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Men’s Basketball 2007-08 Season Preview
 The 2007-08 campaign marks another season of change with the William Jewell Cardinals men’s basketball team. For the third year in a row the Cardinals graduated five seniors, leaving plenty of playing time to be had.
“We certainly have a lot of minutes to replace,” said head coach Larry Holley. “I am excited about our recruiting class. It is the largest recruiting class since the fall of 1997, and I believe that we have improved in every position.”
The point guard spot could be a source of strength this season for the Cardinals. Davey Krause (6’1” senior from Higginsville, Mo.) is back after leading the team with 89 assists last season. Jordan Jamestown (5’9” sophomore transfer from Eastern Arizona Community College) also will have a chance to ‘run the show’ for the Cardinals.
At the shooting guard spot this season the Cardinals are crossing their fingers that Kyle Fisher (6’3” sophomore from Harrisburg, Mo.) can stay healthy. “Kyle has broken our player contract by not staying healthy,” Holley jokingly said. “Kyle can be a big asset to us this year as long as he stays healthy.” Fisher went down early last season with a dislocated elbow but came back to average 10.1 points per game and dished out 50 assists in only 19 games played. He was also was named to the Heart of America Athletic Conference Honorable Mention team.
Holley also is excited about the addition of Jacques Wilson, who transferred to Jewell from Southern Utah, a NCAA Division I program. Wilson is the son of Louis Wilson, a former player of Holley’s and the cousin of Eastern Arizona transfer student Jordan Jamestown.
The small forward position could also be a position of strength for Jewell. Larry Mandacina (6’3” junior from Blue Springs, Mo.) is back after leading the Cards and the HAAC with 62 steals for the season. He also led the team in minutes played with 871. First-year players Jonathan Benson (6’4” from Kansas City, Mo.) and Tucker Phillips (6’7” from Edmond, Okla.) will also vie for playing time at the position.
The power forward and center positions will have a new look this season. Gone from last year’s team are Drew Korshot and Brandon Argo. Last season Argo was named the Paul Lambert Most Valuable Player by his teammates. He averaged a team-best 16.9 points per game and also averaged 5.2 rebounds per game. Players competing to fill Korschot and Argo’s shoes are Andrew Poston (6’6” senior from Santa Rosa, Calif.); Ryan Hintz (6’7” senior from Shawnee Mission, Kan.); and Kayron Parrish (6’4” senior from Kansas City, Mo.). Poston transferred from Benedictine College and sat out last season with the Cardinals.
Others who could figure in the mix include first-year players Alex Bernskoetter (6’6” forward from Springfield, Mo.); Caleb Harlan (6’4” forward from Lenexa, Kan.); Michael Neuenswander (6’8” forward/center from Liberty, Mo.); Christian Patterson (5’10” guard from Longmont, Colo.); Matt Powell (6’0” guard from Rogersville, Mo); and senior Kameron Gall (5’10” guard from Marceline, Mo).
The Cardinals will also look a little different on the sidelines this season. Assistant coach Tim Sutton is taking a year off to work with a seventh-grade travel team and assistant coach Sean Dooley has accepted a full-time assistant coaching job at Columbia College in Columbia, Mo.
The coaching staff is again headed by Larry Holley, now in his 29th year at his alma mater. New assistant coach Kyle Taylor comes to William Jewell after serving as an assistant coach at Pepperdine University and California State Northridge, both NCAA Division I programs. Kyle Lower is back for his second year and will assist with men’s varsity and junior varsity programs.
The 20-game HAAC schedule will be a tough one and includes last season’s National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics II National Champion MidAmerica Nazarene University. It looks to be another great season for Cardinal basketball!
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Women’s Basketball 2007-08 Season Outlook
Like most coaches, William Jewell women’s basketball head coach Jill Cress can’t wait for the season to get started. And she has felt that way ever since the Cardinals were eliminated from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics II National Tournament last March.
