State sports briefs

RUNNING

LR Marathon registration opens Friday

Registration for the 2015 Little Rock Marathon weekend events will open at 10 a.m. Friday.

The 2015 event will be held Feb. 28-March 1 and is presented by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and benefits Little Rock Parks & Recreation.

Race weekend events include the 13th annual Little Rock Marathon, the Little Rock Half Marathon, the Little Rock 10K, the Little Rock 5K Fun Run/Walk, the Little Rock Rockers Kids Marathon and the Little Rock Health and Fitness Expo.

Registration for the Little Rockers Kids Marathon will open Sept. 1.

The Little Rock Marathon offers a training program to individuals participating in the 2015 race. Official training begins in mid-September with a "build-up" training phase beginning Aug. 4. The training program, which is presented by Bill Torrey's Rock City Running, is free of charge, but registration is required.

More than 21,400 individuals participated in the various training programs and races in 2014, according to race officials.

Registration will be available online at littlerockmarathon.com through 11:59 p.m. Feb. 20, 2015. A mail-in registration form also is available on the website's registration page or by calling race headquarters at (501) 371-4639. Mail-in registration forms must be postmarked by Feb. 20.

The 2015 theme is "Treasure" and race officials anticipate the race will sell out before the end of the year.

For more information, visit littlerockmarathon.com or contact the Little Rock Marathon office at (501) 371-4639.

FOOTBALL

UAPB schedules weekly luncheons

Arkansas-Pine Bluff will have its first "Lunch with Coach Monte Coleman" on Aug. 26 from noon-1 p.m. at the Lil Steakhouse in Pine Bluff.

Media, fans and alumni will have the opportunity to meet with Coleman and two players each Tuesday during the 2014 season.

Lunch is $10. The weekly menus will reflect UAPB's 2014 opponents.

GOLF

Echavarria tied for seventh at Western Am

Arkansas junior Nicolas Echavarria shot a 4-under-par 67 in the second round Wednesday of the 112th Western Amateur, finishing in a tie for seventh place to advance to today's final two rounds of stroke play at The Beaver Country Club in Chicago.

Echavarria found himself just inside the top 44 scores cut to begin the day after an opening-round 1-under 70 on Tuesday. Playing in one of the final groups Wednesday, Echavarria navigated the 7,016-yard Donald Ross design with a bogey-free round that moved him up 13 spots. Echavarria did his damage on the back nine, carding three consecutive birdies on holes 12-14 on his way to a 32.

Also, Razorbacks junior Taylor Moore opened with an even-par 71 in the first round, but fell short of the cut Wednesday with a 3-over 74.

UALR men earns all-academic status

The UALR men's team earned All-Academic team recognition from the Golf Coaches Association of America on Wednesday.

The GCAA honors programs that submitted team grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher with All-Academic status.

To be eligible for GCAA All-Academic team honors, a college or university must submit the GPAs for each player on its official squad list for the academic year. UALR was one of 81 NCAA Division I teams and one of three Sun Belt Conference schools to receive the honor.

VOLLEYBALL

Arkansas Tech picked to win GAC title

Arkansas Tech was picked to win the Great American Conference championship in the league's preseason coaches' poll.

The Golden Suns, who won the GAC Tournament last season with a victory against two-time regular-season champion Harding, earned 93 points and five first-place votes. Harding was picked second in the polls, receiving 89 points and four first-place votes. The other two GAC schools to receive at least one first-place vote were Southern Nazarene and Ouachita Baptist. Southern Nazarene (86 points) was chosen third in the poll while OBU (66 points) was picked fourth. Southwestern Oklahoma State was fifth with 61 points.

Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southern Arkansas were tied for sixth in the poll with 48 points. Rounding out the 11-team poll were East Central (Okla.) (45 points), Northwestern Oklahoma State (36), Arkansas-Monticello (23) and Henderson State (10).

The GAC Tournament will be held Nov. 13-15 at Summit Arena in Hot Springs.

Sports on 07/31/2014

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