyon University, is primed to make the Power Five jump.

Two NCAA Tournament appearances at GCU and former head coaching stints at Valparaiso and Vanderbilt make Bryce a viable candidate for OSU.

Doug Gottlieb, former OSU player: Gottlieb has been around OSU this season, assisting Boynton and his staff as a consultant, and has been thrown around in coaching rumors in the past.

Maybe now is the time for the former OSU guard.

Gottlieb doesn’t have experience on a college basketball staff but has coached multiple United States teams on an international level. Despite his inexperience, his connection to the program is undeniable and could land him in the mix for the gig.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Bids...

Continued from 1B

At 184 pounds, Dustin Plott lost to Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa in the Big 12 finals. Plott’s only loss in duals this season came to Keckeisen, too.

Plott is the No. 3 seed and will have to get through No. 1 Keckeisen for a title.

“It’s about what I expected,” Plott said. “… He’s the one to beat, and I’m not gonna let that last performance be the last one I have with him this year.”

Smith said, overall, the brackets were good. Some pleasing seedings, some not, but brackets are difficult to evaluate. That’s tournaments.

There are four or five teams, Smith said, including his, that could finish second behind behemoth Penn State. With five wrestlers in the top 10 of their weights, there are several chances for All-American placings.

But just as OSU found out in a tight loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Championships, seedings and dual records don’t mean much. Smith was encouraged with his team’s conference tournament performance, though, and said he thinks they can carry it over to nationals.

“I expect a pretty good tournament from this team,” Smith said. “Does that mean that we’re going to have several high All-Americans? I don’t know what it means. I just know that it’s gonna be hard to beat some of my guys if they wrestle hard.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

125: Troy

133: Daton Fix: No. 1

141: Tagen Jamison: No. 10

149: Jordan Williams: No. 20

157: Teague Travis: No. 16

165: Izzak Olejnik: No. 7

174: Brayden Thompson: No. 25

184: Dustin Plott: No. 3

197: Luke Surber: No. 27

HWT: Konner Doucet: No. 12

‘I just thought they had more faith in him’: Cowboys react to Boynton’s

Gabriel Trevino & Ashton Slaughter

Oklahoma State players learned coach Mike Boynton was fired Thursday in a team meeting.

But from athletic director Chad Weiberg, not Boynton.

OSU announced it fired Boynton after seven years with the program on Thursday morning. The Cowboys finished the 2023-24 season 12-20 and will miss the NCAA Tournament for the sixth year in Boynton’s tenure.

At 11 a.m. Thursday, players met with Weiberg who told them that they would be parting ways with Boynton. A current player told The O’Colly they were not expecting the news, due to the number of first-year players on the team this season.

“I just thought they had more faith in him. This was kinda shocking.”

This player continued, saying high expectations were set on Boynton, and the department explained that deciding to fire him would alleviate both parties.

“Mike had too much pressure,” he said. “(Weiberg told us) it’s time to

firing

Season finishes under Boynton

2017-18: 21-15, NIT quarterfinals

2018-19: 12-20, no postseason

2019-20: 18-14, no postseason held

2020-21: 21-9, NCAA Second Round

2021-22: 15-15, ineligible

2022-23: 20-16, NIT quarterfinals

2023-24: 12-20, no postseason

release the burden. It’s better for him to go separate ways and better for the organization to bring in someone new to try to get us to the next level.”

The O’Colly also learned from a different player that members of the team had discussed the transfer portal, but was limited to the idea of it itself, with some arguing it would be a bad decision to do so. sports.ed@ocolly.com

Payton Little

OSU coach John Smith said there are four or five teams, including his, that could place second at NCAAs.

Slaughter

Davis Cordova

OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg delieved the news that Mike Boynton was fired to the team in a meeting.

Courtesy @MatthewJTravis_ (X) Will Wade, McNeese State’s coach, will be a target for many programs this offseason.

Patti Varol

O’Colly Media Sales Manager Needed

The O’Colly Media Group is now accepting applications for a full time summer Account Manager, Media Sales. This position is responsible for contacting and selling local, University and Oklahoma businesses OMG advertising opportunities. Specifically print, online and mobile and video streaming service.