“We were disappointed with the way our season finished last year,” said Cress, who enters her 12th season as coach at Jewell. “The great thing, however, is that we have a lot of talent coming back this year and we have an outstanding recruiting class coming in. I feel like if we keep working hard, we could make another run at the National Tournament.”
The Cardinals finished the 2006-07 campaign at 26-7 and were the co-champions of the Heart of America Athletic Conference. They also were ranked as high as number five in the nation at one point last season, which is the highest ranking in team history. After losing only one player to graduation, the Cardinals hope to use the experience from last season to get back to the National Tournament.
Both returning and new players will help contribute to the success of the Cardinals. Hillary Adams (5’5” sophomore guard from Nevada, Mo.) achieved Academic All-American, Honorable Mention All-American, and was named first team All- Conference in the HAAC. Erica Ferguson (5’11” sophomore forward from Jefferson City, Mo.) returns after being named the HAAC freshman of the year, and second team All-Conference. Jessica Stewart (5’4” sophomore from Gardner, Kan) achieved Honorable Mention All-Conference status playing point guard last year for Jewell.
Other returning contributors are senior Heidi Winkler; juniors Amber Parker, Faith Pontius and Sydnee Mela; and sophomores Haley Stockton, Abbey Cole and Kelsey Workman. New faces include Courtney McCartney (6’2” post player from Kirksville, Mo.), Ashley Patton (5’6” guard from Olathe, Kan.), Erica Akins (5’11” forward from Harrisburg, Mo.), Brooke Riley (5’9” forward from Kirksville, Mo.); and Allie Helzer (5’11” forward from Barnard, Mo.).
The Cardinals will also see some changes on the sidelines this season. Harold Shepherd, a 43-year veteran basketball coach, has been named as the new women’s basketball assistant coach at William Jewell. Shepherd has spent the last two seasons as the head women’s coach at Jesup High School in Jesup, Iowa. Prior to coaching at Jesup, Shepherd served as head women’s basketball coach for Vinton-Shellsburg, Vinton and Elk Horn-Kimballton in Iowa. His record places him in fifth place for victories among women’s basketball coaches in Iowa, where he coached 997 high school girls’ basketball games.
“The opportunity to coach at the college level is something that has eluded me more than once,” Shepherd said. “I want to take advantage of this opportunity for a year or two before I run out of time.”
Shepherd will be reunited with Jewell’s head coach Jill Cress, who played under him at Vinton High School in the late 1980s. “I feel very good about having him here as an assistant coach,” Cress said. “I have always wanted to coach with Harold, since I basically learned my coaching philosophy from him.” Shepherd’s responsibilities at Jewell will include a key role in game management and some recruiting. He will be joined by fourth-year assistant coach Chad Thomason and second-year assistant coach Chad Hawkins.
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Soccer
 Following up on a historic 2006 soccer season, the 2007 William Jewell College men's soccer team will attempt to defend their conference and regional championships and return to the national tournament and national final four.
William Jewell College head coach Chris Cissell, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Coach of the Year in 2006, will begin his sixth year in charge of the men's program. Senior co-captains Josh Howard and Kevin Nekuda, both All Conference 1st Team performers in 2006, will be expected to lead a team of veterans and promising newcomers to another successful season. Six additional seniors will provide depth and experience: 2006 All Conference 2nd Team forward John Barber; 2006 All Conference 2nd Team defender Justin Park; 2006 All Conference 2nd Team goalkeeper Andy Shields; 2006 Champions of Character award winner Clint Wyllie; and 2006 Academic All Americans Garrett Jahn and Jacob Patton.
Junior midfielder Austin Williams (All Conference 2nd Team in 2006); sophomore forward Matt Happy (All Conference 1st Team in 2006); sophomore midfielder Eric Wimberley (Missouri State transfer); and sophomore midfielder Manny Tovar (11 assists in 2006) possess energy and skill that can change a game.
"We have a group of leaders that are willing to sacrifice for the good of the team," said coach Cissell. "This is a talented team that likes to compete. It's going to be an exciting season."
The WJC men's team will play one of the most challenging schedules in the nation, including 10 home games at Greene Stadium.
