The O'Colly, Friday, March 1, 2024.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Trust your gut

Female runners face safety concerns

Shouts hurled from car windows and honking horns are things that happen to Taylor Roe from time to time.

It’s part of being a female runner. Sometimes it’s more serious than passing jabs.

Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old student at the University of Georgia’s Athens campus, was found dead on Feb. 22 in a wooded area on campus after she went for a run.

Her story is not the first.

Eliza Fletcher, 34, died after a 4 a.m. run on Sept. 2, 2022, near the University of Memphis’ campus.

Mollie Tibbetts, 20, a student at the University of Iowa, was murdered on a run in her

rural Iowa hometown. Social media has shared their stories, along with other victims’. Users have created hashtags to share their outrage over women who die on runs.

Roe, an eight time AllAmerican and 2022 indoor 3,000 meter national champion for OSU’s cross country and track teams, said she has been lucky not to experience serious safety concerns while running.

“There’s definitely been times where maybe a situation you get a gut feeling like, ‘OK, maybe I should turn around or take a different route,’” Roe said. A 2023 study from Adidas found 92% of women report feeling concerned for their safety. The study surveyed 9,000 women from nine countries.

Roe typically runs alone. When she does, Roe said she takes a phone with her.

“I try not to be out on a dirt road at eight o’clock at night where it’s dark, there’s no lights and there’s nobody to be seen,” Roe said. “So I definitely try to pick busier areas at different times of the day.”

Colt Chandler, OSUPD captain, said female runners can do several things to keep themselves safe.

First, runners should travel in opposition to traffic.

At night, Chandler discourages the use of headphones. Having headphones in keeps runners from being aware of their situation, and they are unable to hear if a person or dog approaches from behind.

He said running with a partner, running in well-lit areas and checking in with designated people after a run are all practices runners can implement.

Since 2019, Chandler said OSUPD has recorded 825 accidents. In those five years, about 20, 2.4%, were auto-pedestrian accidents.

Chandler, who is also a runner, said he recognizes the differences in male and female experiences.

“When I run, I’m confident that I experience something completely different than what females would,” Chandler said.

On-campus hit-and-run driver pleads not guilty

Tyler Peters adorned a blue-and-white striped buttondown shirt and jeans, not a jail jumpsuit, as he awaited his arraignment on Tuesday.

On Feb. 23, the day after his arrest, Linda Peters posted his $10,000 bond. OSUPD arrested 21-year-old Peters on Feb. 22 following a hit-and-run on campus. He was charged with leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday. His next court date is April 10. The hit-and-run occurred Feb. 22 around 10 a.m. when a truck struck Gabrielle Long near Monroe Street and Cantwell Avenue.

Long died after she was transported to Stillwater Medical Center.

It was her 19th birthday.

The morning of Feb. 22, a white pickup truck with possible front end damage was seen leaving the scene of the hit-and-run, and a BOLO (be on the lookout) broadcast was issued through the Stillwater Police Department.

A truck matching that description cruised down McElroy, and a police officer initiated a traffic stop. Peters was the driver.

Blood and hair were found on the underside of

Peters’ truck. Peters was taken into custody at 12:35 p.m. He was arrested at 3:15 p.m.

Despite The O’Colly’s request, OSUPD would not release the incident report or Peters’ arrest records until 10:13 a.m. the next morning. Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, law enforcement must make 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.”

In an email, OSUPD Capt. Leon Jones said this information could take “a few days to a week” to be ready. Shannon Rigsby, a public information officer for OSUPD, said the records could not be shared until the investigation is complete.

OSUPD arrested Peters on the basis of probable cause, and therefore did possess preliminary information such as the offense, date, time, general location of the incident and a list of officers who responded to the incident. Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, OSUPD must share this information regardless of the status of the investigation.

“Sometimes, law enforcement will use the, ‘Well, this is under investigation,’” said Kurt Gwartney, executive director of FOI Oklahoma. “And not the only people who use that phrase, to try to keep records that, really, in most cases, should be open and available to the public, out of the public view.”

SGA Senate Speaker turns adversity into achievement

Sydney Adkins is not a fan of excuses. The oldest of six, Adkins, a senior and the Senate Speaker for the Student Government Association, finds motivation in being a good example and inspiration for her siblings. And she also has goals of her own to achieve.

As a kid, she always had a book in hand. As a teenager, her homework was not left for later. Adkins knew if she wanted to go to college, she would have to work hard for it. So she focused in academ-

ics and sports because she needed scholarships, and she got them.

But that doesn’t mean she had it easy.

Johnathan Adkins, Sydney Adkins’ father, said his daughter was picked on in school. So he put her in karate. He wanted her to be brave. And she proved to be just that.

“She’s not afraid of any kind of challenge,”

Johnathan Adkins said. “I used to tell her at a younger age that just because you’re smaller than everyone else, doesn’t mean you can’t be an example.” Life was strict under the Adkins household in Oklahoma City. Curfew, chores and routine.

But Sydney Adkins said she would not have it any other way. “It gave me respect for how hard work benefits people,” Sydney Adkins

said. “I am driven to reach bigger things because he believed in me.”

The daughter and father duo highlight their bond as one of the most important things in their lives.

Sydney Adkins’ and her biological mom did not have a good relationship, and when Adkins started college in 2020, her dad was fighting for her custody. Although Adkins said she wanted to keep the details private, she said it was a difficult time. A lot of Johnathan Adkins’ money was going toward lawyer fees and he could not financially help her. At the time, he worried she wouldn’t be able to focus on school and the situation would distract her from her goals.

Sydney Adkins proved him wrong.

Luisa

Bella

Kennedy

‘Texture’ exhibit hidden below Student Union

Hayden Alexander Staff Reporter

Tucked away in the basement of the Student Union sits a display of artistry and textures.

The OSU Art Society, in partnership with the Student Union Orange Wall Gallery, puts together an art exhibition featuring OSU students’ art. This semester’s exhibition theme is “Texture,” which celebrates diversity in styles, types and mediums.

Makayla Lewis and Elise Braggs organized the exhibition. Braggs is the president of the OSU Art Society; she said they chose “Texture” to inspire artists to use new mediums and give more artists a chance to participate.

“We decided on ‘Texture’ because we wanted to invite more mixed media artists to come because it’s typically a lot of painting, drawing and printmaking things; we really want to incorporate a 3D element,” Braggs said.

Students participating in the exhibition each get a chance to compete for a $500 scholarship and an opportunity to display their art in the Student Union as a permanent installation.

On top of scholarships, Braggs said the Orange Wall gives students a chance to connect with friends, potential employers and campus.

“It’s all work from our fellow students, and it’s a really good way to gauge the people that you’re around on campus and see what types of themes they’re interested in talking about and network with people,” Braggs said.

Bragg’s art rests on the wall with her fellow artists. Her piece combines printmaking and oil painting techniques to give viewers a window into Braggs’ childhood.

“I’ve been making work about my formative familial connections, and so it was just a way for me to bridge those mediums together and stay within the body of work that

Editor-in-Chief

Sports editor Braden Bush sports.ed@ocolly.com

Assistant

Design

I’m developing,” Braggs said.

Blue, pink and purple blend together to create an image of Braggs and her grandmother cooking in the kitchen. Braggs knew she wanted to pay homage to her grandmother’s impact on her life.

“My grandma was a very prominent figure in my life, and she taught me a lot about what it means to be a strong woman and have very prominent core values,” Braggs said. “She taught me a lot of things like sewing, which I incorporated in the piece, and baking. Things like that.”

With more than 45 students’ art on display, one artist contributed three pieces to the exhibition. Senior Haley Monday added texture to the Orange Wall with her photography. Her three still-life pieces convey color and femininity through a medley of hues and shades.

“My overall direction with the assignment was focusing on femininity and what that means and the way I view it,” Monday said. Her still-life pieces dive deep into femininity, allowing for multiple interpretations.

“‘Stain focuses on the idea of wine night togetherness and loneliness,” Monday said. “In one photo, the chaoticness of that night, conveying a range of emotions.”

Monday found her love of art during her childhood, and

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now she is preparing for her senior exhibition in the fall. Monday said seeing her photography on display gave her the confidence to enter more exhibitions.

“I was really excited,” Monday said. “I didn’t expect my work to get in, and all three of them got in, and I was really happy.”

For now, Monday is thrilled that her art is a part of a massive collaboration and is excited to peer into the artistic minds of her fellow students.

“I really enjoy seeing my artwork, but I think, overall, I like seeing everyone else’s artwork because a lot of the artwork that I’ve seen from other students is what I’ve seen in class,” Monday said. She sees the art exhibition as a way to catch students’ attention on campus.

“I think the art community on campus is so diverse, and I think it’s also very small and intimate,” Monday said. “A lot of time, our art is displayed in galleries and stuff in our own building or off campus, so I think having our art displayed in the Union allows more people to see it.”

“Texture” ended on Wednesday, but students can check out the OSU Art Society social media page, @okstate_ artistsociety, for updates on the next exhibition and ways to get involved in the arts on campus.

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Ben Holieway

Have you changed your habits as a pedestrian?

Amelia Layman

“I’m definitely more cautious, I was pretty cautious before because I am just a cautious person. Now, I feel like I’m a lot more aware when I’m driving as well.”

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“I’m definitely more anxious whenever it comes to having to walk to class. We take the bus for the most part going to class, but on the way back, I do get anxious whenever classes get out.”

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“Before, I used to be OK walking freely by myself, even when there was traffic, but now I’m thinking twice before doing anything.”

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GOD IS TRUSTWORTHY!

God is worthy of our trust! “... I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” “... so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Jer.1:12, Is.55:11 NIV)

Certainly from these verses it is clear that the Lord “means what he says.” When he speaks, or makes promises, he makes sure they are fulfilled. The life of Abraham shared with us in the first book of the Bible is telling us of a man who believed that God could be trusted. Abraham had to wait many years to see some of God’s promises fulfilled, and some for hundreds of years, and there was one he waited for thousands. God promised that all the world would be blessed through the offspring of Abraham. Jesus came through

his natural lineage. Jesus brought to all people the blessing of forgiveness and eternal life. God is trustworthy!

“The just shall live by faith.” (Ro.1:17)

The theme all through the Bible is the life of faith. The true faith mentioned in scripture has one object; that is God. We are to trust the faithful God! We are to look to this God who has proved himself over and over a faithful God, who keeps his promises. He is worthy of our trust. As we except Christ, God’s gift to us, there is forgiveness of sin. We will not be condemned at the final judgment. He promises to guide us, to comfort and strengthen us in this present life. He will make us fruitful in helping others; laying up treasure in heaven.. The challenge is to take him at his word. Put your life in his hands for he is trustworthy. He will do in and through you what he has promised.

Hayden Alexander

Elise Braggs, president of the OSU Art Society, has her art displayed in the Student Union basement as part of the art society’s “Texture” exhibit.

‘Star Wars: Bad Batch’ is latest attempt to save sequel storylines

Hayden Alexander Staff Reporter

Review

Clone Force 99 is back with its last season, and it promises to be an emotional close to Dave Filoni’s longrunning animated storyline.

