Hoof Prints

Each week, SMSU director of athletics Chris Hmielewski writes a weekly column in the Marshall Independent called "Hoof Prints". His weekly column will be posted each week here at SMSUmustangs.com.

May 21, 2015 – Hoof Prints Article

Hello Mustang Fans!

This will be the last Mustang Hoofprints article for SMSU Athletics in 2014-15. It is amazing on how fast the year goes by. We concluded an academic year a little over a week ago, and we have already begun planning and preparing for the start of the next academic and athletic year. Over the summer months, we have a couple of Mustang Booster Club activities I would like to highlight for you.

The Mustang Booster Club (MBC) Membership Drive will begin their campaign in June to increase its membership to over three hundred members for 2015-16. This is a very realistic goal which will enhance the membership drive revenues from just over $123,000 in 2014-15, to over $150,000 projected in 2015-16. We will need the support of the Marshall and surrounding communities, our student-athletes’ families, alums, former student-athletes and friends of SMSU Athletics to meet our goal. The MBC Membership Drive is the largest annual fund raiser for the booster club with the revenues going to support the operation of SMSU Athletics and athletic scholarships provided to our student-athletes.

The 2015 David and Carol Drown SMSU Golf Classic is right around the corner. The SMSU Golf Classic will be held on Friday, June 12 at the Marshall Golf Club with registration beginning at 11:00 am. The five-person scramble golf tournament will start at 12:30 pm with a social and awards ceremony following golf. Sponsorships and registration information can be found on the SMSU Athletics website.

For all the latest information about SMSU Athletics all summer long go to SMSUmustangs.com.

Congratulations to the SMSU Women’s and Men’s Outdoor Track & Field teams on a strong finish in the NSIC/US Bank Championships and a very successful 2015 outdoor season. Alejandro Sanchez became the first SMSUstudent-athlete in track to win an outdoor championship at the Division II level. Sanchez is also the first SMSU student-athlete to earn a conference outdoor championship since Doug Wallace won the steeplechase during the 1992 season when SMSU was a member of NAIA.

The Southwest Minnesota State men's team finished with 29 points to finish 11th at the championship, with Minnesota State winning the title with 202.5 points. The SMSU women's team recorded two points and finished 14th overall. The University of Mary captured the women's team title with 162 points.

Other top SMSU finishers include: Will Hanson who earned All-NSIC honors as he placed third in the javelin with a school record toss of 59.98m. The 4x400 relay team, consisting of Austin LaFollette, Chris Kveseth, Dallin Finley and Alejandro Sanchez also set a school record with a 3:19.55 to finish in fourth place.

The 4x100 relay team of Michael Rivera, Finley, Ben Ryan and Hanson also finished in fourth place crossing the finish line at 41.91. LaFollette set a personal best in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 54.18 to finish in sixth place.

For the women's team, Kim Shabino finished eighth in the 100 meters with a time of 12.30 and also finished ninth in the 200 meters with a time of 25.35. Eisha Oden also ran in the finals and recorded a ninth place time in the 400 meters at 57.88. The 4x100 relay team of Alycia Hohenstein, Shabino, Samantha McNeel and Oden placed eighth with a time of 48.63.

Sophomore, Alejandro Sanchez, was recognized last week earning All-Region honors from the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for his performances during the 2015 outdoor season.

All-Region accolades are given to athletes who recorded the top-five ranking marks in their region. Sanchez earned all-region honors in the 800-meters. He had the fastest time among all NSIC runners recording a 1:50.90 at the Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls, SD. The time ranks as the 25^th fastest in Division II this season. It's the third all-region honor for Sanchez during his career. He earned all-region honors in the 800-meters following the 2014 outdoor season and was named all-region in the 800-meters this past March following the 2015 indoor season. The Central Region consists of schools from the NSIC, the Great American Conference and the Mid-American Athletic Association.

Last week, SMSU’s Head Track & Field Coach, Nate Wolf, announced the individual team awards for the 2015 season. For the men's team, Alejandro Sanchez and Will Hanson were named the most outstanding track athletes, while Alex Weis was named the most outstanding field athlete. Chris Kveseth was named the most improved athlete on the team.

On the women's team, Kim Shabino and Eisha Oden were both named the most outstanding track athlete; Naomi Dalton took home the most outstanding field athlete award, while Rylee Armstrong was voted the most improved.

Congratulations to Coach Wolf, his assistant coaches and all our student-athletes on the women’s and men’s track and field teams for an exciting and successful second season as an NCAA Division II program.

I would like to wish all everyone a safe and wonderful summer!

Go Mustangs!

The answer to our last Mustang Hoofprint’s Trivia Question: What four SMSU student-athletes hold the outdoor track record in the 4 X 200 Meter Relay? This spring Michael Rivera, Dallin Finley, Ben Ryan and Chris Kveseth set SMSU’s record for the 4 X 200 with a mark of 1:31.12.

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