SMSU Athletics

December 6, 2013 – Hoof Prints Article

Hello Mustang Fans!

Big weekend in store for SMSU Athletics!

It is Bowl Week for the SMSU Football team (7-4) who will play #17 Pittsburg State University (KS) (9-2) in the 48th Mineral Water Bowl on Saturday, in Excelsior Springs, MO., with kickoff set for 12:00 p.m. at Tiger Stadium. The Mineral Water Bowl is hosted by the Excelsior Springs Quarterback Club and the City of Excelsior Springs. The Mustangs headed down to Missouri yesterday for a dinner hosted by the bowl committee.

SMSU will be making its first-ever appearance in the bowl game and will be making just its third post-season appearance in the 46-year history of the program. The Mustangs come into the contest a four-game winning streak - the longest streak since 1999 - and tied for the third longest in program history.

Today, the Mustangs will practice at 10:45 a.m. at Tiger Stadium, before heading to the Mineral Water Bowl Banquet held this evening.

For all Mustang Fans heading down to the game, SMSU Athletics and Advancement will be sponsoring a tailgate tent at the stadium Saturday morning. The tailgating will begin at 10:00 a.m. Director of Athletic Development, Tim Steinbach, will have the game tickets with him at the tailgating tent for fans to pick-up or purchase. We have currently sold 320 of the 500 tickets SMSU purchased for the bowl game as part of the NSIC contract with the Excelsior Springs Quarterback Club. Please support the SMSU Department of Athletics by meeting our goal of selling all 500 tickets ($10 ticket cost) to Saturday’s bowl game. You can contact the SMSU Department of Athletics at 507-537-7271to reserve your tickets or find Tim Steinbach at the tailgate tent on Saturday prior to the game.

Also on Saturday morning, the Marshall Radio Station will be hosting a breakfast at the Elm’s Hotel where we will be broadcasting Saturday Morning Mustang from 8-9 a.m. The breakfast and special Mineral Water Bowl edition of Saturday Morning Mustang are sponsored by the Marshall Radio Station, D & G Excavating, Avera Medical Group – Marshall, Lockwood Motors and Fuzzy’s Bar. The breakfast is open to all SMSU officials, Mustang Booster Club members and the sponsors of the event. Thank you to the Marshall Radio Station and the above sponsors for their continuous support of  SMSU Athletics.

There are still a few seats available of the fan buses heading down to the Mineral Water Bowl on Saturday morning. The cost is $40 for community members and alumni and $10 for SMSU students with a valid SMSU ID. Game ticket is included in the price. The bus will leave at 4:15 a.m. on Saturday from Founders Hall on the campus of SMSU and will return to Marshall following the game with a return time at approximately 10:00 p.m. Please contact the Alumni Association Office at 507-537-6266 to reserve your seat today.

It is an exciting time for the SMSU Football program!

The SMSU Volleyball team competed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament yesterday at 5:00 pm. The # 7 ranked Mustangs are making their 10th consecutive NCAA appearance and will match-up with No. 4 seed #8 Washburn University in the first round.

SMSU enters the tournament with a 23-7 overall record and is coming off a third-place regular season finish in the NSIC with a 17-3 record. Minnesota Duluth earned the No. 1 seed and the right to host the 2013 NCAA Central Region tournament matches. With a win, the Mustangs would be scheduled to play the winner of #1 seed UMD or #8 seed Arkansas Tech at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.

Good luck to both the SMSU Football and Volleyball teams this weekend in post-season play!

The SMSU Department of Athletics will also be holding the 2nd Annual Ag Bowl Scholarship Challenge, sponsored by Ralco, Inc., on the campus of SMSU Saturday with the contest beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Charter Hall. We have five teams attending this year’s event competing in three areas: ag  issues, ag marketing and ag communications. The winners of each category will be recognized at halftime of the Mustang Men’s Basketball game Saturday evening.  I would like to thank all our sponsors: ADM, CHS, Midwest Ag and our title sponsor Ralco, Inc. for their support and commitment to the Ag Bowl Scholarship Challenge. I would also like to thank the SMSU Ag Club for their hard work and dedication at the event.

For all the latest information on the Mineral Water Bowl, NCAA Central Region Volleyball action and Mustang Athletics go to SMSUmustangs.com.

This Week in SMSU Athletics

Congratulations to SMSU Soccer player, Miranda Cadena, who was named to the 2013 Daktronics NCAA Division II Women's Soccer All-America honorable mention team. This season, sophomore forward has been named to the National Soccer Coaches' Association of America / Continental Tire All-Central Region first team, 2013 Daktronics All-Central Region Player of the Year, Daktronics All-Central Region first team, and All-NSIC first team.

Cadena, a native of Highland, CA, scored 13 goals and tallied six assists for 32 points for the Mustangs this season. She became the first SMSU player since Joelle Dean in 2004 to score double-digit goals in a single-season. Her seven game-winning goals in 2013 set the new SMSU single-season record, while she finished in the top 10 in SMSU single-season history in games played (t-1st, 22), games started (t-1st, 22), shots attempted (2nd, 79), shots on goal (t-3rd, 45), points (4th, 32), shots per game (4th, 3.59), goals (t-4th, 13), shots on goal per game (5th, 2.05), points per game (7th, 1.45), goals per game (7th, 0.59) assists (t-8th, 6), and minutes played (9th, 1,780). In just two seasons on the field, Cadena currently holds the SMSU all-time record for points per game (1.18), goals per game (0.49), and game-winning goals (11). She ranks eighth in points (46), and tied for eighth in goals (19). It was a great season for our SMSU Soccer team.