The first episode, “Confined,” opens with Omega (Michelle Ang) imprisoned at an imperial lab on Tantiss.

We watch Omega go through her daily routine and witness the Empire’s latest cruel experiment at the lab, Project “Necromancer.”

Project “Necromancer” is the name of the game at Tantiss. The project involves combining clone blood and the blood of Lord Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) to create a “strand cast” or clone of Sidious.

Dave Filoni is working overtime to turn the dumpster fire storylines of the sequels into something that makes sense. Many fans are on the fence about Filoni’s seemingly impossible mission, but he will try to fit the pieces together anyway.

I don’t like that so much of the new “Star Wars” media is being created to fix the broken directing of the sequels.

Hopefully, newer content will deviate from that goal and tell a story the galaxy hasn’t seen.

In the second episode, “Paths Unknown,” the show catches up with Hunter (Dee Bradley Baker) and Wrecker (Dee Bradley Baker) as they traverse life without Omega and Tech (Dee Bradley Baker).

The weight of Tech’s death in the previous season settles on the crew in this episode. Although there is always a chance that he survived, I don’t think Filoni plans to bring him back.

Hunter and Wrecker are searching for Omega, and their findings lead them to an abandoned lab on Setron. The pair runs into three clone cadets and vines that reference

the film series “Alien.”

Episode 2 is solid, but the juicy stuff happens in episode three, “Shadows of Tantiss.” Lord Sidious, voiced legend and original actor by Ian McDiarmid, visits the lab to check on his abominations.

Doctor Royce Hemlock (Jimmi Simpson) greets him, and Hemlock is one of the best in a long line of new villains to grace “Star Wars” with his presence. His intelligence is similar to Thrawn’s, but his arrogance could be his downfall. The man’s voice alone sets him apart. It’s constantly calm and silky smooth with the creepiest edge, making the mad scientist even more terrifying.

The Emperor’s visit means that Nala Se (Gwendoline Yeo) cannot stop Omega’s blood sample from being added to the wheel of samples that turn into tensionbuilding intervals.

The wheel acts as a ticking clock in episode three and emphasizes the importance of Omega’s escape.

Filoni knows how to direct an arc, and his set-up for Omega and Corsshair’s (Dee Bradly Baker) escape is excellent. A crashed ship, the Empire’s arrogance and an adorable Lurca Hound that Omega names “Batcher” are all established in the first episode.

Sidious admires the minor successes of his project as Omega and Crosshair escape in an Imperial shuttle sent to retrieve them.

Before their escape ship gets shot, Omega’s blood vial lines up with the tool that administers Sidious’ blood, and it’s a match. Hemlock orders a cease-fire, and Omega and Crosshair fly off into space.

For an opening arc, the three episodes set the stage for an interesting story and an even more interesting end to the series.

This season promises to be one for the books and promises an answer to the ultimate fate of the clones in the wake of the Empire’s rise to power.

Episode four of “Star Wars: Bad Batch” will stream on Disney+ on Wednesdays for 15 episodes.

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Oklahoma catching fire, high wind speeds at fault

Jocelyn Perez Staff Reporter

On Tuesday, the City of Stillwater issued a fire weather watch because of high wind speeds.

Wes Lee, agriculture program coordinator for the Oklahoma Mesonet System, said conditions like that can be dangerous for the public.

“Anytime we have winds more than 20 miles an hour and humidity levels below 20% is a pretty good recipe for wildfires to break out,” Lee said.

Although direction does not directly play a part, the state tends to have drier air masses which lower the relative humidity. This comes from the northern winds pushing out humid air that are potentially in the state.

The threat of wildfires starting in the area can be alarming, but meteorologists have a high-quality system to help predict these dangers.

Lee said that the closer to the day, the more accurate forecasters can be. He said wind, temperature and humidities are slightly easier to predict than the percent rain, especially because of the moisture during the wintertime.

In addition, dozens of models are involved in helping predict these forecasts.

“With Mesonet, we rely on a lot of those computer based models,” Lee said. “And then they have models that are all human meteorologists.”

At the same time, Lee said the best forecasts are the ones that are a combination of everything.

There are 120 towers that record all the weather information alongside with human input. Forecasts are created by seeing the direct measurements of wind speeds every five minutes, helping predict when winds are going to hit Stillwater.

Another factor that helps contribute to wildfire is something to burn. Lee said all the pastures in the state are brown right now. They act as a fuel source and when combined with the right weather conditions, it leaves potential for fires to start.

There are some public communication and warning systems put into place to alert people in Oklahoma, warning of dangerous weather conditions.

“The National Weather Service does forecast all kinds of severe weather events, wheth-

er it’s tornadoes or hailstorms,”

Lee said.

The National Weather Service puts out wind warning, also called red flags, anytime wind speeds are above 58 miles per hour. On Tuesday, winds were 50-58 mph or faster.

Determined by different parts of the state, prescribed burns are put in place to reduce wildfire fuel.

“Depending on what part of the state, but burn associations are becoming more and more popular in Oklahoma,” Lee said.

Prescribed burns, which burn associations do, burn pastures on purpose to lower the amount of pasture fuel produced during the winter time.

Primarily, the biggest reason why farmers burn pastures is for brush control. Some of the worst brush is eastern red cedar, which catches fire easily.

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ celebrates Asian cultures, misses mark with nostalgia

Hayden Alexander Staff Reporter

Review

The Avatar might control all the elements, but Netflix lost a few along the way.

The live-action adaptation of “Avatar: The Last Air Bender” hit Netflix Feb. 22, six years after the show’s announcement in 2018.

The original show aired in 2005 and is critically acclaimed and loved by fans of all ages. It sits comfortably in Netflix’s library.

The streaming service set out to correct the blunders of the 2009 film adaptation (it’s horrendous), and in many ways, they succeeded. Still, its drive to distinguish the show from the original may ultimately be its downfall.

A significant issue of the 2009 film is the lackluster bending, but the “Avatar: The Last Air Bender” team outdid themselves this go around. The

visuals behind the bending are robust and fit the style of each bender. In animation, it’s easy to get away with minimal violence, but you can’t hide it in live-action. The sheer brutality of being flayed alive is on full display. The secret to any good adaptation is characters, and except for a few, the show does not miss on casting. Gordon Cormier (Aang), Kiawentiio Tarbell (Katara) and Ian Ousley (Sokka) killed it in their roles. Dallas Jame Liu’s portrayal of Zuko is also a home run for the show. For design, Netflix paid close attention to and drew inspiration from the animated series, especially the elements of different Asian cultures. The 2009 movie received criticism for casting actors of European descent, seemingly ignoring every character is inspired by Asian culture and ethnicities. A moment for representation in the film turned sour. This time around, Netflix sought out actors who could embody the spirit of the show and represent Asian culture and history in unique ways.

The nostalgia. This is where the show lost me. In an effort to win over the hearts of long-time fans, Netflix crammed several nostalgic moments into the show that didn’t work.

Several times in the show, it combined storylines that didn’t belong together and detracted from the original story. Sometimes, the minor changes worked, but they began to add up to create a very different show. These changes somehow managed to dumb down the show. Characters information dump multiple times during the episodes, and every time, the exposition feels rushed, forced and again, dumb.

Some of the changes work, such as including multiple backstory scenes and dropping a couple of fluff storylines, but in the long run, I’ll be surprised if fans are able to overcome their frustration with the changes.

By the end of the show, I was shaking my computer in fury because of the amount they left out for the sake of spicing up the plot, which could’ve easily been in the show. On its own, it deserves a 9/10, but right now, I’d say it’s a solid 7/10.

Tribune News Service

Crosshair, left, Echo, Wrecker, Hunter and Tech in “Star Wars: The Bad Batch.”

Courtesy of Devin Wilber

Smoke from western Oklahoma clouded the sky Tuesday afternoon during the Softball game at the Cowgirl Stadium.

Central Market Place progresses, Kerr-Drummond’s demolition on deck

Jonah Barker Staff Reporter

Students on campus are watching as the future of on-campus dining options, Central Market Place, makes strides in its construction progress.

Set to replace the still-standing Kerr-Drummond dining location, this new dining area will include a variety of new food locations, and a few will be making the move from Kerr-Drummond.

April Ebey, assistant director of construction services for OSU’s long range facilities planning, said there has been significant construction progress.

“Structural steel has been completed,” Ebey said. “Windows and curtain walls are in progress, with brickwork soon to follow.

“Interior walls are framed, drywall is in progress, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-ins are underway.”

Maintaining pace with the original construction timeline, progress has remained on track, ensuring that the Central Market Place remains poised for a fall 2024 grand opening. However, Ebey said the exact timeline for Kerr-

Drummond’s demolition is currently unknown.

“Demo cannot happen until Central Market Place has been completed,” Ebey said.

Any time there is on-campus construction, concerns over potential campus traffic, reduced parking spots and road blockages are inevitable among students and faculty. Ebey said she acknowledges the likelihood of temporary inconveniences during the deconstruction of Kerr-Drummond but also emphasized the commitment to bringing more parking for students post-construction.

“Once Kerr-Drummond is demolished, that area will be dedicated parking for students,” Ebey said.

Ryan Milliorn, a freshman, said there are positives and negatives to the construction.

“I think the new dining hall being built is great because that means I won’t have to walk as far to get some food,” Milliorn said.

“The construction has affected my parking because they are building on an old parking lot, so oftentimes I am parking further from the dorm that I would like.”

Milliorn also said the construction

The town after the turkey

‘Officer Carlos’ relocated to Kaw Wildlife Area

Lendsey Stinnett O’Colly Contributor

Stillwater’s favorite wild turkey was relocated to Kaw Wildlife Management Area on Feb. 21., according to Stillwater Animal Welfare. Stillwater residents nicknamed the turkey “Officer Carlos,” who has patrolled Twelfth Avenue and Hester Street since late 2023. Stillwater police officer Tanner Galbiso announced on Facebook that Officer Carlos was officially moved and will not return.

“My heart hurts,” Galbiso said in the post. “I’m sad. I’ve cried. I going to miss my emotional support turkey. But I’m relieved to know he’s off to bigger and better things.”

Stillwater police frequently patrol Twelfth Avenue and Hester Street and joke that Officer Carlos does too. In December, Galbiso started a Facebook group called “Officer Carlos 12th Ave Tactical Turkey,” which grew to more than 4,500 members. Officer Carlos quickly became a Stillwater celebrity.

Photos, videos and stories highlighted the bird’s unusually friendly nature. Officer Carlos seemed unafraid of people and unbothered by Twelfth Avenue traffic. As his popularity grew, some worried that a wild turkey in the road could be dangerous.

“I watched a lady chase after him yesterday trying to get a picture, causing him to run way out into the road and across the street,” an anonymous group member said in a Facebook post.

The City of Stillwater and Stillwater Animal Welfare were tasked with finding a new home for Officer Carlos.

“Everyone loves him,” said Rachel Wasserman, director of animal welfare. “We love him. He doesn’t bother us. But we have had a few people call and are very angry that the turkey is allowed to live

here because he is going to cause an accident. Our chief of police and city manager all decided that it was time for him to move on.”

