Monday, March 20, 2023

Monday, March 20, 2023

Cowboys flop, finish with program’s worst placement at NCAA Wrestling Championships

work and coach wrestling. A full-time grind as OSU’s wrestling coach. Now, 17 years later, he said he will take time to evaluate “a lot of things.”

OSU started its wrestling program in 1914. The Cowboys never finished worse than 16th place at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Until Saturday.

“I take it a day at a time,” Smith said. “A year at a time. I think I’ll be back. I don’t know that for sure. They may can my ass. I don’t know.”

The program’s lowest point total

(28.5) since the modern scoring era began in 2001.

The Cowboys’ performance continues the trend of low performances at the national championships. Some Cowboy fans, loyal to the program, still struggled to come to grips with reality. The Cowboys don’t run the show anymore. Some said they are done with Smith.

“I think it might be time to move in another direction,” fan Ryan Parker said via Twitter. “We love the guy but we need someone fresh at the helm.”

Some are way done with him.

Hurried trouble

with the buzzer sounding. The Cowgirls couldn’t get another magical roll to win, which in return, ended the strong first season for OSU coach Jacie Hoyt.

On Saturday, Miami defeated OSU 62-61 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Bloomington, Indiana. Alnatas’ shot rolled out and ended the game, but it wasn’t the full reason the Cowgirls lost. Miami pulled off the fourthlargest comeback in the history of the Women’s NCAA Tournament after halftime.

The Miami full-court press out of halftime erased the Cowgirls’ 37-20 lead and ultimately gave Miami (20-12 overall) the advantage to win.

The Hurricanes weren’t forcing turnovers, they were forcing the Cowgirls into low percentage, sped-up shots. The Cowgirls shot 8-31 from the field in the second half, which allowed quick transition buckets for the Hurricanes, who went 18-31 from the field.

”John (Smith) should have retired 10 years ago,” fan Craig Shelton said via Twitter. “He’s put us so far behind it’s embarrassing.”

If Smith isn’t the guy, who is?

Some Twitter users suggested OSU graduate Daniel Cormier, a UFC Hall of Famer. A guy without any college wrestling experience. Hire within? Consult the large network of Smith’s coaching tree?

OSU finished with two All-Americans, Dustin Plott and Daton Fix but started with 10 qualifiers.

Land-grant researchers search for a solution to feral hog problem

land-grant institutions involved in the research, has the goal to estimate feral hogs’ space use patterns within the refuge and help refuge managers by evaluating the effects of the species on the diversity of native mammal communities.

OSU is involved in the hunt to stop the hogs.

Across the southern region of the United States, researchers at land-grant institutions are working to stop more than $ 1 billion in economic damages each year.

Roughly 9 million feral hogs have been reported across 35 states. Forty years ago, feral hogs were almost unheard of in Oklahoma but now stretch all over the state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. By eating crops, digging up trees and devouring food that other animals depend on, these feral hogs can cause an estimated $1.5 billion in economic damages annually across the U.S.

Habitat degradation by feral hogs can sway the diversity and occurrence of native wildlife communities. They can also severely damage native flora and fauna through rooting behaviors and worsen the spread of invasive plants, alter soil and water resources and limit the regrowth of native plants. Feral hogs also carry and transmit diseases that are a high risk to the health of a lot of wild and domestic animals in the area.

“Damage from feral hogs has become a widespread phenomenon across many areas of the United States, causing a staggering amount of damage,” said Scott Senseman, associate vice president of OSU Ag Research. “A collaborative, multi-state effort is likely the only way to mitigate the problem.”

Oklahoma

As of 1993, feral hogs were documented at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, but the area is a key refuge for native bison conservation. Despite control efforts and cost, the feral hog population has persisted, and the ecosystem impacts have not been assessed.

Oklahoma State University, one of the

Remote game cameras at almost 100 sites within the refuge will document and keep track of how feral hogs and other native mammal species use specific wildlife areas. Smaller mammals have been live captured at 25% of the sites to document the small mammal diversity. The first field season results are in the progress of being analyzed.

The sampling process will be repeated from May through August of 2023. Researchers will analyze what environmental factors influence the various ways feral hogs use the refuge. Native animals will be evaluated to account for species that may have been missed. After this year’s sampling is complete, research and data results will be provided to natural resource managers and the scientific community.

Arkansas

The Arkansas Forest Resources Center in Monticello led a survey of 4,500 landowners across several states to gauge the economic damage feral hogs cause to forestlands, pasturelands, croplands and livestock.

