SMSU Athletics

October 30, 2014 – Hoof Prints Article
 
Hello Mustang Fans!
 
Yesterday, out SMSU student-athletes visited local elementary schools as part of our Mustang Mail program sponsored by the Mustang Booster Club. It is always an exciting day for student-athletes and their Mustang Mail pen pals to meet for the first time and begin to develop their relationship. Thank you to all the local elementary school administrators and teachers who work with our staff and student-athletes to make this civic engagement activity a huge success!
 
The action continues in the SMSU Department of Athletics as we partner with the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) to host section volleyball and football play-offs. Section volleyball has been underway in the R/A Facility and continues today and Saturday. Here is the upcoming schedule:
 
Thursday, October 30 in the R/A Facility:
 
Section 3A Semi-Finals
Heron Lake-Okabena vs Tracy-Milroy-Balaton @ 6:00 PM (South)
Minneota vs Central Minnesota Christian @ 7:30 PM (North)
 
Saturday, November 1 in R/A Facility:
Section 3A Finals at 6:00 PM
Section 3AA Finals at 7:30 PM
 
On Friday, October 31, we will host four section football games at the Schwan Regional Event Center. Here is the schedule:
 
Section 3 (9 man) #3 Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley vs #1 Edgerton/Ellsworth @ 12:00 PM
Section 3A #1 Minneota vs #2 Adrian 2:30 PM
Section 5A #1 Dawson-Boyd vs #3 Canby @ 5:00 PM
Section 3AA #3 Pipestone Area vs #4 Jackson County Central @ 7:30 PM
 
The R/A Facility and Schwan Regional Event Center are great venues to host section playoff competition. SMSU and the Department of Athletics are proud to host our area high schools as they look to move on in the MSHSL State Playoffs. We are excited to have our area high schools on the campus of SMSU. Congratulations and good luck to all the teams who will be competing at SMSU this Thursday, Friday and Saturday!
 
For all your information on Mustang Athletics, go to SMSUmustangs.com
 
This Week in SMSU Athletics
SMSU Women’s Soccer team (8-7-1, 7-5-1 NSIC) went 1-1 last weekend winning on Saturday versus MSU Moorhead before suffering a 0-1 loss to Northern State on Sunday. The Mustangs will be on the road this Friday taking on Wayne State College (2-13-1, 1-12 NSIC) at 1:00 pm in Wayne, NE. On Sunday, Southwest will host its last contest of the regular season playing host to Augustana College (13-3, 11-2 NSIC) at 1:00 pm as part of Senior Day at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
 
The Mustang Football team (2-6, 1-3 South Division) is coming off a home loss in a nail biter against Wayne State with the Wildcats winning 48-45 in overtime. The Mustangs will be at home again this Saturday playing Concordia St. Paul (2-6, 1-3 South Division) at the Schwan Regional Event Center with the kick-off scheduled for 1:00 pm.
 
The #8 SMSU Volleyball team (17-7, 12-4 NSIC) went 1-2 this past week suffering two home losses on the weekend to #3 Concordia St. Paul and MSU Mankato. On Tuesday, the Mustangs charged back down two sets to none against the University of Sioux Falls, in Sioux Falls, SD, winning the last three sets to claim a very tough road NSIC victory.
 
SMSU will be on the road this weekend traveling to Bemidji State (5-19, 3-13 NSIC) on Friday for a 7:00 pm match. Southwest will then head to the University of Minnesota Crookston (11-13, 5-11 NSIC) on Saturday to battle the Golden Eagles at 4:00 pm.
 
The SMSU Women’s and Men’s Cross Country teams will be idle this week preparing for the NSIC Championships which will be held on November 8 in Wayne, NE.
The SMSU Men’s Basketball team held an exhibition game this past Sunday against our SMSU Alumni team earning a 67-60 victory at the R/A Facility. The game was part of the annual "Andy Wiersma Day" at SMSU.
In the game, SMSU was led by Cole Martin with 12 points, while Travis Meinders added 11 points. Carter Kirk scored eight points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Mitch Weg also reached double figures in rebounds with 10 and scored six points.
Jordan Miller paced the Alumni team with 10 points and five rebounds. The Mustangs will continue exhibition play on Thursday, November 6, taking on Division I University of Nebraska and former SMSU head coach Tim Miles. On Monday, November 10, Southwest will play St. Olaf in its final exhibition contest.
The SMSU Women’s Basketball team will open up their season with an exhibition game this Sunday against St. Catherine University in the R/A Facility at 3:00 pm. The Mustangs will continue exhibition play the following Sunday as they travel to the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee with tip-off at 1:00 pm.
The SMSU Wheelchair Basketball team opens up their 2014-15 campaign this week as they host the Sioux Falls Wheelers in the PE Gym this Friday with games at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. The Mustangs will be on the road Saturday traveling to Minneapolis, MN, to take on the Rolling Timberwolves teams (White and Black) playing four games at 9:30 am, 11:00 am, 2:00 pm and 3:30 pm.
Congratulations to two SMSU Wrestlers, Jacob Begin and Cole Wilson, who were ranked in the preseason NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association poll.
 
Jacob Begin, a senior at 174 pounds with a career record of 73-25 is ranked No. 3 going 25-9 last season earning his way to the NCAA Division II national tournament for the second consecutive season and an All-NSIC first team selection.
 
Cole Wilson, a senior at 285 is ranked No. 4 with a career record of 40-17 and coming off a season where he earned All-NSIC second team honors and qualified for his first NCAA Division II national tournament appearance recording a 26-12 record last season.
This Saturday at 5:00 pm, the SMSU Wrestling team will host their annual Brown and Gold Dual in the PE Gym. It will be an inter-squad dual and the program will be inviting alumni and former SMSU Wrestlers back to campus to get a preview of this year’s team. The Mustangs will begin the season at the Dakota Wesleyan Open (SD) in Mitchell, SD, on November 15.  
I would like to wish all of our teams the best of luck this week!
 
Go Mustangs!
 
No one was able to provide the correct answer to last week’s Mustang Hoofprints Question: What year did the SMSU Department of Athletics and the Mustang Booster Club start the Mustang Mail program? Mustang Athletics started the Mustang Mail program in the fall of 2010 and has over 700 elementary students participating in the program.
 
Hoofprints Trivia Question (please put this in a box with the title on top)
 
How many years has the SMSU Department of Athletics hosted the MSHSL Football Section Playoff games at the Schwan Regional Event Center?
 
The first person to email me at MustangHoofPrints@SMSU.edu with the correct answer to this question will receive an SMSU t-shirt.