SMSU Athletics

September 11, 2014 – Hoof Prints Article
 
Hello Mustang Fans!
 
Last Saturday was a beautiful day to host the 9th Annual Mustang Shootout at Shooter’s Sporting Clays presented by the Marshall Radio Station and Shooter’s Sporting Clays. We had 109 shooters participate in the event and the Mustang Shootout Committee put together a great schedule for the group in attendance. Here are this year’s champions:
 
Individuals:
1st Place             Ken Mathiowetz (97/100)
2nd Place                        Lance Hurd (95/100)
3rd Place             Jeff Deschepper (94/100)
 
Youth:
1st Place             Samuel Dieken
2nd Place                        Nathan Lund
3rd Place             Chase Blowers
 
Team:
1st Place                         HP Ringers (Doug Lemke, Mark Maschoff, Ken Mathiowetz & Chris Chamness) – 369
2nd Place                        Action Sports (Jim Swenson, Jason Becker, Gary Becker & Jeff Deschepper) – 353
3rd Place             Marshall Radio (Brad Strootman, Aaron Strootman, Dan Strootman & Ron Halgerson) - 350
 
Starting this Friday, SMSU will be hosting Family Weekend where families of our students are invited to campus for three days of activities. As part of Family Weekend, SMSU will have the country band, Mockingbird Sun, performing in the R/A Facility parking lot from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
 
Also on Saturday, SMSU has partnered with businesses and organizations in the region to host, Cultures on the Prairie of Southwest Minnesota at the Schwan Regional Event Center. The program will have activities beginning at 9:00 am and running through 3:30 pm with these events all leading up to the SMSU Football game versus University of Minnesota, Crookston at 6:00 pm. For the entire schedule of events for Family Weekend and Cultures on the Prairie, please go to SMSU.edu.
 
This week, our Athletic Communications Office put a press release out sharing the academic success of our teams and student-athletes from the 2013-14 academic year. SMSU student-athletes achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.08 last year improving from a 3.05 GPA in 2012-13. Our teams and student-athletes were recognized many times over for their successes in the classroom as well as in competition.
 
We would first like to thank our student-athletes for their hard work and dedication to their studies. Our student-athletes work very hard throughout the year to balance a rigorous schedule of academics, athletics, civic engagement and leadership activities and a social life. Our student-athletes have a great support system in place to help them manage their collegiate experience. We would also like to thank our head and assistant coaches, faculty members, staff members and administrators for their support of our student-athletes throughout the year. The academic success of our SMSU student-athletes is truly a team effort and something for the entire University to be proud of.
 
To read the full press release on the academic success of SMSU student-athletes and all the information on Mustang Athletics, please go to SMSUmustangs.com.
 
This Week in SMSU Athletics
SMSU Women’s Soccer team went 1-1 last weekend against a couple of MIAA opponents at the Schwan Regional Event Center. Last Friday, the Mustang fell to Fort Hayes State 1-4 before dominating the University of Nebraska Kearney 6-1 on Sunday. The schedule does not get any easier for SMSU as the team will travel to MSU Mankato this Friday to take on the defending national champions, Grand Valley State (MI) in a non-conference match-up starting at 3:00 pm in Mankato, MN.
 
On Sunday, the Mustangs will begin their NSIC schedule welcoming the University of Sioux Falls to the Schwan Regional Event Center for a 6:00 pm contest. This match will be the first of three home NSIC contests for the Mustangs as they kick-off conference play.  
 
The Mustang Football team opened the season with a heartbreaking 18-19 loss to the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND last weekend. SMSU will look to rebound this weekend as we welcome the University of Minnesota Crookston to the Schwan Regional Event Center for a 6:00 pm kick-off. On Saturday, the SMSU Football team in partnership with the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund will host “Tackle Cancer” night at the contest.
 
The Mustang football program will have a table set up near the front gate to receive donations in the fight against cancer. Individuals donating $10 or more will receive a free "Tackle Cancer" t-shirt while supplies last. The Affiliated Community Medical Center (ACMC) will be joining the Mustang Football team as the game-day sponsor for Tackle Cancer night and will have a variety of promotional activities supporting cancer awareness throughout the game.
 
