2007 William Jewell College Springs Sports Recap

MEN’S BASEBALL

Under the direction of veteran skipper Mike Stockton, the baseball team finished 41-18 overall and in second place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference standings.  The 2007 season marks the fourth consecutive year the Cardinals have qualified for regional play. 

The Cardinals were represented by seven players on the Heart of America All-Conference First Team.  Third baseman Zach Kohen and pitcher Mark Brackman were named to the HAAC All-Conference first team.  Outfielder Jeremy Strack and pitcher Justin Kesner were named to the All-Conference second team. Second baseman Dan Rezin, pitcher Jason Holmes and infielder Mike Pyle were named to the All-Conference honorable mention team.  Strack, Rezin and catcher Adam Hill were winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove award, which honors individuals for outstanding defensive play at their positions.  In addition, Mark Brackman was named as the Heart of America Conference pitcher of the year by going 12-0 with an era of 2.27.

In addition to conference honors, Mark Brackman was named Region V Pitcher of the Year and Zach Kohan took home the award for Region V Third Baseman of the Year.  Dan Rezin was the Region V Rawlings Gold Glove award winner for second baseman and Jeremy Strack was the Centerfield Regional Rawlings Gold Glove award winner.  Coach Mike Stockton also won Region V Coach of the Year.

WOMEN'S SOFTBALL
Led by first-year head coach Dustin Combs, the softball team finished 26-24 overall, good for seventh place in the final HAAC standings. Jewell also finished tenth in the final Region V Standings.
At the conclusion of the season, second baseman Lindsey Thorpe and third baseman Gretchen Geest were named to the HAAC All-Conference first team.  Pitcher Megan Suelter and catcher Kristen Dalley were named to the All-Conference second team.  In addition, Thorpe and Suelter set school records at their respective positions.  Thorpe hit 21 doubles and tallied 58 rbi’s—both a school records for a season.  Thorpe also batted .395 with eight home runs.  Suelter struck out 154 batters this season, which is also a school record, and along with Geest led the team in wins with 12.

MEN'S TENNIS

The men’s tennis team was led by second-year head coach Paul Worstell this spring and produced an overall record of 3-13 in dual match play, including 0-5 in the HAAC.  The Cardinals lost a heartbreaking HAAC Tournament quarterfinal match to Lindenwood 5-3. The men played extremely well and improved dramatically over the course of the season, and Worstell is looking forward to next season. “We have one of the top recruits in the state coming this fall in Kyle Taylor,” said Worstell.  “We also have another outstanding recruit with Kyle Lehenbauer from North Kansas City, and those two should help us really turn a corner next season.”

WOMEN'S TENNIS
The women’s tennis team had high hopes for the 2006-07 campaign.  The team returned four of the top six singles players from last season but finished third in the Heart of America Conference and fourth in Region V.  Winner of five consecutive HAAC titles, the Cards finished the season at 14-10 and 4-2 in the HAAC.   

The Cardinals excelled in the class room by placing five players on the NAIA Academic All-American Team.  Those players are seniors Jessica Williams and Tiffany Keller and juniors Allison Cobb, Debra Bowman and Brittany Goldschmidt.  In order to earn NAIA Academic All-American status, a player must be a junior or above in academic standing,  be in attendance of their nominating institution for one full year,  and have a Grade Point Average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year.

Next season looks to be another exciting one for the Cardinals as they will return three of the top six positions and have three outstanding recruits coming in.

TRACK AND FIELD
The William Jewell College track and field team was represented by 12 athletes competing in the NAIA Outdoor National Meet held May 24-26 on the campus of Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, Calif.

On the women’s side, sophomore Amber Parker finished 15th in the nation in the 800-meter run with a time of two minutes and 17.71 seconds.  Parker finished last season 19th in the nation at Nationals.  The 4x 800m relay team of Parker, Alex Braden, Michaela Taylor and Jennifer Ghidoni finished in 16th place with a time of 9:46.89, which was their second best time ever.  Rounding out the competition for the women was senior Jennifer Reinhardt who came in 24th place in the discus throw event.

For the men, senior Wade Smith finished 22nd in the nation in the hammer throw with his toss of 159 feet and four inches.   

Sophomore Luke Geisinger improved on his 19th-place finish last season by finishing in 15th place this year in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.14 seconds.  

Rounding out the competition for Jewell, the 4x100 relay team of Geisinger, Tim Bressman, Jess McClaskey and Eric Johnson came in 19th place with a time of 43.87 seconds. 

Assistant Coach Terry Yee was excited about the performance. “These individuals did well in representing our school and our program,” said Yee.  “The competition level was very high, with strong fields in most events and 120 schools competing.  We look to a bright future and hope to return many more athletes to Nationals next year in St. Louis, Mo.”