Wednesday shorts 1-7-2009

third in national poll;

Ross 7th at

197 pounds

KEARNEY, Neb. -- The University of Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team remains third in the latest Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 poll.

Nebraska-Omaha, with 159 points and seven first place votes, remains at the top but Newberry (S.C.) moves up three spots to second. The Indians received 143 points and the eighth and last first place vote.

UNK (142) and Minnesota State (141) are right behind Newberry with Central Oklahoma fifth with 127 points. From the RMAC, Adams State and Western State are tied for sixth, Chadron State is 14th and San Francisco State is 20th.

Individually, junior Derek Ross (St. Francis, Kan.) moves up one spot to seventh at 197 pounds. Ross, who wrestled two matches at 285 pounds this past weekend, leads UNK in wins (23) and falls (12).

Maintaining their ranking are juniors Ryan Etherton (1st/149 pounds), Taylor May (Imperial/Chase County, 5th/165 pounds) and Marty Usman (2nd/174 pounds). Falling two spots with this poll are seniors Keenan McCurdy (7th/157 pounds ) and Paul Sutton (8th/184 pounds).

Many of the top teams and individuals will be at the NWCA/Cliff Keen Nationals Duals this weekend at Northern Iowa. Brackets for the Division II portion of the tournament will be released later this week.

College of Saint Mary

to add women's

swimming program

OMAHA -- College of Saint Mary in Omaha is proud to announce that it will add women's swimming as a varsity sport beginning with the 2009-10 academic year. This will bring the total number of varsity sports offered by CSM to six.

Students recruited for the program will be eligible for generous athletic scholarships and the pool in the Lied Fitness Center on the CSM campus will be the home for the Flames swim team.

CSM will be one of two NAIA institutions in the state of Nebraska to offer swimming as a varsity sport. It is anticipated that competition will be held primarily against NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA colleges located in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Colorado.

Although not a recognized sport in the MCAC (Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference), women's swimming is recognized by the NAIA. The 2009 NAIA National Swimming and Diving Championships will be held, March 4-7 in Saint Peters, Mo.

According to Dr. Tara Knudson Carl, senior vice president and special assistant to the president, a full-time swimming coach will be hired to manage the program and recruit athletes. A selection committee has been named and a preliminary search for a coach is currently underway.

For more information about the CSM swimming program or CSM athletics, please contact CSM Athletic Director Steve Schneider at (402) 399-2332 or sschneider@csm.edu.

College of Saint Mary, founded in Omaha in 1923, is the region's only Catholic college for women.

With approximately 1,000 students, CSM is dedicated to the education of women in an environment that calls forth potential and fosters leadership.

For more information on CSM, visit www.csm.edu.

NPCC to host

sixth annual

Valentino's

hoops tourney

NORTH PLATTE -- North Platte Community College will host the fourth annual Valentino's Basketball Tournament Feb. 7-8 in the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on the South Campus of the college.

The tournament is for boys and girls in grades 5-8. Each age group will have a maximum of eight teams and each team will be guaranteed three games.

Entry fee is $100 per team.

The deadline to enter the tournament is Jan. 15. Entry forms may be obtained at The Sports Shoppe at 1320 S. Cottonwood in North Platte.

For more information, contact Kevin O'Connor or Ted Shurtleff in the NPCC basketball office at (308) 535-3758.

Fans invited to

2009 Nebraska

basketball

Hall of Fame

banquet

LINCOLN -- The University of Nebraska would like to invite fans to attend the 2009 Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame Banquet. Former head coach Danny Nee (1986-2000) and standout guard Erick Strickland (1993-96) will be inducted as this year's Hall of Fame class.

Former player Rex Ekwall (1955-57) will be honored as the Hall of Fame Distinguished Alumni Award winner, and current play-by-play broadcaster Kent Pavelka will be honored as the Bud Cuca Special Merit Award winner.The class will be officially inducted at a banquet held on Friday, Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. at Lincoln Station in the Haymarket in downtown Lincoln.

They will also be saluted at the basketball game against Kansas State the next day, Jan. 17, with tipoff at 5 p.m., as part of a special Hall of Fame tribute. Former Hall of Fame players in attendance will be honored at that game as well as this year's class.

Cost for the banquet is $35 per person and is open to the public; however, reservations must be made by Monday at noon.

Banquet parking is available in the metered parking lot south of Lincoln Station (free after 6 p.m.) or in the adjacent north lot at minimal cost. Attire for the evening is business dress.

To make reservations for the banquet, call Kiley Abdouch at (402) 472-0795 or mail a check for $35 per person with the names of all those attending to: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Attn: Kiley Abdouch, One Memorial Stadium, P.O. Box 880154, Lincoln, NE 68588-0154.

Tickets for the Kansas State game with the Hall of Fame tribute are available at the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office, by calling 1-800-8 BIG RED or at Huskers.com.

Saltdogs pitcher

Chris Cullen

sold to Pittsburgh

LINCOLN, NE -- The Lincoln Saltdogs announced Tuesday that the contract of right-handed pitcher Chris Cullen was purchased late last month by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Cullen became the third member of the Saltdogs to be picked up by a major-league organization in 2008, following in the footsteps of shortstop Anthony Contreras and pitcher Jason Jarvis.

The 22-year-old Cullen has not appeared in a game for Lincoln. He made his professional debut for Edmonton of the Golden League in 2008, going 5-1 with a 3.20 ERA in 11 appearances, including ten starts.

The Ontario native was traded twice in five days last month. Edmonton traded Cullen to Golden League rival Reno on Nov. 14, and five days later, Lincoln acquired him from Reno in exchange for cash considerations.

Cullen, who pitched collegiately at Michigan State from 2005 through 2008, is expected to report to the Pirates' minor-league spring training facilities in March. As is the case with most independent-league players who are picked up by an organization, Lincoln retains Cullen's rights for 2009 should Pittsburgh choose to release him.

Contreras, the first Saltdog picked up by a big-league organization in 2008, began the season as Lincoln's starting shortstop. He was leading the team in hits when the San Diego Padres organization purchased his contract on June 27th. Contreras spent the rest of 2008 with Class A Fort Wayne in the Midwest League.

Jarvis, a rookie from Arizona State in 2008, was selected in the June MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants in the 23rd round. He continued pitching for Lincoln until July 31st, when he agreed to terms with San Francisco.

Jarvis made two August appearances for the Giants' rookie-league team in Arizona, followed two outings for Class A Salem-Keizer in the Northwest League.

In all, 19 different Saltdogs players have been acquired by a major-league organization since the inception of the Lincoln franchise in 2001.

The 2009 Lincoln Saltdogs season begins on May 14 in Wichita, with the home opener scheduled for May 22 against Fort Worth. For more team and ticket information, go to www.saltdogs.com.