05/31/03
Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Mississippi State junior first baseman Kate Jaspers was among 33 players selected for the Verizon Academic All-America squads released Friday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Jaspers, a second team selection, was one of two Southeastern Conference athletes to be named to the squads, joining Kentucky catcher Lyndsey Angus on the second squad. Former Mississippi State standout Keri McCallum is the only other Bulldog to don such honors, earning first team accolades following the 2000 campaign.

"This is a fantastic recognition for Kate," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "She is an exemplary student-athlete and puts a tremendous amount of effort into her studies, as well as softball. Her commitment to academic, as well as athletic excellence, serves as an example of what a student-athlete should be."

Jaspers, a Psychology major at MSU, turned in her sixth-consecutive 4.0 GPA at the close of the Spring, 2003 semester. An academic all-conference selection this season, Jaspers has earned academic distinction from other organizations as well. She was lauded as the SEC Worldspan Student-Athlete of the Week during MSU's regionally televised game at Georgia on March 24, 2002, and, most recently, earned the Mississippi State athletic department's Newsome Award as the top academic female athlete for the 2002-03 school year.

A .323 hitter for the Bulldogs this season, Jaspers tallied 16 multiple-hit games and four multiple RBI games for the Maroon and White in its run to a second-straight NCAA Regional appearance and its third in four seasons. She accounted for five gamewinning runs during the campaign and earned MSU's Player of the Week award after turning in a .500 series at Florida, including three extra-base hits, three RBI and four runs scored. She also earned the distinction of having the only four-hit game this season, tallying a 4-for-5 hitting night with a trio of runs scored in a 15-13 loss to LSU on March 26.

Source: MSU Media Relations

A native of Toulouse, France, Ambert finished tied for 20th nationally in the final ITA singles rankings, qualifying him for all-America status in 2003. The nation's preseason No. 3 player in September, Ambert dropped from the rankings after missing the fall with an injury but worked his way back up the polls during the spring. He compiled a 15-8 overall record during the semester and was rated as high as No. 15 during the term while holding down MSU's No. 1 position.

Last season, Ambert became State's 17th all-American after notching a very impressive 37-11 record, with those 37 wins being the third-most ever in a single season at MSU. He ended the campaign ranked ninth in the country.

A senior-to-be in 2004, Ambert has compiled career records of 79-30 in singles and 53-35 in doubles. He was named the ITA's National Player to Watch in 2002 and earned two awards of distinction this season as the Southeast Region's recipient of the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award and the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award. He is also a three-time, first-team, all-Southeastern Conference selection, the only Bulldog ever to earn first-team honors in each of his first three seasons.

Ambert has helped lead State to three-straight NCAA appearances including a round of 16 showing in 2001. He will be on of five returning lettermen for the Bulldog netmen next year. State is one of only seven teams in the country that has now made 13th consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championship field.

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/30/03
Track and Field
COLUMBUS, Ohio - While the baseball team readies to host regionals, Mississippi State's track squads are set for the NCAA Mideast Regional at Ohio State University.

The MSU men's team comes to Columbus ranked fifth in the country by Trackwire.com. The Dogs have 11 athletes scheduled to compete during the two-day event.

Leading the men's team is the nation's top-ranked sprinters Pierre Browne and Marquis Davis. The duo ranks one-two in the 100-meter dash and is among the top five in the 200m. They also run on the nation's top-ranked 4x100m relay team.

Other Bulldogs running this weekend include Glenn McFadden (100m, 200m, 4x100m), LaChristopher Lewis (200m, 400m, 4x100m, 4x400m), Keston Nelson (200m, 400m, 4x400m), Jamel Ashley (400m, 4x400m) and Kelvin Harris (110m hurdles, 4x400m). Browne and Harris are both seniors for head coach Al Schmidt's squad.

State also has four men's field event athletes in Columbus. Throwers J.D. Erickson (shot put, discus) and Clay Garner (javelin), along high jumper Matthew Denton and pole-vaulter Trey Hardee will compete this weekend.

MSU's women had four athletes advance to the regional meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Sophomore Tiffany McWilliams runs in the 800m and 1500m this weekend, two events where she leads the region. Meggan Hodge will be in the steeplechase, while Lauren Johnson runs in the 100-meter hurdles. Crystal Averitt will throw the hammer and discus.

In its first year of existence, the regional meets put a new emphasis on head-to-head performances. In the past, athletes made the NCAA Championships based on their top performance during the year. Under the new format, the top five athletes per event in each regional will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, along with six wild-card entries per event.

