Southwestern College, KS - News

[SWC Builders] SC Spring Champions of Character Winners Announced

jason jeschke — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:25:00 -0600

The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference has announced the recipients of the Champion of Character award for each of the spring sports.

Each season, coaches are asked to nominate one student-athlete from their team who best exemplifies the core values of the NAIA Champions of Character program.

Southwestern College winners include:

· Taylor Kinnamon, Copeland, women's track and field

· Alysse Yates, Oklahoma City, softball

· Katie McNett, Wellington, women's tennis

· Colton Siler, Cleveland, Okla., men's track and field

· Tim Jasper, Foristell, Mo., golf

· Jessie Riggs, Wellington, men's tennis

The All-KCAC Champion of Character Award recognizes student-athletes who have demonstrated the five core Champion of Character values of respect, responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship, and servant leadership in their approach to life, the classroom, and the field of play.

[SWC Builders] Outstanding Student Athletes Named at Southwestern

jason jeschke — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:45:00 -0600

Winfield, Kan., May 3, 2012 — Scott Rethorst, Wichita, and Taylor Kinnamon, Copeland, were named the 2012 Outstanding Student-Athlete Award winners at Southwestern College. The ceremony took place Friday, April 27, in Stewart Field House.

The outstanding student-athlete award is given in memory of Tracy Young by Bill and Georgianna Young. Tracy was in the class of 1982. The award is presented to the top senior female and male student-athletes who demonstrate exceptional performance in athletics, academics, leadership, and college and community service.

Rethorst is a computer science major. He earned the Champion of Character Award three times. He was also a three-year captain on the soccer team. Rethorst has been involved in Leadership Southwestern for four years, Student Government for one year, and a Southwestern College choir member.

Kinnamon is a business administration major and an accounting minor. She has been the captain for the volleyball squad in the fall and for women's track and field team in the spring. Her honors include being an NAIA All-American-Scholar Athlete and earning honorable mention all-conference in volleyball. She has qualified three times for outdoor nationals and once for indoor nationals. She is a student government senator at Southwestern along with being a student ambassador. Kinnamon is also involved with Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Nominees also included:

§ Courtney Huppert, Fort Worth, Texas, women's golf

§ Chelsea Fort, Stillwater, Okla., softball

§ Morgan Constantine, Euless, Texas., soccer

§ Jennifer Hendrixson, Sedgwick, women's cross country

§ Catherine Haikin, Crescent, Okla., women's basketball

§ Jared Irvin, Ulysses, men's basketball

§ Tim Jasper, Foristell, Mo., men's golf

§ Colton Siler, Cleveland, Okla., men's track &field

§ Zak Tazkargy, Wellington, football

This was the 14^th annual presentation of the student-athlete award.

[Softball] Lady Builders Win Third Straight, Face Friends to Reach Championship Game

jason jeschke — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:45:00 -0600

Hutchinson, Kan.- Southwestern College Softball defeated Kansas Wesleyan 6-2 to advance in the KCAC Conference Softball Tournament.

Southwestern will now face Friends University at 3 p.m. (CST) for the right to take on top seeded Bethany in the championship game.

[Softball] After Two Comeback Victories, Softball Advances to Day 2 at KCAC Tournament

jason jeschke — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:55:00 -0600

Hutchinson, Kan.- Despite droping into the losers bracket after one game in the KCAC Tournament, thus making every game the rest of the tournament an elimination game, Southwestern Softball kept their heads up and continued fighting. The odds seemed even more against them when they trailed going into the seventh inning of the next two games but managed to put together unbelievable comebacks in order to keep their hopes for a conference championship alive.

[Football] 2012 Builder Football Schedule Announced

jason jeschke — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:40:00 -0600

Winfield, Kan.- Southwestern College football, under the direction of head coach Ken Crandall has announced the schedule for the upcoming 2012 season.

[Women's Outdoor Track & Field] Sheppard Named KCAC Women's Track Athlete-of-the-Week

jason jeschke — Wed, 02 May 2012 07:20:00 -0600

Wichita, Kan.- The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference has named Southwestern College student-athlete Christine Sheppard as the KCAC Women's Outdoor Track Athlete-of-the-Week.

