Dec. 4, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV baseball senior Ryan Tabor earned individual honors in the 2006 Rebel Challenge and in the process he led his team, the Slim Jims, to the team title in the strength and condition event.

The four-day competition, which ended this past Friday, brought a close to UNLV's fall activities.

Tabor had a strong final day, vaulting to the top of the leader board by winning the `Road To Omaha' and finishing second in the stair challenge, racking up 63 points to bump his total to 268. Tabor also finished second in the mile run and the obstacle course in other challenge events.

Blake Amador was second with 260 points, followed by Kyle Kretchmer with 257 points, Braden Walker was next with 248 and Calvin Beamon came in fifth with 239 total points.

Tabor teamed with Walker, captain of the Slim Jims, to help carry their team to the overall title after trailing Smell Ya entering Friday's final day of competition. With Tabor's big final day, Slim Jims finished with 53 points to Smell Ya's 50 points.

In Chalfant We Trust finished third with 44 points, followed by The Bokos with 38, The Big Leaguers with 36 and Blue Steel with 32.

UNLV opens its 2007 season with a three-game series on the road against Cal State Northridge beginning Jan. 26, in Northridge, Calif. The Rebels' first home game is Feb. 2 against Pepperdine.

Here are the final results for the 2006 Rebel Challenge:

Top Five IndividualsRyan Tabor      268Blake Amador    260Kyle Kretchmer  257Braden Walker   248Calvin Beamon   239

Final Team StandingsSlim Jims             53Smell Ya              50In Chalfant We Trust  44The Bokos             38The Big Leaguers      36Blue Steel            32