Congratulations to junior running back Tyler Tonderum has been named to the 2013 Daktronics Super Region 3 first team, and senior offensive center Brandon Puffer who was named to the second team.

Tonderum and Puffer are the first SMSU players to earn Daktronics All-Region honors since 2009, while Tonderum is the first player to be named first team since 2007. Tonderum was one of just three offensive players from the NSIC named to the first team. Tonderum is now eligible for Daktronics, Inc. Division II Football All-American selection. The announcement of the All-American teams is expected on December 17, preceding the NCAA Division II Football Championship, which takes place December 21 in Florence, Alabama.

Puffer, a 6-foot-1, 299-pound senior from Buffalo, Minn., has started the past 33 games at center and helped an offense that averaged an NSIC best 535.6 yards and a league-high 288.5 passing yards per game in 2013. SMSU ranked third in the NSIC in rushing and was third in scoring. SMSU also ranked first in the conference with 307 first downs. A 2013 first team All-NSIC South honoree, Puffer was an All-NSIC South honorable mention honoree in 2011 and a second team All-NSIC South selection last season.

Congratulations also goes out to Tyler as he is one of nine national finalists for the Harlon Hill Award, which is given annually to the top player in Division II football. The announcement came last week by the Harlon Hill national committee. The list of 2013 finalists is comprised of five quarterbacks and four running backs.

Congratulations to sophomore volleyball player Abbey Thissen has been named to the 2013 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Central Region honorable mention team. Thissen, a native of Clara City, Minn., leads SMSU with 419 kills and a 3.88 kill per set average. The right side hitter is attacking at a .275 clip this season in 30 matches and 108 sets played for head coach Terry Culhane. Thissen's 3.88 kills per set average is 27th best in NCAA Division II, while her 4.25 points per set average rates 38th. Thissen was named to the All-NSIC first team for the second consecutive season, but this marks the first time she has garnered AVCA All-Central Region accolades.

The SMSU Men’s Basketball team (2-4, 0-1 NSIC) will return to the R/A Facility tody and Saturday to host Augustana College (4-3, 1-0 NSIC) and Wayne State College (3-2, 0-1 NSIC) in a pair of NSIC home games. SMSU will battle Augustana on Friday night with tip-off set for 8:00 p.m., while on Saturday, SMSU and Wayne State will start at 7:00 p.m. The Mustangs went to overtime last Saturday with the University of Sioux Falls falling 83-87 to the Cougars in the extra period.

The SMSU Women’s Basketball team (2-3, NSIC 0-1) will kick off its NSIC home schedule today and Saturday when the Mustangs welcome the #10 ranked Augustana and Wayne State. SMSU will play its first NCAA ranked opponent of the season on Friday with a showdown versus Augustana at 6:00 p .m. On Saturday, Wayne State will come to town for a 5:00 p.m. tip-off from the R/A facility. The Mustangs are coming off a tough 60-70 loss to the University of Sioux Falls last Saturday in their first NSIC game of the season.

The SMSU Wrestling team had two wrestlers, Justin Reinsma and Jacob Begin, who were ranked in the latest NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association poll. Justin Reinsma, a senior at 133 pounds is ranked No. 8 with his 10-6 record. Reinsma is a two-time All-America selection and was named All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference second team last season. This season, Reinsma has claimed the 133 pound title at the Jimmie Open, fourth at the Warren Williamson / Daktronics Open, and sixth at the Finn Grinaker / Cobber Open.

Jacob Begin, a senior at 174 pounds is ranked No. 7 with his 6-5record in his first season wrestling at 174 pounds. Last season he qualified for the NCAA tournament and was named All-NSIC second team with a record of 17-5 at 165 pounds. He was ranked has high at No. 5 by the NCAA at 165 pounds last season.

The Mustangs hit the road Saturday with three duals at the Wiconsin-Lacrosse Duals in La Crosse, WI starting at 9:00 a.m. SMSU will first square-off with Waldorf (Iowa) at 9:00 a.m., before taking on Wisconsin-La Crosse at 11:00 a.m., and Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 1:00 p.m.

The SMSU Wheelchair Basketball team will be back in action today and tomorrow at the University of Missouri Tournament held in Columbia, MO. The Mustangs will play UT-Arlington and the University of Illinois today at 12:00 p.m. and 4:00p.m. SMSU will take on Missouri at 9:00 a.m. and Whitewater at 11:30 a.m. to conclude the tournament.

I would like to wish all of our teams the best of luck this weekend!

Go Mustangs!

No one was able to provide the correct answer to last week’s Mustang Hoofprint’s Trivia Question: Head Mustang Volleyball Coach, Terry Culhane, has accumulated a 256-69 overall record equaling a .787 winning percentage in his 10 years at SMSU. What former Mustang Head Volleyball Coach has the second highest winning percentage in the school’s history? Ryan Dehnel in his only season as Head Coach of the SMSU Volleyball program collected a .645 winning percentage. Here are the overall winning percentages for the four Head Coaches of Mustang Volleyball:

Terry Culhane (2004-2013)  256 69 -- .787
Ryan Dehnel (2003)   20 11 -- .645
Jeri Madden (1971-1984)   254 204 12 .540
Deb Denbeck (1985-2002)   308 352 -- .467


Hoofprints Trivia Question (please put this in a box with the title on top)

John Sterner, Leon Bullerman, and Link Steffen all earned a National Championship as members of the SMSU Wrestling program. SMSU has also had three individuals who took 2nd Place in the National Championships, can you name the three Mustang Wrestlers?

The first person to email me at MustangHoofPrints@SMSU.edu with the correct answer to this question will receive an SMSU t-shirt.