While most students spent their summer working jobs and going on vacations, Oklahoma Christian University athletes participated and placed in postseason competitions.
In a close game against Lubbock Christian University on May 4, the Eagles softball team brought home their first Heartland Conference softball tournament title. They then pushed forward to the program’s first NCAA Division II Regional tournament , closing the season with a tough loss to Texas A&M University-Kingsville in the regional championship round of the tournament. At 40-16, the Eagles finished with one of their best records in program history. Pitcher Madison Hagood was selected as the Heartland Conference Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
The baseball team’s season came to a rough close, missing the cut to the Heartland Conference tournament with a loss to Rogers State University in early May. Following the season, two Eagles started their professional careers. The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Hunter Markwardt in the 13th round, and Jared Price signed with an independent team in Michigan.
The men’s golf team made it to regionals and finished just outside of the cut for the national tournament. At the end of the season, the men’s team ranked 12th in the nation.
Junior Andres Brictson played in the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst course No. 2 and is the second player from Oklahoma Christian to qualify to play in the tournament. The only other player is Rhein Gibson, who qualified in 2006 and will be playing in the PGA tour in the upcoming 2019-2020 season.
On the women’s side of golf, the team finished fourth overall at the West Super Regional Tournament and made the cut to compete at the national tournament. The team entered the tournament ranked 14th and finished off by climbing two spots to finish the tournament at 12th.
Abigail Rigsby, a junior at the time, was Oklahoma Christian’s top player at the national tournament. Later during the summer, Rigsby became the first woman to attempt to qualify for the Oklahoma Open. Rigsby unfortunately missed the cut for the Oklahoma Open, but said she was happy to have the experience.
Oklahoma Christian men’s and women’s swimmers earned accolades for their achievements in and out of the pool. Male freshman swimmers Bergen Davis, Derek Duckworth and Brandon Heredia all earned recognition on the Scholar All-American team, meaning all three posted an NCAA B cut in an event and had a cumulative semester grade point average of 3.5 or above On the women’s side, the entire women’s team earned Scholar All-America status from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America. This means the team had to have at least 12 women with a grade point average above 3.0 for both fall and spring semesters.
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