Events begin Friday for MSU with the women's 1500m preliminaries at 4 p.m. EDT.

More track and field...
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Senior Chris Boldt was named to the 2003 Verizon Academic all-District for men's track for District VI, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The Stillwater, Minn., native earned a 3.72 GPA in industrial engineering so far in his collegiate career. One of the Bulldogs' eight seniors, he led the team in the 1500m outdoors and mile indoors this season.

"Chris was a valuable asset to the team as a runner," said head coach Al Schmidt. "He was also an incredible student and did a lot of community service as an officer in the M-Club since he got here. He's an ideal version of an all-around student-athlete."

Boldt was a provisional qualifier indoors in the mile in 2003 and ended his career ranked second in school history in the indoor mile. He anchored the distance medley team to a school-record time indoors at the Arkansas State Invite of 9:50.53. He also served as vice president of the M-Club during the 2002-03 academic year.

MSU begins the NCAA Mideast Track Regional on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/22/03
Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. - Mississippi State's Romain Ambert has advanced to the second round of the 2003 NCAA Singles Championship after an opening-round victory Wednesday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the University of Georgia campus.

A native of Toulouse, France, the junior Bulldog downed California's 36th-ranked Conor Niland 7-5, 6-3 in Wednesday's first round in the players' first-ever meeting. Ambert overcame service breaks in the first game of both sets for the victory.

Currently ranked 19th nationally, Ambert will face a familiar foe in the second round Thursday at 9 a.m. ET, taking on Auburn's 14th-ranked Rameez Junaid, a 9-16 alphabetical seed. Junaid owns a 2-1 career lead against Ambert, but Ambert took the most recent clash, a 6-2, 7-6 win in the teams' dual match at Auburn on March 16 earlier this year.

An all-American last season, Ambert is playing in his third consecutive NCAA Singles Championship. He is only the second Bulldog ever to do so in each of his first three seasons, joining all-American Matthieu Ballay (1996-98). A three-time, first-team, all-Southeastern Conference selection, Ambert is now 79-29 overall in singles for his career.

The 64-player singles championship will run through Memorial Day, May 26, with one round being held each day. The tournament can be followed on the Internet on two sites: ncaasports.com and georgiadogs.com.

Source: MSU Media Relations

McMichael, who became just the third player in school history to hit better than .400 in a single season, joins former Bulldog standouts Kellie Wilkerson (2000-01) and Keri McCallum (2000) on the list of first team all-Americans for the Maroon and White. Wilkerson, the only four-time all-American ever to play for Mississippi State, also earned second team accolades in 1999 and 2002.

"This is a tremendous honor for Iyhia, as well as Mississippi State," said Bulldogs head coach Jay Miller. "Throughout the season, she has proven to be a clutch player for us and has paced us offensively. It is nice to see her get recognized with such a prestigious honor."

McMichael, who earned 2003 SEC Softball Athlete of the Year honors and was named to the final 10 for the ASA/USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, broke or tied 10 single game or single season records in 2003, three of which came in one game. In a 15-4 victory for the Bulldogs over Samford on Feb. 16, she hit 3-for-4 with seven RBI, including a grand slam and a school record-tying two triples. The outburst moved her atop State's single game total base (10) and RBI (7) list.

The only unanimous selection on the 2003 first team all-SEC squad, McMichael hit .403 for the Maroon and White this season to go along with 33 extra-base hits (18 HR), 63 RBI and 63 runs scored. She drew 38 walks and matched her own school-record with 36 stolen bases in 37 attempts (.973), recording a .502 on-base percentage and a school record .801 slugging percentage.

She is currently atop five career lists at Mississippi State and is on pace to shatter seven more career records by the end of her senior season in 2004. She will join Wilkerson early next month at the USA National Team Camp in Chula Vista, Calif.

Source: MSU Media Relations

An all-state and academic all-state selection in track for four years, Grube also received the same honors in cross country the last three years. She was a part of the state champion 4x800m relay team in 2001 and 2002. The 2001 team also became high school all-Americans.

Grube ran her top 4K cross country time last year in 14:29. She finished third in the state cross country meet as an individual. Her top 800m run time was 2:18 as a junior. She has also clocked a 300m hurdles time at 48.2.

"She's going to be a huge impact person in this program," Schmidt said. "We are very pleased to have her join this program."

