YSU

YSU
Football: Masonis player of week
ST. LOUIS -- For the second time in three weeks, senior tailback Marcus Mason was named the Gateway Football Conference offensive player of the week.
Mason rushed for 176 yards on a career-high 34 carries and two touchdowns in the Penguins' 27-13 victory at Illinois State.
Mason went over the 100-yard mark for a school-record-tying fifth consecutive game and has scored at least two touchdowns in five straight contests.
He tied the school mark for consecutive 100-yard rushing games held by Dave Kimmel (1956) and Paris Wicks (1982).
Mason rushed for over 100 yards in four straight games last year.
Mason has 17 rushing touchdowns in eight games. He has 940 yards on 131 carries in five Gateway games this year, averaging 188 yards per contest. He has scored 12 touchdowns in league play.
The Gateway defensive player of the week was Western Illinois linebacker Jerome Bennett, and the special teams player of the week was Southern Illinois' A.J. Wallace.
LOCAL
SVC footballplayer of week
YOUNGSTOWN -- Senior offensive tackle Demetrius Fambro of Mooney High was named Steel Valley Conference football player of the week.
Fambro (6-foot-2, 323 pounds), registered five pancake blocks and graded out to 93 percent on offense, in the Cardinals' 32-14 victory over Columbus Watterson Friday.
Two roadrunnersqualify for Boston
DETROIT -- The Youngstown Road Runners Club had several members run the Detroit Free Press Marathon Sunday.
Wilma DePiore and Rebecca Bailey qualified for the Boston Marathon.
DePiore, of Boardman, achieved her first Boston qualifier at her first marathon. Her time was 3 hours, 35 minutes, 7 seconds.
Bailey, of Austintown, qualified at her second marathon (3:58:07).
Other Youngstown Roadrunners who competed at Detroit were Charles Miller III, Boardman (3:34:43); Michael Walsh, Boardman (4:25:17); and Jennifer Walsh, Canfield (5:12.11).
Others Roadrenner members were Carolyn DeChristofaro, Niles (4:30:08), and Leonard Veith, Youngstown (4:33:35).
Running in the 5K were Gene Chipelock, Warren (42:47) and Patrick Malandra. Youngstown (1:06:13).
Running the half-marathon were Victor DeChristofaro, Niles (2:21:38); Rinaldo Caimano, Youngstown (1:35:28), and Kathleen Griffith, Cortland (2:53:08).
REGION
Ohio State favoritein Big Ten basketball
CHICAGO -- Ohio State was selected the Big Ten favorite by the media Sunday despite entering the season with one returning starter from a team that finished 26-4 and 12-4 in the league.
The Buckeyes feature four top freshmen and are trying to win consecutive regular-season championships for the first time in 15 years.
Wisconsin returns four starters, including preseason player of the year Alando Tucker, and was chosen second. Illinois, the only school other than Duke to win 25 games the past six seasons, was voted third.
The Buckeyes will be counting on 7-footer Greg Oden, although he won't play until January because of off-season wrist surgery. He is the first freshman to be selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team since the 1993-94 season.
Joining Tucker and Oden on the preseason squad are Iowa senior Adam Haluska, Indiana sophomore D.J. White and Penn State junior Geary Claxton.
Oden is one of three McDonald's All-Americans, along with guards Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook, in a freshmen class that includes 6-6 swingman David Lighty.
NATION/WORLD
MLS roundup
*WASHINGTON -- Christian Gomez scored in the 86th minute Sunday to give D.C. United a 1-1 tie with the New York Red Bulls, advancing United to the MLS Eastern Conference finals.
*HOUSTON -- Brian Ching scored a goal in stoppage time to give Houston a 2-0 victory over Chivas and a 3-2 aggregate score victory in the two-game MLS Western Conference semifinal playoff series.
Golf roundup
*PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- K.J. Choi hit a 3-wood into 20 feet for an eagle on the opening hole, staking him to a big lead he never surrendered. He closed with a 4-under 67 for a four-shot victory over Paul Goydos (70) and Brett Wetterich (66).
*SONOMA, Calif. -- Jim Thorpe rallied in the final holes to stay on top of a tight field with a 4-under 68 in the Champions Tour's season-ending event, cruising to a two-stroke victory over Tom Kite and his second win at Sonoma Golf Club in four years.
*DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Annika Sorenstam led wire-to-wire in the Dubai Ladies Masters for her second Ladies European Tour victory of the year, shooting a 3-under 68 for a six-stroke victory in the season-ending event.
*GYEONGJU, South Korea -- Jin Joo Hong became the third South Korean player to win the country's lone LPGA Tour event in her first tour start, closing with a 2-under 70 for a three-stroke victory in the Kolon-Hana Bank Championship.
Vindicator staff/wire reports