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Photo / Siouxland Sports Authority.com
Morningside will open defense of its NAIA II Women's Basketball National Championship on Wednesday against Kansas Wesleyan |
Morningside Earns Champion Of Character Distinction
Live Broadcasts And Video Streams Of Mustang Athletic Events
Get Personalized Apparel From The Bookstore
Sievert Finishes Third At NAIA Wrestling Championships
Brisco A NAIA Scholar-Athlete
Mustangs Shatter School Record In Distance Medley Relay
Carlson Has Mustangs Top Finish At NAIA Swimming Championships
Mustang Softball Team Goes 2-0 On Saturday
Mustangs Drop Two At College Of The Ozarks
Five Mustang Wrestlers Named Scholar-Athletes
Mustangs Off To 2-1 Start At Friends Softball Tourney
Standout Pitching Sparks Mustang Sweep
Morningside To Face Kansas Wesleyan In National Tourney Opener
All-GPAC Basketball Teams Announced
Mustangs Ranked 11th In Final Women's Basketball Poll
Mustangs Ranked 20th In Wrestling Poll
Morningside football and men's and women's basketball games are broadcast live by the college's campus radio station KMSC 92.9 FM. In addition, a live video stream is available for Morningside home football and home men's and women's basketball games.
Click here for broadcasts and video streams.
 Joe Sievert, a freshman from Akron, Iowa, earned NAIA All-America honors with a third place finish in the 165 lb. division at the 2010 NAIA Wrestling National Championships held Thursday through Saturday in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Sievert won two matches on Saturday to complete an impressive run through the wrestlebacks where he won six consecutive matches. He finished the season with a record of 22-5.
Sievert opened Saturday’s competition with a bang when he pinned No. 1-ranked Brad Lower of Grand View University in 1:53 in the consolation semifinals. Sievert routed fourth-ranked Ryan Tuzon of Dana College by a 23-11 major decision in the third place consolation match to avenge a pair of defeats Sievert had suffered against the Viking standout earlier in the season. Tuzon had defeated Sievert by 5-3 decisions in the championship bouts at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships and the NAIA North Regional tournament.
Click here to read more.
 Morningside College’s wrestling team received the NAIA Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character Award for the 2009-10 season.
The Morningside wrestling team also received the award in 2005-06 and 2007-08.
The NAIA Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character Award is presented annually for each of the NAIA’s 23 championship sports. The awards are presented to institutions and athletic programs that strive for excellence in and out of competition and are part of communities throughout the country dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics.
The NAIA Champions of Character program is designed to instill an understanding of character values in sport, and provide student-athletes, coaches and parents the training to help them know and do the right things, inside and outside the sports setting. The program is dedicated to the principle that character is a choice and that being a champion is about reaching potential and making good decisions consistently in daily life.
The mission of Champions of Character is to restore character values and raise a generation of students who understand and demonstrate in everyday decisions respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship.
 Sydney Brisco, a sophomore from Scottsbluff, Neb., has been named a 2010 Daktronics-NAIA Swimming Scholar-Athlete.
Brisco has a 3.90 cumulative grade point average (GPA) and is majoring in biology and history.
Brisco qualified for this year’s NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships in the 100, 500, and 1650-yard freestyle events. She had the Mustangs’ top individual finish at last year’s NAIA National Championships with a 12th place finish in the women’s 1650-yard freestyle.
Student-athletes must be of at least junior academic status and have a minimum GPA of 3.50 in order to be eligible for Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Click here for the complete list of Daktronics-NAIA Swimming Scholar-Athletes.
Morningside placed fifth in the women’s distance medley relay with a school-record time of 12:08.44 in Saturday’s action at the 2010 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Johnson City, Tenn.
The Mustangs’ quartet of Kara Nelson, a junior from Cherokee, Iowa; Deidre Hinkeldey, a sophomore from Alta, Iowa; Jessica Hudelson, a sophomore from Elk Point, S.D.; and Erin Keitges, a senior from Allen, Neb., took 13 seconds off their previous Morningside record time of 12:21.50 that they clocked in Thursday’s prelims. The four runners earned NAIA All-America honors with their fifth place finish.
Click here to read more.
 Krystal Carlson, a freshman from Richfield, Minn., had the Mustangs’ top finish at the 2010 NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships in St. Peters, Mo., with an 11th place finish in Saturday evening’s women’s 1650-yard freestyle.
Carlson broke her own school record in the event with a time of 18:17.64. She had set the previous Mustang standard of 18:21.50 earlier this season on Feb. 6 at the Minnesota Challenge.
Cora Kugler, a freshman from Watertown, Minn., made the finals in the women’s 200-yard breaststroke and finished 15th with a time of 2:30.47.
