Briefs: Klintsone added; unclear for others

Anete Klintsone, a captain of the Latvian under-20 women’s national basketball team who averaged 15.8 points for Jefferson Community College in Hillsboro, Mo. last season, has signed a national letter of intent to play at UC Irvine, Anteaters Coach Molly Goodenbour announced Tuesday.

Klintsone, a 5-foot-7 guard, played two seasons at Jefferson, earning first-team All-Region 16 honors as a sophomore. She made 76 three-pointers last season and ranked fourth in the national community college ranks by shooting 46% from three-point range. Her 84% free-throw-shooting proficiency ranked eighth nationally.

Klintson won consecutive bronze medals for the Latvian U-20 national team in 2009 and 2010 and helped the Latvians capture the Division B gold at the U-18 level. She was team captain of the U-16, U-18 and U-20 teams. She averaged 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists while on the national team.

She is currently a member of Latvia’s preliminary squad for EuroBasket 2011.

“We are excited to be able to add an exceptional player like Anete to our squad for next year,” Goodenbour said. “Her savvy and competitiveness combined with her playmaking and shooting ability will make her a valuable asset to our program. I can’t wait to get her on campus to start working with her.”

Klintsone joins Methlyn Onogomuho, a 5-11 forward, who signed with the Anteaters in November.

UCI’s roster is currently without its top three scorers from last season, only one of whom, point guard Jade Smith-Williams, has exhausted her eligibility.

Mikah Maly-Karros, a 6-1 forward who was a junior last season, averaged 19.5 points and 9.7 rebounds before she was sidelined for unspecified reasons for the team’s final eight games. Her status in the program remains unclear and UCI officials have declined to comment on her potential return next season.

Tayler Champion, a transfer from Oregon State who averaged 11.2 points and 5.5 rebounds in 17 games last season, as a 6-1 sophomore forward, was not enrolled at the school during the spring quarter.

Paula Smith, an executive associate athletic director and UCI’s senior women’s administrator, declined comment on whether Champion would return to the program.

UCI was 15-15 last season, 7-9 in the Big West Conference and lost in the first round of the conference tournament.

— From staff reports

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Jock leads UC Irvine crew

UC Irvine junior Charles Jock and 10 other Anteaters will compete in the NCAA Track & Field West Preliminary Rounds Thursday through Saturday at the University of Oregon.

Jock competes in the fourth of six heats in the 800 meters beginning at 6:50 p.m. Thursday. The top three in each heat plus the next six-fastest times will advance to the quarterfinals Friday at 5:05 p.m.

The top three from each of the three quarterfinal heats plus the next three-fastest times will move on to the semifinals at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, June 8-11.

Jock won the Invitational Elite 800 at the Mt. SAC Relays April 16 with a time of 1 minute, 45.19 seconds to break his own school record. That time ranks No. 1 in the nation on the final NCAA proof of performance list and is third in the U.S. this season.

Cory Primm of UCLA ran 1:44.71 in a High Performance meet at Occidental College on Saturday to post the top time in the nation this year. But it did not make the NCAA list, as he ran unattached.

Jock, running the anchor leg of UCI’s 4x400 relay, came from fourth on the final straightaway to finish first at the tape in the Big West Conference Championships on May 14 at Anteater Stadium. UCI’s time was 3:10.28.

He was named Big West Conference Athlete of the Year in men’s track for the second straight year. He shared the honor with UC Santa Barbara’s Ryan Martin, who edged Jock at the finish line by six-hundredths of a second in the Big West Championships. Martin ran 1:45.34 and Jock 1:45.40.

Jock won the 400 at the Asics/Steve Scott Invitational May 1 at UCI in 46.30, which is the fourth-fastest in school history.

He won the 800 meters for the third straight year at the Cal/Nevada Championships with a time of 1:47.18 in Claremont, Calif., March 27. He was named Athlete of the Meet for the second consecutive year.

Jock will also compete in the 4x400 relay in Eugene (Saturday at 4:45 p.m.) along with Napoleon Greene, Chris Carson and Dominic Jester.

The NCAA West Preliminary Rounds have 48 competitors beginning in each individual event and 24 relay teams. The top 12 in each event from this weekend will advance to the NCAA Championships at Drake University in Des Moines June 8-11.

Other UCI competitors this weekend in Eugene are Colin Hacker and Sam Hyams (men’s 1,500), Nick Jennings (men’s pole vault), Matt Lahti (men’s hammer throw), Alisha Misiaita (women’s shot put), Ericka Nowell (women’s 400 hurdles), and Madeline LeDuc (women’s triple jump).

— From staff reports