Sheppard competed in four events at the Southwestern Relays, the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and 4x400m relay. She won the 100m with the second fastest time in her career 12.52 and placed first in the 200m with the fastest time of her career 25.48. She was the anchor in the 4x100m relay to help the team to a second place finish and a season best time of 49.85. To cap off the evening she lead the 4x400 to a second place finish with a 4:15.04 time. Sheppard leads the KCAC in the 100m and 200m.

[Softball] KCAC Softball Bracket Released

jason jeschke — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:55:00 -0600

Wichita, Kan. - The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Softball Postseason Tournament will be played Wednesday, May 2and Thursday, May 3 at Fun Valley Softball Complex in Hutchinson, Kansas. Tournament play will consist of an eight team double elimination tournament preceded by two play-in games between seeds #7/#10 and seeds #8/#9.

Click here for a PDF copy of the tournament bracket.

Tabor vs. Bethel (Game #1): Wednesday, May 2 - 10:00 a.m.

Play begins with #7 seed Tabor College (18-24, 7-11) taking on #10 seed Bethel College (23-27, 15-13). The Bluejays swept the Threshers in the two game series played as a double header on March 31. Bethel pushed the first game to extra innings before falling 3 to 2, Tabor won the second handedly, 9 to 1.

Winner of the Tabor/Bethel contest will face #2 seed Ottawa University (29-20, 14-4) on Wednesday, May 2 at noon (Game 3). The loser will be eliminated from the tournament

Players to Watch:

Tabor: Taylor Funk (C/1B, Jr, Wichita, Kan.). Batting Avg: 0.386*, Slugging %: 0.629, HR: 8, RBI: 44*

Bethel: Mary Sheridan (C, Fr, Bonita, Calif.). Batting Avg: 0.278, Slugging %: 0.491*, Hits: 30*, RBI: 27*

Sterling vs. Saint Mary (Game #2): Wednesday, May 2 - 10:00 a.m.

#8 seed Sterling College (18-39, 4-14) will play #9 seed University of Saint (9-25, 4-14) in the second of two play-in games. Saint Mary and Sterling split a double header played in Leavenworth on April 17. The Spires took the first game 4 to 3 and the Warriors answered back winning 7 to 5.

Winner of the Sterling/Saint Mary game will face regular season champion and #1 seed Bethany College (40-7, 17-1) on Wednesday, May 2 at 2:00 p.m (Game 6). The loser will be eliminated from the tournament.

Players to Watch:

Sterling: Samantha Brouwer (OF, Jr, Moundridge, Kan.). Batting Avg: 0.361*, Slugging %: 0.378, Hits: 57*, Walks: 24, Stolen Bases: 36^

Saint Mary: Victoria Toplikar (P, So, Olathe, Kan.). Batting Avg: 0.384, Slugging %: 0.758*, Home Runs: 10^, Hits: 38, RBI: 33*, ERA: 4.12* Strikeouts: 33

Friends vs. McPherson (Game #4): Wednesday, May 2 - 10:00 a.m.

#3 seed Friends University (28-17, 12-6) is pitted against #6 seed McPherson College (15-23, 9-9). Friends swept McPherson in the last two games of the regular season, 7-3 and 7-6.

Winner of the Friends/McPherson game will face the winner of Ottawa vs. Tabor/Bethel on Wednesday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m. The loser will play at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday against the Bethany vs. Sterling/Saint Mary loser.

Players to Watch:

Friends: Kelsey Garner (P, Jr, Regina, Sask.). Wins: 23^, Losses: 7*, ERA: 2.48*, Strikeouts: 173*, Opp. Batting Avg: 0.220*, Innings Pitched: 183¹/₃^

McPherson: Katie Logan (IF, Sr, Clay Center, Kan.). Batting Avg: 0.398*, Slugging %: 0.707*, Home Runs: 8*, Hits: 49*, RBI: 22*, Stolen Bases: 8*

Kansas Wesleyan vs. Southwestern (Game #5): Wednesday, May 2 - 2:00 p.m.

#4 seed Kansas Wesleyan University (33-12, 12-6) will play #5 seed Southwestern College (23-17, 9-9). The Coyotes swept the Moundbuilders in the last two games of the regular season, 1-0 and 5-3. Over their last 10 games Kansas Wesleyan has won eight games and Southwestern has won seven.

Winner of the Kansas Wesleyan/Southwestern game will face the winner of Bethany vs. Sterling/Saint Mary on Wednesday, May 2 at 2:00 p.m. The loser will play at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday against the Ottawa vs. Tabor/Bethel loser.