The study approximated feral hog damages over five years across all of Arkansas and Louisiana in addition to 38 counties in east Texas. Private landowners’ average agricultural crop damage in the past five years was $28 per acre in both Arkansas and Louisiana and roughly $25 per acre in east Texas, according to the survey. The most reported feral hog damage to agricultural crops involved corn, rice, wheat, hay, soybeans, silage and forage crops.

Louisiana

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries estimates the feral hog population in the state to be greater than 900,000. A Louisiana State University AgCenter survey approximated damages to commodity production at $66 million and other non-production losses at almost $25 million.

Naomie Alnatas received the ball at half court, drove it down to the right side of the basket and shot it with two seconds left. The ball hit the glass and rolled out

TULSA — John Smith said he contemplated retirement 15 years ago. He adjusted to life with a few children. Constantly leaving home to

Courtesy OSU Athletics

The Cowgirls lost to Miami 62-61 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Adam Engel Editor-in-Chief

Flop...

Continued from 1

“It wasn’t a lack of effort,” Smith said. “It wasn’t a lack of wanting. I think just more of a lack of skill a little bit. We were tight. I don’t know why we were tight. It seemed like we got here and guys wrestled a little tight. When you have no room to wrestle tight, it’s not good. When you’re ranked 15th and you’re ranked 20th, you gotta have performances.”

Saturday’s finish marked the first back-to-back years outside the top 10 in Smith’s career. He is in his 32nd season as OSU’s coach. Smith repeatedly mentioned development as a key theme throughout the season. He said he didn’t see the potential of a team with 10 qualifiers at the beginning of the season. But folks look at March performance as a measuring stick for overall success.

“I know everything is judged on the national tournament and that’s fine,” Smith said. “I know that we’ve had two poor tournaments in a row. That’s not fine.”

Thousands of OSU fans filled the BOK Center with orange but did not find much to cheer about. No orange power chants. No finalists.

“I feel bad for the fans that came and supported us,” Smith said. “It is what it is. “I’m not gonna spend a lot of time thinking about it other than what the program can do to improve itself.”

Fix failed to make the finals at 133 pounds and finished fourth, his worst finish at the national championships. Plott repeated his 2022 performance with a sixth-place finish.

Smith said he will begin assessing the season. Nothing is guaranteed.

“You don’t ensure anything,” Smith said. “You work hard. You fight back. You try to change the results.”

The Cowboys will lose starters Kaden Gfeller and Wyatt Sheets because of exhausted eligibility. Every other starter

is eligible to return. Smith said he thinks Fix will return.

Several fans said they are hopeful for the future.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize how young a lot of the guys are and got a lot of experience,” Jacob Scotteck

said via Twitter. “Between transfers, incoming freshmen and growth from experience by the young guys, plus add being healthy.”

A group of incoming freshmen that features four of MatScout’s top 40 2023

recruits, could vie for starting spots next season. “I don’t accept the results but what I do need is I need to make sure that we don’t beat our program up,” Smith said. “We’re to the point where people become very uncon-

formable wrestling with it. We need to gather up our troops and kick ass as we’re going forward. That’s what needs to take place.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Molly Jolliff

On Saturday, OSU wrestling recorded its worst finish at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. John Smith stated accountability but some fans are still frustrated with OSU’s downward trend.

Three takeaways: Cowgirls go 4-0 in the OSU Mizuno Classic

has a team-oriented mindset this season and has last year in the rearview mirror.

the second inning of the Sunday game against UCF.

streak ended the weekend before the OSU Mizuno Classic.

Cue the Bon Jovi.

The Cowgirls have reached the halfway point of their season and are sitting at a comfortable 25-2, with a No. 2 national ranking.

Here are three takeaways from their 4-0 weekend in the OSU Mizuno Classic:

Kiley Naomi, the home run hitter

Kiley Naomi had six home runs last season.

After this weekend, she has seven. Already her second highest home run total in a season.

What changed from last season?

“Hard reset,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “Sometimes you just gotta look in the mirror, pull your pants up and say, ‘Alright, I gotta go.’”

The reset clearly worked, but Naomi isn’t focused on her stats. She

“Just thinking team first only, not always myself,” Naomi said. “Just don’t want to think about last year, up from there.”

Naomi went 5 for 11 on the weekend, with both home runs going against UCF, one Friday afternoon, one Sunday afternoon.

Despite her not focusing on the numbers, Naomi now leads the team in home runs 27 games into the season.