Facebook group members were vocal about wanting Officer Carlos to stay in Stillwater. Some suggested the turkey go to Lost Creek Safari, a local zoo. However, Wasserman said Officer Carlos would be happy, healthy and safe at his new home in Kay County, about an hour north of Stillwater.

“He will still be a wild turkey, but he will hopefully be near a flock and will hopefully join a group,” Wasserman said. “He is somewhere where he will be the only tom in a flock of hens.”

The city’s decision to relocate Officer Carlos remains unpopular. The wild turkey became part of many Stillwater citizens daily lives.

“For the past six months he has become my go-to with all my stresses, complaints and dose of laughter,” Galbiso said in his post. “For six months, I have cried with him, laughed with him and zoned out with him. We made this page to share the love and gobbles. On behalf of all of us here, we love you all. We might not have ever met, but we love you all.”

His relocation has not slowed the enthusiasm in Stillwater for Officer Carlos. People have started selling merchandise themed around the bird. Pitt’s Smoke Shop sold out its first batch of T-shirts and had to order more.

“My boss saw people selling Officer Carlos Tshirts all over Facebook and decided he wanted to sell a cheaper version so more people could buy one,” said Cheyanne Ferris, a Pitt’s Smoke Shop employee. “A turkey in the road is not something you see a lot. It’s added something to the community and been a reason for people to come together about something.”

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can cause traffic to back up, which can make it harder to cross the street near his dorm.

“All around, I am pretty excited for this new dining hall,” Milliorn said. “If it’s done by the fall, it will be much easier to go get food.”

Chris Johnson, a freshman living in the dorms near the construction, said he is looking forward to a closer dining option. Parking hasn’t been a problem for Johnson.

“Personally, it hasn’t affected me, I’m in a parking garage, but I have heard that there isn’t enough parking in the back lot,” Johnson said. While also acknowledging minor traffic jams, Johnson said he is looking forward to trying out the new dining options in the Central Market Place.

“I’m hoping it has a better assortment of food options or just has decent food. I might have to come try it out when it’s done,” Johnson said.

Faculty, students make a splash at 3rd annual Chilly Cowboy Plunge

Raynee Howell Staff Reporter

Chelsea Fitzgerald, a former OSU student-athlete, found herself talking to Darren Shrum, OSU’s First Cowboy, after a bible study one night.

As Fitzgerald talked about her brother’s experience with Down syndrome, she quickly realized Shrum shared her passion for helping people with intellectual disabilities.

She took her chance to propose her idea to raise money for Special Olympics Oklahoma.

“I just told him what it was, and he was bought in from the get-go,” Fitzgerald said. “I was like, ‘I want to have a polar plunge for OSU,’ and we just took that and figured out how to pull it off, and the community has really rallied behind it.”

Fitzgerald and Shrum became the co-founders of the Chilly Cowboy. The first year, both founders set a goal of $10,000. It was quickly surpassed with the event ending with about $30,000 raised for Special Olympics.

The next year, $50,000 was the goal and once again, it was met. This year, the Chilly Cowboy Plunge founders set a goal of $75,000. It is not certain yet whether the goal was met, but the event has grown since last year.

In past years, only student athletes have taken the plunge. This year, deans, student athletes and community members also took the plunge, either into the pool or the dunk tank.

OSU teams such as soccer, rodeo, basketball, football, equestrian and softball took the plunge. Deans from the College of Arts & Sciences, Honors College and the School of Business experienced the cold water by dunk tank. Leon Jones, OSU Chief of Police, was also dunked. Jones sat atop the dunk tank in full police uniform, waiting for the freezing water to engulf him.

Standing at the edge of the pool during Jones’ descent into the tank was OSU running back Ollie Gordon II. Most of the audience were holding their breath, donating in the white buckets being passed around, hoping for the chance to watch Gordon take the plunge. Jones rushed over to stand beside Gordon, making the moment more special. Together, the men took the plunge into the freezing pool. As the water droplets cleared, Gordon and Jones stood in the pool in an embrace.

Before the end of the event, Jim Scott and Derek Cain with Special Olympics addressed the crowd. Cain, chief operating officer of Special Olympics, thanked the community for standing behind Special Olympics for 41 years. The loyalty from the community is the reason the money the plunge raises stays in Payne County. “They (the money) help our athletes directly here in the Cowboy country area,” Cain said.

“All the funds stay here in Stillwater, so they help our summer games; they help our OSU Unified program.”

OSU Unified is an intramural sport program that allows col-

lege students and Special Olympic athletes to work together and share experiences through sports. Many athletes with disabilities in Oklahoma participate in Unified sports programs across the state.

The audience watched as the Unified club members took the plunge to raise funds for their Special Olympic teammates.

Fitzgerald and Shrum do not demand people to plunge without leading by example.

Shrum took his seat on top of the dunk tank and prepared to feel the icy, cold water engulf his body. OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum pulled out her iPhone to record her husband, a safe distance from the splash zone, as he was dunked in the tank.

Fitzgerald’s plunge looked slightly different than the other participants.

It was revealed as two buckets were filled with water from the pool that Fitzgerald was pregnant. Instead of jumping into the pool, Pistol Pete and Darren Shrum held the buckets of water above her head. As Fitzgerald sat in anticipation, Shrum began to pour his bucket and Pistol Pete followed with his moments later.

Pregnant or not, Fitzgerald would find a way to make a difference for the special needs community. The Special Olympics has been a part of her life since she was about 10 years old.

“If nothing else happens, if we raise $10 and don’t reach any goals, Darren and I have committed to always jumping,” Fitzgerald said. “So no matter what happens, he and I always get in the water.”

Madison Queen

Demolition of Kerr-Drummond, which will be replaced with Central Market Place, has had significant progress, April Ebey, assistant director of construction services for OSU’s long range facilities planning, said.

Ethan Hilbert

Darren Shrum (left) and Pistol Pete poured water over pregnant Chilly Cowboy Plunge co-founder Chelsea Fitzgerald.

Lendsey

3 SGA candidate pairs advance to ballot, prepare for debate

Kennedy Thomason News & Lifestyle Editor

With 500 votes tallied, all three candidate pairs for Student Government Association’s presidential race will move on.

On Tuesday, SGA adviser Melisa Echols announced the three pairs met the 500 vote requirement to be on the ballot. The pairs had three weeks, Feb. 1-27, to collect the necessary votes.

Ty McLaughlin and Riley Flickinger, presidential and vice presidential candidates, took to social media and met with clubs to spread the word about their campaign.

McLaughlin said materials like buttons have also been a successful campaigning technique.

For the pair, there wasn’t any doubt they would meet the ballot requirement.

“I feel like it’s a little stressful for everybody,” McLaughlin said. “But no more stressful than anything else, I would say. I mean, we definitely knew we were going to hit it, and we hit it on time with what we had scheduled.”

Through the campaign process, Flickinger said she has expanded her view of the student body. With tabling and speaking to different organizations such as individual colleges’ student councils, the pair has been able to meet more of their potential constituents.

“It’s been really nice to see the different types of people that if we were elected, we could be representing, and it’s just nice to go around and get to meet them and actually start to build a relationship with them,” Flickinger said.

The pair has also finetuned some of its platform points since creating them.

Talking with the director of parking and transportation, they learned that parking lots near O’Brate Stadium, which cost $63 per year, will bus students to and from them every 15 minutes. With one of their platform

Pleads . . .

Continued from 1A

Gwartney said that in recent years, he thinks there has been a reluctance among local police departments to release information.

For example, the Owasso Police Department denied “Oklahoma Watch” Reporter Jennifer Palmer’s request for police reports on an incident between transgender student Nex Benedict and three other students in an Owasso High School bathroom on Feb. 7 according to Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the Owasso Police Department is required to release responsive records with exempt information redacted.

points emphasizing expanding parking on campus, McLaughlin said he is glad he can tell students about options they can take advantage of now.

The pair also learned their plan to implement a shuttle system on The Strip is not the first. In the early 2000s, a rideshare program existed but dissolved within a few years. The pair hopes to bring it back.

Aubrey Ruffin and Landry Baker, presidential and vice presidential candidates, also didn’t worry about meeting their 500 vote requirement. It took the pair about one week to collect their votes.

“We use social media quite a bit and try to reach everyone we could, and so we didn’t have to do a ton of groundwork like tabling or anything like that,” Baker said.

Besides using social media, one of their platform points, to reach students, Ruffin said they want to have face-to-face interactions. In the two weeks leading up to the election, the pair will put more effort into tabling and talking with classes about their platform.

“It’s less about scrapping something, more like adding more to it now,” Baker said.

The pair hasn’t changed any of its platform points, but they have added a few small details. One of them: hammocks.

Similar to equipment rental at Colvin Recreation Center, the pair wants to make hammocks available in the Student Union to be checked out. It’s part of their plan to reconnect the student body.

Ruffin, who said she has met many friends in the rope webbed net between Edmon Low Library and Classroom Building, said giving students spaces to connect makes for a more cohesive student body.

Although there have been small details added to their platform, the pair still wants to focus on social media, community involvement and mental health.

“Nothing that we say or nothing that is on our plat-

form is something that can’t 100% be delivered from us,” Ruffin said.

Audrey Bishop and Kaytly Clift, presidential and vice presidential candidates, needed about 300 signatures with nine days left. After trial-and-error and some adjustments, Bishop said the pair buckled down.

“I think towards the end we kind of started to figure out what really works for us and what works for the students,” Bishop said. “So we really just focused a lot on trying to seek people out instead of them having to seek us out.”

They learned that tabling in places such as near Chi O Clock, students can easily avoid them. The pair now seeks out spaces where students can’t ignore them. Bishop said they have also found busy campus hubs, like the Student Union, to be useful. Although it can take students a minute to warm up, Bishop said when one person in a group shows interest, the rest do, too.

After two students were involved in accidents with cars last week, one resulting in a fatality, the pair decided to integrate campaign safety into its platform.

As the blue phones, stations that have a 911 call button, are being phased out across campus, Clift said they want to remove the inoperable ones. Because most students carry a phone, Clift said it is more practical to rely on phones than blue phones that may or may not work.

The pair also learned a business professional closet already exists, but they plan to still implement their business professional closet in the Student Union.

“We really do want to improve campus or improve the things we already have to make them more accessible and transparent to students and sustainable,” Clift said.

The candidate pairs will debate on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. Voting will be open on CampusLink from March 12 at 8 a.m. to March 13 at 5 p.m.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Speaker . . .

Continued from 1A

school, Adkins wants to become a Navy JAG.

“They (OSU) need to raise awareness (about campus traffic safety), and I kind of wished when Dr. Shrum had sent out the message about ‘we’ve lost a student,’ that would have been a perfect time to reiterate to be aware, practice safe moving around on campus.”

Ponca City Police Department is refusing to

Heather Sumner Accountant at OSU

release the arrest reports for Patrick Hansen, who died in a Kay County Jail. This is a violation of the Oklahoma Open Records Act, and “Oklahoma Watch” is suing Ponca City. Although OSUPD did not immediately share the incident report for the hitand-run or arrest records for Peters, it did announce the formation of the Pedestrian Safety Task Force the day after the hit-and-run. The hit-and-run was not the only incident between a car and pedestrian that day.