Grube is a member of the National Honor Society and the Outdoors Club. She has also volunteered at the Harbor House domestic abuse shelter and at the Salvation Army along with various other groups she has worked with while in school.

An athlete of the week selection by Appleton Post Crescent, Grube was selected as the student of the month for September 2002 by the Kaukauna Rotary Club. The Kaukauna Elks Club recognized her as one of the top ten students from Kaukauna High School.

Elizabeth Grube is the daughter of Paul and Leigh Grube.

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/19/03
Track and Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Junior Marquis Davis and sophomore Tiffany McWilliams both took home two SEC championships on the final day of the 2003 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The three-time, all-American Davis won both the 100 and 200 meter dashes in 10.13 and 20.50 on Tom Black Track. He becomes the fourth Bulldog ever to have two wins at the conference championships.

The SEC indoor mile champion McWilliams won both the 800 and 1500 meter running events. The Red Bay, Ala., native set a new SEC meet record in the 1500m with her time of 4:12.17, then followed that with the victory at 800m in 2:02.74. An all-American indoors, McWilliams now holds half of State's SEC women's individual titles.

Senior sprinter Pierre Browne finished second in both the 100m and 200m behind Davis, with times of 10.16 and 20.89. The duo leads the nation in the two short sprints.

LaChristopher Lewis placed in two events in Sunday's finals, placing fifth in the 200m dash (21.03) and finishing third in the 400m dash (45.82). The Coldwater, Miss., sophomore also was a part of the 4x100m relay team's record run. Lewis, Davis, Glenn McFadden and Browne clocked a 39.09 in a second-place showing and a new school record in the event.

Sophomore Matthew Denton finished second in the high jump, tying his personal-best clearance of 6-11 1/2. He did not miss before the bar went over seven feet.

Florida's women won the team title for the first time in five years, scoring 149 points. Arkansas' men took home their 10th SEC outdoor track championships, scoring 159 points. State's men came in eighth with their most points since a second-place showing in 1975, scoring 69 points. MSU's women came in 10th with 22 points.

State's next meet is set for May 30-31 at the NCAA Mideast Regional at Columbus, Ohio.

2003 SEC OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 18, 2003 - Tom Black Track

Final Team Scores

Men: 1. Arkansas, 149; 2. Tennessee, 111.5; 3. Georgia, 89; 4. Auburn, 85; 5. Florida, 84; 6. South Carolina, 75; 6. LSU, 75; 8. Mississippi State, 69; 9. Alabama, 32.5; 10. Kentucky, 27; 11. Mississippi, 16.

Women: 1. Florida, 159; 2. Arkansas, 130; 3. LSU, 110; 4. South Carolina, 86; 5. Auburn, 77; 6. Georgia, 66; 7. Tennessee, 55; 8. Kentucky, 49; 9. Alabama, 38; 10. Mississippi State, 22; 11. Vanderbilt, 19; 12. Mississippi, 5.

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/17/03
Track and Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Trey Hardee set a new freshman record in the decathlon and finished third on day two of the 2003 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The Vestavia Hills, Ala., freshman broke his freshman record from the Texas Relays in the two-day event, scoring 7,544 points overall. That score ranks second all-time for an individual at Mississippi State.

Hardee now is automatically qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif., in June. He had his best showing in the pole vault, clearing 16-4 3/4 to finish first. He was fourth in the 110m hurdles (14.59) and sixth in the discus (132-6). He ranked seventh in both the javelin (163-10) and 1500m (4:46.57).

Also for the Lady Bulldogs, Jennifer Johnstone set a new personal best in the hammer throw. Her toss of 160-9 ranked 20th in the field. Crystal Averitt finished 22nd in the hammer (151-4). Freshman Mina Thorstenson came in 10th in the 10K run with a time of 38:36.54.

Source: MSU Media Relations

NO. 8 WASHINGTON 8, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0 (6 Innings)
#4 Seed Mississippi State 000 000 - 0 5 1
#1 Seed Washington 000 008 - 8 6 2
J. Nelson, Massey (6), Tillman (6) and Waterman; Bollinger and Rivera. W ­ Bollinger (25-9). L ­ J. Nelson (7-8). Save ­ None. HR ­ UW, Clark. 2B ­ UW, Oleson, Tyson.

(Game 2) LINCOLN, Neb. ­ Eighth-ranked and second-seeded Nebraska (38-16) erupted for three multi-run innings and held fourth-seeded Mississippi State (34-30) to a season-low two hits to oust the Bulldogs from NCAA Region 5 Tournament play with a 8-0 victory in six innings Friday evening at Bowlin Stadium on the campus of the University of Nebraska.

