JUCO transfer was among top-rated 2006 recruits

09:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 26, 2006

One of North Texas’ top-rated recruits from its 2006 signing class has left the program.

Offensive lineman Trent Stanley arrived with much fanfare in January after earning second-team NJCAA All-America honors at Coffey­ville (Kan.) Comm­unity College. He transferred to UNT at the semester break and participated in spring practice before leaving the team.

UNT head coach Darrell Dickey confirmed that Stanley is no longer with the program on Tuesday.

“Anytime you have a player you sign leave your program pretty quickly, it has an effect on you, but everyone deals with that,” Dickey said. “We will move forward.”

Stanley was expected to compete for a starting job on the Mean Green’s offensive line next season. UNT tried to move Stanley from guard to center, a position he had not played during his career, but eventually shifted him back to guard.

UNT lost left guard Jason May, who started all 11 of the Mean Green’s games last season, to graduation, but will return the rest of its starters.

Junior Adam Venegas was listed as UNT’s starter at left guard after spring practice. Venegas served as May’s backup last season.

“Our depth chart is so unsettled right now that it really doesn’t make any difference, other than we have one less guy to work with,” Dickey said.

UNT produced back-to-back national rushing champions in Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

Cobbs rushed for 1,154 yards as a senior last year. Thomas is expected to start for the Mean Green in 2006.

unt Briefs

Football

Wide receiver Muzzy named to Leadership Conference

Senior wide receiver Zach Muzzy became the first UNT athlete selected to attend the NCAA’s Leadership Conference recently.

The event will take place from May 28-June 1 at the Disney Yacht Beach Club Resort in Buena Vista, Fla. The conference gives athletes a chance to discuss issues at their schools and develop their leadership skills.

Approximately 325 athletes participate in the program each year.

Muzzy started 10 of 11 games last season and finished with nine catches for 87 yards in addition to returning punts and kickoffs. Muzzy led the team with an average of 10.7 yards per punt return last season.

Muzzy is also active off the field and has represented the UNT athletic department on the Safer Spring Break and Building Better Citizens committees.

Soccer

UNT finishes off spring season with win over SMU

UNT finished off its spring season with a flourish last week, knocking off rival SMU 2-1 in Dallas.

Heather Hutyra and Kristen Campbell scored for the Mean Green, who split with SMU during the fall campaign. UNT won in the regular season, but lost to the Mustangs in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

UNT also posted a win over Oklahoma in its spring season.

The Mean Green have all 11 of their starters returning for the fall season and are the two-time defending Sun Belt Conference Tournament champions.

Track and field

UNT to host second meet of outdoor season this week

Fouts Field was good to the UNT track team the last time it competed there, which could bode well for the Mean Green when they host their second home meet of the season this week.

Several of the area’s top college teams are expected to send athletes to UNT for the Mean Green Twilight meet on Thursday night.

The event comes less than two weeks after the Mean Green hosted the North Texas Classic. UNT had several top performances at the event, including one posted by the 4x100-meter relay team.

The team recorded a time of 40.22 to qualify for the NCAA Midwest Regional meet. UNT is hoping to add to its list of eight provisional qualifying marks it has posted for the regional meet so far this season on its home track.

The Mean Green’s 4x400-meter relay team tallied a time of 3:10.69 in its UNT’s first home meet of the season and finished less than a second short of posting a provisional qualifying time.

Ngeno excels in steeplechase during TCU Invitational meet

Frank Ngeno posted one of UNT’s best performances at the TCU Invitational last week when he finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:29.77.

Ngeno’s mark was more than 13 seconds better than any other mark posted by a Sun Belt Conference runner this season.

Softball

UNT continues to struggle against ranked teams

The Mean Green lost all three of their games against Lou­isiana-Lafayette last week, continuing a trend that has seen UNT struggle against ranked opponents.

UNT came into the series having lost all five games it had played against ranked opponents this season and fell to 0-8 after being swept by the Ragin’ Cajuns.

ULL is ranked 13th in the USA Today/NFCA top 25 poll and has dominated the Mean Green throughout the three-year history of UNT’s program. ULL is 13-0 against UNT.

