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by Hayden Hamrick | Athletic Communications Student Assistant
Three Ball State alums have stakes in this year’s Olympics in Paris: former Cardinals basketball forward Mike Drews, former MAC Championship-winning linebacker Mark Parris and record-breaking swimmer Apsara Sakbun.
Sakbun, a spring 2023 graduate of Ball State, heads to Paris to represent Cambodia as she competes in the women’s 50-meter freestyle. Sakbun left as Ball State as the program’s record-holder in the 200-yard relay (1:31.38), 400-yard freestyle relay (3:21.74) and 200-yard medley relay (1:39.69). She finished her college career with 15 relay wins on top of her 18 career individual victories. Sakbun earned her spot with Cambodia after setting national records in multiple events at the 2023 Southeast Asian (SEA) games.
Sakbun competes in the 50-meter freestyle Aug. 5, at Paris La Defense Arena. Her younger sister, Haley, is entering her junior year for the Cardinals and is Cambodia’s national record holder in the 200-meter freestyle (2:12.85).
Drews, a two-year Cardinals letterwinner in 1978 and 1979 while leading Ball State in points per game as a freshman (12.5) and sophomore (16.2), saw his playing career cut short due to a heart murmur after his second college season. Fast-forward 45 years, he proudly boasts a daughter, Annie, who heads to her second Olympics as a member of the U.S. women’s volleyball team. A graduate from Penn High School and an All-American during her time at Purdue University, Drews has aspirations of winning her second straight gold medal. She is the first Indiana-born player to make the U.S. women’s volleyball team. U.S. faces China in the Pool A preliminaries on July 29, and the quarterfinals begin Aug. 6.
Parris, a four-year letterwinner on the gridiron from 1989-92, helped the Cardinals to a MAC Championship in 1989. Parris was twice named All-MAC and will be featured during Ball State’s 100th season as a nominee for the Cardinals’ All-Century Team. He is the No. 2 career tackler in Ball State history (515) and he will watch his son, Mason, participate in this year’s Olympics in freestyle wrestling.
A former wrestler for the University of Michigan, Mason Parris earned gold at 125kg at the 2019 Jr. World Championships. Parris also competed at the 2023 World Championships where he won bronze at 125kg. Parris qualified for the 2024 Olympics at the U.S. Wrestling Trials. The first round of the men’s freestyle 125kg starts Aug. 9.
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Source link : https://ballstatesports.com/news/2024/7/25/general-three-ball-state-alums-involed-in-paris-olympics.aspx
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Publish date : 2024-07-25 21:27:32
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