NO. 8 NEBRASKA 8, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0 (6 Innings)
#4 Seed Mississippi State 000 000 - 0 2 2
#2 Seed Nebraska 220 301 - 8 11 3
Frank, Massey (2) and Waterman; James and Burgess. W ­ James (23-12). L ­ Frank (5-7). Save ­ None. HR ­ NU Ogee, Burgess.

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/16/03
Softball
LINCOLN, Neb. ­ Blaire Brown's two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the fifth gave fourth-seeded Mississippi State (34-28) the offense it needed as the Bulldogs advanced in opening round play of the NCAA Region 5 Tournament in Lincoln, Neb., with a 4-2 victory over fifth-seeded Florida International Thursday morning at Bowlin Stadium on the campus of the University of Nebraska.

#4 MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, #5 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 2
Florida International 100 010 0 - 2 8 1
Mississippi State 200 020 x - 4 7 0
Nealer, Barrett (6) and Stapf; J. Nelson, Massey (2) and Waterman. W ­ Massey (22-12). L ­ Nealer (21-9). Save ­ None. 2B FIU, Wolter, Owens. MSU Waterman.

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/15/03
Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Mississippi State all-American outfielder Iyhia McMichael was among 12 players named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association all-South Region first team on Wednesday, the organization announced.

The honor now makes the Nacogdoches, Texas, native eligible for Louisville Slugger/NFCA all-American honors which will be announced prior to the NCAA Women's College World Series, May 21-26. McMichael earned second team all-region honors from the NFCA in 2002 and earned Easton all-American honors in both 2001 and 2002.

"This is a great honor for Iyhia, as well as Mississippi State," said head coach Jay Miller. "Obviously this is something she has earned with her outstanding play throughout the course of this season. It's nice to see that her hard work is being rewarded with this honor that will, hopefully, lead to an all-American award next week."

McMichael was one of nine players from the Southeastern Conference on the first and second teams, joining Alabama's Jackie McClain, Stephanie VanBrakle and Ashley Courtney, Tennessee's Lauren Mattox and Kristi Durant, Kentucky's Nikki Jones, LSU's Kristin Schmidt and Mississippi's DeDe Justice. She was just one of four players from the SEC on the first team.

Named as one of the United States' top 10 players by the Amateur Softball Association on April 29, McMichael became the first softball player from Mississippi State to garner SEC Athlete of the Year honors this season and was the only league player to be voted first team all-SEC by a unanimous vote. An academic, as well as, athletic standout, she earned the first academic all-conference award of her career in late April as well.

McMichael and her Mississippi State teammates will again be in action on Thursday morning when the fourth-seeded Bulldogs (33-28) begin play in the NCAA Region 5 Tournament with a 10 a.m. contest against fifth-seeded Florida International (37-25).

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/11/03
Men's Tennis
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Mississippi State's 39th-ranked men's tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to 26th-ranked Pepperdine Saturday morning in the first round of the NCAA Team Championship, ending the Bulldogs' 2003 campaign.

MSU finished the year 8-13 overall. Pepperdine, which improved to 17-10, advances to Sunday's second round to meet the winner of the Vanderbilt-Tennessee Tech contest, which was being played Saturday afternoon. The Waves cut MSU's series lead to 3-2. The teams had not met since 1996.

Though State's team competition is complete for the season, MSU tennis is not completely done for the year. Ambert will be competing in the 64-player NCAA Singles Championship which begins May 21 in Athens, Ga. A junior, the Toulouse, France, product will be making his third career appearance in the field, only the second Bulldog ever to make the draw in each of his first three campaigns in Starkville.

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/10/03
Men's Golf
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Mississippi State University men's golf team finished in 12th place (309-323-300) at the 4th Annual Atlanta Intercollegiate in Atlanta, Ga., on Friday. The Georgia State hosted event was held at the Eagle's Landing Country Club, a par-72, 6,899 yard course.

In his final tournament as a Bulldog, Codie Mudd led the squad with a six-over par performance and finished in a tie for 36th place (76-73-73). Joe Deraney finished in 49th place with a 10-over par showing (73-78-75).

Source: MSU Media Relations

Mississippi State will now wait out the weekend until Sunday night when the team will gather at an undisclosed location to view the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. Airtime for the announcement of the field of 64 teams is set for 9 p.m. CDT on ESPN News.

