ET Pipeline: Tylerites Lewis, Oliver making big splash

Published 11:01 pm Friday, March 14, 2014

Texas swimmer Sam Lewis and Texas A&M swimmer Meredith Oliver are locked in for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships March 27-29 at The University of Texas.

Lewis, a sophomore from Robert E. Lee High School, will swim in two events at the meet — the 500-yard freestyle (4:16.06) and the 1,650-yard freestyle (14:55.44). Lewis is ranked No. 15 in the nation in the 500.

Oliver, another REL product who is also a sophomore, will compete in the 200-yard freestyle after a qualifying time of 1:45.73. 

Pittsburg’s Wright honored

Kiara Wright, a former Pittsburg High School standout, wasn’t going to be denied the Lone Star Conference’s award for top women’s basketball player for a second straight season.

Like last season, Wright, the Tarleton State standout, was named the LSC’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year during last week’s LSC Basketball Tournament.

Wright leads the LSC in scoring (20.8), rebounding (12.7), field goal percentage (.623) and steals (2.4). She recorded 19 double-double efforts including a league-high 39 points (Jan. 25) and 21 boards (Feb. 5).

She also led the TexAnns to the LSC Tournament championship game, where they lost to West Texas A&M, 76-67.

Despite losing last weekend, the TexAnns are in the NCAA Division II Tournament. They’re the No. 3 seed in the South Central Regional. Tarleton State defeated Texas A&M International, 70-55, Friday on the campus of West Texas A&M in Canyon.

The TexAnns will face Colorado Mesa, 60-49 winner over Midwestern State, at 5 p.m. today in the second round. 

LSC honors Athens’ Choate

Angelo State third baseman Hunter Choate, who played at Athens High School, is the reigning Lone Star Conference co-hitter of the week after his performance last week.

Choate went 8 for 16 for the week, driving in four runs against Tarleton State. Choate hit his first career home run and entered this week hitting .385 for the season, with 30 hits and 12 RBI through 21 games. Choate enters this weekend’s action with an 11-game hitting streak. 

Seasons over for East texas Big 12 duo

The Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament ended earlier this week with Baylor taking the title. A pair of East Texas players likely saw their 2013-14 seasons come to an end.

Texas Tech lost to TCU in the first round of the tournament. Bullard redshirt freshman Minta Spears finished the season as Tech’s second-leading scorer, averaging 8.5 points per game, and as its top 3-point shooter, making 45.

TCU went on to lose in the next round to West Virginia. Kiara Bradshaw, a freshman center out of Emory Rains, finished the year averaging 3.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.

East Texans in SLC

The Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament is taking place this week in Katy, and two East Texas products are seeking to help their teams win the title and claim the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

Lamar’s JaMeisha Edwards, a sophomore out of Crockett, is waiting for the SLC semifinals this Saturday. The Cardinals are the No. 1 seed, by virtue of sharing the regular-season title with SFA and winning the tiebreaker. Edwards enters that game averaging 12.2 points and shooting 36.6 percent from behind the 3-point line. If Lamar wins its semifinal game it will play in the championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday.

McNeese State started the tournament on Thursday as the No. 7 seed facing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Martins Mill freshman Hally Jenkins will have to watch from the bench, as she had surgery on her foot in January. Before that Jenkins was averaging 3.8 points per game.

East Texas Pipeline appears weekly in the Tyler Morning Telegraph and is dedicated to updating readers on East Texas athletes who have gone on to college sports. If you know of a former ET high school athlete who is now competing on the college level and is worthy of recognition, email Matthew Postins at TMTpipeline@hotmail.com with the information.