Click here to read more.
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Kelly Baumert |
Kirsten Dargy |
Morningside went 2-0 on Saturday to finish with a 4-1 record at the Friends University softball tournament in Wichita, Kan.
The Mustangs toppled Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College 7-1 and crushed Graceland University 11-0 in five innings to improve its season’s record to 7-3.
Mustang ace Kelly Baumert pitched a perfect game in the abbreviated five-inning contest against Graceland. Baumert registered 11 of the 15 outs by strikeout.
Morningside battered Graceland pitcher Alyssa Greenstreet with 12 hits and did all of its scoring in two big innings. The Mustangs scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and erupted for six more runs in the fourth.
The Mustangs took a 2-0 lead two batters into the bottom of the first inning when Allison Von Ehwegen led off with a walk and Kirsten Dargy blasted a home run. The Mustangs loaded the bases after a single by Mackenzie Neely, a walk to Emily Wassom, and a single by Erin Bohlmann to set up a RBI walk by Kayla Clarey and a two-run single by Alyx Peery.
Morningside did all of its sixth inning scoring with two outs. Bohlmann had a two-run single and Wheat slugged a RBI double for the big blows in the six-run inning.
Von Ehwegen had three hits, all singles, to lead the Mustangs’ 12-hit attack. Bohlmann and Peery each had two singles, Dargy had a home run, Wheat had a double, and Clarey, Neely, and Kylie Helmink all had singles.
Mustang pitchers Morgan Swanson and Bohlmann combined on a two-hitter in the win against Hillsdale Free Will Baptist. Swanson allowed one hit and struck out three over the first three innings. Bohlmann allowed a run on one hit with one walk and five strikeouts over the final four innings to get the win.
The Mustangs collected 10 hits against Hillsdale Free Will Baptist pitcher Jessica Klein, who walked six and struck out two.
Morningside took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Helmink doubled and scored on a wild pitch and Kylie Tirado walked and scored on a double by Emily Wassom.
The Mustangs made it 4-0 in the third inning when Helmink walked and Tirado singled to set up a two-run triple by Wassom. The winners plated one more run in the inning when Wheat reached on a fielder’s choice and came home on a single by Jessy Bibler.
The Mustangs completed their scoring in the fifth inning when Brandi Burke and Wheat each singled and came home on a single by Alyssa Louison.
Wassom swung the big bat for the Mustangs with a triple, double, and single. Helmink added a double, while Von Ehwegen, Tirado, Burke, Wheat, Bibler, and Louison all had singles.
The Mustangs will play in the McPherson College Tournament on March 12-13 in McPherson, Kan.
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Javier Alvarez |
Morningside’s baseball team finished its Spring Break trip with a 6-5 record after the Mustangs dropped both ends of a Saturday doubleheader against College of the Ozarks by scores of 6-4 and 10-5 on Saturday in Point Lookout, Mo.
The Mustangs, 7-10 overall, took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning of the opener before Ozarks plated four runs to go ahead to stay. Nate Booker tied the score at 4-4 with a RBI single and the Bobcats added a pair of insurance runs on passed balls.
Morningside had scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie when Bret Hoch and Jared Noteboom both walked two set up a two-run double by Kelly Kotlik.
The Mustangs scored their first two runs in the top of the first inning. Singles by Kyle Smith and Javier Alvarez set the table for Hoch, who drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and Noteboom, who brought home Alvarez with a double.
Alvarez had two of the Mustangs’ seven hits in the opener with a pair of singles, while Noteboom and Kotlik each had doubles. Smith, Adison Gillett, and Travis Hanson all had singles.
Mustang starter Kyle Suder held the Bobcats to two runs over the first four innings before he was relieved by Kevin Pottebaum with one out in the fourth. Pottebaum was eventually relieved in the fifth inning by Gabe Shockman, who pitched the final 1.2 innings. Pottebaum was charged with the loss. The three Mustang pitchers combined for three walks and three strikeouts and surrendered eight hits.
Collin Edwards, the third of four Bobcat pitchers, was credited with the win. The Ozark pitchers combined for four walks and two strikeouts.
Ozarks scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 5-5 tie in the nightcap. The Bobcats had five hits in the inning, including a two-run double by Tyler Hartley.
Each team scored three runs in the second inning and two runs in the fourth.
Morningside loaded the bases in the second inning when Mike McBride reached on an error, Bill Meacham singled, and Smith walked. All three runners scored when Javier Alvarez singled and the ball went past the left fielder for an error.
Alvarez slugged a two-run home run in the fourth inning with Tyler Candor on board after a double.