Job duties include developing sales, marketing and promotional strategies and create materials to support this effort and propose additional special issues and revenue streams and implement said issues and revenue streams.

Qualified applicant should be able to work with and train students, develop advertising and agency expense budgets, create and monitor daily revenue goals, determine credits and adjustments for advertising errors, serve as liaison between O’Colly and local retail community, university advertisers and other college newspapers. Serve as part of a long term strategic planning to further determine marketing strategies and additional revenue opportunities. Build relationships with prospective clients by attending local Chamber of Commerce meetings and making non sales calls.

Send resume to Lori@ocolly.com for consideration.

GOD’S WONDERFUL LOVE GIFT!

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Ro.5:8 NLT)

One of the important foundations of our faith is the extent of God’s love for us. It is how far He would go to help us in our sinfulness. If we were to face the righteous judgment of God without his help, we all would be eternally lost; separated from God and all that is good, and it would be forever.

John 3:16 expresses that simply. “ God so loved the world! God went to great lengths to supply a way for us “not to perish;” not to be separated in eternal regret from all that is good and wonderful. It is God who took the initiative. We are so dead in our sins that we did not even see our need fully. To save us, God sent his Son, Jesus, to die for us; to pay the

penalty that was rightfully ours, so that we, humans, could go free.

What does he ask from us? When we learn (hear) the message of God’s love, of Jesus’ sacrifice for us; we trust him, admit our need(our sin), and honestly thank him for his love gift. God forgives all our sins and declares us righteous in his sight.(Ro.5:1) He also gives us a new life within. We are “born again”, and we begin a new and real relationship with God. It is a love relationship; “We love him because He first loved us.” (1 Jn.4:19)

“How great is the love the Father (God) has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 Jn.3:1 NIV) Not by any works we have done, but receiving freely Gods love gift. It is free to all!

Cowboy Calendar

Friday, March 15

Alltext Gun Show @ 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Location: Payne County Expo Center

https://pcexpocenter.com/events/month/2024-03/ Baltic String Band @ 7 p.m.

Location: Stonecloud Brewing Company

https://stonecloudbrewing.com

ColdBrew Live @ 7 p.m.

Location: Stonecloud Brewing Company

Cowgirl Softball: OSU vs. UCF @ 6 p.m.

Location: Cowgirl Stadium

https://okstate.com/sports/softball/schedule

Cowgirl Tennis OSU vs. TCU @ 6 p.m.

Location: Greenwood Tennis Center

https://okstate.com/sports/womens-tennis/schedule

Downtown Funk @ 8 - 10 p.m.

Location: Em Curators of Craft

Admission: $5.00 Cover Charge

https://curatorsofcraft.co/pages/on-stage

St. Patrick’s Day @ 5 p.m.

Location: EM Curators of Craft

Friday Flix @ 2:20 - 4 p.m.

Location: OSU Museum of Art

https://museum.okstate.edu

Grillin’ & Chillin’ At The Varsity Shop @ 1 - 3 p.m.

Location: Em Curators of Craft

https://curatorsofcraft.co

Karaoke @ 9 p.m.

Location: The Midnight Bar

Friday Downtown Stillwater Art @ Wine Walk @ 4 - 8 p.m.

Location: Downtown Stillwater

https://downtownstillwater.org

St. Patrick’s Day Recess @ 12 p.m.

Location: Couch Perk & Sports Complex

Admission: GREEN!

Teen Anime Night @ 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Stillwater Public Library

Admission: Free Event for ages 14 - 18

https://www.stillwaterok.gov/LiraryRegister

The Mid South Endurance Festival @ 7 a.m.

Location: District Bicycles

Admissions: Free to Watch

https://www.midsouthgravel.com

Saturday, March 16

Cowboy Tennis: OSU vs. Illinois @ 2 p.m.

Location: Greenwood Tennis Center

https://okstate.com/sports/mens-tennis/schedule

Cowgirl Softball: OSU vs. UCF @ 2 p.m.

