Wrestling
Bearcats grapple Sunday in tourney
The McKendree University wrestling team is heading to Warrensburg, Mo., to compete in the University of Central Missouri Open on Sunday. The event is held on campus at the multipurpose building and matches will begin at 10 a.m.
The University of Central Missouri Open is the first tournament of the season for McKendree. The Bearcats are expecting to take 18 individuals to the tournament. Of those 18, eight will be competing for the first time this season.
The Bearcats opened up their dual schedule a week ago with a 27-9 win over visiting Missouri Baptist University. The win was head coach James Kisgen's 70th as head of the McKendree program.
McKendree will remain in tournament action. The Bearcats will travel Saturday to St. Charles, Mo., to compete in the 2nd Annual Joe Parisi Open hosted by Lindenwood University. Matches will begin at 9 a.m.
Men's soccer
Bearcats volunteer at animal shelter
The McKendree University men's soccer team recently volunteered their time at Stray Rescue of St. Louis.
Stray Rescue's sole purpose is to rescue stray animals in need of medical attention, restore them to health, and place them in loving adoptive homes. Virtually all of the pets they save have been abused and neglected. They've been dumped on highways, or remote country roads. Abandoned in public parks, empty houses and dark alleys. They've even saved dogs left chained behind buildings after their owners had moved away.
"This is a fantastic organization," said head coach Donny Sheehan. "It's also one near and dear to me since I adopted my dog from them. The group had the opportuinity to go and help clean kennels, help the animals get exercise, and interact and socialize with the animals. We really enjoyed the opportunity and look forward to working with them more in the future."
For more information about Stray Rescue of St. Louis, please visit http://strayrescue.org.
Women's volleyball
SIUE ends season with a loss at home
EDWARDSVILLE -- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville completed the 2012 season Saturday with a four-set loss to Tennessee State at the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars dropped a 25-27, 25-22, 25-20, 25-13 match to the visiting Tigers. SIUE ends its season with a 9-18 record and a 5-11 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. Tennessee State completed its regular season with a 17-13 record and a 10-6 mark in league play.
SIUE coach Leah Johnson lauded her three seniors who played in their final match for the Cougars. Setter Sammi Minton, outside hitter Brooke Smith, and outside hitter Brianne Graunke each played four seasons for the Cougars and were honored in a pregame ceremony.
"They are a group of dedicated and caring people. We talked about in the locker room that each of them have endured a lot of change in their four years, and they managed to still stand tall, proud, and represent us with first class. It takes a special person to do that. We are truly indebted to them for continuing the change in such a positive manner," said Johnson.
Saturday's finale started on the positive for the Cougars by winning the first set 27-25. Tennessee State committed nine errors in the first set and struggled to put away the Cougars.
"They had a hard time scoring like they are used to scoring against us set one and two. The result was a split after two sets," Johnson said.
Kelsey Augustine led SIUE's offense with 11 kills. Freshman Leslie Lindsey added seven.
Both teams battled through long points and craft play. Tennessee State finished with 95 digs led by 28 from Naomi Wells. The Cougars finished the match with 85 digs, including 28 from Chelsea Colclasure and 19 by Smith.
Colclasure set the school record for digs per set at 5.42 breaking the mark set by Allison Buss during the 2004 season.
SIUE hit .120 as a team Saturday with 10 blocks. Augustine, who led the Cougars with nine, finished the season with 114 blocks (1.13 per set), the most by a Cougar since moving to the NCAA Division I level.
"We had such a defensive team this year. We'll add a lot of offensive firepower next year with the addition of our new athletes," Johnson said.
McKendree defeats Saint Joseph's College
RENSSELAER -- Junior outside hitter Maureen Nesbit (Althoff) registered match-high totals of 20 kills and 29 digs in leading the McKendree University volleyball team to a five-set victory at Saint Joseph's College. The Bearcats took the match by scores of 25-23, 23-25, 25-16, 23-25 and 15-13.
McKendree levels its season record for the second time this year at 15-15. The Bearcats are now 9-8 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, and are guaranteed to finish no worse than .500 in their first year as GLVC members.
Freshman middle hitter Lauren Apetz helped out with 18 kills and three blocks (two solos) in the win at Saint Joseph's. Freshman right-side hitter Rachel Nelson chipped in with 14 attacks and a team-best four blocks, which included three solos. Freshman outside hitter Hannah Wessel (Gibault) also reached double figures in the kills department with 10.
Junior setter Abby Hanger (Belleville West) handed out 58 assists, which led all players on the night. Junior libero Maddie Kelly handled 23 digs, while sophomore defensive specialist Maggie Mueller helped out with 17 digs.
McKendree played in its 11th five-set match of the season on Friday, a figure that leads the GLVC. The Bearcats are 7-4 when playing the full five sets, with a four-match winning streak in those contests. In addition, McKendree was able to complete the season sweep of the host Pumas. The Bearcats swept Saint Joseph's back on Sept. 22 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.
Men's cross country
Cougars harriers finish 28th in regional
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men's cross country team ran in its final race of the season as they competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional.
SIUE finished 28th as a team in what was their only 10K event of the season. The Cougars had competed in 8K races all season before Friday.
"This course was very difficult and there was quite a bit of wind as well," coach Eileen McAllister said. "Our team had never run a 10K but I thought we performed well."
Senior Aaron Werths, running in his final cross country event at SIUE, paced the Cougars with a time of 32:39.99 which is 19th on the program's all-time 10K list.
Freshman Clint Kliem was just seconds behind Werths finishing in 32:46.10, the second-fastest 10K ever by a freshman at SIUE.
Freshmen Scott Woodard (34:10.75), Evan Morgeson (36:29.00), and Trevor Morgan (37:49.62) all competed in their first NCAA Regional race, while sophomore Frankie Sottosanto finished in 39:01.98.
Chris O'Hare of Tulsa was the top overall finisher with a time of 30:25.87 while Oklahoma was the top overall team.
"It was good for us to compete against some of the top programs in the country," McAllister added. "Our athletes get to see what they're up against and what they have to do to get to that level."
The SIUE cross country athletes will now shift their focus to the track & field season which begins next Friday with the Red vs. Black Intrasquad Meet at Principia College.
"We are very excited for the track season," McAllister said. "It will be good for our freshmen to take their cross country experience and use it in their first collegiate track season."
Women's cross country
SIUE winds up 29th in regional
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's cross country team wrapped up its season as they competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional.
The Cougars finished 29th as a team and were paced once again by freshman Kirby Hale.
Hale finished her first 6K race in a time of 23 minutes, 21.63 seconds, the sixth-fastest 6K ever for a freshman at SIUE, and 18th on the program's all-time list.
Junior Claire Brown finished just behind Hale in 23:31.43, while junior Renee Goodenough and sophomore Katie Trettenero finished in 24:41.59 and 24:45.34, respectively. Trettenero's time was a personal best in 6K events.
"This course was very difficult and there was quite a bit of wind as well," Head Coach Eileen McAllister said. "Our athletes had never run a 6K but I thought we performed well."
Rounding out the Cougar lineup were freshmen Haley Briggs (25:06.83) and Conradette King (25:40.39).
The 6K race was the longest event the Cougars have run in all season. All of SIUE's previous races were 5K events.
Betsy Saina of Iowa State was the top overall finisher with a time of 19:51.46, and Iowa State was the top overall team as well.
"It was good for us to compete against some of the top programs in the country," McAllister added. "Our athletes get to see what they're up against and what they have to do to get to that level."
