SPORTS

Lifters bring National Recognition to MSU
David Roach | Staff Reporter

The Midwestern State University Weightlifting Club has garnered much national success although it has been around for just seven years.
The club is not a varsity sport and does not receive scholarship funding, yet it has become one of the top athletic programs at this university.
Since its inception in 1999, the MSU Weightlifting Club has competed on the highest level of the USA Weightlifting Association – against programs such as Navy, Louisiana State University and others – and has won a total of seven Colligate National titles including five men’s and two women’s crowns. The Indians’ lifters won the top prize in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 while the Lady Indians won in 2003 and 2004.
MSU also sent eight lifters to the US Olympic Trials last year.
The club’s head coach Glenn Pendlay said anywhere from 300 to 400 lifters compete at the national competition. Each qualifying men’s team consists of eight lifters, and each women’s team consists of seven. MSU typically qualifies more than the minimum number competitors to the event.
Pendlay said Dr. Kilgore brought him to MSU, and in his first year as head coach in 2000, Pendlay was able to lead the men’s team to their first national championship.
Pendlay said his guys beat San Diego State by just a couple points.
“It came down to the last lifter and the last lift,” he said Monday. “We had a good mix of kids from the years before and some good incoming kids, and it just happened to be enough.”
Pendlay said freshman Donny Shankle, sophomore Ashley Suggs and Josh Wells are currently his top three lifters out of an estimated 25 to 35 athletes in the club, including men and women.
Shankle was named to the All-American team this year and broke the US record by 20 kilograms at Colligate Nationals this year with a 192 kilogram “clean and jerk” in his weight class of 105 kilograms. He has been a part of the MSU club for only 18 months.
“Donny Shankle is just probably one of the most just brutally strong people that you’d ever want to meet,” Pendlay said. “Most people take much longer that to get to where he is. I don’t think I see anyone beating Donny in the next few years.”
Suggs, who competes in the 69 kilogram weight class, won the silver medal at the Pan American event at Chile in 2004 and has earned second and third places at the last two Colligate Nationals during her two-year stint with the club. Suggs previously played basketball and volleyball.
“What she really excelled in was, like, basketball and volleyball,” Pendlay said. “Physically, she’s got the ability to do anything she wants to do.”
Wells has been with the club for three years now and has placed second and third at the 2003 and 2004 Colligate Nationals, respectively, in the 85 kilogram weight class. Wells has since moved up to the 94 kilogram weight class and placed fourth at the national competition this year.
“Lifting has never come easy for Josh (Wells),” Pendlay said, “but Josh is the steadiest, toughest kid that we probably have. He is one of those guys you know is going to come through under pressure; very, very tough mentally; very, very willing to pay any price, physically or mentally, to be the best.”
While the colligate season has come to an end, the club will no doubt qualify some lifters to other upcoming events.

Lady Indians split pair at Home
Trey Reed | Staff Reporter

Southeastern Oklahoma’s Christina Cearly continued to be a pain in the Lady Indians’ back side Saturday afternoon at the Sunrise Optimist Softball Complex.
The 5’11” senior retired the last 13 batters she faced en route to a 3-0, four-hit shutout in the opener before Rachael Jackson keyed a late inning 6-5 comeback win for MSU in the nightcap.
The split puts the Lady Indians record at 28-15 on the season and they currently are in the third place in the LSC North with a 14-6 conference mark.
The Lady Savages remain two games ahead of MSU with a 12-4 conference mark. Southeastern Oklahoma is now 37-16 on the season.
Cearly, who improved their record to 18-7, eliminated the Lady Indians from last season’s LSC tournament with a 1-0 shutout.
The Lady Savages got to MSU starter Brittany Willson with runs in the first, third and fifth innings to give Cearly all the run support she needed.
MSU failed to convert two-out rallies in the first and third innings. Courtney Veal followed a Sarah Huddleston single to center field with a double to the right field gap in the first inning, but Jackson flied out to end the threat.
Stephanie Wardlaw and Huddleston connected for back-to-back singles in the third inning, but Wardlaw was ruled out on interference while trying to advance to third.
Cearly retired the last 13 batters to help the Lady Savages to the win.
The Lady Indians erupted for 12 hits in the nightcap, but needed a RBI-single from Jackson in the seventh inning to come away with a 6-5 win.
MSU clawed back from a 4-0 deficit in the second inning to take the lead in the fourth. Allison Tidwell’s three-run triple gave the Lady Indians a 5-4 lead after Jackson stroked her team-high 11th home run earlier in the inning.
The Lady Savages tied the game at 5-5 in the fifth inning on Rachel Sill’s RBI-single to center before MSU rallied in the seventh.
Kortney Kemper led off the inning with a single before Veal singled to center field. Jackson followed with another single to center, scoring Kemper.
Willson earned the win with 2 and 2/3 innings of hitless relief to improve to 16-10.
Kristen Stonecipher paced the Lady Indian attack by going 3-for-3 at the plate. Veal, Jackson and Amiee Duke added two hits each.
The Lady Indians host Northeastern State Saturday at 5 p.m.