At 10:15 p.m. on Feb. 22, a car hit a student in the Fourth Avenue Garage. The student did not press charges. Heather Sumner, an ac-

countant at OSU, said she has seen some students cross the street at OSU without looking both ways, or cross the street when cars or buses are approaching. She said she thinks the hit-and-run and other campus traffic events are a good reminder for students and staff to be careful as they navigate campus. “They (OSU) need to raise awareness (about campus traffic safety), and I kind of wished when Dr. Shrum had sent out the message about ‘we’ve lost a student,’ that would have been a perfect time to reiterate to be aware, practice safe moving around on campus,” Sumner said. A celebration of life for Long will be held at Theta Pond at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday. Attendees are asked to wear pink or yellow to commemorate Long’s happy, loving spirit.

“It didn’t stop her,” Johnathan Adkins said. “She has done pretty much everything on her own.”

Adkins’ freshman year was during the COVID-19 pandemic, and like many students at the time, she struggled to make friends and get involved. She wanted to stay strong. She had to. For her father, her sisters and for herself.

“A lot of rough things happened,” Adkins said. “But I never wanted any of those things to be an excuse for myself and an excuse for others to ever look down or pity me because I can still do great things even from what I have been through.

“It was really hard to watch him (Johnathan Adkins) go through that. It was a mix of how desperately I wanted to be there for him and my family and also I wasn’t going to let that stop me with whatever I did.”

And she didn’t.

Four years later, Adkins works from 17 to 20 hours as the Senat Speaker for SGA, for 25 to 30 hours a week she is a bartender and server at Louie’s, and for at least eight hours a week she is the campaign manager for Senate District 21, she is a student victim advocate in training for OSU, she is the vice chief of justice of the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature and she is the co-founder of the Students in Law and Practice at OSU. All while getting a dual degree in political science and American studies.

After graduation, Adkins plans to take a gap year to work with the Senate District 21 campaign and go to law school for a year after that. Her dream does not stop there. After the first year in law

Kara Adkins, Sydney Adkins’ stepmom, met her a year before she went to college. Kara stepped up as a mother figure when Sydney did not have one. Sydney said Kara has been a rock for her. She was present for all of Sydney’s important events such as high school graduation and college awards.

“She has gotten this far with her sheer grit and determination and there’s no stopping her,” Kara Adkins said. “I would tell her to just keep shooting for the stars. She is sweet, she is caring, she grew up in not a great situation and had to take on a large responsibility with her siblings, and you can tell she loves them.”

When Mackenzie Steele met Sydney Adkins, she knew Adkins was a strong leader. Steele and Adkins worked together at SGA as senators and bonded over working on legislation. At the time, Steele struggled with writing bills but Adkins walked her through it and played an encouraging role in Steele’s work.

“I admire Sydney’s graceful leadership style and integrity,” Steele said. “As a Senate Speaker, Sydney creates an inclusive environment for everyone, regardless of their beliefs, which is difficult in an environment like SGA.”

Sitting at her office in the Student Union, among her trophies, post-it reminders and decorations, Adkins didn’t think twice before answering what legacy she wanted to leave for SGA. The work she does is focused on the students.

“The legacy isn’t mine,” Adkins said. “It’s the legacy of SGA. While I do want to leave some sort of impact and inspire people, this job isn’t about me. It’s about every one of the students who are here. I just want SGA to be an organization that continues to spread love, to spread kindness to spread inspiration and to spread opportunity.”

Courtesy of Sydney Adkins Sydeny Adkins and her father, Johnathan Adkins, share a close bond. Sydney Adkins said her father is one of her biggest inspirations.

Safety . . .

Continued from 1A

Adidas’ study found 51% of women fear being physically attacked, opposed to 28% of men.

It’s also something Roe has noticed.

“I think it’s a very different experience,” Roe said. “Whether it’s just people yelling at you from cars. . . people think they can say certain things to you as a woman. But I know I’ve had (a) different experience than my male teammates.”

Adam Hartman, president of the OSU Running Club, said safety has been a priority for the club.

With 10 men and five women on the team, experiences differ.

“Trying to stay together as a group is one of the most important things that we do for safety, if not the most important,” Hartman said.

The club splits into two or three groups at the beginning of each practice, ensuring everyone who wants to run in a group can.

Hartman said the biggest safety concern his leadership has addressed is darkness. On Mondays, the group runs at 7 p.m., which is well past dark during winter months.

When presented with an earlier practice time, members of the club turned it down.

“We’ve tried to stay in groups still and run on safe routes that try to minimize car interaction,” Hartman said. “And so we feel like it’s not too big of an issue, despite maybe early on feeling like it could have been a concern.”

Although Hartman and his leadership team were concerned about having a male-only team at the beginning, he said the women who joined have been committed members.

Their dynamic is shown through the club’s motto, “farther, faster, together.”

“I feel like that kind of embodies the goals that we have of improvement and fun and also being together in a group and promoting safety in that way,” Hartman said.

Besides using basic safety strategies

such as running in groups, Chandler said using a phone can be an effective tactic.

OSU offers Rave Guardian, a safety app, for students to download. It allows users to set a “safety timer” for specific contacts the user has saved. It will send notifications to the selected contacts if the user does not check in after their timer has expired.

Following the digital shift, OSU has begun to phase out the blue phone system. The phones are stationed across campus with bright blue lights on top and 911 call buttons. Chandler said phones are more effective because they can move with the caller as the situation evolves.

“If you have to run 100 yards to a blue phone versus calling us now, it makes zero sense to do that,” Chandler said.

As the blue phones become inoperable, OSU is not replacing them. Chandler said a majority of calls received are false reports.

Although runners can implement safety practices, the most important aspect of safety is maintaining situational awareness, Chandler said.

“I like to at least give people not a false sense of security, but at least have the confidence to recognize that we typically don’t have people jumping out of the bushes and assaulting people or wanting to do people harm, on most occasions,” Chandler said.

OSUPD also offers Rape Aggression Defense for female students, which teaches defense tactics and skills.

Roe said as a female runner, she has to remain aware of her surroundings. It’s a fact she has paid more attention to as she has progressed in her career.

“When I was younger, you just think, ‘Oh, it’s not gonna happen to you,’” Roe said. “But no, events that have happened have definitely increased.”

Although killings of female runners have had a spotlight in recent years, Roe doesn’t let it stop her.

She finds the joy in what she does, and encourages other women to do the same.

“One of the biggest parts of enjoying running is enjoying it with other people,” Roe said. “So if you want to be involved, recruit a friend, go for runs with people. I mean, make this a fun thing, a social thing.”

news.ed@ocolly.com

Since 2010, a local staple has served as a hotspot for students at OSU.

Located on The Strip, College Bar has been a go-to spot for fun on weekends. For social extremists, during weekdays, too.

From BINGO Mondays, to Trivia Wednesdays, to Funk n’ Beers Thursdays, there seldom was a shortage of herds of individuals crowding the social venue.

Less than a week ago, a decade-long run of fulfilling the lives of college students and city locals paused. Toward the end of a Feb. 21 Trivia Night, event hosts abruptly announced the bar’s move as a result of a spike in the venue’s rent. It was later announced the bar would still be active. However, the location would be miles away from The Strip, with the new location beginning business on March 1. Some OSU students didn’t take kindly to that. Others, however, embraced it.

Current students showed disdain.

“(I’m) sad to see it happen,” said senior Rachel Abraham. “I

don’t know when (it’s closing) for sure, but before you turn 21, that’s the place everyone is telling you to go. It’s the place everyone is hyping up. And when you actually turn 21 and you’re going every weekend, or almost every weekend, it kind of becomes part of your life, in a way.”

In response to the social media uproar, the bar announced over the weekend that it would be holding “one final” Bingo Monday and Trivia Wednesday.

“We love the feeling these kids give when they’re here,” owner Javier Cervantes said. “It’s been a pleasure watching this place become a part of their lives and grow over the years.

“We wanted to give them another chance to experience this.”

It was an opportunity to relish the surplus of memories tethered to the pungent smell of liquor and beer that greets mainstays when they walk through the glass doors.

Sure enough, students showed up for Monday’s Bingo Night.

“I’ve never seen so many people out on a Monday,” said junior McCall Richmond. “This is pretty cool.”

Riley Harness College Bar is on the Strip in Stillwater

Daniel

Riley Harness

Taylor Roe, a decorated track and cross country athlete, said she has had different experiences than her male teammates with safety and harassment.

6 months for $0.

Sights and Sounds

Blind right eye no detriment for Heard

Davis Cordova Staff Reporter

As a child, Stailee Heard kept craning her head just to get a look at her parents.

It was subtle, yet noticeable enough for the Heards, Tony Heard and Lila Osceola-Heard, to seek a reason for their daughter’s seemingly odd behavior.

The diagnosis, though, changed Stailee’s life. Or so they thought.

Heard, a star freshman from Sapulpa on Oklahoma State’s women’s basketball team, is blind in her right eye.

She wears glasses with a nonslip support band in games, although not to enhance her vision. The glasses are to protect her left eye, which has 20/20 vision, from an errant elbow or fingernail, hoping to preserve the sight she has.

Her right eye has never deterred Stailee Heard from achieving her dreams. Heard averages 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as a top candidate for the Big 12 Conference’s All-Freshman Team.

Heard’s ability to play at the top of her game with one fully focusing eye is a testament to her family and upbringing. She does not use it as an excuse, never has, since it’s all she’s ever known.

“The eye was never an issue,” Tony Heard said. “We al-

Women’s wrestling team gaining traction as official OSU club sport

Braden Bush Sports Editor

Sadie Adelstein was taking part in sports history by stepping onto the wrestling mat at Oklahoma City University. She never wrestled in a dual before, and her background in Massachusetts was in jujitsu, not wrestling. But here she was, a member of Oklahoma State’s Cowgirl wrestling team, participating at OCU in the Cowgirl program’s first dual meet on Jan. 31.

“(I was) sh***ing bricks,” Adelstein said.

Adelstein lost her match, and the Cowgirls lost the dual. That wasn’t the most important thing for Cadence Dare, the team’s founder. This was a chance for the program to make its debut after a long road to becoming a club sport. This was the work of Dare coming to fruition.

Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation, and it is slowly growing at OSU, which boasts the greatest men’s wrestling tradition in the NCAA. Dare formed the Cowgirl wrestling team in 2022,

and it gained official OSU club sport status in the fall 2023. The interest around the program is growing, with the end goal of becoming an official OSU sport, but with club status and a dual under its belt, women’s wrestling is gaining traction at OSU.

“Even with a loss, it’s still like, ‘OK, we’re really doing this,’” said Dare, president of the Cowgirl Wrestling Club.

“And I think that that made it feel a little more real, too… I’m just kind of at the point where I’m not necessarily shell shocked, but I’m super excited at the same time. I’m like, ‘Holy crap, this is crazy.’”

There are more than 100 collegiate women’s wrestling programs in the U.S. OCU and Carl Albert State are the only programs in Oklahoma, with Northern Oklahoma College set to begin its program in the 2024-25 season.

