Nelson wins 3,000-meter race

Keeping up with area athletes competing in college:

Western Nelson (Burroughs High) freshman, Cal State San Marcos men’s cross-country: The former Leader Male Athlete of the Year had a fine performance last weekend in the San Diego Collegiate Challenge, hosted by University of California San Diego.

Nelson won the men’s 3,000-meter race by 10 seconds, posting a time of 8 minutes 37.72 seconds. In the same race, Jonathan Alpizar — another Burroughs graduate — placed fifth in 8:52.20.

The two helped the Cougars men’s team to a fifth-place finish in the meet.

Nelson is coming off a successful freshman cross-country season for UC San Marcos. Competing at the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championships at Fort Vancouver in Washington, the Cougars ran to a 12th-place finish.

Nelson led the way, finishing seventh in 25:06 to earn All-American honors.

Competing for Burroughs in 2008, Nelson ran to a 15th-place finish (15:32) in Division I at the CIF-State Cross-Country Championships, earning him second-team Division I All-State honors.

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Amanda Keith (Burbank High) sophomore, Brigham Young University women’s golf: The former Bulldogs standout helped pace the Cougars to a second-place finish Wednesday in the UNLV Spring Rebel Classic at the par-72 Boulder Creek Golf Course.

BYU finished second behind Pepperdine.

Keith shot a final-round seven-over-par 79, posting a 10-over 226 tournament total to tie for 38th place.

This season, Keith tied for 12th at the Circling Raven Collegiate Invitational, shooting a second-round 73. In addition, she shot two rounds of 76 in the McGuire Invitational and carded a first-round 75 en route to finishing tied for 17th at the Turtle Bay Invitational.

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Emily Tubert (Burroughs High) freshman, University of Arkansas women’s golf: Tubert moved up 17 spots on the leader board in the final round of the Florida SunTrust Gator Women’s Invitational on Monday, leading the No. 22 Razorbacks to a fifth-place team finish in Gainesville, Fla.

Tubert began the day in 20th place, but vaulted up the standings finishing tied for third overall. The former All-Area Female Athlete of the Year posted a final round of one-under 69 for a 216 over the three-round event. Tubert shot 76-71-69 in the tournament.

“It was just a great job by Emily today,” Arkansas head Coach Shauna Estes-Taylor said on the university’s website. “She did a great job of coming back and finally found her groove out there. She’s a fighter and really did a nice job with the golf course.”

Tubert opened her final round on the first hole and posted a bogey on hole No. 2 on the course. She got the stroke back with a three on the par-four fifth hole, but finished the front nine one-over after counting six on the par-five 522-yard seventh hole.

Tubert evened her scorecard on the 11th hole with an eagle on the 129-yard par-three and moved to one-under with a three on the par-four 17th to finish with a 69.

Kassy Uchida (Burbank High) freshman, Utah State University softball: The standout shortstop continues to swing a hot bat in her first season with the Aggies.

Uchida had a big day March 5, as Utah State fell to UC Riverside, 4-1, and Idaho State, 10-2, in five innings in day two of the Wildcat Invitational, hosted by the University of Arizona. She went five for seven on the day.

In the first game, the freshman began a solid day with a double to right-center field. In the seventh inning, Uchida drove in her second run of the season with a double down the right-field line to score a run. She went three for four with a run batted in.

In the second game, Uchida continued her solid play, adding two more hits.

Heading into Friday’s Long Beach Airport Marriott Invitational, Uchida was tied for the team lead with a .341 batting average (15 for 44). In addition, she has scored seven runs, has two doubles, four runs batted in and five walks. In the field, she has started 15 of 18 games and has a .933 fielding average with 16 putouts and 12 assists.

Jeff Tully