Location: Cowgirl Stadium

1 Cotillion VIPs

5 Fades

9 Redolence

14 Strip of wood

15 Legendary

16 Participated in a regatta, maybe

17 Prefix between giga- and peta-

18 It concludes The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds”

20 Character seen at the beginning and end of “Star Wars”

22 Gain an advantage

23 Collection of vineyards, perhaps

28 Tune from “10”

30 It comes early in September

32 W-2 org.

33 Benefit

35 Nose (out)

36 One is used in basketball but not in hockey

39 Hearty partner

42 Animal also called a forest giraffe

43 Boxer’s warning

46 What can be seen in two places in Missouri

49 Dinner-and-ashow platform

51 Small accident

52 One-named K-pop singer

53 One can’t print dollars without it

58 When read as three words, suitable sponsor for “Sesame Street” and an alternate answer for 18-, 20-, 30-, 36-, 46-, and 53-Across

62 Powdery mineral

64 Inbox filler

65 Cut down to size

66 Poetic tributes

67 Study aids

68 Physicist Bethe portrayed in “Oppenheimer”

69 Moon landing org.

DOWN

1 Summer hrs.

Daily Horoscope

Nancy Black

Tribune Content Agency

Linda Black Horoscopes

By Alan Levin

2 Roosevelt whom Truman called the “First Lady of the World”

3 Crude carriers

4 Square figure?

5 Erté’s style

6 Tablet since 2010

7 Marshy spot

8 Dundee resident

9 Melodic passage

10 Director Howard

11 Have debts

12 Guys

13 Flap

19 “Stay” singer Lisa

21 2021 interviewer of Meghan and Harry

22 Kimono sash

24 Arduous journey

25 Append

26 Graffiti signature

27 Needle hole

29 Lacto-__ vegetarian

30 Soundly defeats

31 Penne __ vodka

34 Speck

36 MacFarlane or Green of “Family Guy”

37 Elect (to)

38 Polite

39 “Let me see ... ”

Today’s Birthday (03/15/24). Fortune follows communications this year. Take consistent disciplined steps to realize personal dreams. Springtime bounty fills your shared baskets, before summer delays or changes require financial adaptation. Achieve a personal triumph this autumn, before collaborating to surmount wintertime shared financial hurdles. Write your story.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 7 — You can see the statue hidden within the marble. Have faith. Take consistent steps to fulfill your creative vision. Craft, mold and articulate your ideas.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 9 — Patiently persist. You can get what you need. Invest in a diamond in the rough. Communication is your golden key. Put together lucrative deals.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is a 9 — Take charge for the results you want. Clean messes and restore integrity for workability. Stick to practical priorities. Discuss your ideas, passions and dreams.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 6 — Revise plans. A long-term dream appears within reach. Avoid noise and chaos. Distractions abound. Patiently persist. Research and organize to discover new possibilities.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is an 8 — Connect with friends. Advance team projects by leaps and bounds. Take advantage of a lucky break. Work out the details later. Maintain communication.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 9 — Pour on the steam. You’re especially productive at work. Creative solutions may require making a mess. Prioritize practicalities. Coordinate carefully with your team.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — Widen your exploration. Communication and transportation networks flow clearly. Strengthen foundational structures for your project. Study and investigate. Do the homework. Discover hidden beauty.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — Collaboration can get especially profitable. It may require making a mess, or leaving chores for later. Take advantage of a lucrative break. Coordinate together.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 7 — Share support, fun and comfort with your partner. Things aren’t always sunshine and roses. Provide stability in a storm. Remember dreams and passions.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is an 8 — Physical action gets results. Balance a busy schedule with self-care. Nurture yourself with rest, good food and exercise. Guard time for healthy routines.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 7 — Romantic dreams could seem complicated. Reduce chaos by cleaning messes. Creative ideas spark in conversation. Keep your flexibility and sense of humor. Prioritize fun.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is an 8 — Make a domestic change you’ve been wanting. Physical action has lasting benefits. Rearrange the furniture. Clean, sort and organize. Give away extra stuff.

3/15/24

Thursday’s Puzzle Solved 3/15/24

©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

40 Mahershala with two Oscars

41 Nt. wt. units

43 Southernmost of the Windward Islands

44 Really irks

45 Saloon pour

47 Stands in front of artists

48 Dr. visit

50 Son of Poseidon

54 Engrave

55 “Life & Beth” actor Michael

56 Curling __

57 Egyptian snakes

58 Number of digits on a keypad

59 Med. care provider

60 “Don’t let it get cold”

61 Whopper

63 Farm-share program, for short

Solution to Thursday’s puzzle

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk

Four...

