It usually takes a while for a freshman to get going in college basketball. That’s not the case with Jalen Jeter.
The Canton McKinley High School graduate has been on fire from the start for the Blackburn men’s basketball team.
The 5-foot-10 guard leads the Illinois-based Beavers in scoring with a 17.9 average entering this past weekend. He has really been hot in his last seven games with a 21.3 average.
He opened the season with 18 points in a 99-82 loss to Williams Baptist on Nov. 8 and has been in double figures in all but one game. He had a season-best 36 points in an 80-74 victory over Westminster (Mo.) during his latest streak on Jan. 17. Jeter, who has connected on 28 3-pointers, also has 68 rebounds, 57 steals and 31 assists.
Blackburn is 5-15 overall and 4-7 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after a 90-69 victory over Principia, Jan. 31. Jeter had a team-high 22 points.
Kiara Hockman (Jackson)
The Brockport (N.Y.) junior was named National Collegiate Gymnastic Association Specialist of the Week on Jan. 21. She earned that honor on Jan. 14 as well. Her latest award came after a big effort against Division I foes Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois on Jan. 17 in Ypsilanti, Mich. Hockman currently ranks first in vault (9.783) and balance beam (9.792) in the NCGA.
Quentin Toles (Perry)
The 6-2 senior guard continues to light it up for the Alabama-Huntsville men’s basketball team (14-7, 9-6 Gulf South Conference). Toles recently had back-to-back big games — 24 points in an 80-76 win over Lee and 23 points in a 78-76 loss to West Florida. He leads the team with a 17.3 average and has connected on 55 3-pointers.
Sydney Peterson (Green)
The 12th-ranked Catawba (N.C.) women’s swim team wrapped up its dual meet season with a 6-1 record after a 190-72 victory over No. 23 Carson Newman on Jan. 9. Peterson helped her team get off to a good start by swimming a leg on the winning 200 medley relay (142.80). She also picked up points by finishing second in the 100 butterfly (56.91) and fourth in the 50 freestyle (24.83).
Jack Kitigbak (Lake Center Christian)
The sophomore had another strong meet to help the Westminster (Pa.) men’s swim team top Saint Vincent 190-58 Jan. 31. Kitigbak won the 50 freestyle (22.39) and was second in the 100 backstroke (55.04) and 200 backstroke (2:04.92). In a 215-43 loss to Mount Union, he won the 200 backstroke (2:03.92) and was second in the 100 backstroke (55.44).
Sophie Gregory (West Branch)
The 6-2 sophomore had a game-high 15 points and six rebounds to help the Youngstown State women’s basketball team top Oakland in a 72-60 Horizon League victory Jan. 31 to push the Penguins to 16-7 overall and 9-4 in league play. Gregory is averaging 9.1 points a game and leads the team in rebounding (7.9 average) and is second in total assists (61) and has a team-high 40 steals and 27 blocked shots.
Zach Schering (Jackson)
The graduate student won the 1-meter dive for the Clarion men’s swim team at the university’s Dave Hrovat Diving Invitational on Jan. 30 in Clarion, Pa. He had a score of 482.35. He also won the 3-meter dive. Schering is set to compete in Clarion’s Pennsylvania Division II Diving Invite on Feb. 13-14. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference does not have diving in its championship meet.
De’Meir Hamilton (McKinley)
The true freshman is seeing action at 157 pounds in dual meets for the Washington & Jefferson wrestling team (6-11, 4-1 Presidents’ Athletic Conference). Hamilton had a pin in a 32-21 loss to Wilmington in the Jim White Duals on Jan. 17 and a 16-5 major decision in a 34-12 loss to Thiel on Jan. 30.
Malia Mizeres (Tuslaw)
The Heidelberg women’s basketball team is just 1-19 overall and 0-11 in OAC play, but the Student Princes are getting a good season from the 5-8 junior guard. Mizeres is averaging 7.5 points and 6.2 rebounds and has 44 assists, 31 steals and 10 blocked shots. She has connected on 23 3-pointers. She had 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals in an 88-65 conference loss to Muskingum on Jan. 31.
Jenna Slates (Green)
The 6-0 freshman forward with the Ashland women’s basketball team is one of the top rebounders in Division II. She is tied for third with 11.7 rebounds a game and is tied for seventh in double-doubles with 12. Slates had 20 points and 16 rebounds in a 73-58 loss to Northwood in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference game on Jan. 31 which dropped the Eagles to 11-8 overall and 7-6 in conference play. Slates is averaging 15.7 points a game.
Landen Johnson (Perry)
Competing in the 165-pound class, the true freshman is seeing action with the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville wrestling team. He is 5-5 on the season with a pin and a technical fall. Johnson had a good effort in the Ken Kraft Midlands Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill. He finished 2-2, losing his first match by a 4-2 decision and then scoring a pin and a decision in the consolation rounds before dropping a 10-2 decision in the third round. The Cougars finished 15th out of 31 teams.
The Canton Repository sports department can be contacted via email at sports@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Jalen Jeter wastes no time making impact at Blackburn, other college updates
Reporting by Bill Arsenault, Correspondent / The Repository
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