NO. 19 SOUTH CAROLINA 2, MISSISSIPPI STATE 1

#4 Seed South Carolina 000 011 0 - 2 6 2
#8 Seed Mississippi State 100 000 0 - 1 8 0
Henkes and Smith; J. Nelson, Massey (6) and Waterman. W ­ Henkes (17-5). L ­ J. Nelson (7-7). Save ­ None. 2B USC, Quinones. MSU, Waterman (17).

Source: MSU Media Relations

Banks is a 16-time all-state performer for head coach Randall Taylor at GHS. She won four individual state titles at the 4A level, including three in the high jump and one in the long jump.

A three-time winner of Marshall County's Most Valuable Performer award, Banks is also a two-time recipient of the Gadsden Times Track Athlete of the Year. Guntersville High School also named her the school's top field event athlete all four years.

"She's another one of those talented Alabama prep athletes," head coach Al Schmidt said. "She's a multifaceted athlete that will be very helpful to our team."

Banks set a new high jump record at the Cullman Invitational, a 31-year-old event, clearing a personal best 5-6. Her best long jump measured 18-3, with her best triple jump mark coming in at 36-10. Banks also ran the hurdles at GHS, finishing the 100-meter hurdles in 15.4 and the 300m hurdles in 47.7.

Also a two-year letterwinner in basketball, Banks received best defensive player honors for GHS last season. She was also named to the all-Marshall County and all-area teams for basketball. She helped Guntersville to the 4A state title game in 2003.

Shaquada Banks is the daughter of Chris Hundley and Leyslen Banks. Source: MSU Media Relations

05/09/03
Softball
PLANT CITY, Fla. ­ Despite registering a paltry four hits, top-seeded and seventh-ranked Georgia (55-10) capitalized on a two-run homer in the first inning and held back a couple of scoring opportunities by eighth-seeded Mississippi State (33-27) to defeat the Maroon and White, 3-0, in the first round of the SEC Tournament Thursday evening in Plant City, Fla.

Mississippi State will continue play in the 2003 SEC Tournament Friday afternoon when the Bulldogs begin their quest to advance through the loser's bracket with a 2 p.m. EDT contest against fourth-seeded South Carolina (36-17). A Mississippi State victory would advance them through to Saturday against the loser of the winner's bracket matchup between second-seeded Alabama and third-seeded LSU, while a loss by the Maroon and White would eliminate them from SEC Tournament contention.

NO. 7 GEORGIA 3, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0

#8 Seed Mississippi State 000 000 0 - 0 6 0
#1 Seed Georgia 200 010 x - 3 4 1

Massey and Waterman; Urban, Davidson (5) and McKeon. W ­ Urban (4-0). L ­ Massey (21-12). Save ­ Davidson (3). HR UGA, Wendland. 2B MSU, Waterman, L. Nelson.

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/08/03
Softball
PLANT CITY, Fla. - Junior all-American Iyhia McMichael captured Mississippi State's first-ever Southeastern Conference Softball Athlete of the Year award and the Bulldogs sent two athletes to all-SEC honors for the seventh-straight season to highlight the league awards announced Wednesday afternoon here at the SEC Softball Tournament.

McMichael became the first junior in league history to garner the conference's most prestigious honor, while also nabbing a spot on the first team all-SEC roster, marking the third-straight season that the Nacogdoches, Texas, product has captured league laurels. Weatherford, Texas, native Jennifer Nelson earned second team all-SEC honors to give MSU multiple all-SEC honors for the seventh time since the inaugural season of SEC Softball in 1997.

McMichael, who was, last week, named as a top 10 finalist for Collegiate Player of the Year by the Amateur Softball Association, hit .419 (72-for-172) for the Maroon and White during the regular season to go along with 10 doubles, five triples and a school record 18 home runs. She completed the regular season with an .849 slugging percentage and a .516 on-base percentage, while scoring 60 runs and finishing 34-of-35 on stolen base attempts.

McMichael paced the SEC in six offensive statistical categories, while finishing second in three others. She captured two of the three legs in the league's triple crown, topping the conference with 18 home runs and 63 RBI, while culminating the regular season with a close second-place finish in batting average behind Georgia's Nicole Barber. Her first team all-SEC award marked the third time in as many years that she has been named to an all-SEC squad, capturing second team honors as a freshman and first team honors last season.

