Titans' Mouton has high sprain

Tennessee Titans and former Hawaii defensive back Ryan Mouton said yesterday he was diagnosed with a grade 2 high ankle sprain.

He suffered the injury Tuesday morning in Titans practice when a teammate fell on him, and he was carted off the field. He said he may stay out the rest of the preseason as a precaution.

“;It's frustrating because I was really getting into a rhythm,”; Mouton said in an e-mail conversation with the Star-Bulletin.

There was worry that Mouton had a broken ankle, according to a team report.

He had a grade 1 sprain in late 2008.

GCU favored in PacWest

PacWest men's soccer coaches and sports information directors predict Grand Canyon to win the conference championship in close balloting over Hawaii Pacific. The Sea Warriors actually got four first-place votes to three for GCU. Third-place Notre Dame de Namur got two first-place nods.

The rest of the conference is predicted to finish in this order: Hawaii-Hilo, Dixie State, Brigham Young-Hawaii, Dominican, Academy of Art, Chaminade.

Forward Cristobal Montes (NDNU) is the preseason player of the year.

The rest of the team includes forwards Chance Bukoski (HPU), Shaine Huiberts (Dominican) and Kevin Young (Dixie), midfielders Nathan Carlson (NDNU), Linus Ekden (HPU), Zac Hales (Dixie) and Adam Maciejewski (BYUH), defenders Zhaque Budge (Dixie), Oswaldo Hernandez (NDNU) and NIck Syke (GCU) and goalkeeper Ivan Mercado (Hawaii-Hilo).

Vercruyssen gets national berth

Roosevelt senior Nani Vercruyssen has been named to the U.S. senior national trampoline gymnastics team.

She and Alaina Williams of Huntsville, Ala., have been selected to compete in World Cup competitions in Belgium and Poland. Vercruyssen will train in New Jersey on her way to the meets in Europe.