Real Sport is Life, not Football
Jesse Lewis | For the Wichitan

Trying to make it to the next level in sports is a tough job. Many athletes don’t even get the chance to go pro after the college level.
There are so many divisions that the players are battling against because just about everyone wants to become a professional athlete. Many senior athletes forget that they are students and only dedicate themselves to their particular sport.
College athletes have to remember that they are student-athletes and not just athletes. Universities invest a lot in players to do well and graduate, knowing that most athletes will not be able to turn professional.
At Midwestern State, coaches make sure that athletes don’t leave off the student in their title. This year the MSU football team will be graduating 17 students in various fields.
“I feel that football means a lot to me but I am very sure that getting my education has to come first,” graduating senior Marcus Craft said.
“I have seen many players stop coming to school once their final season ends and now they aren’t doing anything,” he continued. “I wanted to do something after I finish playing football.”
He is now interning for the campus police department and will be graduating in the summer.
Some student-athletes only come to school because they are playing a sport but once that last season comes around they are no longer to be found, said Jermaine Smith, who just finished his last season with the Indians.
For the most part, being a student-athlete puts a lot of pressure on these individuals because not only do they want to graduate but they also want to work hard to turn pro some day.
Many players want to graduate, turn pro and then start a family, but Kevin Taulton has a family and is working on graduating this summer.
Taulton said it is hard trying to balance his school work and family while at the same time trying to workout and get scouted by agents to get an invitation to a camp.
But not all athletes want to go pro. Ryan Tones said that he just wants to become a physical therapist.
“I’ve had my share of bumps and bruises; now it’s time to hang it up,” he said.
Keion Roberts is able to do what he worked so hard to do the past 15 years when he was playing little league football. Roberts just finished his last season with the Indians and will be graduating in the summer.
Roberts got a chance to go to camps over the Christmas holiday and was drafted into the Canadian Football League, which, according to him, is a blessing.
Head football coach Bill Maskill is a firm believer of education first. A study hall is provided to help student-athletes keep their grades up.
“Giving the guys an hour out of their day will at least give them a chance to look over their work and get help with tutors provided so they stay ahead in their studies,” Maskill said.
The coaching staff believes that education is first, so class reports go to the teachers to keep up with the players’ grades and attendance.
It goes to show that Midwestern is keeping the student in athlete.



Overall athletic GPA rises, men still Behind in Classroom
Trey Reed | Staff Reporter