Players to Watch:

Kansas Wesleyan: Morgan Jacobs (OF, Jr, Tucson, Ariz.). Batting Avg: 0.407*, Slugging %: 0.500*, Hits: 61^, Stolen Bases: 11*, Runs Scored: 40*

Southwestern: Rachel Ratcliffe (P, Sr, Edmond, Okla.). Wins: 11*, Losses: 9*, ERA: 2.84*, Strikeouts: 139*, Opp. Batting Avg: 0.251, Innings Pitched: 153*

*Leads Team

^Leads KCAC

Bethany College

Bethany finished the regular season with only one loss in KCAC play. That loss came by way of McPherson on April 3, since the loss the Swedes are on a 16-game win streak. The Swedes will play the winner of the Sterling/Saint Mary game on Wednesday, May 2 at 2:00 p.m.

Players to Watch:

Jennifer Garcia (Jr, Harlingen, Texas) and Hollind Englert (So, Castle Rock, Colo.) have combined for 274 innings (162 Garcia, 112 Englert) and 32 wins (16 apiece). Garcia leads the KCAC in Strikeouts (211) and Opp. Batting Average (0.213). Englert is second in the KCAC in ERA (2.06) and Opp. Batting Average (0.230)

Ottawa University

Ottawa finished the regular season by sweeping Tabor (12-4. 6-2) and Bethel (8-0, 11-0). The Braves will play the winner of the Tabor/Bethel play-in game on Wednesday, May 2 at noon.

Player to Watch:

Outfielder Myah Sprew (Sr, Topeka, Kan.) leads the Braves in Batting Average (0.405), Slugging Percentage (0.581), Hits (60), RBI's (43), Stolen Bases (29), and Home Runs (4). She's ranked second in Hits and Stolen Bases in the KCAC.

[Track] Southwestern Relays Results

jason jeschke — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:10:00 -0600

Click here for a PDF of the results from the Southwestern Relays.

[Softball] Builders and Bluejays Partner to Strikeout Cancer

jason jeschke — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:35:00 -0600

Southwestern College and Tabor College Softball joined together to participate in the NFCA Strikeout Cancer Program on Wednesday April 18, 2012. The Lady Builder program sold T-shirts and collected game day donations, donating all proceeds raised from the event to the American Cancer Society. This is the second annual Strikeout Cancer game for the Lady Builders.

"We are very excited about the turnout and the amount of money we raised to donate to this program," commented Southwestern head softball coach Amber Good. "We would like to thank Coach Unruh and Tabor College for participating in this event with us this year. We look forward to continuing this tradition to help out a worthy cause."

The fundraising effort was a huge success, raising over $700 dollars for the American Cancer Society.

Sophomore center fielder Sara Blackburn rooms with fellow Southwestern College Student-Athlete Hannah Dierksen. Dierksen's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer almost a year ago so this game had special meaning for Blackburn.

"It is great to see two teams come together and support this cause because so many people struggle from this ugly illness. This cause becomesso much more real when someone you know is going through it and it was awesome to have Hannah's mom Susan at the game as a survivor."

Southwestern Softball would like to thank Tabor College, all the local businesses whose donations made this event possible, and the fans of both teams who so graciously supported this event.

[Women's Golf] Women's Golf Wins Regional Tournament, Qualifies for NAIA Nationals

jason jeschke — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:35:00 -0600

In the unaffiliated conference championship, Southwestern College women's golf held off a late charge by the University of Texas at Brownsville to earn the automatic bid for the NAIA National Tournament. The two day tournament was held at Lincoln Park golf Course in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The course was set to a length of 6,016 yards and played to a par of 72.

After leading day one by six strokes over UT Brownsville, the score tightened up on day two at Lincoln Park Golf Course. With a team score of 652, the championship was placed on the flat stick of freshman, Alyssa Richardson, who needed to two-putt on the final hole from 25 feet to seal a one shot victory for the Lady Builders.

"The two-putt was relatively simple but the magnitude of the situation made it that much more difficult," commented assistant golf coach Tyler Lytton. "We have been working for two week on getting down in three from 100 yards. To have to get down in three from 98 yards on the 18^th hole with the championship on the line was simply a clutch play from a freshman."