Alvarez had two of the Mustangs’ six hits with a home run and single. The Mustangs’ other hits were the double by Candor and singles by Noteboom, Meacham, and Scott Varilek.
Morningside pitchers James Brouillette, Will Glienke, and Shockman combined for one walk and one strikeout and gave up 13 hits. Glienke was charged with the loss.
A group of five Ozark pitchers, including winner Willy Hoey, combined for six walks and seven strikeouts.
Morningside will play doubleheaders against Peru State College on Saturday and Sunday, March 13 and 14. The games, originally scheduled for Peru, Neb., have been move to Westside High School in Omaha, Neb.
 Five Morningside College wrestlers have been named 2010 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
The Mustangs' scholar-athletes are:
Cody Dennis, a 125 lb. junior from Osmond, Neb. Dennis has a 3.66 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with majors in biology and chemistry. Dennis also received Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors in 2009.
Joel Frandsen, a 149 lb. sophomore from Grand Island, Neb. Frandsen has a 3.83 cumulative GPA with a major in general psychology.
Ben Knight, 157 lb. junior from Sioux City. Knight has a 3.58 cumulative GPA with majors in biology and chemistry.
Matt Mueller, a 165 lb. junior from Malcolm, Neb. Mueller has a 3.53 cumulative GPA with a major in elementary education.
Drew Smith, a 141 lb. junior from Milburn, Neb. Smith has a 3.68 cumulative GPA with majors in biology and chemistry.
Student-athletes must be of at least junior academic status and have a minimum GPA of 3.50 in order to be eligible for Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Click here for the complete list of 2010 Daktronics-NAIA Wrestling Scholar-Athletes.
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Emily Wassom |
Mackenzie Neely |
Morningside went 2-1 during Friday’s softball action at the Friends University Tournament in Wichita, Kan. The Mustangs opened the day with a 9-1 triumph against Bethany College and a 6-3 victory against McPherson College before they dropped a 10-5 verdict against Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Emily Wassom slugged two home runs in the win against Bethany, including a blast during a six-run sixth inning when the Mustangs ended the game by the eight-run rule. The Mustangs led 3-1 before they broke the game open with their sixth inning fireworks. The other big hits of the inning were a RBI double by Mackenzie Neely and run scoring singles by Kylie Helmink and Alisha Wheat.
Wassom’s first home run was a solo shot in the second inning to put the Mustangs up 1-0.
Helmink and Brandi Burke each had singles when the Mustangs plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth to break a 1-1 tie.
Wassom paced a 13-hit Morningside offensive attack with her two home runs. Burke, Wheat, and Helmink each had two singles, Neely had a double, and Allison Von Ehwegen and Kayla Clarey each had singles.
Mustang ace Kelly Baumert pitched a five-hitter with two walks and five strikeouts to raise her record to 3-1.
Bethany’s Becka Hileman allowed 13 hits in defeat. She walked one and struck out two.
The Mustangs trailed McPherson 2-1 before they erupted for five runs in the top of the fifth inning to go ahead to stay. Wassom had the big hit with a RBI single, but McPherson did most of the damage to itself when pitcher Katie Logan walked three batters and the Bulldog fielders made two errors. Wassom’s safety was the Mustangs’ only hit of the inning.
Morningside had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Burke singled and came home on a single by Neely.
The 1-0 lead held until McPherson touched Morningside starter Morgan Swanson for two runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Swanson finished with a four-hitter with three walks and seven strikeouts to improve to 2-1 on the season.
Logan scattered seven hits around five walks and four strikeouts.
Neely and Wassom each had two singles. Burke, Wheat, and Erin Bohlmann also had singles.
Northwestern Oklahoma State scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie. The big hit of the inning was a two-run home run by Christina Mueller.
The Mustangs had rallied for two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the score at 5-5. Neely drove in both runs with a double after Burke had reached base on an error and Kirsten Dargy was on base with a single.
Morningside scored its first three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead. The big hits were RBI doubles by Wassom and Clarey and a RBI single by Bohlmann.
Baumert, the Mustangs’ starting pitcher, preserved the lead until the Rangers broke through for four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 5-3 lead.
The Rangers collected 14 hits against Baumert, who walked two and struck out four.
Ranger pitchers Meagan Lack, Tarwater, and Jacey Judson combined to allow seven hits to go along with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Morningside’s hits were doubles by Wassom, Neely, Helmink, and Clarey.
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Wade Morrison |
Steven Aschinger |
Morningside received a pair of pitching gems from Wade Morrison and Steven Aschinger to sweep a baseball doubleheader from College of the Ozarks by scores of 1-0 and 4-2 on Friday in Point Lookout, Mo.
