SPORTS DIGEST || Poland’s Gabriel is SEC Player of Week

Poland’s Gabriel is SEC Player of Week

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.

Tennessee senior pitcher Erin Gabriel has been named the SEC Softball Player of the Week.

The Poland High School graduate also was named SEC Pitcher of the Week after posting a 2-1 record and a 0.97 ERA in three starts last week at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

She went the distance and recorded 10-plus strikeouts in all three of her appearances, totaling an SEC-best 34 for the week.

Correction

The Boardman High School girls bowling team and Fitch boys team were the winners of Monday’s All-American Conference Red Tier tournament. A digest item in Tuesday’s edition incorrectly credited other teams for winning the event.

Jeffery to try out for U.S. National Team

Youngstown State Junior Val Jeffery will compete at the USA Women’s Volleyball national team open tryouts for the second straight year from Friday through Sunday at the U.S Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Jeffery will be among 231 athletes from 88 colleges across the country who will compete for a spot on the U.S. Women’s National Team and the U.S. Collegiate National Team program. Last year, Jeffery was selected as an alternate for the U.S Collegiate National Team during her tryout. She was part of the group that traveled to Beijing with the USA Volleyball team for six games.

The tryout will be over four sessions with three waves per session. The session on Friday will go from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and there will be sessions at 10 a.m. and at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The final session of the tryout will be on Sunday at 10 a.m.

YSU runners named athletes of the week

Indianapolis, IND.

Youngstown State track and field sprinters Chad Zallow and Nina Grambling were selected the Horizon League Athletes of the Week after their performances at the SPIRE NCAA Invitational, the league announced on Tuesday.

Zallow, a freshman, was chosen the men’s co-runner of the week after running a time of 7.75 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles to improve his previous school record of 7.79 seconds. He is now ranked 10th in the nation and his time should qualify him for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March. It’s Zallow’s second time this season that he’s been named Athlete of the Week.

Grambling, a senior, was tabbed women’s runner of the week after she came in fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.57 seconds and ninth in the 200-meter dash to clock a time of 24.55 seconds. It’s the second time Grambling has been tabbed Athlete of the Week, as she was honored in early December. Grambling leads the league in the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. The Penguins are next in action at the Zips invitational on Feb. 19.

Texas A&M, Colts settle ‘12th Man’ lawsuit

COLLEGE STATION, Texas

Texas A&M University says it has reached a settlement agreement with the Indianapolis Colts in the school’s federal lawsuit it says was meant to protect its “12th Man” trademark from infringement.

In a statement issued Wednesday, A&M officials said the lawsuit “has been settled amicably and with good will.” A&M spokesman Shane Hinckley said school officials would have no other comment and no details were available on the terms of the agreement. A Colts spokesman didn’t return a message seeking comment.

When the lawsuit was filed last November in federal court in Houston, A&M System Chancellor John Sharp said the intent was to protect the phrase “Home of the 12th Man” and variations of it that the university contends have brought its fan base “national renown.”

A&M previously sued the Seattle Seahawks for infringing on the trademark and the two sides settled.

The university says the phrase was trademarked in 1990.

Staff/wire report