Continued from 1B

Instead of screaming or changing anything schematically at halftime, Sutton dropped a friendly reminder to his Cowboys. After 20 minutes of 15-seeded Eastern Washington carving OSU up in the opening round with a high-post pick-and-roll and consistent interior offense, the Eagles — a pesky team from the Big Sky Conference — were a half away from upsetting the Cowboys.

OSU’s stifling defense appeared left behind in Stillwater, and everything it had accomplished up until that point was at stake.

“Coach walks in nice and calm,” Bobik said. “‘You won the Big 12 Tournament. You guys are the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It’s been a great year, a great ride. But if you lose this game, all that other stuff means nothing. No one’s gonna remember you for all the things you did and all the championships you won.’”

Message received.

OSU woke up on defense and held the Eagles to a 7-for-27 shooting, 20-point second half. The Cowboys had finally come alive, and a one-sided second half put OSU past EWU, 75-56.

All the tournament jitters could be put to rest. Anybody on the roster who hadn’t won a tournament game, like the Graham brothers and Bobik, got it out of the way.

Albeit a first round game against EWU, The Cowboys had everything to lose while the Eagles had nothing. Winning under those circumstances settled OSU in for a Round of 32 game against Memphis.

*****

The Cowboys coaching staff tested Joey pregame.

It’d be Memphis’ wings — Antonio Burks and Rodeny Carney, two NBA prospects — against Joey, who hoped to go pro, too. Sutton and Co. made it the biggest matchup of the night.

“(They) challenged his manhood essentially,” Bobik said.

That fired Joey up. He went for 20 first-half points, outscoring Memphis, which put up 19. He even threw down a dunk so monstrous that it’s still shown in OSU’s pregame hype video at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowboys out-toughed the Tigers. They beat them up on the boards, ran shooters off the 3-point line and were sound defensively all game. OSU cruised to a 70-53 victory for its second tournament win against a team that was once ranked No. 24 in the country.

Each of OSU’s starters scored in double figures — an all-around improved game compared to the opener.

Slowly and Slowly the Cowboys were gaining steam, and so was their belief.

“We got that first game behind us and played with a lot of confidence against Memphis,” Dickey said. “We really guarded them much better than we did the first half against Eastern Washington.”

mid-range jumper for the tie.

“I thought, ‘Well, we’re not gonna get beat,’” Dickey said. “‘The worst we can do is go to overtime’. I was really happy he drove that past that 3-point line.”

Clank. No good. Lucas grabbed the rebound, launched the ball toward the ceiling and ran and jumped into his father’s arms. It hit him and the Cowboys, they were Final Four bound for the first time since 1995.

“The euphoria right after is the coolest part,” Bobik said. “We got the rebound, and there’s so many emotions that go through your mind.”

Twenty years later, Bobik, McFarlin and other team members reunited back at GIA for an OSU game against BYU, as the group and its Final Four run were honored at halftime.

Those heights haven’t been reached since, and it was the sixth time the Cowboys got there.

nated the Big 12. Crawford always reminisces about the sentimental, non-basketball things that came with that season.

“It’s the memories,” Crawford said. “The rings and all the wins are cool, but (it’s) the memories and relationships that can’t be broken because we went through a lot together.”

For Bobik, it’s the fact that each player and coach accepted him.

He came to Stillwater with his wife during a time when transferring wasn’t popular. It could have been a long, tough process. But it wasn’t. The Cowboys welcomed Bobik and his 3-point marksmanship.

“I’m grateful they accepted me,” Bobik said. “I transferred there and sat out a year and didn’t know how that was gonna go… I’m just very grateful to be a part of it and that they gave me a chance.”

Dickey didn’t want to miss out on the fun. From off-court activities to late-night workouts and game days, every second of it was enjoyable alongside his right-hand man, Sutton.

Travel was easy for Pittsburgh fans, who practically made the Sweet Sixteen a home game.

The Panther faithful made the trip to East Rutherford, New Jersey, and watched their squad hold the Cowboys to one of their worst first half shooting starts while grabbing 12 offensive rebounds. Controlling the glass played right into Pitt’s game plan, as it preferred a methodical approach and stuck to that with the second chances it got en route to a 28-26 lead at the half.