John Smith, the Cowboy wrestling coach, has publicly supported beginning a women’s wrestling program. The Cowboy Wrestling Club lets the Cowgirls practice free of charge at its training center, it paid for their USA Wrestling memberships and the Cowboy coaches stop in and give pointers from time to time.

ways just trained and taught and preached to be the best at what you do and she always wanted to be the best at what she did and she worked hard at it. As a family, that’s just what we are.

“We never really looked at it as a handicap or anything.”

Tony Heard and Lila Osceola-Heard noticed something was wrong during a workout when Heard was about 4. Heard was running around a gym and ran up to a teammate of Lila Osceola-Heard’s who looked similar and Heard shouted, “Mom!”

That is when Tony Heard and Lila Osceola-Heard started to question her vision and started to realize she would adjust her head differently when looking at objects.

After a few tests, they found Heard had been blind in her right eye since birth.

Heard’s right eye is not completely blind; it allows light in. Heard described it as foggy and blurry. She stood on GallagherIba Arena’s court and said she could not see lines on the floor with her right eye, but she could tell she was in a big building.

That’s about it. “It’s weird because I do see light,” Heard said. “But sometimes there are objects, sometimes there are not. It just depends. Definitely can’t see like words and such.”

After the diagnosis, there weren’t many changes to Heard’s life; she learned how to live with it since she was born. Heard said what she saw was normal to her.

Glasses were one of few changes Heard faced. It was an adjustment when playing sports and doing simple things such as sleeping, but, like her right eye not being able to see, it became part of her everyday life and easier for her to live with.

Shooting the ball was another change. Heard used to be left-handed, which makes sense because if she can only see out of her left eye, she would want to do everything possible on that side – except shoot a basketball.

Heard used to shoot lefthanded and she would shoot across her body going from right to left because if she

shot like a normal left-handed shooter, the ball would block her vision when she released the ball. As a right-handed shooter, she is an efficient finisher at the rim with her left hand.

Stailee grew up with a sister, Tyla, who continues to help her from the stands.

Growing up playing basketball together in little league to winning a state basketball championship at Sapulpa High School, Heard and her sister have a special bond. So much so that Tyla Heard attends as many OSU games as possible and helps Heard by shouting, “Right side! Right side!” when needed.

Heard does not share often that she is blind; she does not want people to view her differently.

“It’s just not the first thing I tell people,” Heard said. “It was hard on me just to tell my coaches just because I don’t see it as a problem and I am the way I am and I just didn’t feel like that was something that needed to be known.”

Ashton Slaughter Assistant Sports Editor

was announced with it.

Athletic Director Chad Weiberg said all the projects would be privately funded. The rollout seemed more directed toward donors, ask-

them to open their pockets and become the next T. Boone Pickens, Sherman E. Smith or Cecil O’Brate — people who have built OSU’s campus. Although no construction has begun and no donors have written checks, Weiberg said he’s seen progress, citing that

OSU is in a “silent phase,” keeping fundraising efforts quiet. Architects have been contacted about most facilities, but each project is at a different stage.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already. But a year in, and I feel good about the progress that we’re making,” Weiberg said.

The grand plan of upgrading and building new facilities has — whether there’s progress or not — altered.

The rapid ascension of name, image and likeness in collegiate athletics, even in the year sense, has changed the mindset of OSU’s coaches.

See Plan on 6B

OSU freshman Stailee Heard, who is averaging 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, is leading the team in points while being blind in her right eye.

File Photo

OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg feels good about the progress on OSU’s vision plan a year after the announcement.

sports

One player to watch from each Big 12 team at the NFL scouting combine

Gabriel Trevino Staff Reporter

Oklahoma State is returning almost all of its starters for the 2024 season, but that means few are headed to the NFL.

It may have players go undrafted, but no Cowboys graduates went to a draftbowl and none were invited to the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis starting Thursday.

Despite this, the Big 12 does have many talented players expected to be selected in the first few rounds. Here is one player to watch from each school (not including OSU, Iowa State or Cincinnati, who have zero invites) at the 2024 combine.

Texas — Byron Murphy II, Defensive Tackle

The best Big 12 player comes from the conference champ. Murphy II, though undersized for a defensive tackle, is quick and athletic. If he tests well in the mobility drills, he can secure a first-round selection.

Oklahoma — Tyler Guyton, Offensive Tackle

The Sooners’ tackle pipeline continues with Guyton: a massive 6-foot-7, 320 pounder. His size and pass protection already wows scouts — making him a likely first-round pick in a great offensive line class — and can showcase his athleticism, too.

BYU — Kingsley Suamataia, Offensive Tackle

Staying with that trend, Suamataia, 21, is 6-6, 324 pounds. He’s expected to go late in the first round or early in the second, but can raise his ceiling with a good showing.

West Virginia — Zach Frazier, Interior Offensive Line

Regarded as the second best center in the class, Frazier is an experienced lineman and former high-school wrestler. That usually translates to the NFL.

UCF — Javon Baker, Wide Receiver

The Alabama transfer averaged 22 yards per catch (!) in 2023 with UCF. At his size with good testing this weekend, he can become a steal on Day 2.

Kansas State — Cooper Beebe, Interior Offensive Line Beebe could have been drafted last year but returned to K-State after winning the Big 12 Championship. That was rewarded by becoming an unanimous All-American — his second selection to the team — and two-time conference offensive lineman of the year.

Kansas — Austin Booker, Defensive End Booker only started one season of college football but recorded eight sacks with Kansas in it. He’s tall and long but could use some more weight to translate his production to the pros.

Houston — Patrick Paul, Offensive Tackle Paul is, say it with me now, a huge tackle. At 6-7, 333 with 36 inch arms, Paul could use a good showcase of his athleticism to be selected in the first two rounds.

TCU — Josh Newton, Defensive Back The Florida transfer started almost 60 games across five seasons of college, the last two being at TCU. His experience and man-cover ability will lead to him receiving a spot on an NFL roster.

Texas Tech — Dadrion TaylorDemerson, Defensive Back Taylor-Demerson raised his stock at the East-West Shrine Bowl in Frisco, Texas, and has speed and instincts that special teams coaches will admire.

Baylor — Gabe Hall, Defensive Tackle Hall is Baylor’s lone invitee, was a five-year player with the Bears and produced well with 2021’s Big 12 Championship team. sports.ed@ocolly.com

Many of OSU’s

OSU’s returning production hasn’t met preseason hype. Can that change?

Daniel Allen Staff Reporter

Through eight games, the Oklahoma State baseball team’s returning production hasn’t lived up to expectations.

The team’s batting average is .251, ranking 190th out of 294 Division I teams. It has logged 84 strikeouts through 69 innings. That’s an average of 10.5 strikeouts per game.

In the preseason, experts pointed to the offense being its strength given the five returning starters from last season – four of which logged a batting average of .300 or better – who led the Cowboys to their best team batting average (.301) under coach Josh Holliday. And yet, sitting at 4-4, that hasn’t been the case.

“Guys are figuring things out still,” shortstop Lane Forsythe said after OSU’s win against No. 2 Arkansas. “I mean, it’s early in the season. We’ve got a veteran group, though. We’ll figure it out.”

Left fielder Nolan Schubart, a freshman All-American a season ago and a preseason second-team All-American, according to D1Baseball, holds a .208 batting average through 24 at-bats.

Two-way player Carson Benge has a .333 average but hasn’t amounted to the power numbers he logged a season ago. First baseman Colin Brueggemann is hitting .219 and leads the team with 16 strikeouts.

The pitching has carried the way

for most of OSU’s success so far. But how long can success be sustained with unknown factors looming around the pitching staff – first-year starters, names with reputations of inconsistency?

“We’ve been off at times, and we know that,” Brueggemann said. “It’s up to us to fix that, though.”

Baseball is a long season. Fifty-four to 58 games can spark breakouts from prospects. A lot can happen in that span.

Holliday called himself a “mad man” during OSU’s media day when referring to the gauntlet of the two-week opening-season schedule he compiled. Three games at an offensive-heavy Sam Houston State team. One week later, No. 2 Arkansas and No. 7 Oregon State at Globe Life Field as part of the Kubota College Baseball Series. The following Tuesday, No. 25 Dallas Baptist on the road, a team that has established a pedigree of demolishing Power Five programs that dare to set foot in Horner Ballpark.

Fortunately for the Cowboys, they won half of those games. And if the veterans can progress during the ensuing two weeks before Big 12 play, Holliday still holds high hopes for his team.

“It’s a long season,” Holliday said. “Sometimes those who undergo the slowest of starts turn out to have prolific seasons. Like I said, it’s a very long season. Things can change as quickly as a span of one or two games.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

Boynton using final stretch as tool for young Cowboys to ‘learn how to win’

Parker Gerl Staff Reporter

No Oklahoma State player, coach or staff member is pleased with being 12-16. It’s far below their preseason expectations.

In a season which the Cowboys had plans of winning a number of ball games and hoped to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2020-21 season, that ambition slipped away long ago. But OSU is armed with multiple young, talented players, and it’s why coach Mike Boynton is trying to not only win games but teach his players what’s required to do so.

“The result (of winning or losing) matters, no question about it,” Boynton said. “But there’s a process of learning how to win that you can’t skip.”

The Cowboys ask a lot of their freshmen. That’s where the common “learn how to win” mantra comes into play with this OSU team and its young core. They possess the capabilities to shine any given night, but there are still moments where youth overshadows that.

Subtle nuances of the sport, like moving onto the next play or not getting too caught up on one can go a long way in the process.

Freshman guard Jamyron Keller had been on a tear heading into what could perhaps be the last Bedlam. And on the final play of that game, he played excellent

Monday - Wednesday: 10:00am - 10:00pm

Thursday - Saturday: 10:00am - 11:00pm

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defense on Oklahoma’s Javian McCollum, who hit a buzzer-beating stepback 3 to stun the Cowboys. The lesson there: tip the cap and evaluate other parts of your game.

“He plays really good defense on a guy and that guy is still good enough to make the shot,” Boynton said. “So, I want him to think, what better could (he had been) on some other possessions, not just one. And (same thing) for all of our guys.”

OSU has three regular season contests remaining before it heads to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament. Two road outings, first against Texas and then against BYU, with a home bout against Texas Tech in between.

Keller, Brandon Garrison and Eric Dailey Jr., along with Quion Williams, each put up positive outputs during the past four games, a stretch that included two big wins, starting at home against No. 19 BYU and on the road against Cincinnati.

Boynton and the Cowboys want to pick up more wins like those while they can, while getting better at the process in learning how to do so.

“Just watching the progression from where we are today (until we) play our last regular season game,” Boynton said. “Are we better today than we were Saturday? Just keeping that mindset is the way you approach it.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Payton Little

Coach Mike Boynton is trying to teach his young players the smaller parts of the game.

File Photo

key returners, like Nolan Schubart (above), haven’t had great starts to the season.

Continued from 1B

“I just didn’t want to think that as an excuse or it be an excuse I can use because there is always a solution to everything. So I just thought I’m going to play through, I’m going to fight through it.”

OSU coaches found out late in the recruiting process. Rylee Langerman, an OSU forward, did not know Heard had a blind eye until the team’s trip to The Bahamas during Thanksgiving week.

