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Here are three good looking student/athletes that have chosen UCA to get their degree. Does anyone know if these kids are being recruited for their athletic prowess along with their intellect? After reading DMc's column in today's LCD I would think these fine young athletes would be deeply appreciated on our teams, if they so desire.



ALEX PATTERSON/DES ARC

CLASS RANK
1 of 53

GPA
4.16

ACT
29

COLLEGE
Central Arkansas

MAJOR
Prepharmacy

SPORTS
Cross country, track, basketball

Suffering from a torn muscle in her right thigh, Alex Patterson was determined to tough it out and compete in the 2007 cross country state championships. She said the decision to run was an easy one to make.
Patterson ran, and Des Arc earned its first cross country state championship, winning the title by a 45-point margin.
“I didn’t feel too good,” said Patterson, who a year earlier had won the individual title by running the Class 2A event in 21 minutes, .84 seconds. Patterson finished eighth in 2007, and her time was 62 seconds slower than her championship effort of 2006.
“If I hadn’t have run, we wouldn’t have had enough people for a team,” said Patterson, whose team finished third in the 2006 meet. “The state championship was important to me, and I know it was important to my teammates.”
Patterson was successful in the spring as well as the fall. She won the Class 2A 800 run in 2007 and was the 1,600 champion in 2008. Earlier this year she received the highest award from the Des Arc athletic department — the Miss Lady Eagle Award. Patterson served as president of the Beta Club, vice president of the senior class, secretary of the National Honor Society and treasurer of the Library Club. Patterson has decided to attend the University of Central Arkansas where she will major in pre-pharmacy. “There’s lots of chemistry involved, and I like chemistry,” Patterson said. “I thought pharmacy would be something I would enjoy.”


MYRA EVANS/HAMBURG

CLASS RANK
1 of 134

GPA 4.07

ACT 29

COLLEGE
Central Arkansas

MAJOR
Premed

SPORTS
Basketball, softball

Finding a job to love was not hard for Myra Evans. She had to look no further than her own family. “My family is all involved in the medical field,” Evans said. “My grandmother was a nurse, and my mom is a nurse. They always loved their jobs, and I thought I would love it, too.” Myra, however, wants to take her family’s love for the medical profession one additional step: “I want to be a doctor.”
Evans apparently would thrive in a pressure-filled atmosphere. She was the Lady Lions’ top pitcher the past two seasons and would not have had it any other way.
“It’s a pressure position, but I’d rather be the pitcher than have someone else be the pitcher,” Evans said. “It’s a position where you have to keep cool. It was tough, but I thought I handled it pretty well.”
Evans was the team leader in RBI and batting average. For the Lady Lions’ basketball team, Evans was the team’s leading rebounder.
Evans’ selection of pre-medicine as a major is a recent revelation. Her original choice was physical therapy.
“I’ve always been involved with sports and I thought working with athletes would be a good choice, but I really want to be a doctor. I love working with kids, and I think I would be a good pediatrician.”


JESSE BLACKSTOCK/PINE BLUFF

CLASS RANK
1 of 260

GPA
4.60

ACT
27

COLLEGE
Central Arkansas

MAJOR
Business

SPORT
Baseball

Pine Bluff’s Jesse Blackstock has been as capable on the baseball field as he has been in the classroom. Blackstock was used primarily as a pitcher and catcher for the Zebras. He also stood out academically. He plans to major in business, but he said his favorite class was physics. “It wasn’t my best class,” Blackstock said. “But it was interesting and my teacher was great. You learn how a lot of things work and even how gravity plays a part in baseball.”
Blackstock earned all-conference honors in baseball, batting .304 as a senior. He plans to attend Central Arkansas and walk on as a member of the Bears’ baseball team.
“I’m a switch-hitting catcher, and they like that,” Blackstock said. “I’m pretty even from both sides. I hit a little harder from the right side, but I can’t hit the curveball from a righthander. That’s why I had to start batting left-handed.”
Eventually, Blackstock wants to own his own business, and he said owning something that relates to sports and baseball would be an optimal choice. “I’m going to start out as a business major, but what I exactly do is something I’m not sure of yet,” Blackstock said. “That’s where I’m starting. “I can see myself in grad school in a few years, but I want to see how far my baseball career goes. I don’t want that to end anytime soon.”

Forgot to mention at the top of the article that these three along with several others were chosen as Academic Athletes of the Year in the state of Arkansas by the ADG.