OSU hadn’t been dominated on the boards like that since BYU, when it practiced with shoulder pads and helmets the next couple of days after, aiming to never get bullied on the boards again.

“We were concerned about the tempo of the game,” Dickey said. “We just could never get any kind of separation from them.”

Without using football equipment this time, the Cowboys sorted out their rebounding problem at halftime. All the pushing, bumping and flying bodies would be two-sided.

Pitt grabbed four offensive boards in the second half, which, more importantly, allowed OSU to get out and run in transition.

The separation Dickey and OSU had been looking for was created when Joey and Allen led a 15-5 run with less than eight minutes left.

The Cowboys stood tall down the stretch and rode that run to a 63-51 win, leaving them as one of eight teams standing.

Beating a physical Panthers team, and beating them at their own game — bruising and banging — gave the Cowboys a refresher of what it felt like to bully somebody. They had done it before, but the feeling of doing it in a tournament game was planted in their minds going forward.

“We figured out a way to kind of grind it out (and win),” Bobik said. “...Pitt was supposed to be this big, bad, strong team (and) kinda had this attitude, but they couldn’t punk us.”

Saint Joseph’s and its backcourt of Jameer Nelson, the national player of the year, and Delonte West — another future NBA pro — would be the newest, and toughest, foes.

The Hawks were the first team to go undefeated since UNLV in 1991 and didn’t lose until falling to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 tournament. An impressive 27-1 campaign garnered them a No. 1 seed in the tournament, which later added some animosity to the matchup.

“We felt like we should have been the No. 1 seed,” Crawford said. “It’s different when you play in a Power 5 conference.

Saint Joe’s was great, but like at the end of the day, we weren’t afraid to play against Saint Joe’s.”

Saint Joe’s and its small-ball style went to war with OSU all game. Neither gained a comfortable lead, and with that, the crunchtime madness commenced.

The Hawks’ top-of-the-key ball screen freed up Pat Carroll, who drained a 3 that put them up 62-61 with 29.9 seconds left. OSU’s season was running out of time.

Luckily for the Cowboys, they, too, had an All-American guard in Lucas.

He watched Joey try to weave by a St. Joe’s defender the following possession. Joey lost his footing and slipped, losing control of the ball, too. Bobik stood on the right side and watched it unfold.

“Oh crap. Oh my gosh,” he thought.

But as Lucas’ defender closed, Joey recovered the ball and found Lucas on the left wing.

Wide open, Lucas fired a set-shot 3 and cashed the biggest shot of his life. One he practiced for hundreds of hours with no one else watching. ‘Little John,’ the kid who never wasn’t around a basketball growing up, had revived the Cowboys season.

OSU couldn’t celebrate, though. Nelson ran down with a full head of steam as the remaining 6.9 seconds ticked off the clock. Instead of shooting a 3 for the win, Nelson took a

OSU faced Georgia Tech after the thriller against St. Joseph’s. After trading blows down the stretch, GT’s Will Bynum snaked by Lucas off a screen and finished a layup to take a two-point lead.

Lucas tried to be a hero with a full court heave as the last 1.5 seconds expired, but the Cowboys’ postseason magic ran out.

“The ball screen. It haunts me to this day,” Dickey said. Although OSU didn’t win it all, everyone who was a part of the ride remembers it fondly.

The Cowboys finished 31-4, made the Final Four and domi-

“Being able to be in the gym with those guys was special, and going to work every day with the staff,” Dickey said. “I just tried to make sure I didn’t ever miss the bus.”

The jubilation and selflessness that surrounded that season forever remain with Rutherford. A squad that decided to blend styles and personalities left it at the door daily.

All of it was key to having such a memorable season.

“They didn’t have any jealousy,” Rutherford said. “They just knew how to play ball and play for each other.”

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File Photo

Eddie Sutton took OSU to the Final Four twice in 16 years as coach.

Oklahoma State Athletics (X)

John Lucas was a two-time All-American with the Cowboys after transferring to OSU in 2003 following the Baylor scandal.

Cowgirls declining automatic NIT bid, Hoyt cites injuries

Davis Cordova Staff Reporter

There was an opportunity for the Cowgirls to continue its season, but the team declined the option.