Jason Terry, Heard’s AAU coach and 19-year NBA veteran, did not know Heard had a blind eye until he was asked about it.

“This is the first I ever heard of that,” Terry said. “That’s crazy. I did not know that. You could not tell by the way she plays because she has great court vision and has a great feel for the game.

“It just exemplifies who she is. It just makes her story that much more compelling.”

Since Heard joined OSU, there has not been much coaches and teammates have had to do to accommodate her.

The team has had to slightly adjust where it places Heard in zone defense to help her see her assignment. Instead of putting her on the right side, OSU positions her on the left side. It’s the opposite way because she would

not see a player’s backdoor cut on the right side.

But in OSU’s win against No. 24 West Virginia on Tuesday, Heard played on both sides of OSU’s zone defense. It didn’t seem to matter too much because she defended well and didn’t miss many assignments.

Hoyt said she has not noticed any disadvantages for Heard.

“I think that’s the coolest thing about Stailee is that she’s never a victim to her own circumstances,” Hoyt said. “She’s just awesome at being consistent and not ever making excuses for anything. I really admire her because I forget she is blind in one eye because she never makes it a thing. It’s pretty incredible what she does.”

Jhasmin Player, an OSU assistant coach, said Heard’s ability to play with one eye shows that she and her family are all about toughness.

“It sums her up,” Player said. “She didn’t tell us, it never came from her. She doesn’t use it as a handicap. She’s just doing her job to the best of her ability and she’s learned how to do her job through it.

“It just says how tough she is and how she doesn’t use excuses and gets things done. And that’s the same for her family, they are just get-it-done people.”

Player found out Heard was blind in one eye late in the recruitment process.

Player began recruiting Heard to SMU, where Player coached before OSU. Once

Player moved to Stillwater, the recruitment process to get Heard ramped up because the Cowgirls had zero recruits committed when Player started at OSU and Heard was high on the Cowgirls’ recruitment board. Heard led Sapulpa to two state championships and was selected as a McDonald’s All-American Nominee. She also placed second in the Class-5A 800-meter race and won the individual cross country state title as a sophomore.

Player learned about Heard’s eye when she had the Heard family on a visit before Heard’s June 2022 commitment to OSU. Player found out from conversation with Stailee’s mom, and from then on, it had no weight on Player’s evaluation of Heard.

Player knew Heard was a star.

“What she is doing is incredible,” Player said. “Because had we not known, like I watched her play for years prior and was in a situation where we really wanted her at my previous institution and it didn’t matter and we didn’t know. And it was the same here.

“Now as a player, we know, but still, it doesn’t really matter because she’s just that good.”

The family and community that helped mold Heard into the player and person she has become is a wide congregation.

The group usually fills the student section seating closest to the OSU bench in Gallagher-Iba Arena with family members, friends and people from the Sapulpa community.

For the Bedlam game Feb. 3, Sapulpa players filled the stands with signs cheering for Heard. Player said Heard prioritizes family and staying close to home always has its rewards.

“That’s why you stay home to play in front of your family,” Player said. “Your mom can bring the community out, your high school can come, your sister can come, your brother can come, your dad and his family can come. One thing I can say about Stailee is that she loves family more than anything.”

Heard comes from an athletic family and is continuing its tradition.

Tony Heard played for Bill Self at Tulsa.

Lila Osceola-Heard played for Sherri Coale at Norman High School. Even Ollie Gordon II, the 2023 Doak Walker Award winner and OSU’s star

running back, is a distant cousin of Heard’s. Her family is full of basketball players and is showcasing the benefits of having a family of athletes. Hoyt said Heard’s athletic ability is one-of-a-kind.

“Stailee is an elite athlete,” Hoyt said. “That’s one of the best things she has going for her. She just wakes up and can jump higher than any of us ever could or run. She has a real athletic ability that allows her to do a lot of things with the ball, without the ball on both ends of the floor.

“She’s a multisport athlete. She was an elite 800-(meter) runner. And anytime I can coach a kid who ran the 800, straight-up I know they are built different.”

With Heard’s rare athletic ability, she was overlooked as an AAU recruit in high school, until Terry saw her play.

Terry operates the Lady Jets, an AAU team in Dallas, and remembers how Heard, who played for the Lady Jets from 2019-21, joined his team.

Midway through summer 2019, Heard was still available to join an AAU team. Once Terry found out Heard was available, he said there was no doubt to get her on the team.

“Once I saw her play I thought, ‘Why wouldn’t anyone want her on their top team?’”

Terry said. “She’s top-tier talent. If you had 10 players of her caliber, you probably wouldn’t lose a game. She’s a hard-worker, team-first, selfless player and she’s been like that since day one.”

Along with Heard’s ability to play with essentially one eye, she is also OSU’s most versatile player.

Heard, a 5-foot-11 guard, started the season as OSU’s center, where she played in high school, because of absences from then-ineligible Hannah

Gusters and Praise Egharevba, who was recovering from a knee injury. Heard played most of the nonconference games in the paint and matched up against Colorado’s Aaronette Vonleh, one of the Pac-12’s best centers.

Once Gusters and Egharevba returned, Heard moved to guard; the more desired spot Hoyt intended for Heard.

Heard’s versatility is one of her best attributes. She can fly down the floor on fast breaks and can post up and go to work in the paint on a player a few inches taller than she.

“Her versatility is what makes her able to impact the game,” Terry said. “I’m not surprised by her play. Some kids struggle in their first year, but she’s the type of player who can impact from day one, regardless of what school she went to. She’s an impact player.”

There was never a doubt growing up that Heard could get to where she is today; the leading scorer for OSU as a freshman.

With her toughness fighting through life with one fully operable eye, Heard said she hopes to inspire people who have similar issues as she to dream big.

“I could use this as an excuse, but I feel you can fight through anything,” Heard said. “Nothing can stop you from achieving your dreams, goals in life. I feel like you can find a way, any way to do what you want.

“The main gist of it is you can do anything you put your mind to. If you tell yourself you can’t, you’re not going to be able to. Just telling yourself positive thoughts and working hard, setting goals and having a destination for what you want to do.”

Davis Cordova

Stailee Heard has played everywhere from point guard to center for the Cowgirls as a freshman. sports.ed@ocolly.com

Davis Cordova

Stailee Heard won two Class-5A basketball state championships at Sapulpa High School.

Club...

Continued from 1B

OSU’s biggest rival, Iowa, was the first Power Five program to start a women’s wrestling team.

“I think it’s a sport that deserves the right to be looked at,” Smith said. “When you think of the NCAA, they recently announced that the first NCAA championship could be in 2026. We use the term around here (OSU), ‘the home of wrestling.’ Women are in wrestling. It’s the fastest growing sport in the nation.”

There are challenges to getting there, though.

Title IX requires universities to have the same number of athletics programs for men and women, so the introduction of a women’s program would mean the addition of another men’s sport. The women’s program would also need an endowment.

“A lot of people don’t understand that,” Dare said.

And with the landscape of college athletics changing – such as with name, image and likeness, the transfer portal and conference realignment – heads in athletic departments are spinning. Adding a program during times of uncertainty and transition isn’t easy.

“And until that really settles, it’s really challenging,” Smith said. “I don’t think there’s anybody I’m around that doesn’t just not want women’s wrestling. It’s just when, and the timing and getting through some of the changes that are that are occurring, like, every day.

“I don’t know if you start it today. I don’t think you do. But I would love for us to look down the road and in hopes that that one day we will start it.”

While Dare and the Cowgirl Wrestling Club waits to be an official program, they are keeping the momentum going.

The Cowgirls added a commitment

sports

from Persaeus Gomez, Colorado’s first four-time state champion women’s wrestler and the No. 4 recruit nationally at 130 pounds. Long gone are the days of having only a couple girls at practice. Now, they’re reeling in recruits despite not having scholarships.

“I think that people like (Gomez) are gonna help make people realize that we aren’t a joke of a team,” Dare said. “Because that’s one of things that I see right now on social media is like, ‘Oh, well, they’re just a club team.’ OK, yeah, we’re just a club team, but we’re still competing against all the other varsity teams. We’re no different, we’re just not on scholarship.”

In the few months Adelstein has been with the club, she’s seen it take off. The club now has 20 registered members through the school, and more duals are being scheduled for a real first full season in the fall.

“It has been awesome to see their dreams actually come to fruition and get to the level where we have an organization, we are competing, stuff like that,” Adelstein said.

Seeing the dreams of Dare come true has also inspired others.

After the dual at OCU, the teams took a group picture, and people came down to congratulate Dare and the Cowgirls on their rising club, including some OU students who drove to the dual just to watch the new OSU program.

“And then they were talking to us and like, ‘Well, how did you get this started?’” Dare said. “Because now they’re trying to get one started (at OU).”

Women’s wrestling is growing at OSU, and club status and an inaugural dual are just the beginning for the growing sport.

“It’s good, it’s healthy,” Smith said. “I think the future’s bright. I want to keep thinking that – that the future is bright for women’s wrestling here at Oklahoma State.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Freshman duo helping Cowboy tennis succeed

Baylor Bryant Staff Reporter

The Oklahoma State Cowboy tennis team is on a seven-match win streak with a lineup full of experience, but the surprise has been two freshmen.

In singles, Erik Schiessl and Goran Zgola are undefeated this season.

Schiessl has been a staple all season, and when Zgola came back from injury, the Cowboys got a pairing that has been on fire. In singles matches, Schiessl is 7-0 and Zgola is 4-0. OSU coach Dustin Taylor said Schiessl has shown that he has been an established player since Day 1.

“With how good of a fall (Schiessl) had, and he’s rolled that into a great spring season so far,” Taylor said. “Zgola is the one to really get excited about. He came here injured. He came here having to work back into match shape having not as much experience, especially in matches over the last year and a half.”

Taylor further expressed his excitement with Zgola making an impact throughout the season.

“To see him blossom and now find his way in the doubles lineup and

get opportunities in the singles and take care of those opportunities like he did again (after the Wichita State match), it’s super exciting about the future of Cowboy tennis,” Taylor said. Zgola made his appearance in the lineups Feb. 3 against Saint Louis. He said getting onto the courts has boosted his confidence.

“When I got here last semester, that was the main thing that I was lacking,” Zgola said. “Having played a lot of matches due to some injuries, I just feel like now with every match that I play, fortunately for me, I’m winning those matches. I’m just building confidence and I just feel like it’s elevating my game.” Against Tulane, Taylor put Schiessl and Zgola into the doubles lineup together for the first time this season. Despite their loss, the duo continued in the next match against Wichita State. The match was left unfinished due to the Cowboys securing the doubles point, but the chemistry impressed Taylor. “It’s fun to put young, youthful freshmen together like that,” Taylor said. “They have a great relationship off the court. You carry that onto the court.

They got good chemistry, and now it’s just about giving them the reps and the experience. We do see them in the doubles lineup moving forward.”

Taylor said he believes the OSU freshman class is one of the best in the country.

Ty Wunderlich won his two singles matches this season, and Derek Pham was cleared to play this season. Schiessl said the class has a good bond and brings good energy to the team.