After the Richardson two-putt, the winning team score of 654 was secured. The Lady Builders were led by freshman Hannah Mason, whose two day total of 152 was good enough for second overall. Courtney Huppert (154), finished in third place after a second day 81 knocked her back one spot in the individual standings. Alyssa Richardson (175), Chelsea Nemeth (177), and Jacquelyn McCauley (178) all finished inside of the top 20 in route to the team championship.

"I am very proud of the effort put forth by each and every member of the team," commented head coach Brad Sexson. "We have emphasized all semester that every shot means something and winning by one shot certainly proves that. This appearance at the National Championship is big for our program. It will be a great experience for current team members and a great recruiting tool for future team members."

The Lady Builder golf team will now prepare for the NAIA National Tournament which is played at Link Hills golf Course in Greeneville, Tennessee. A four-round tournament consisting of a maximum of 144 golfers with cut after 54 holes. Competition is stroke play. Each team competes with five golfers (minimum of four) and the top four scores posted each day are counted toward the team standings. The tournament will begin on May 15^th.

[Track] Southwestern Relays Schedule Announced

jason jeschke — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:40:00 -0600

The schedule for the 2012 Southwestern Relays has been announced. CLICK HERE FOR THE SCHEDULE

[Women's Soccer] Allyson Wheeler Set to Join SC Women's Soccer in 2012

jason jeschke — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:55:00 -0600

Southwestern College Women's Soccer add competition for the goalie position with the signing of Allyson Wheeler from Inola, Oklahoma. Allyson is currently playing goalkeeper for the Inola High School Longhorns and is proving a difficult obstacle for opposing players. Allyson's size and athleticism help her dominate at her position. Allyson plans to study graphic design while at SC.

[Golf] Southwestern Golf Partners with Special Olympics of Kansas to put on Golf Clinic

jason jeschke — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:30:00 -0600

Southwestern College Men's and Women's Golf teams joined forces with the Special Olympics group from Kansas to conduct a golf clinic this past week. The clinic was held at Sierra Hills Golf Course in Wichita, Kansas on April 18^th.

Southwestern student-athletes and coaches were able to work side by side with Special Olympic athletes in order to help teach them the game of golf. The clinic included a rules session, and lesson on putting, chipping, and the full golf swing.

"The Special Olympics Golf Clinic was a very good experience for our student-athletes," commented head golf coach Brad Sexson. "The participants from the Special Olympics really connected with our kids and by the end of the clinic everyone was smiling and having a really good time. This experience will stick with our kids for the rest of their lives."

[SWC Builders] 30th Annual SC Booster Club Golf Tournament Announced

jason jeschke — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:10:00 -0600

Winfield, Kan. – Southwestern College athletic department is proud to announce the date for the annual booster club golf scramble which will be held on Saturday, May 19^th at 10AM (CST). The scramble will again be held at Winfield Country Club. This is a great opportunity for the friends and supporters of Southwestern Athletics to get together and celebrate an outstanding year of Moundbuilder Athletics.

Registration is open to groups of four or individuals for the four-person event. The cost for an individual is $100 or $400 for a foursome team. Hole sponsorship opportunities are also available to both individuals or companies for $100.

For a registration form, click here.

[Men's Golf] Men's Golf Moves to #23 in Latest NAIA Poll

jason jeschke — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:40:00 -0600

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oklahoma Christian remained No. 1 for the fourth-straight poll and for the seventh time in the last eight releases, the national office announced Friday. The Eagles finished in third place behind both Texas Wesleyan and Lubbock Christian (Texas) at their most recent event, the Dallas Baptist Classic Monday and Tuesday, but managed to pick up 17 of 18 first-place votes and 498 total points in the third regular-season NAIA Men's Golf Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Oklahoma Christian had been selected as a unanimous No. 1 for the first time all season in the March 30 edition.

Oklahoma City comes in at No. 2 for the third-consecutive poll with 478 points. The Stars captured first place at the Louisiana-Monroe Wallace Jones Invitational Title Monday and Tuesday by shooting 292-296-299–887 to top a field that included 10 NCAA Division I schools. Texas Wesleyan's title at the Dallas Baptist Classic, where Nathan Anderson took co-medalist honors with a 67-71–207, allowed it to hold steady at No. 3 with 458 points. Fourth-ranked Grand View (Iowa) is back in the top five with 457 points and one first-place nod, while British Columbia, ranked No. 4 two weeks ago, rounds out the top five with 429 points.