The Oklahoma State women’s basketball team ended its season March 8 in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament against TCU.

The Cowgirls finished their season at 14-16, with no chance to make the NCAA Tournament, but they still had an opportunity to play longer.

The NIT changed its selection format this season, and it favors the power conferences. The two highest remaining teams in the NET rankings not selected to the NCAA Tournament from the power-six conferences (Big 12, Pac-12, Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big East) get an automatic bid to the NIT.

The Big 12 is projected seven teams into the tournament and the Cowgirls are the ninth-ranked Big 12 team in the NET, meaning the Cowgirls get an automatic bid, but OSU coach Jacie Hoyt said the season is over.

“We said we were going to decline any of that,” Hoyt said. “Our kids’ bodies can’t take anymore. It’s crazy what our kids have been able to do and the minutes they have played with all the adversity.”

The Cowgirls had a slew of injuries with four season-ending injuries to Landry Williams, Chandler Prater, Emilee Ebert and Ale’Jah Douglas. The Cowgirls also had Kennedy Fauntleroy and Brionna Jackson leave the program in November.

On top of that, Praise Egharevba missed the Cowgirls’ last game due to an unknown injury, but was seen with crutches at the game.

This left the Cowgirls with little depth, forcing players to push their bodies to the limit.

The Cowgirls’ starters almost maxed out their bodies with the little depth they had. The Cowgirls had four players in the top 10 of the Big 12’s minutes per game.

- (No. 2 in Big 12) Quincy Noble: 35.73 minutes per game

- (No. 7) Anna Gret Asi: 34.10

- (No. 8) Lior Garzon: 33.80

- (No. 9) Stailee Heard: 33.47

The four Cowgirls played all 30 games and combined for 4,113 minutes.

Hoyt said Asi has a bone spur, plantar fasciitis and tweaked her ankle in the loss. Hoyt also said Asi, Rylee Langerman and Ehgarevba will need extensive rehab to get back to 100% for next season. Heard using senior’s game for sum-

mer

Heard is already one of OSU’s best players, but she wants to get better in the summer using things she has learned from this season.

Heard is OSU’s standout freshman, averaging 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and was named to the Big 12’s All-Freshman team. Following the Cowgirls’ loss, Heard said she’s going to miss playing with Noble, a fifth-year senior who played her last game.

“I left everything out there,” Heard said. “It wasn’t the way I wanted to go out, but just going back and thinking and thinking, our seniors. I just really loved playing with Q (Noble) and that’s really what hurt me the most is not being able to play with her again.”

Heard will have potentially three more years with the Cowgirls to elevate her game and with her first full offseason in Stillwater, she hopes to improve her game, especially with things she has learned from Noble.

“Just stepping up,” Heard said. “I’m going to be a sophomore next year and just stepping up, being a leader, being able to take over the way Q does and just taking a whole bunch of stuff that Q does into my game. Yeah, we’re not the same player, but I can learn a lot from her.”

Noble had 26 points in her final college game and was the target for OSU’s last possession, but never got the ball.

Hoyt said Heard can use what she saw in Noble’s last game as an anchor for her summer workouts.

“She can certainly get better,” Hoyt said. “I think when a freshman gets to see a senior perform like she did today, that’s pretty motivating and I was really happy to see Quincy be able to go out like that.”

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How Kajuru is finding her place at OSU

Gina Foster Staff Reporter

The No. 4 women’s tennis player didn’t know she was good until she was a teenager and won the International Tennis Federation W15 Olomouc Tournament.

Ange Oby Kajuru represented Japan well in the tournament, but it wasn’t her favorite tennis memory. That top spot belongs to the Cowgirls.

Kajuru’s favorite memory of her tennis career was winning the ITA Women’s Tennis Indoor National Championship earlier this season.

After playing at Iowa State for two seasons, Kajuru felt it was time for a change, and Oklahoma State was the perfect fit.

Luckily for the junior, she was the perfect fit for OSU.

“We played against her so many times, and it’s just her competitive energy and spirit,” OSU coach Chris Young said. “We always knew she was one of the better players in the country, so when she became available, it was really an easy decision.”