Morrison, the 2009 GPAC Pitcher of the Year, was especially impressive as he twirled a three-hit shutout with no walks and 12 strikeouts in the opener.
College of the Ozarks starter Dustin Loggins was almost as impressive. Loggins allowed only three hits, struck out five, and didn’t walk a batter before he exited after the sixth.
The Mustangs scored the only run of the game in the top of the sixth inning when Bret Hoch was hit by a pitch, stole second, and came home on a two-out single by Kelly Kotlik.
Morningside’s hits in the opener were a double by Jared Noteboom and singles by Hoch and Kotlik.
Aschinger allowed only one earned run and scattered six hits in 5.2 innings to win the nightcap. He walked one and struck out three. Jeff Gacke came on in relief with two outs in the sixth inning and struck out all four batters he faced to notch his first career collegiate save.
College of the Ozarks took an early 2-0 lead when it scored in each of the first two innings.
Ozarks starter Brian Decker blanked the Mustangs through three innings before the Mustangs took the lead with a three-run fourth. Morningside loaded the bases when Noteboom was hit by a pitch and Kotlik and Will Glienke each walked to set up a two-run single by Bill Meacham. Glienke eventually scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice.
The Mustangs padded their lead to 4-2 in the top of the sixth when Meacham drove in Noteboom with a single. Noteboom had walked and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice by Kotlik.
Meacham had two singles and drove in three of the Mustangs’ four runs. Hoch had a double and Kyle Smith, Javier Alvarez, and Dan Foreman all had singles.
Morningside has won four games in a row to climb to 7-8 on the season. Morningside and College of the Ozarks will play another doubleheader on Saturday.
 Morningside College will face Kansas Wesleyan University in the opening round of the 2010 State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10, in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.
The Mustangs, ranked 11th in the nation, will take a 20-11 record into the contest. Morningside, which finished fourth in this year’s Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) standings with a 12-6 league record, received an at-large berth and will make its eighth consecutive national tournament appearance. The Mustangs are the reigning NAIA Division II National Champions and also won national titles in 2004 and 2005.
Kansas Wesleyan, ranked 19th in the nation, has a 22-7 record and also received an at-large berth. The Coyotes finished second in this year’s Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference standings with a 15-3 league mark and will make their second appearance in the NAIA II National Tournament. The Coyotes lost 59-56 against Black Hills State University in the second round of last year’s tournament.
The opening round national tournament matchup will be the first-ever women’s basketball meeting between Morningside and Kansas Wesleyan.
Click here to read more.
 The All-GPAC Men's and Women's Basketball Teams were announced on Wednesday. The Mustangs' Tanaeya Worden was named to the All-GPAC Women's Basketball First-Team and Eddie Marrs was named to the All-GPAC Men's Basketball Second-Team.
Click here for the All-GPAC Women's Basketball Team
Click here for the All-GPAC Men's Basketball Team
 Morningside College is ranked 11th in the nation in the final 2009-10 NAIA Division II women’s basketball poll released on Feb. 22.
The Mustangs, the reigning NAIA Division II National Champions, were also ranked 11th in last week’s poll.
Morningside went 2-0 last week with an 85-76 overtime victory at No. 7 Briar Cliff University and a 71-46 triumph at Nebraska Wesleyan University. The Mustangs finished the regular season with a 19-10 record and need one more victory to achieve a school-record seventh consecutive 20-win season.
Morningside is one of five teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) ranked in the NAIA Top 25. Hastings College is ranked No. 1, Northwestern College is third, Briar Cliff is eighth, and Concordia University is 21st.
Morningside will host a quarterfinal round game in the GPAC Post-Season Tournament on Thursday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Tuesday’s first round game between Concordia and Dana College.
Click here for the complete NAIA II Top 25.
 Morningside College is ranked 20th nationally in the final regular season NAIA Wrestling Coaches Top 20 Poll released on Feb. 16.
The Mustangs, who finished the dual meet portion of their schedule with a 7-2-1 record, were ranked 17th in the previous poll. Morningside has three wrestlers in the NAIA individual rankings.
Morningside’s ranked wrestlers are:
Drew Smith, a junior from Milburn, Neb., who is ranked fourth at 141 lbs. Smith has a 23-7 record with three falls.
Brian Block, a freshman from Sibley, Iowa, who is ranked 12th at 184 lbs. Block has a 23-6 record with a team-high nine falls.
Joe Lockett, a senior from Bellevue, Neb., who is ranked ninth at 197 lbs. Lockett has a 14-4 record with two falls.
Morningside will compete in the NAIA North Region Tournament this Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Click here for the complete NAIA rankings.
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