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2007 Women’s Soccer Outlook
Bringing back a nucleus of starters from last year’s 14-4-2 team, the 2007 William Jewell College women’s soccer team has high hopes for the 2007 season. Leading the way for the Cardinals will be senior co-captains Erica Greco and Shanon Eberle. Both Greco and Eberle are multi-year All Conference picks. Also returning to the lineup will be 2006 All American forward Nicole Revenaugh and 2006 All American midfielder Megan Gray. All Conference honorees from 2006 include 3rd Team midfielder Katie Brooks and 3rd Team defender Kathleen Hatfield.
“This team has experience and talent at every position. Our depth is going to be an advantage to us throughout the season,” said WJC head coach Chris Cissell, who is beginning his ninth year as head coach of the women’s program.
Three freshman newcomers, Danielle Doerfler (Lee’s Summit North); Jamie Skahan (Lee’s Summit North); and Sarah Williams (Lee’s Summit West) are expected to contribute right away. All three are members of the KC Metro Dynamos club team coached by Derek Shoare that won the prestigious President’s Day Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz., in 2007.
“We have a talented group of eight newcomers on top of our experienced veterans,” said Cissell. “We had success in 2006, but this team is very driven to achieve more. The NAIA women’s national championship will be in Daytona Beach, Fla., this year, which was the site of last year’s men’s tournament that was experienced by Jewell’s men’s program. The women players heard a lot about the men’s positive experience last year and want the women’s team to have that experience in 2007.”
The WJC women will have nine home games in 2007.
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2007 Cross Country Season Outlook
 The William Jewell 2007 men’s and women’s cross country teams will have some very talented runners with returnees and newcomers to the programs. The women’s team has more experience and some new key runners will add even more depth. The men’s team will be small but with talent and is still rebuilding with hopes of adding to a strong tradition of great WJC male runners.
On the women’s side, the top returnees will be seniors Alex Braden and Jennifer Ghidoni, junior Michaela Taylor, sophomore Betsy Waddle, junior Abby Huston, sophomore Alecia Valencia, junior Shannon Anderson, sophomore Paula Mahlburg and sophomore Sarah Jacobson. All will help to make the women’s team very competitive.
Newcomers to the program are two notable first-year performers from Missouri: Bethany Moore from Kickapoo High School, in Springfield, Mo., and Stacy Reichel from Kirksville High School in Kirksville, Mo. Both were great runners in cross country and track & field throughout their high school careers and will be a great addition to the team.
On the men’s side the top returnees will be senior Aaron Mick, junior Andrew Trapp, sophomore Brian Gehrlein and sophomore Ian Talbot.
The men’s team will have two newcomers to the program in Jesse Funk from Winnetonka High School in Kansas City, Mo., and junior Tyler Folan from Lafayette High School in Chesterfield, Mo. Jesse was one of the top runners on his team and a very hard worker. Tyler is a fine runner added to the team for the first time this year, and both look to be running with the rest of the upperclassmen.
The William Jewell College cross country teams will open the 2007 season at the Baker University Invitational in Baldwin City, Kan., on September 1 at 10 a.m.
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Women’s Tennis Achieve Academic All-American Status
 The William Jewell College women’s tennis team was named an International Tennis Association Academic All-American team for the fourth straight year. Jewell was one of 13 teams from the NAIA which received the honor, and only two squads in the Heart of America Athletic Conference were recognized. William Jewell’s women’s tennis team compiled a 3.46 GPA during the entire school year. To be eligible for consideration a team must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale).
William Jewell also placed six individuals on the NAIA ITA Academic All-American squad. Players honored are Jessica Williams, Allison Cobb, Tiffany Keller, Brittney Goldschmidt, Ann Lewis and Debra Bowman
In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, a player must be a varsity letter winner, have a GPA average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters (including freshman thorough senior year).
“This is quite an honor for our squad said head coach Paul Worstell. “We stress academics first in our program, and these young ladies are proof of that.”
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