So’s Trojans take 3rd at NCAAs

GLENDALE — The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.

Yumi So (Crescenta Valley High, 2009) USC women’s swimming sophomore: As the Trojans finished with a third-place mark at the NCAA Championships over the weekend, So also concluded an excellent sophomore campaign.

She finished 20th overall with a preliminary time of 1 minute 57.54 seconds as an individual consolation finalist in the 100-yard butterfly.

The Trojans, keyed by All-American’s Katinka Hosszu and Lyndsay DePaul, took third with 351 points for their best NCAA finals finish since another third-place swim in 2003. Cal took first with 424, while Georgia was second with 394.5 points. Another Crescenta Valley High graduate, Sara Sun, is a Cal team member, but did not take part in the NCAA finals, which ran March 17-19 in Austin, Texas.

So was 11th in the fly in the Pacific-10 Conference Championships, which concluded Feb. 26.

Heather Brusokas (Glendale High, 2006) Davenport University softball senior: Another torrid offensive season is under way for Brusokas, as she was bestowed her university’s female athlete of the week on Monday thanks to a huge weekend at the plate.

During a 3-1 week for the Panthers, Brusokas hit .538 with a home run, a triple, two doubles and three runs batted in.

The shortstop leads the Panthers (9-12) with a .400 batting average, more than 100 points better than her nearest teammate. She’s started in all 21 of her team’s games and leads the team with 21 runs, 26 hits, four doubles, three triples, six home runs, 15 runs batted in and seven stolen bases.

Davenport returns to action on Friday for a doubleheader against host Rio Grande of Ohio.

Garrett Salzman (St. Francis High, 2008) Macalester College baseball junior: The Glendale native spent his spring break piling up big-time stats for Macalester during a 5-5 stint at the Greater Phoenix Invitational.

He led the team during the stretch with a .406 batting average, tallying 13 hits in 32 at-bats. He also tied for the team-high with eight runs batted in during the trip — which has made up the team’s entire season so far.

His most impressive offensive performance thus far was on March 14, as Macalester defeated Central, 9-1, and Salzman went three for five with a run and four RBIs.

Salzman’s .406 average leads the team, which is currently 5-5. He’s scored six runs, tallied 13 hits, including four doubles, and the catcher has made one error for a .971 fielding percentage.

Jason Ochart (Hoover High, 2008) San Francisco State baseball junior: The former Hoover and Glendale Community College standout had his first start of the season after excelling out of the bullpen.

While the start didn’t go as planned, it didn’t diminish his sparkling 0.71 earned-run average on the season.

Ochart went four innings for the start, giving up four hits and four runs, but just one was earned as he struck out two and walked two, as well, in San Francisco State’s 11-5 win over Cal State Monterey Bay on March 13.

The game put the Gators at 8-10 overall and 3-9 in California Collegiate Athletic Assn. action.

With a four-game set over the weekend washed out by the weather, the Gators are set to return to action today against Cal State East Bay.

Ochart has played seven games as an outfielder, but has struggled at the plate, hitting just .143 on three hits in 21 at-bats. Out of the bullpen, he’s excelled, having allowed just one earned run in 12 2/3 innings pitched. He’s struck out seven in his four appearances to walks.

Teammate Kevin Dultz, another former GCC product, has also split time in the field and on the mound. On the mound, he’s given up 11 earned runs in just over six innings, but his hitting has been far better. He leads all starters on the team with a .292 average with 14 hits in 48 at-bats. He’s also scored six runs and driven in five. His 11 walks are far and away a team lead.

Eric Kleinsasser (Crescenta Valley High, 2007) Occidental College track and field junior: A distance standout for the Tigers in the fall and the spring, Kleinsasser stood out at the Occidental Distance Carnival on March 11.

He took second in the mixed 10,000-meter run with a mark of 30 minutes 25.84 seconds, finishing behind Jason Valenzuela, an unattached runner who clocked 30:13.79.