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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 12, 2005 One more award? By Rich Rosenthal For the Tidings Two Southern Oregon University student-athletes are finalists for prestigious Oregon Sports Awards. Raider volleyball standout Kristin Ferris is one of five Oregon small-college performers under consideration for the Ad Rutschman female athlete-of-the-year honor, while former SOU heavyweight wrestler Wes Balensifer is one of five finalists for the male accolade. The Rutschman award winners will be announced at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike Campus in Beaverton on Jan. 30. The entire Oregon Sports Awards program will be broadcast on Portland-based KATU-TV starting at 6:15 p.m. Ferris earned second-team NAIA volleyball All-American distinction after compiling one of the best all-around seasons in school history. The 5-foot-7 outside hitter from Medford became the first SOU player ever to compile over 400 kills and 400 digs in a single season, and she helped the 2004 Raiders go 28-8 overall, repeat as Cascade Conference champion, capture a fourth straight regional title and place ninth at the NAIA Championships. The conference and regional MVP was the only player in the 10-team league to finish among the circuit stat leaders in four major categories: kills (5th, 468), digs (8th, 480), attack percentage (11th, .240) and service aces (7th, 50). Balensifer capped the best individual season in Southern Oregon's tradition-rich wrestling history by winning the 2004 NAIA 285-pound championship last March. Ranked No. 1 all season long, Balensifer contended with a serious case of food poisoning on the second day of the national tournament, but the Warrenton native defeated Simon Fraser's Mohammed Abdul-Latif 4-2 in a gutsy finals effort to become SOU's first-ever heavyweight champion. Balensifer, a three-time All-American, finished with the best season record ever in Raider lore (42-2) and surpassed season (15) and career (27) pin records. He ranks seventh all-time for career wins (91-20 overall) and finished on a 14-bout win streak. Ferris and Balensifer are only the third and fourth Raider athletes to receive Rutschman consideration. All-American running back Dusty McGrorty shared the male honor last year, while volleyball standout Kristina Matchett was a two-time finalist. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Women's Slippers men's slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Memory Foam Mattress college loans alternative student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation trillion cut diamonds Currancy Exchange Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams