Gollhofer earns Mid-American Conference Player of Week honors; ABB updates for track, tennis, and ba

Ball State freshman, Peyton Gollhofer, headlines this week's updates for local Bartow County athletes competing at the collegiate level in track and field, tennis, and basketball for the week ending March 20.

Adrian Rodgers, a basketball senior for Southern University, competed in the NCAA Men's Championship Tournament last week and former Excel basketball player, Elijah Robinson, earned a national championship ring with Emmanuel College as the Lions won the NCCAA title.

Bartow Sports Zone maintains a roster of current collegiate and professional athletes on its 'Athletes Beyond Bartow' page on this web site.

NOTE: Updates for softball and baseball will appear in separate articles this week.

TRACK AND FIELD

ROGER HERRERA — Reinhardt University (Jr., Cartersville HS) . . . distance runner, placed 18th (36:20.14) in the 10,000 meter run at the Emory Invitational March 18-19. The Eagles run next at Barron Stadium in Rome in the Shorter Invitational March 26.

ANNA HIGHTOWER — Georgia Tech (Fr., Cartersville HS) . . . pole vaulter, placed ninth in the women’s Section B Plole Vault with a vault of 11 feet 7.75 inches at John Mitchell Alabama Relays March 17-19 in Tuscaloosa.

BLAKE PERRY — Jacksonville State (Soph., Cartersville HS) . . . placed 30th (15.60) in the 100 meter hurdles at John Mitchell Alabama Relays March 17-19 in Tuscaloosa. The Gamecocks compete March 25-26 at the Emory Classic in Atlanta.

TENNIS

PEYTON GOLHOFFER — Ball State (Fr., Laurel Springs Academy, Cartersville resident) . . . Gollhofer, a true freshman went 3-0 last week at the No. 1 singles position to earn Mid-American Conference Singles Player of the Week. She took down all of her opponents in straight sets. Gollhofer began the week with a 6-3, 6-4 win, over South Dakota's Ellie Burns. She then took down Norfolk State’s Dajana Cvjetkovic , 6-3, 6-1, and added a 6-3, 7-5 victory over James Madison's Timea Guibe. Over the weekend, she added a 6-2, 6-2 singles win and played in an unfinished No. 1 line doubles match as the Cardinals defeated Wright State, 6-1, on March 18. With the victories, Gollhofer improved to 10-2 in dual action and 18-4 overall. She helped Ball State extend their win streak to ten and improve its overall record to 12-2 on the season. BSU is scheduled to host Western Michigan March 25 and Northern Illinois March 27.

BASKETBALL

ADRIAN RODGERS — Southern University (Sr., Cartersville, GA resident; Centennial HS; Maine Central Prep) . . .led his team with 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists in an NCAA Tournament opening round 59-55 loss to Holy Cross in Dayton, OH. A starting shooting guard, Rodgers helped lead the Jaguars to a 22-13 overall record and a Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship in 2015-16. In 35 games, he averaged 16.6 points and 5.4 rebounds. Rodgers shot 41 percent from the floor and 79 percent from the free throw line.

ELIJAH ROBINSON — Emmanual College (Jr., Excel Christian Academy) . . . scored 17 points in three games, including 12 against Grace (Ind.) in the semifinals, as the Lions won the 2016 National Christian Colleges Athletic Association National Championship in Winona Lake, Indiana. Robinson averaged 18 minutes per game in the national championship tournament as Emmanuel defeated Central Christian (Kans.), Grace, and Southwestern Christian (Tex.) to win the national title. He added six rebounds, four assists, and one steal during the tournament. For the season, Robinson averaged 8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game in 31 games. The Lions finished the year 27-5.