“I just feel like we have really good energy,” Schiessl said. “Me and the other freshmen have a great connection. I think that helps a lot. We fit all good together as a team. I feel great to be here.”

The end of this season will mark the end of veterans Tyler Zink, Alex Garcia and Leighton Allen’s time at OSU. The loss of three staple veterans will force the freshmen to step up into the ranks.

Taylor said that he feels the freshmen are ready for the challenge.

“This young group, they’ll get the torch passed to them and we’re excited for that because we think they’re ready to carry it,” Taylor said.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Young continuing to transform Cowgirl tennis into nationally dominant program

Gina Foster Staff Reporter

Fifteen years and 251 wins later, the Cowgirl tennis program is in good hands.

After being hired in 2009, coach Chris Young has led the Cowgirls to 11 straight NCAA Tournament trips, five Sweet 16 appearances in the past eight years, two Big 12 titles and a national runner-up in 2016.

Now, the Cowgirls are No. 1 for the first time in program history.

“I think whenever you reach those milestones, it makes you appreciate the people that helped you get there,” Young said. “What I think about the most is all the people that have come through this program over the last 15 years.”

After coaching at Wichita State, Young was always looking for a reason to return to Oklahoma.

Young continues to transform OSU into a nationally dominant program. One evident aspect is his participation in fundraising and designing the Greenwood Tennis Center.

Since the opening in 2014, many major events have been hosted in Stillwater, and both the men’s and women’s teams have improved significantly.

Young said he is thankful for the Greenwoods and everyone who helped present them with the indoor training

facility. The goal and vision were executed and brought this team to an ITA Indoor National Championship. Before he was a coach, he played tennis from age 10 and experienced his own collegiate career.

“I think just through the whole journey of growing up and playing in high school and college, I’d have so many people that kind of impacted me, and that’s why I wanted to become a coach,” Young said. “The people that influenced me and impacted me were people that are very significant in my life.”

Although the accomplishments are an important part of his career, Young’s calm and levelheaded demeanor is what helps him continue his success and leadership in a coaching role.

Young said he is more patient and understanding than he was when he began coaching. He tries to stay calm and instill confidence in his players through his attitude.

“It’s hard sometimes when we get some success that maybe we haven’t had in a few years like this or do something really special,” Young said. “You really have to understand it’s all about the athletes. They’re the ones that are out there competing, and I just want to always push them forward that really make a difference. I just want to sit back and watch them enjoy the moments.”

The most difficult thing for Young is starting

over with a new team. He said figuring out how to connect with each player is important, but it can be a challenge while learning how to bring out the best in each team.

“Trust is such an important factor in the player-coach relationship as they need to trust their coaches and the information that they’re given,” Young said. “They have the confidence I’m going to support them win or lose. You go through the good moments and the downtimes and just seeing the coach’s response, and you can talk about the things but you’re actually backing it up.”

Young has created a strong bond between the team.

As the Cowgirls enter Big 12 matchups, Young continues to work with his team, understand the passion for the sport they share and encourage fans to support them.

“I think when they come out and play a match, they should have fans supporting them,” Young said. “They work hard all week long, so we as coaches want to give our players the opportunity to have fans cheering. That’s one of the most valuable things that a coach can do is to the fans supporting them, and that’s something I’m really proud of that we’ve been able to do in my time here.”

Courtesy of Cowgirl Wrestling Club Kodie Vega (right) competed in the Cowgirl Wrestling Club’s first dual on Jan. 31.

Courtesy OSU Cowgirl Tennis (X)

The Cowgirl tennis program has reached new heights since Chris Young became coach in 2009.

Courtesy OSU Cowboy Tennis (X)

Freshmen Goran Zgola (left) and Erik Schiessl (right) are each undefeated in singles play.

Come check out the wide variety of elegant clothing at Formal Fantasy!

Located on 121 E. 9th Ave, Downtown Stillwater

The best selection of beer, wine and liquor that Stillwater has to offer! Perfect for all your game day needs, come to Brown’s Bottle Shop located on 128 N. Main

“The Original Hideaway, located on the corner of Knoblock and University. Serving quality pizza and more since 1957.”

Murphy’s Department Store

815 S Main, Downtown Open 10-6

Monday thru Saturday

Houses for rent

APPLICATIONS INVITED FOR BOTH SUMMER SEMESTER 2024 and FALL SEMESTER 2024 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF THE O’COLLY

Applications for both Summer Semester 2024 and Fall Semester 2024 Editor-in-Chief of The O’Colly will be accepted from now thru Friday, March 8, 2024

Applications are now available in the Paul Miller Journalism and Broadcasting Building, room 106. Applicants must return their completed applications to room 106 no later than 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 8, 2024. This application process involves two separate positions; EIC for Summer and EIC for Fall. Applicants can apply for one or the other, or both positions. Be sure to indicate which position(s) you wish to be considered for on the application form.

To be eligible for Editor-In- Chief, the applicant must be a student on the Stillwater campus of Oklahoma State University, be in good academic standing (i.e., not on academic probation), have a grade point average of not less than 2.5, and have completed at least 60 hours toward a degree. Applicant must show evidence of having worked one semester writing for The O’Colly. Students serving as an Editor-in-Chief may take up to 6 credit hours of independent study in consultation and approval of their major advisor.

An internship on a newspaper in a newsroom capacity may be substituted for one semester of service on The O’Colly. The internship must meet School of Media and Strategic Communications’ current internship course.

Cowboy Calendar

Friday 03/01/2024

Cowboy Baseball: OSU vs. Central Michigan O’Brate Stadium @ 4 p.m.

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

Cowgirl Softball: OSU vs. Seattle Cowgirl Stadium @ 4 p.m.

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

Cowgirl Tennis: OSU vs. Kansas

Greenwood Tennis Center @ 6 p.m.

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

Downtown Funk

EM Curators of Craft @ 8 - 10 p.m. $5 Cover https://curatorsofcraft.co/pages/on-stage

Friday Flix

OSU Museum of Art @ 2 - 4 p.m.

https://museum.okstate.edu

Game Night At The Hub

Bluepeak Tech Hub @ 5 - 7 p.m.

https://mybluepeak.com

Stillwater Frontier Rotary Presents Wine Into Water 1205 North Country Club Rd. Stillwater, OK @ 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. $65

William Clark Green Live

Tumbleweed Dance Hall & Concert Arena @ 8 p.m.

$18

https://www.calffry.com

Research on Tap

Iron Monk Brewing Company @ 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

https://research.okstate.edu/experts-and-media/ rot.html

Saturday 03/02/2024

Cowboy Baseball: OSU vs Michigan O’brate Stadium @ 1 p.m.

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

Cowboy Tennis: OSU vs Memphis

Greenwood Tennis Center @ 6 p.m.

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

Hammer Lane Hippies

EM Curators of Craft @ 8 - 10 p.m. $10 cover https://curatorsofcraft.co/pages/on-stage

Saturday Jazz Brunch

EM Curators of Craft @ 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

https://curatorsofcraft.co/pages/weekly-events Stilly Half & 5K

OSU @ 7:30 a.m. Half Marathon Pricing – $85 / 5K Pricing – $35

https://www.stillyhalf.com

The Botanic Garden @ OSU : Insect Adventure Open House

FOR RELEASE MARCH 1, 2024

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Patti Varol

ACROSS

1 Curly’s replacement in the Three Stooges

6 Canal spot

9 Files that can’t be opened

14 Bar mitzvah scroll

15 Name of the T. rex at Chicago’s Field Museum

16 Short exile?

17 State known for huckleberries

18 Canine care org.?

19 Actress Witherspoon

20 Movie with lots of pan shots?

23 Language suffix

24 Actor Chaney

25 Ramble

27 Missing criminal who inspired James M. Cain’s “Rainbow’s End”

32 Limburger feature

33 “Wowzers!”

34 Trojan War figure

36 Pathway stone

39 Dip

41 Movie with an iconic long shot?

43 Antioxidant-rich sorbet base

44 Measure out

46 Berlin’s “Blue __”

48 Goof

49 Capital on the Persian Gulf

51 Orange garnish for sushi

53 Some Cassatt works

56 Ryan’s “La La Land” role

57 Little dickens

58 Movie with lots of reaction shots?

64 Not as flushed

66 Regret

67 River that feeds Utah Lake

68 Stage

69 Spleen

70 “Yeah, sounds like”

71 Affectionate letters

72 30-Down, for one

73 “It’s Gonna Be Me” band

Daily Horoscope

Nancy Black

Tribune Content Agency

Linda Black Horoscopes

By Ryan Patrick Smith 3/1/24

DOWN

1 Shift slightly

2 TV host Kotb

3 Proof word

4 Island “thank you”

5 Camera setting?

6 Genesis twin

7 Bavaria-based automaker

8 Sphere

9 Enjoys a favorite novel, say

10 Felling tool

11 Movie with lots of zoom shots?

12 So five minutes ago

13 Use a wheelchair’s joystick, say

21 Commensurate (with)

22 Zodiac lion

26 Home of the NBA’s Pels

27 Pancake served with chutney

28 Cereal dish

29 Movie with lots of dolly shots?

30 Mythical archer 31 “Casablanca” cafe

Today’s Birthday (03/01/24). Communication unlocks lucky doors this year. Realize personal dreams with disciplined plans and coordinated action. Shared springtime profits ease a financial adjustment with your summer income. Personal epiphanies light up the autumn, inspiring a shift with joint finances this winter. Everything is available in conversation. 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 6 — Take it easy with your partner, especially about finances. Set the tone to “gentle”. Harmony may require effort. Communication can resolve areas that seem stuck.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7 — Adapt around new circumstances with your partner. Consider carefully before acting. Obstacles and barriers abound. Communication is your golden key. Strategize and plot together.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is a 7 — Prioritize health. Avoid physical challenges. Conditions may not match your energy or expectations. Monitor carefully. Pitfalls line the path. Patiently and cautiously advance.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 7 — Keep an open mind. Romantic expectations disappoint. Don’t get pushy. Clean messes. Creative barriers abound. Clear space. Set the pieces in place for later.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 7 — Nurture yourself. Peace starts at home. You can see what’s missing. Clean, sort and organize. Prepare something delicious. Rest and enjoy your cozy space.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 7 — Plot, prepare and sketch your ideas. Follow your creative inspiration. Physical barriers can cause delays. Don’t pound on locked doors. Prepare and network.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — Monitor cash flow to adapt around slowdowns or blockages. Stay in communication. Catch any mistakes before they get expensive. Review budgets and discuss options.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — A personal challenge resolves with a measured, thoughtful response. Communication is your superpower. Don’t push. Patiently wait for obstacles to clear. Practice diplomacy and tact.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 6 — Step away from the noise and hustle. Enjoy peaceful privacy for creative contemplation. Imagine, envision and sketch out your ideas. Patiently prepare and plot.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 7 — Don’t push someone beyond their limits. Use your words. Force can backfire. Listen and share. Communication and networking can resolve breakdowns. Collaborate patiently.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 7 — Wait for better conditions to launch a professional project. Polish and prepare. Let things flower naturally. Choose the timing carefully.

Share data, resources and connections.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 7 — Study options carefully. Take a pause to assess conditions before advancing. Avoid traffic or accidents. Challenges block the road.