Nelson, a high-octane threat in MSU's lethal outfielding corp, finished third on the Bulldog squad with a .339 (65-for-192) average to accompany 10 extra-base hits, 23 RBI and 45 runs scored. She was successful on 10 of 12 stolen base attempts and turned in a .438 slugging percentage and .401 on base percentage. The award marked the first such honor for Nelson who, along with Brooke Best and Courtney Frank, was honored on Senior Day just two weeks ago.

Source: MSU Media Relations

05/07/03
Track and Field
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Mississippi State men's track team continues its climb up the national rankings, moving from third to second this week.

The Bulldogs climb to a new high for rankings in school history. Auburn is ranked first in the latest release from Trackwire.com. Nine Southeastern Conference schools are ranked in the top 25 this week.

MSU runs next at the 2003 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, set in Knoxville, Tenn., May 15-18.

Source: MSU Media Relations

"Daniel will be a solid player for us next year, and will make an immediate impact on our squad," said interim golf coach Tyler Hill.

Boles was recently honored as the 2003 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) Golf Hubert Tucker Player of the Year, an award given to the player in the MACJC with the lowest overall stroke average during the regular season. Boles finished the 2002-2003 season with a 73.62 stroke average in eight rounds of golf.

During his final year of a two-year career at Meridian Community College, he earned medalist honors in four tournaments and was named to seven all-tournament teams.

Boles finished the 2002 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Nationals with a 293 stroke performance (72-71-68), missing all-American honors by one stroke. He was the medalist three times during the 2002 season: Regional XXIII (71-72), Pearl River Community College Tournament (even) and the MS Gulf Coast Community College Tournament (71). At the 2002 North East Invitational, the Clarkdale, Miss., native finished in third place (72) and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Boles was the medalist in 20 out of 24 tournaments while a student at Clarkdale High School in Meridian, Miss. During both his junior and senior years, he was the medalist at the division tournaments and the runner-up in the state tournaments.

As a junior in high school, he earned medalist honors at the 2000 Mississippi/Alabama Qualifying for Optimist International Junior Golf Championship (OIJGC) held at the MSU golf course. He finished in 14th place (73-77-73-76) at the OIJGC in West Palm Beach, Fla., among a field of participants from 18 countries. Boles qualified for the 2000 MGA State Amateur with a 74 and finished the State Amateur Tournament in 12th place (71-76-71-71).

In 2001, he also earned medalist honors at the Mississippi/Alabama Qualifying for OIJGC (73-69) making him the only golfer in history to earn medalist honors in the tournament back-to-back years. He finished in 12th place at the 2001 OIJGC tournament held again at the PGA National in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Daniel, the son of Michael and Debbie Boles of Meridian, Miss., plans to major in music or professional golf management while a student-athlete at State.

Another signee...

STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Mississippi State University has signed Gregory Huxman of Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Miami, Fla., to the 2003-2004 Men's Golf Team.

"Greg will be a great addition to our program," said interim golf coach Tyler Hill. "He is a hard worker that will just improve even more over his career at MSU."

While participating in national tournaments, Huxman finished in the top 10 fourteen times and was victorious in three of them. His first win came at the Future Collegians World Tour (FCWT) Gator Junior at the University of Florida course in January 2002. Greg fired rounds of 70-67-67 and won the tournament on the third playoff hole. His third-round 67 is even more impressive as Greg and his father were involved in serious car accident on the way to the course.

In American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) competition, Greg finished fifth at the Greater Hartford Jaycees Junior Classic this past summer, and so far this season on the FCWT circuit, he has recorded two top-five and two top-10 finishes.

From 1999 to 2003, he has competed in nine state and regional tournaments, where he finished in the top seven all but once.

At Miami Palmetto Senior High School, Huxman was named the MVP of his high school team his senior year. As a senior, Greg never finished lower than third place, including a victory at the High School District Championships, shooting a one-under-par 70. He was also voted to the First Team All Dade County for the second year in a row.

During his junior year, he earned medalist honors at the South Dade High School Match play championships, and went on to win the match play portion of the event. The Miami native finished runner-up to now Florida freshman standout and former No. 1 ranked junior in the country James Vargas at the 2001 GMAC championships and the 2001 High School Regional Championships.

Huxman plans to compete in six tournaments this summer, including the U.S. Amateur Public Links Qualifier and the U.S. Amateur Qualifier.

Greg, the son of Roger and Adrienne Huxman of Miami, Fla., plans to major in business while a student-athlete at MSU.

Source: MSU Media Relations