College Update: Glendale High alumnus Davis and BYU left hungry

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

Michael Davis (Glendale High, 2013) Brigham Young University football freshman: A successful season that included eight victories and a bowl appearance did not end well for Davis and BYU.

The Cougars were shut out in the second half and fell to the University of Washington, 31-16, in the Fight Hunger Bowl on Dec.27 at San Francisco’s AT&T; Park.

BYU, which trailed, 14-13, after a 31-yard field goal from Justin Sorensen with 3:46 left in the second quarter, was outscored, 17-3, the rest of the way and 10-0 in the second half.

The Cougars finished 8-5.

The contest capped an active season for Davis, a defensive back who started in the Fight Hunger Bowl game.

Davis registered one tackle, when he took down Huskies wide receiver Damore’ea Stringfellow after a nine-yard reception, which held the Huskies short of a first down early in the second quarter.

Davis’ start was his second in a row, as the true freshman also started against Nevada in the season finale, a 28-23 road victory on Nov. 20.

In that contest, Davis finished with a season-high six tackles while the Cougars defense held high-flying Nevada — which entered averaging 27.3 points and 435.3 yards per contest — to 23 points and 363 yards.

Davis concluded the season with 17 tackles, including one for a loss, in nine contests.

Meghan Spencer (Glendale High, 2013) Oxford Emory College soccer freshman: Spencer, a multi-sport athlete as a Nitro, enjoyed a banner first collegiate season.

The forward earned a spot on the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America Junior College Division III Women’s All-South/Central Region team. Spencer was additionally selected to the 2013 NSCAA Junior College Division III Women’s All-America second team.

Spencer finished with 21 goals and four assists for 46 points in 14 matches. She tallied 43 shots for the Eagles, who compete in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Assn. and finished 8-6. Spencer finished with a pair of match-winning goals.

Spencer tied for eighth in all of Division III with her 21 goals and was second on the squad to teammate Chloe Donegan, who tallied 22 goals and 50 total points. In addition, Spencer contributed at least a point in 12 of her team’s 14 matches and turned in a spectacular three-match run from Sept. 28 through Oct. 3 in which she totaled 20 points.

On Sept. 28, Spencer tallied two goals and two assists in Emory College’s 5-2 victory over Andrew College. Three days later she netted three goals versus the Blue Springs Soccer Club in a 9-2 triumph.

Spencer’s pinnacle came when she scored a season-high four goals in a 7-1 win over Athens United Football Club on Oct. 3.

In addition to on-the-field honors, Spencer and her Eagles were lauded by the National Soccer Coaches of America Association with a Team Academic award, which was distributed to squads that boast a 3.0 grade point average or higher. Oxford finished with a 3.24 GPA.

Grace Zamudio (Glendale Community College, 2013) Loyola Marymount University cross-country junior: Zamudio concluded her first season with the Lions by clocking in at 20 minutes 44 seconds to place 48th overall at the NCAA Division I West Regional Championship at Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento on Nov. 15.

The event marked the first time Zamudio had run in an NCAA Western Regional after spending the previous two seasons at Glendale Community College.

Zamudio was second overall for the Lions, trailing only fifth-year senior Sheree Shea, who earned All-West Region honors after finishing 13th in 19:59.

As a team, the Lions finished 11th in the 6K race with 307 points, which was seven points out of 10th place and was well off the pace of race-winner Arizona (84).

In that same event, Crescenta Valley High alumnus Michael Duncan ran for the men’s side and finished 103rd in 33:04 for the Lions, who placed 15th with 365 points.

Two weeks earlier, Zamudio and the Lions shined at the West Coast Conference championships, which were held on Nov. 2 at Alumni Park in Malibu. Zamudio took fifth overall in 21:11, which again was only runner-up to Shea, who was fourth in 21:05.

The Lions finished fourth with 79 points in a race won by San Francisco (39).