Discover solutions in conversation.

Thursday’s Puzzle Solved 3/1/24

©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

35 Hardly pore over

37 Staple in African cuisine

38 Country led by the Taoiseach

40 Academic

42 “Gimme a break!”

45 Math proposition

47 Wake up late

50 Swiss peak

52 Sporty Fords

53 Longstocking of chapter books

54 “__ and the Night Visitors”

55 Thyme piece

59 Vision prefix

60 Shortage

61 Stage name of electronic musician Richard Melville Hall

62 Not odd

63 VMI program

65 Self starter?

Level 1 2 3

Solution to Thursday’s puzzle

3/1/24

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

Continued from 1B

Some desperately need the vision plan to materialize for their program. Others want their donors to focus on NIL fundraising efforts.

“I would venture to say that facilities is probably down on the list farther than it’s ever been,” said softball coach Kenny Gajewski.

The Cowgirls’ coach hasn’t been reserved in making his thoughts clear: his team needs an updated stadium. Yet, Gajewski and four other coaches The O’Colly interviewed have received no updates on the projects.

This isn’t because Weiberg and the university aren’t participating in active conversations with donors, though. Things like this just take time, Weiberg said. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

“These are once-in-a-lifetime projects,” Weiberg said. “Anytime you build anything like this, they’re gonna be there for 40, 50, 60 years or beyond.

So the main thing is, it’s not so much how fast you can get it done — you got to get it right. Because you got one shot to do it.

“So it’s got to be right… We don’t want to cut corners or anything like that, so if it means waiting to get the funding to do what we want to do,

then we’ll wait.” Both basketball coaches, Mike Boynton and Jacie Hoyt, acknowledge their programs’ primary needs require an increase in NIL funding.

Boynton, who recently made his feelings on the state of the Cowboys’ NIL efforts clear, finds that recruits (especially those from the transfer portal) pay no attention to facilities.

Oftentimes, they don’t even see them.

“That’s not the way you get players anymore,” said Boynton regarding having high-quality facilities. “In fact, I don’t know the last time I heard a prospect ask about a dorm, a practice facility, a locker room (or) how we travel. You have to adapt as things change. I say it like this: No one’s walking around with a Blockbuster card in their wallet anymore, and if they are, it’s very useless.”

Hoyt agrees.

“The more immediate need is NIL,” Hoyt said. “I think that we have to find a way. There are a lot of fans out there that have different desires to give to different things, and if they want to help support in the space of NIL, that would be the first need.”

Mike Gundy echoed the pro-NIL sentiment months ago. In October, Gundy was asked about the prospect of building new facilities and answered rather candidly: “Don’t build it; put money in the bank. Put the money in the bank and spend it on NIL. That’s just the future, and I’m not saying I agree with

it. I only know the sign of the times.”

Gundy’s football team generates the majority of the revenue for the athletic program to spend. His need for more NIL to compete for titles may be greater than another’s desire for a facility to do the same. Also, Boone Pickens Stadium will complete a $55 million renovation before next season, which the university paid for.

Director of track & field and cross country, Dave Smith, who won a national championship with the men’s cross country team in the fall, is on the opposite side. He, like Gajewski, has openly championed not only a facility upgrade but a facility. Period.

Despite consistently winning conference and national titles and coaching All-American athletes, track & field has no indoor facility. The Greiner Family cross-country course is state-of-the-art, but two-thirds of his team never touches that course.

“That might be a good way to look at it if you have a facility,” Smith said of Gundy’s comment. “But for our track teams, we haven’t hosted a home competition in over 30 years. If you think of all the classes and recruiting groups of kids that have come through here over 30 years, none of them have gotten to participate at home in Stillwater in an indoor or outdoor track meet.

“For me, NIL is great, but right now, what’s limiting our program is a facility that we can

show recruits and say, ‘Yes, we are serious about the sport you do.’”

Smith spoke of multiple instances when, despite offering a track & field recruit a full scholarship, he or she takes a lesser scholarship amount at a different school due to the facility differentiation. A facility means a commitment from the university to the recruit.

“‘What do I do when it’s cold?” recruits ask Smith. “We say, ‘Well, you take time off.’”

Equestrian coach Larry Sanchez, who hopes to build another covered arena for his team, is expecting the additional space to be a $1.5 million venture.

His team is “functioning” with what it has now. While Sanchez wants this upgrade, facilities don’t build a National Championship-caliber program like the one he’s built in his 25 years in Stillwater.

“If you don’t have recruits and talented athletes, you don’t have a chance of winning; it doesn’t matter how fancy your facility is… Facilities don’t win championships,” Sanchez said.

No matter the championships won, All-Americans honored or plans that are announced, no progress will be seen without donors.

Weiberg said the university has used revenue for the Gallagher-Iba Welcome Plaza and the Boone Pickens Stadium renovation. Karsten Creek received a $31 million donation from the T. Boone Pickens Foundation last June, marking it as the lone

facility in the OSU Athletics Vision Plan to receive a donation and begin construction.

If a donor wants to give a program NIL money rather than toward a facility, the coaches won’t decline. They know that would only hurt their program.

But the opinions on where donations should go differ. Some want a shiny new stadium; others want to help their players increase their brand.

The demand for NIL resources has caught many universities off guard, and OSU didn’t want to fall behind with its facilities, which it proved when it unveiled its master plan a year ago. But some programs are worried about falling behind with their NIL resources and aren’t looking for a ribboncutting ceremony and a big check.

Until OSU is on the same page, though, with an understanding of each program’s different needs, the vision is blurry.

The process won’t be completed overnight. But it makes you wonder if it’ll ever be complete. It may not be a sprint, but this marathon does have hurdles.

“I think you could ask 100 donors or 100 coaches and get different answers about where the money best goes,” Smith said. “So I think ultimately, it comes down to where a donor’s passion is and where they feel they can have the greatest impact.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

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Chad Weiberg has dealt with NIL, conference realignment, the transfer portal and more since taking over as OSU’s athletic director in 2021.

sports

Shippy-Fletcher in stride as OSU’s hitting coach

Gabriel Trevino Staff Reporter

Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher wanted to make an impact and chose to do so three different times for Oklahoma State.

She committed to OSU over other schools, wanting to help build a program, after becoming the best player in her state in high school. She returned to Stillwater two years after graduating for an unpaid volunteerassistant coaching job, leaving her paying one at Syracuse. And again, when she stayed for three years as a volunteer before being promoted to OSU’s hitting coach in December.

The transition has been seamless. Working with a lineup comprised mostly of underclassmen, Shippy-Fletcher hasn’t changed the team’s philosophy, but approached coaching in a way that makes her players unphased by the expectations.

“She is open to any question you have,” said sophomore Claire Timm. “She’ll talk to you for a while about anything you want. Whether it’s hitting or not. But with hitting, she could go on and on. It’s great. She brings things into a new perspective to us, and I think we needed it.”

Timm thinks Shippy-Fletcher, six years removed from playing, could be one of the best hitters on the team today. With drills, Shippy-Fletcher will demonstrate it first and does better than anyone else. That builds trust. If she can show she knows hitting, the team knows it’s in good hands.

Shippy-Fletcher set 12 records from 2015-18 as a player, including walks, runs scored and doubles. She started all 234 games, hit .404 and was a three-time All-American and twice named Big 12 Player of the Year.

Her last three years as a player were with coach Kenny Gajewski — now in his ninth year with the program — and returned to coach with him for the past three. Shippy-Fletcher

has been a part of the program’s rise to a national contender.

“I pinch myself every day,” Shippy-Fletcher said. “The reason I chose Oklahoma State in high school was because I wanted to choose a program that I felt like I could make a difference in. And when I made that decision, I just figured it’d be as a player. It’s really a dream come true to continue to be a part of the process this program continues to make. Especially under Coach G’s leadership. It’s crazy to see how fast it is. I’m like, ‘Holy crap, (Gajewski)’s getting old.’”

Gajewski credited ShippyFletcher for a number of improvements she brought to the team as the volunteer coach. She worked on hitting, base running and in the outfield — which she excelled at as a player — and was the recruiting coordinator.

Until December, when Gajewski thought about making a change. He met with ShippyFletcher about becoming the team’s hitting coach, an already filled position. When he knew she was fit for it, Gajewski fired hitting coach Whitney Cloer after one year with the team and hired Shippy-Fletcher the same week.

“It was the right change,” Gajewski said before the season. “At the end of each day, I have to do what’s best for this program. I’ve made some good choices in the past, I’ve made some not so good ones, and not trying to throw any shade in any way, it’s just I’m gonna make the moves that I think are best for us and for the long term health of this program…

“She’s ready. And she’s proven that since the day we started in December and the way she’s handled our kids, their mental approach, their physical approach, their emotional approach. She’s done it all well. So I’ve been very happy with her”

The Cowgirls entered the 2024 season losing half of their starting lineup. Catcher Taylor Tuck and Kiley Naomi graduated, center fielder Chyenne

Factor and second baseman Rachel Becker did, too, and became volunteer coaches, and right fielder Katelynn Carwile left the team.

Those who returned from last year’s lineup are still young and many didn’t get much playing time. Tallen Edwards, Micaela Wark and Megan Bloodworth are the only three who started most of the games last season. OSU added Caroline Wang, Jilyen Poullard and Macy Graf in the transfer portal, but they are new to the program and the Big 12 like the freshman are.

Yet, the Cowgirls are mashing. The team is batting .347 with a .607 slugging percentage. They aren’t sacrificing power for discipline, either, as the collective on-base percentage is .425. All those statistics are improvements from last season.

One of the hardest parts of Shippy-Fletcher’s job has been managing the talent. With 20 hitters fighting for consistent

playing time, creating an order is difficult, but the desire to see each player to succeed can be taxing. “It’s bittersweet, like, it’s really cool, but I know there’s frustration from those kids that don’t get as much time, and you feel that as a coach,” ShippyFletcher said. “You feel those emotions from the kids. We have really good relationships with our girls, and you always want to make them happy. All the kids here deserve at bats. They all grind, they all work, they all want to be there and they all want to be there. But you can only play nine at a time. Coach G has done a really good job to get those kids work. It’s hard to manage but it’s fun to manage.” Players point their successes to Shippy-Fletcher. The Cowgirls are hitting for more power this season than in previous ones, but Gajewski has always tried to preach that. Building bonds with players,

and with themselves, is what Shippy-Fletcher is doing differently. She meets with players one-on-one, rather than with the team as a collective, and goes through their swings: what’s working and what’s not. She listens to what the players have to say, and allows them to choose what to do. Sometimes, they don’t have anything to bring to the conversation. Older players especially, who haven’t had a coach like ShippyFletcher, aren’t used to having control of their swing.

With young and older players, Shippy-Fletcher’s goal is to make the team confident in themselves first, which translates to the field.

“(Their) voice is the most important thing you have as a hitter,” Shippy-Fletcher said. “Oklahoma State has always been that way. We’re reminding them to put their own touch on their swing and have an understanding of it.”

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Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher’s promotion to full-time assistant coach was “the right change” in coach Kenny Gajewski’s eyes.

Things to do in Lubbock: NOTHING sports