A pair of squads tied for the largest leaps within the rankings, as No. 13 SCAD Savannah (Ga.) and No. 19 Lubbock Christian each advanced six positions. SCAD Savannah vaults up on the strength of a sixth-place finish out of 32 teams at the Camp Lejeune Intercollegiate on March 29 – April 1. Led by Andrew Marco's 67 on day one, the Bees placed ahead of ranked conference rivals in then-No. 14 Webber International (Fla.) and then-No. 16 Northwood (Fla.). Meanwhile, Lubbock Christian's runner-up finish at the loaded Dallas Baptist Classic, spurred by Niel DuPreez's 71-67-70–208, is largely responsible for the Chaparrals sudden rise up the poll.

On the other hand, Johnson & Wales (Fla.) took the biggest tumble in falling back 10 spots to No. 18 this week. Similarly, No. 22 Northwood is down six positions after an 11-spot freefall in the previous poll.

New to this week's poll are Grand View and No. 21 Rocky Mountain (Mont.), which replace Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (No. 18) and The Master's (Calif.) (No. 21). Rocky Mountain clinched the Frontier Conference regular-season title by tying for first-place at the Frontier Conference Invitational held Monday and Tuesday. The Battlin' Bears carded a score of 899 in the 54-hole event.

Twelve conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented in the Top 25. The Sooner Athletic Conference boasts the most representation with six ranked members: Oklahoma Christian, Oklahoma City, No. 10 Wayland Baptist (Texas), No. 12 Southern Nazarene (Okla.), Lubbock Christian and No. 24 Oklahoma Baptist. The Sun Conference comes in next with five Top 25 teams.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The next Top 25 poll will be announced on May 10.

Notes(All information as of 2000): Oklahoma Christian has now made 25 appearances at No. 1, second behind only Oklahoma City's 34 No. 1 rankings … Simon Fraser (B.C.), who has been ranked at the top spot twice, is the only other school to appear at No. 1 more than once … Oklahoma City has never been ranked lower than fifth, which occurred on one occasion back on the first regular-season poll of 2009 … Oklahoma Christian's lowest rating was 16th, occurring on April 11, 2001 … Northwood (Fla.), which checks in at No. 22, went the entire 2010-11 season without being ranked … Oklahoma Baptist is appearing in the poll for the second-straight week after going unranked since April 16, 2003, prior to the March 30 release … Rocky Mountain (Mont.) cracked the Top 25 for the first time since the final poll of 2010 when it came in at No. 17.

RANK	PVS	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Oklahoma Christian (17)	498
2	2	Oklahoma City	478
3	3	Texas Wesleyan	458
4	NR	Grand View (Iowa) (1)	457
5	4	British Columbia	429
6	5	South Carolina Beaufort	417
7	7	Cumberlands (Ky.)	377
8	8	Cal State San Marcos	370
9	6	Lee (Tenn.)	369
10	10	Wayland Baptist (Texas)	345
11	11	Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)	336
12	12	Southern Nazarene (Okla.)	312
13	19	SCAD Savannah (Ga.)	297
13	15	William Woods (Mo.)	297
15	14	Webber International (Fla.)	274
16	13	Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)	262
17	17	Victoria (B.C.)	236
18	8	Johnson & Wales (Fla.)	232
19	25	Lubbock Christian (Texas)	208
20	20	Shorter (Ga.)	172
21	RV	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	159
22	16	Northwood (Fla.)	150
23	24	Southwestern (Kan.)	123
24	22	Oklahoma Baptist	111
25	23	Tennessee Wesleyan	105

Others receiving votes: Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 93; The Master's (Calif.) 85; Rogers State (Okla.) 31; Northwood (Texas) 29; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 21; Southeastern (Fla.) 20; Concordia (Ore.) 20; Northwestern (Iowa) 20; St. Francis (Ill.) 19; Holy Cross (Ind.) 12; Mount Mercy (Iowa) 10; Marian (Ind.) 10; Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 9; Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 8; Bethany (Kan.) 4; Faulkner (Ala.) 4; Houston-Victoria (Texas) 4; Thomas (Ga.) 3; St. Thomas (Fla.) 3; Holy Names (Calif.) 1; Morningside (Iowa) 1; Viterbo (Wis.) 1; Union (Ky.) 1; Bellevue (Neb.) 1; Central Baptist (Ark.) 1.