Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football coaches made Chadron (Neb.) State the favorite to win the 2005 league title in their preseason poll and picked defending champion Colorado Mines to finish second.
Chadron State, led by explosive sophomore running back Danny Woodhead, received four first-place votes. Mines, coming off a 12-1 season and its first RMAC championship since 1958, received three first-place votes. Adams State, which received the other two first-place votes, ranked third in the poll, followed by Nebraska-Kearney, Fort Hays (Kan.) State, Mesa State, Fort Lewis, Western State and New Mexico Highlands.
Woodhead, who rushed for 1,840 yards and scored 27 touchdowns last year as an All-America freshman, was the coaches’ preseason pick as RMAC offensive player of the year.
Adams State’s Adam McGurk, a senior outside linebacker from Longmont High School, was the preseason pick as defensive player of the year. Adams State senior Jeff Williams, from Skyline and one of the nation’s top punters, was the preseason pick as special teams player of the year.
Balboa back on field
National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Marcelo Balboa will put on a Colorado Rapids uniform again when the Major League Soccer team plays D.C. United in the Hall of Fame game Aug. 29 in Oneonta, N.Y.
Fellow inductee and former United midfielder John Harkes also will suit up for his old team.
Balboa played the majority of his MLS career with the Rapids, “so to be able to celebrate my induction by playing in it one more time will make the day even more special for me,” said the former MLS and U.S. national team star.
Cowgirls hire golf coach
Wyoming introduced Josey Edwards, a former collegiate golfer who was the Idaho Golf Association’s director of communications, as the school’s women’s golf coach Thursday.
Edwards will begin coaching the Cowgirls on Sept. 1.
“It has been a dream of mine to become a head coach,” she said. “This opportunity at Wyoming was very appealing and a great fit for me. Wyoming is very similar to my home in Idaho, and I was impressed with the school and facilities during my visit.”
Edwards played collegiately at the University of Memphis. She won the Idaho Women’s Amateur Championship in 1999.
“She is prepared for this position despite being young in the business, and will be a great role model for the girls because of her background as a successful student-athlete,” said Joe Jen- sen, who coached the Wyoming men’s and women’s golf teams until this summer and now will be the director of the programs.
Doyen leads CWGA event
Mary Doyen of Englewood Golf Course shot a 10-over-par 80 in the first round and has the lead in the Colorado Women’s Golf Association’s Senior Stroke Play Championship at Shadow Hills Golf Club in Cañon City entering today’s final round.
Cindy Bryniarski of Dalton Ranch is one shot behind.