“She’s the reason. Nobody else. She’s bought into what we’re doing,” Gajewski said.

27 innings and zero runs

Twenty-seven innings is a lot of softball.

Some food for thought: that’s three full baseball games.

The Cowgirls went 27 consecutive innings without giving up a run, dating back to the last five innings of their game against Central Arkansas, to

“We have a pitching staff, and that’s what it’s all about,” Gajewski said.

Claire Timm, freshman infielder, said the pitching staff makes the hitters’ job in the box easier, knowing that opposing runs are going to be few and far between.

“We (the hitters) just have to keep having good at-bats because we know they (the pitching staff) are going to come in and shut it down,” Timm said.

It’s not just All-American pitcher Kelly Maxwell either. Maxwell, Krya Aycock and Lexi Kilfoyl all pitched during the 27-inning stretch, once again showcasing the Cowgirls’ depth in the bullpen.

“Kyra’s been really good, Kelly is her and Lexi’s doing what she’s doing,” Gajewski said. “It’s really fun to watch.”

Becker’s new streak

Rachel Becker’s 18-game hitting

After this weekend, she’s got another one going.

Although her three-game streak may not reach 18, a streak isn’t what matters to Becker or the Cowgirls. But, as the leadoff hitter, it all starts with the grad transfer.

In her 27 games with OSU, Becker’s play has translated well in Stillwater. At the halfway point, Becker is batting .535 with 38 hits, eight RBI’s and 33 runs to go along with her impressive streak.

Becker, who went 5-for-9 on the weekend, is living up to her Preseason All-American nod, and the Cowgirls will continue to look toward her in the back half of the season.

“She’s the table setter here,” Gajewski said about Becker. “All great teams have one, and that’s one of the reasons why I feel like this team is great.”

Molly jolliff

Rachel Becker went 5-for-9 on the weekend, increasing her batting average to .535 at the halfway point in the season.

Ashton Slaughter Staff Reporter

Trouble...

“We knew from the start of the third quarter we needed to jump on them and just focus on defense,” Miami guard Haley Cavinder said. “That’s our bread and butter. Just being able to get stops and play our game, speed up the game and hitting our shots. We poured into each other and shot with confidence.”

OSU’s first half start showed signs that the high-flying Cowgirl offense, that’s been absent for three weeks, returned. OSU (21-12) made 5-10 3-pointers and turned the ball over just six times, but ultimately wasn’t enough to counter Miami’s second-half performance. OSU guard Lexy Keys said both the offense and the defense for OSU in the third quarter led to the loss.

“They kind of went into each other,” Keys said. “We weren’t very good in transition in the quarter and I think on offense we just felt rushed. It felt like the lead was dwindling and how to score points. Ultimately, we just kind of got away from us for a little bit.”

OSU ends the season with 21 wins, which is the most wins by a coach in their first season at OSU. No one picked OSU to be in the tournament, the Cowgirls were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12.

Losing five of its last six games doesn’t take away from the fact that OSU completed a historic season, and Hoyt said she is proud of what her team accomplished.

“It’s hard to talk after a loss like that,” Hoyt said. “I think the biggest thing outside of the outcome of the game is just that I’m incredibly proud of what this team has accomplished this season. God has blessed me in ways that have surpassed my wildest dreams and getting to be the head coach at Oklahoma State is truly the honor of my lifetime and I’m so proud of what we’ve built.”

Continued from 1 sports.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy OSU Athletics

OSU blew a 17-point lead to Miami in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Senior point guard Naomie Alnatas played her final college game.

Cowboys beat EWU, advance in NIT after excellent shooting

overall seed. The Cowboys will host the winner of North Texas and Sam Houston in the quarterfinals on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening.

The Cowboys (20-15, 8-10) closed the first half on a 12-3 run where 3-pointers were the sole scoring method. Thompson hit two in a row and senior guard Caleb Asberry sank one with 38 seconds left in the first half to put OSU up eight.

Thompson’s 22 points for OSU was one shy of tying his career high set against Kansas.

“I was really proud of his aggressiveness,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “The shot was there and obviously it was falling for him today. We needed it.”

Boynton said he wanted Thompson to be more aggressive in his shot selection.

more than 77 points, but the scoring that helped EWU win a Big Sky regular season championship was stymied.

With a couple minutes remaining in the first half, junior OSU guard Bryce Thompson jumped, squared with the basket and fired a successful 3-point shot.

It was the start of an uncharacteristic OSU 3-point scoring barrage that lifted the Cowboys to a win in the second round of the NIT.

