Chicago Cubs pitcher Travis Wood, a Bryant native, will be honored by the city of Bryant and Bryant Public Schools on Friday.
The city will hold a parade at 5 p.m. Friday, starting at Ashley Park, on 400 Southwest 3rd St., and will end at Bryant High School. Wood, his family, his former coaches, Bryant Athletic Association baseball state and regional championship teams, as well as the Bryant band, dance team and cheerleader squads will be in the parade. The Saline County VFW Post 2256 will also be in the parade.
Following the parade, a ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. before Bryant’s Class 7A first-round football playoff game against Springdale at Hornet Stadium. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, federal officials, the Saline County Legislative delegation, Saline County Judge Jeff Arey, Bryant Mayor Jill Dabbs and the Bryant Hall of Honor will make presentations to Wood and his family.
Wood, a 2005 graduate of Bryant High School, was a member of the Cubs’ World Series championship team this season. He went 4-0 with a 2.95 ERA in 77 appearances in relief this season. During the postseason, Wood was 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 9 games. He pitched in Games 1, 4 and 6 of the World Series, recording the final out of Game 6 to help the Cubs force a Game 7 against the Cleveland Indians.
Swaim named to Babe Ruth HOF
Allen Swaim of Van Buren has been unanimously elected to the Babe Ruth International Hall of Fame.
Swaim served for 17 years as the administrator of the Field of Dreams Athletic Complex in Van Buren, retiring in 2012. During his time as administrator, he and his committee were credited with raising funds for and the construction of the complex that houses 11 baseball fields and three softball fields.
Swaim is a former board member for the Boys & Girls Club of Van Buren and Arkansas Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the Arkansas State Outdoor Recreation Grants Commission.
He received the Babe Ruth Baseball’s Lefty Gomez Award for the organization’s volunteer of the year award in 2008.
VOLLEYBALL
UALR-ASU match moved to Friday
UALR has moved its match with Arkansas State to 3:30 p.m. Friday in order to accommodate a busy weekend of events at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
After the match, UALR’s women’s basketball team will open the regular season against North Texas at 6:30 p.m. Pregame festivities, including the unveiling of last season’s WNIT banner will begin at 6 p.m.
SOCCER
Harding women to meet Fort Hays
Harding’s women’s team will be the No. 6 seed in the Central Regional of the NCAA Division II Tournament and will face No. 3-seed Fort Hays State on Friday at Mankato, Minn. Minnesota State-Mankato will be the No. 2 seed and received a first-round bye.
Central Missouri is the region’s No. 1 seed and will face the winner of the game between No. 4 seed Central Oklahoma and No. 5 seed Minot State.
Harding (11-6-2) earned the automatic bid from the Great American Conference after winning the conference tournament Saturday. The Lady Bisons defeated Southwestern Oklahoma State 6-5 on penalty kicks to win the tournament title.
The Lady Bisons are making their second consecutive and its third overall trip to the NCAA Tournament. Harding fell to Augustana 2-1 in the first round last season and lost 4-1 to Tampa in the first round in 2004.
Fort Hays State enters the tournament with a 14-4-2 record.
SOCCER
Robinson named SAC Player of the Year
John Brown University sophomore Aspen Robinson has been named the Sooner Athletic Player of the Year. JBU coach Kathleen Paulsen was named Coach of the Year, and the team earned six first-team sections and two second-team selections. Robinson led all SAC strikers in goals (10), assists (6), points (26) and shots per game (5.7) in conference play. Joining Robinson on the first team list was sophomore Jastin Redman, senior Sara Lachance, junior Sara Frey, junior Samantha Weber and senior Kristen Morency. Landing second-team accolades were freshman Kristen Howell and sophomore Annika Bos. In her fourth season at the helm of the program, Paulsen guided the Golden Eagles to their most successful regular season in program history with a 15-1-1 mark.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Bray earns all-district honors
Harding junior offensive lineman Bryce Bray recently earned CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 honors. Bray, a Rogers High graduate, has started all 10 games at center for the Great American Conference champions. He is also a health and kinesiology major and has a 3.67 grade-point-average. He is also a key component of Harding’s offense that leads NCAA Division II with 383.9 rushing yards per game. Sports information directors in District 3 vote on the Academic All-District teams. District 3 is comprised of Division II schools in the Great American Conference, MIAA, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Great Northwest Conference.Student-athletes must have a 3.30 GPA or higher and have sophomore status athletically and academically to qualify for the award.