Handful of McLennan athletes claim weekly conference awards

Four McLennan athletes were tabbed North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Player of the Week for Jan. 21-27 in their respective sports.

Highlanders swept the baseball awards for the first week of the 2018 season. Sophomore catcher Jackson Nichols was named the Baseball Position Player of the Week and Bailey Horn was named the Baseball Pitcher of the Week. Nichols, from Nacogdoches, batted .500 with a double and a three-run walk-off home run in the Highlanders' 13-1 run-rule victory over Angelina on Opening Day. Behind the plate, he recorded eight putouts, one assist, and one runner caught stealing. Horn, a lefthander from West, recorded seven strikeouts and no walks while allowing just two hits in four innings of the Highlanders' 10-0 run-rule win over Angelina.

Sophomore forward Jashawn Talton received the men's basketball honor. The 6-5 Oklahoma City native scored 22 points including going 4-6 from 3-point range in the Highlanders' game at Collin. For the week, he recorded 34 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two steals, and went 13-21 from the field in two games.

Highlassie freshman Emily Gray of Florence, Texas, was named the Softball Pitcher of the Week. Gray appeared in both games against Western Texas on Opening Day, picking up two wins with no earned runs and only four hits while recording five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.