OSU beat Eastern Washington 71-60 on Sunday afternoon, holding serve while hosting as the NIT’s No.1

Shortly after, freshman Quion Williams swished a 3-pointer from the corner to punctuate a nifty play OSU orchestrated after a timeout with five seconds in the first half. It invigorated the spectators that showed out in respectable fashion after OSU could not host its first NIT game due to staffing shortages.

The Cowboys shot 11-for-24 (46%) on 3-pointers, easily besting their 31% average.

“I think he passed up some today, too,” Boynton said. “He was 6-for-11. I think he could have easily gotten 15 or 16 good threes. I’m not talking about just jacking up highly contested shots. I’m talking about shots in rhythm.”

EWU, a team that shoots a lot of 3’s, was limited. The Eagles shot 9-for31 (29%) from deep. EWU entered the game shooting hitting 3’s at a 36% clip.

The Eagles (23-11, 16-2) average

Three Eagles scored in double figures. Senior guard Angelo Allegri led the way for EWU, pouring in 17. But apart from Allegri, sophomore Casey Jones and sophomore Dane Erikstrup, EWU mustered just 19 points. Thompson said he got in rhythm after hitting a couple early shots. He credited his teammates for finding him in good shooting position.

“To get out there, make some threes and kind of get it going, it felt good,” Thompson said.

EWU coach David Riley said the Eagles’ gameplan was to make OSU shoot over them. He knew the Cowboys have a propensity to dominate inside and wanted to force OSU to hit shots.

Mia Ledbetter

Freshman Quion Williams celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer in the corner to beat the buzzer at the first half.

Sam Hutchens Staff Reporter

Hogs...

Continued from 1

The LSU AgCenter and the Department of Chemistry are working together on a bait-and-delivery system to help decrease the feral hog popula-

tion. The soft baits, which the hogs will eat, contain sodium nitrite, a common food additive in products like bacon, that is lethal to the feral hogs.

The ag center team hopes to commercialize the system once it yields conclusive results they are satisfied with. The product will then follow the federal and state approval process.

South Carolina

South Carolina’s Wild Hog Task

Force was created to correlate research, education and management efforts to decrease problems related to wild hogs in the Palmetto State. The task force is made up of 21 different state and federal agencies, natural resource and agricultural associations and conservation groups led by Clemson University and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspective Service Wildlife Services.

Clemson, another one of the

land-grant universities involved in the research, supports the South Carolina Wild Hog Task Force to organize research, education and management programs to decrease damage caused by feral hogs in South Carolina. Future research will focus on successful techniques to lower wild hog damage and follow damage in the state.

news.ed@ocolly.com

OSU Center for Rural Health receives $3M grant

Mallory Pool Staff Reporter

The importance of rural health care in Oklahoma has been highlighted once again.

The Oklahoma State University Center for Rural Health has received a grant for $3 million as a part of a larger Health Equity grant awarded to the State Department of Health from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The grant money will be divided amongst three vital areas to expand and improve health care in rural and underserved communities across Oklahoma. Roughly $1.4 million of the grant will fund scholarships for OSU Center for Health Sciences tribal and rural medical track students and physician assistant students.

Approximately $400,000 will be used to buy and distribute two cargo vans for telemedicine and mobile healthcare efforts in rural Oklahoma. The remaining funds will be put toward community-based programs with OSU Extension on water quality, nutrition and broadband access initiatives.

“The OSU Center for Rural Health’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for rural and underserved Oklahomans,” said Denna Wheeler, the executive director for the center. “At the center, we collaborate with state agencies, academic institutions and rural communities to address health inequity through a variety of grant-funded programs including rural hospital support, health care workforce development, telehealth technical assistance and research.”

Recently performed community health needs assessments spotlighted gaps in foundational public services including high-speed broadband service and access to clean drinking water as well as a need for added emergency care training at rural and critical access hospitals.

The funding will also aid in addressing the health inconsistencies among high-risk and historically underserved populations in rural communities in Oklahoma.

“OSU Center for Health Sciences is committed to improving access to quality health and public services for rural and underserved populations,”

Wheeler said. “We are excited to work

collaboratively with OSU Extension and state agencies like the Oklahoma State Department of Health to implement community-focused health equity initiatives.”

For more information regarding the grant, the OSU Center for Rural Health or the Center for Health Sciences, please visit medicine.okstate.edu. news.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy of OSU

OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation medical student Ashton Glover Gatewood (left) checks Luke Murphy during her pediatric clinical rotation at the Chickasaw Nation Medical Center in Ada, Oklahoma.