Since coming to OSU in the fall, Kajuru thrived on Court 2. She is 28-7 in singles and 27-8 in doubles. Assistant coach Jaime Sanchez-Canamares said teammates can rely on Kajuru to make the score 1-0.

Kajuru views her teammates the same.

“We have one to six, but

I feel like everyone can play one and two,” Kajuru said. “To me, that’s really good and no one can do it. It’s only our team.”

Young said her good energy and personality off of the court helps her team feel connected as they battle alongside each other.

“She can relate to everybody,” Young said. “She’s just somebody that can be a friend with every person on the team and that’s what’s special about our team is the girls are all very connected.”

This No. 1 team has been successful, leaving plenty of room for pressure and anxiety to creep in. However, Kajuru doesn’t notice.

“I don’t think about anything,” Kajuru said. “I just play. I know we are good, but I just feel no pressure.”

She may have a bubbly personality in the locker room but on the court, she is quiet and focused.

Kajur’s skill set is also unique. For being just 5-foot-8, she gets around the court with quick and controlled agility. “She is super fast, super strong,” Sanchez-Canamares said. “In college tennis, there are several levels based on what teams you play, and sometimes it’s in the middle of a point and the other girl would get an amazing shot, and I turned my head not expecting for her to be there and she’s there before the ball even bounced. It gives her an advantage to win against her opponents because it’s almost like she’s

a little ahead of them.”

Although pressure is not relevant to Kajuru, there is one difficulty she faces in her game that her long strides and fast feet can’t fix.

“When she’s competing and something doesn’t go her way, her way of expressing that is through emotions because she’s not used to it,” Sanchez-Canamares said. “We try for her to be a little bit more energetic, a little bit more on fire because then when that happens in a match, she’s going to relate to it.”

There are strengths and weaknesses in each athlete, but using her weakness to improve makes Kajuru stand out.

“That’s what makes her great,” Young said. “She demands perfection from herself, but we’re trying to get her to realize that she doesn’t have to expect it all the time.”

Kajuru plans to return to Japan and conclude her tennis career after college. However, she is making the best of the time she has left and making her mark on the Cowgirl family. The junior is not done yet because there is plenty of tennis to be played in Stillwater, including the NCAA Tournament.

“I am really excited because there are so many people coming here,” Kajuru said. sports.ed@ocolly.com

Kaytlyn Hayes

Ange Oby Kajuru, an Iowa State transfer, is ranked No. 4 in the country and holds a 28-7 singles record this season.

sports

How sophomore Timm became OSU’s most consistent hitter

Gabriel Trevino Staff Reporter

Coaches disapprove of a narrative that Claire Timm “came out of nowhere.”

It may appear so to fans. Timm took 35 plate appearances as a freshman in 2023 and is now one of — if not the best — hitter on the team as a sophomore.

Her breakout is one of many on an Oklahoma State softball team that features eight underclassmen who are consistent starters.

“That kid’s been steady since the day she got here,” said hitting coach Vanessa ShippyFletcher. “She’s just really consistent... with not only her emotions, but also her work. She’s a grinder. She’s funny, she’s hard to read at times but you know what you’re gonna get from her on the field.”

Young players often get lost with themselves in the emotions that come with competition.

Not Timm, though. Staying calm is something she said she’s always been in life, not just in sports.

It’s not only helped her in the batter’s box, but also in the field. In high school and as a freshman, Timm, at 5-feet-11,

was primarily a third and first baseman. Most of her appearances last season were at third when Megan Bloodworth’s bat began to slow in OSU’s lineup.

This year, with more infield depth than before, Timm’s left-handed bat would be too valuable to leave on the bench.

So coach Kenny Gajewksi made her do something she never had to that point: play outfield.

Timm opened the season as OSU’s left fielder. Then, she moved to right. And sometimes, she’s in center.

She credits the ease in the transition to the coaching staff, who has forced similar switches with past players. Infielder Tallen Edwards played left field as a freshman when she was a shortstop all in high school.

Former right fielder Katelyn Carwile was a pitcher before moving to the outfield, and now Jilyen Poullard, Macy Graf and Timm are playing outfield for the first time in college this season.

“I’ve gotten coached up a lot, I’ve gotten a lot of work in and I think it’s much better than I was in the beginning,” Timm said. “It’s been a lot of fun to do.”