The Mean Green went winless against Texas and Oklahoma, a pair of ranked teams, earlier this season.

UNT will get another shot to break through on Thursday when they take on No. 19 Baylor in Waco. UNT is 0-4 all-time against the Lady Bears.

Mean Green to face Troy for first time in conference play

UNT will get its first look at Sun Belt Conference newcomer Troy on Saturday and Sunday when the Mean Green travel to Alabama for a three-game series.

The Trojans (26-32) have settled into the middle of the Sun Belt pack in their first season in the league and currently sit in a tie for fourth place with Western Kentucky at 4-5.

The series could offer the Mean Green a chance to break out of a slump that has sent them to the bottom of the conference standings with a 1-8 record. No other team in the league has fewer than four wins in conference play.

UNT says goodbye to Walker

One of the original members of the UNT softball team made her last appearance at Denia Park during the Mean Green’s series against Louisiana-Lafayette.

UNT honored Kelei Walker before its final home game of the season. The senior centerfielder injured her knee in a game against Stephen F. Austin on April 19 and was unable to play.

Walker signed with the Mean Green after one season at Navarro Junior College, where she earned first-team all-region honors.

Walker started 168 games in her career and leads the program in walks and steals. She hit .219 before injuring her knee fielding a ball.

Walker had surgery early this week and is not expected to return.

Muller posts big week

One of the bright spots for UNT in last week was the play of shortstop Katya Muller.

The sophomore hit .353 in five games, including three against the 13th-ranked Ragin’ Cajuns.

Muller had two multi-hit games against ULL.

Waters still ranked among nation’s home run leaders

UNT third baseman Susan Waters maintained her place among the nation’s elite home run hitters last week when she posted two homes in five games.

Waters is tied for 12th nationally with 15 home runs on the season.

Men’s golf

UNT to return several from solid team next season

The Mean Green will return all but three of their players next season from a team that finished second in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last week.

UNT came up just short in a three-team playoff with South Alabama and eventual champion Western Kentucky.

Austin Welch and Anthony Broussard, who tied for third and seventh place, respectively, will both be back for the Mean Green.

Women’s golf

UNT loses three from second-place team

The Mean Green will lose three key players from their team that finished second in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last week.

Senior Andra Lancaster finished in a tie for fourth and earned All-Sun Belt honors while fellow seniors Jaclyn Golden and Brooke Tanner finished 28th and 33rd, respectively.

Tara Lambright, a junior who finished in a tie for seventh place, will be among UNT’s top returners.

Tennis

UNT will look to build on tourney win next season

The Mean Green will look to build on a win over Middle Tennessee in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tourna­ment next season when UNT will return all but one of its players.

Senior Ingrid Stockinger was the lone senior on the Mean Green’s roster this season. She missed almost all of the campaign with an injury.

Despite featuring a host of young players, UNT beat MTSU 4-2 in the first round of the conference tournament before falling to Florida International. The Golden Panthers, who are ranked No. 42 in the country, beat the Mean Green 4-0.

UNT finished with a 6-18 record.

Player of the week

Austin Welch made the future of the North Texas men’s golf team appear bright last week at the Sun Belt Conference golf championships.

The sophomore shot the lowest score in the final round of the three-day event, finished with a three-day score of 214 and tied for third in the individual standings. Welch posted rounds of 70, 73 and 71 on the par-72 course and concluded the event three shots back Brent Long, who won the individual title for Western Kentucky.

Welch’s performance earned him a spot on the All-Sun Belt Conference team. He was one of six freshman or sophomores on the 12-person squad.

He also helped the Mean Green come charging back from 12 shots down in the final round to earn a place in a three-way playoff with WKU and South Alabama. UNT survived the first playoff hole before Long sank a 25-foot putt on the second playoff hole to give the Hilltoppers the win.

For his performance at the Sun Belt championships, Welch is the Denton Record-Chronicle UNT Player of the Week.

Seven-Day Schedule

Thursday

Track and field: Mean Green Twilight, all day; Softball: at Baylor, 6 p.m.

Saturday

Softball: UNT at Troy (DH), 2 p.m.

Sunday

Softball: UNT at Troy, noon