‘Swing and Miss’: ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ review

Director Martin Scorsese once claimed that superhero movies are not cinema and should instead be compared to theme park attractions rather than real movies.

While this comment was severely controversial at the time, it applies to “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” more than any other superhero movie in existence.

You don’t go to Six Flags to experience life-changing, moving art. You ride a few rides, feel mildly thrilled and then you go home. If you take a similar approach to “Fury of the Gods,” you’re going to have a good

time. Otherwise, skip this one.

“Fury of the Gods” is a sequel to 2019’s “Shazam!” and a sleeper hit among a stacked year for superhero films. Its sequel, on the other hand, was a massive disappointment. As one of the last breaths of the DCEU before James Gunn’s reboot, “Fury of the Gods” ultimately serves as a mediocre, yet fun swan song to a mediocre extended universe.

In all honesty, “Fury of the Gods” is looking for its worth in the wrong places. There are great story beats and the subplot with Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) and the first Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) is incredibly entertaining. Seeing the Shazam Family go around on misadventures with playful

Graphic Designers Wanted

banter is always a blast. However, the film spends most of its time on high stakes and a predictable plot rather than its lovable characters.

This movie highlights one of the most significant issues with modern superhero films, the fact that “Fury of the Gods” does not know what it wants to be, so it tries to do everything. It tries to be a heartwarming family film, a thrilling action movie with tense scenes and an ambitious expansion of the 6-foot-under DCEU all at the same time. Rather than delivering on all of these, it only half bakes these to mixed results. It is bland, completely ignoring the strengths that are right there in front of them.

The resolution to the climax of

the film is one of the laziest deus ex machina in the history of cinema. This is a spoiler-free review, but just know that there were several audible groans in the empty theater.

“Fury of the Gods” takes everything that made the original “Shazam!” great and puts it on the back burner, focusing even harder on a generic, predictable plot and meaningless villains. The writers should have taken a step back and focused on the family aspects like the first two “Ant-Man” films did. That would be a surefire recipe for success. Instead, this was a swing and a miss.

entertainment.ed@ocolly.com

Michael Clark Staff Reporter

Courtesy of Tribune

Zachary Levi in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” (Warner Bros. Pictures/TNS)

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

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east of Boone Pickens Stadium

Daily Horoscope

Nancy Black

Tribune Content Agency

Linda Black Horoscopes

Today’s Birthday (03/20/23). Personal growth defines this year. Guard private time for meditation, exercise and reflection. Springtime blossoms with personal epiphanies. Shift directions with shared finances this summer, before new collaboration, partnership and romance illuminates the autumn. Discover income from new sources next winter. Nurture passions and dreams.

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 an 8 — Harness favorable conditions to achieve personal objectives. You’re coming into your own, with the Sun in your sign. You’re in your element this month.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7 — Put away old projects, with the Sun in Aries for a month. Get things complete. Peaceful solitude, nature and meditation inspire. Imagine and invent what’s next.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is an 8 — You’re entering a four-week social phase, with the Sun in Aries. It’s an excellent month for community activities. Teamwork wins valuable and lasting results.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 9 — Advance your career, with the Sun in Aries. Reach new professional levels over the next month. Take charge for what you want. Develop ideas.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is an 8 — Begin a month-long travel and expansion phase. Indulge your curiosity, with the Sun in Aries. Get obsessed with a fascinating study. Explore new frontiers.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 9 — Collaborate with financial planning. Support each other, with the Sun in Aries. Align on investments for long-term growth. Share the load and rewards.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 9 — Shared support provides endurance and vitality. Partnerships grow stronger this month, with the Sun in Aries. Work together and magnify benefits exponentially. Collaboration flowers.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — Take one step at a time. Physical efforts get satisfying results, with the Sun in Aries. Steady efforts strengthen your health and performance levels.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 9 — You’re especially attractive. Develop projects for fun and romance this month, with the Sun in Aries. Practice your game. Deepen a delightful connection.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is an 8 — Focus on home improvement over the next four weeks, with the Sun in Aries. Make practical preparations. Devote love and attention at home with family.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8 — Profit through communications. Write a new chapter. Study and research, with the Sun in Aries. Follow your curiosity and share it. Your enthusiasm is contagious.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 9 — Grab a great deal. With the Aries Sun, it’s easier to make money. Monitor what’s coming in and going out. Divert some into savings.

Jon Pennington