“She’s adapting out there well and throwing the ball well,” Gajewski said. “It seems

to be the right spot. It’s not always the prettiest thing, but it gets the job done for what we needed. She’s still a work in progress, but she’s doing well.”

The Cowgirls need Timm playing anywhere because of her hitting. Through the team’s first 24 games, she leads OSU in six hitting categories, including average, hits, triples and slugging.

Timm excels as the second batter in the lineup. Her batting skills are as good as anyone’s on the team, and she can hit it to any spot. That value, combined with base running abilities, was what she provided to OSU as a pinch hitter in the Cowgirls Women’s College World Series run as a freshman.

She’s not just a small-ball player anymore, though. Timm can get under the ball and hit it hard. That, with her speed, makes her one of the most complete players on the team.

“Some of the swings she takes are beautiful to watch,” Gajewski said. “She’s so even keel. That’s one of the things I love watching her is her mentality. She just continues to play at a high level.”

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Wulfert reaping success after early-season adversity

Daniel Allen Staff Reporter

Tyler Wulfert’s start to the season hasn’t been ideal, and his offensive numbers will tell you that.

Last year, the Oklahoma State senior third baseman was Big 12 Newcomer of the Year with a .327 batting average and nine home runs. Experts expected a prolific 2024 season. That hasn’t been the case. But to those close to him, his .231 batting average isn’t telltale of how efficient he’s been at the plate.

On Tuesday, after a slow start to the year, he broke through. A two-hit, four-RBI night aided OSU in a 14-5 win at Oklahoma. A two-run home run in the fourth inning drew praise from teammates.

“Wulfy is back,” one OSU player yelled from the dugout.

Wulfert’s batting average rose to .231 from a sub-.100 for most of the season. He’s still been accruing quality contact. This time, it’s resulted in more base hits.

“Just trying to get my pitch. That’s (what I’ve been working on),” Wulfert said. “Just take a good swing on the right pitch. That’s all I’m trying to do. I’m just trusting in myself. That’s it. Just trying to get the right pitch to hit, put a good swing on it and just trust in my swing.”

Although adversity hasn’t been common during Wulfert’s baseball career, he’s taken it in stride. His father, Mark Wulfert, can’t pinpoint when Tyler’s even-keel mentality began, but it’s become more apparent adversity can’t faze Tyler on the field.

“He’s had it his whole life,” Mark said. “I don’t possess that same ability that he has. I don’t share that attitude with him. I’m not sure where he got it. But he’s just had it his whole life. He likes to win and likes to succeed, to put it simply. “You wouldn’t be able to tell if that kid is going through a hurricane or if he won the

lottery. If he hit five home runs in a game, you wouldn’t be able to tell.”

Wulfert produced consecutive high-level seasons at Midland Junior College, but inconsistency occasionally surfaced. Occasionally, a phone call would come Mark’s way. But often nothing. He’d rather embrace and learn from adversity on his own.

“Tyler, he must have hit seven, 10, 12 balls over on that road trip we had to open the year, that he had nothing to show for,” OSU coach Josh Holliday said. “(He had) a statistical slow start. And then you start to change things or try too hard. But he had been hitting the ball very hard. He just didn’t have a lot of return.”

He first endured it last season, going 1-10 to start the year. Of course, things got better.

He experienced it again this season, starting the year 2-12 at the plate.

His struggles didn’t improve, either. He began the year 5 for 34 despite having quality at-bats. He generated contact, but often to no avail.

“In baseball, when you hit a ball 115 miles per hour off your bat, you can’t control where it goes off your bat,” Holliday said. “So, he’s just starting to get some better luck. Because he’s been hitting the ball hard.”

Wulfert has found his groove at the plate, with a sixgame hitting streak. OSU is reaping the rewards, and Mark is enjoying it.

“We all want to see our kids succeeds, but definition of success might be different than most baseball parents’,” Mark said. I played it my whole life. I went through it. I love every bit of it. And Tyler gets it.

“I love to see his hard work pay off. I just enjoy seeing him happy. My wife, his sisters, we all enjoy it. This recent tear he’s been on has been fun to watch.”

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Alexis Higgins

Claire Timm leads OSU in six hitting stats, including hits, slugging and triples.