ACMC and SMSU Athletics are also sponsoring the "Stanger's Coloring Contest" for ages 12-and-under, as part of SMSU's home opening football game this Saturday night. This promotion will be part of ACMC-Marshall’s game-day sponsorship for Saturday night's football game.
 
Kids of all ages are encouraged to color the picture of "Stanger" and then drop off or mail the finished artwork with registration to ACMC-Marshall by Tuesday, September. 16. ACMC is located at 1521 Carlson Street in Marshall.
 
Three winners—one in each age category—will be selected to win SMSU gear in a random drawing and announced on ACMC's Facebook page on Friday, September. 19. One lucky grand-prize winner will also receive four tickets to the SMSU Homecoming game on Saturday, October 11, and an autographed SMSU football. We look forward to seeing you out at the SMSU Football game this Saturday evening.
 
The SMSU Volleyball team is 2-2 overall in non-conference play to begin the season. The Mustangs suffered two losses day one of the Concordia St. Paul Tournament to #11 Wheeling Jesuit and #1 Concordia last weekend. SMSU recovered day two beating Ashland (OH) and Missouri S&T. Following last week’s tournament, SMSU dropped to #10 in this week’s AVCA Division II Top 25 Poll.
 
The Mustangs will head to Denver, CO, this weekend to compete in the Premier Challenge hosted by Metro State (CO). SMSU will continue with their challenging schedule taking on #2 Tampa in the first match of the tournament on Friday at 10:30 am. The Mustangs will conclude the day taking on Metro State at 3:30 pm. Saturday, SMSU will compete against Colorado Mesa at 10:30 am and Regis (CO) at 3:30 pm two opponents from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
The Mustang Women’s Golf team is coming off a 5th place finish in the Cobber Open last Friday and a 2nd place finish in the Concordia College Invite last Saturday and Sunday. SMSU’s second place finish (649) was two strokes behind St. Benedicts (647) who won the championship. Freshman Ashley Bixby tied for second shooting a seven-over-par 79 for the second straight day to card a 14-over (79-79—158).
 
Dana Wagner (81-81) and Alex Floyd (82-80) each finished the 36-hole tournament with 18-over scores of 162. Becky Koepp was SMSU's next highest finisher with a 24-over 168 (83-85), followed by Lauren Kerr with a 173 (89-84). The Mustangs next action will be September 15-16 at the Northeastern State Classic (OK.) held at Cherokee Springs Golf Club in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.


The SMSU Women’s and Men’s Cross Country teams competed last weekend in the Augustana Twilight at Yankton Trails Park. The Mustang Men finished 13th out of 22 teams, recording 374 points. Alejandro Sanchez led the Mustangs in the four-mile race with a time of 19:54 to place 53rd, while teammate Evan Bonneson recorded a 68th place finish with a time of 20:04. The University of Nebraska won the men's meet with 41 points.
 
The SMSU Women placed 16th out of 22 teams, finishing with 417 points. The University of South Dakota earned the team title with 62 points, edging past Nebraska with 73 points. Savannah Ramirez led SMSU with a 69th place finish, crossing the finish line with a time of 17:58 in the three-mile race. Julia Orlow had the second fastest time for SMSU finishing in 79th place with a time of 18:08.
 
The Mustang Women’s and Men’s Cross Country teams will be in action this Saturday, at the Border Battle meet in La Crosse, WI, beginning at 10:15 am at Pettibone Park.
 
I would like to wish all of our teams the best of luck this week!
 
Go Mustangs!
 
No one provided the correct answer to last week’s Mustang Hoofprints Question: What former SMSU student-athlete was inducted into the NSIC Hall of Fame this summer for her accomplishments in Women’s Basketball? Lillie Brown (1992-96) was the 23rd SMSU student-athlete inducted into the NSIC Hall of Fame this past July in recognition of her achievements on the basketball court as a Mustang.
 
Hoofprints Trivia Question (please put this in a box with the title on top)
 
Who is the all-time sack leader for the SMSU Football program?
 
The first person to email me at MustangHoofPrints@SMSU.edu with the correct answer to this question will receive an SMSU t-shirt.