 Senior Justin James was recently named the Lone Star Conference’s Academic Player of the Year in basketball.
 A prestigious honor to be sure, but do James’ accomplishments depict the current state of health at Midwestern State?
Not quite, at least not for the men.
Male athletes carried a 2.23 GPA for the 2004 fall semester paling in comparison to the women. They posted a 2.82.
According athletic academic counselor Carl Nichols, those numbers are up from the fall 2003 semester when the men had a 2.03, while the women notched a 2.81.
The overall athletic GPA has climbed from 2.27 to 2.43 over the same time period.
Nichols said that the climb is in direct correlation to an NCAA emphasis placed on helping athletes graduate and an increase in the athletic budget to provide tutors for athletes.
“We get $5,000 a semester, and we also work in conjunction with the Academic Support Center,” said Nichols, who is responsible ensuring the schedules of 220 athletes work toward obtaining a degree.
The NCAA has also strengthened eligibility requirements. Now, student-athletes are required to take 24 hours over the span of a calendar year. Seventy-five percent of those hours must be taken in either the spring or fall semesters.
Student-athletes must pass six hours in each semester and 18 hours overall to retain eligibility.
“The NCAA is placing more emphasis on passing classes and graduating,” Nichols said.
That has not always been the case, but after years of academic scandals, the NCAA appears to be working towards results.
In the latest NCAA graduation rate report released in January, student-athletes graduated at a higher rate than the student body, a rate of 49 percent as compared to 33 percent of the general student population.
The report covers a five-year span, but Nichols notes it doesn’t take all aspects into consideration.
“The numbers are skewed because transfers are accounted for,” he said.
MSU athletes graduated right at the national average, but the female student carried much of the burden.
The women graduated at a 66 percent clip, while 39 percent of the men earned diplomas. The national average was 44 percent for men and 58 percent for women.
The same numbers are reflected in last semester’s GPAs. Women’s sports led the way with volleyball (3.15) and basketball (3.04) topping the 3.0 mark.
Volleyball coach Venera Flores said it was all about an in-season routine consisting of study halls two nights a week with incentives of more freedom for players that make the grade.
“The girls are more focused during the season,” Flores said. “The schedules are more regimented. They know they have to be focused.”
Flores said the volleyball team follows the same guidelines as every other team in the department.
“I don’t think volleyball players are any different,” she said. “The competitiveness rolls over into the classroom.”
Tennis and softball round out the women’s sports at 2.94 and 2.54, respectively.
Tennis led the way for men last fall at 2.94 with soccer at 2.32, basketball at 2.30 and football at 2.13.
Meanwhile, the student body GPA for women was 2.85. The men averaged a 2.56.



MSU trio Take Flight with Falcons
Julie Wineinger | For the Wichitan

To many people, falcons and Indians carry no significance with each other. One is a bird, the other a human. But for three MSU Indians, being both is a seemingly difficult task yet these young men handle it with great ease. They are players for the Wichita Falls Falcons semi-pro football team.
The Falcons were started in October of 2004 by owner and middle linebacker Jerry Hughes. Hughes, a sophomore nursing major, began the team through the Texas United Football League. Word spread fast about the new semi-pro team and tryouts were held.
“About 90 percent of the players went to high school here (in Wichita Falls) and a few players go to MSU,” Hughes said. Those players attend MSU full time.
A native of Stillwater, Okla., Hughes finds it fairly easy to manage school, work and football. Hughes said the hours are long and he often suffers from lack of sleep. It is not uncommon for Hughes to stay up until the wee hours of the morning working on Falcons business.
“The team comes first this semester because it just got started up,” Hughes said. “I’m a waiter so it’s easy hours and it’s easy to juggle.”
Being the Falcons’ owner, Hughes manages ticket sales, apparel, sponsorships and financial stability.
“It is pretty much like any business venture, you have to keep up with everything,” Hughes said.
Sponsors are what gave the Falcons wings to fly and also what keep them in air. Hughes spent about $3,000 of his own money to get the team started.
Senior business management major Jeff Teague’s long time friendship with Hughes landed him the position of receiver with the Falcons.
Teague played football for Petrolia High School but after three years of hanging up his helmet, Teague decided it was time to restart the game.
“It’s not too bad since practice is only one night a week and the games are on the weekend,” Teague said. “I’d be doing something else anyways.”
Although Teague never played football for MSU, he thinks the biggest difference between college and semi-pro is dedication.
“College people are more dedicated, they are doing it everyday. I do this just for recreation,” he said.
Teague is lucky in that he is employed by his father’s business, Kent’s Tire. Fortunately, the firm is pretty lenient with his schedule.
Lance Partridge, senior finance major and receiver for the Falcons, chose to play because it fit in with his hectic schedule.
In addition to playing football and being a full-time student, Partridge is a full-time manager for Aqua Azul Divers. Ordinarily, Partridge puts in a 40 to 50 hour work week.
Partridge said 90 percent of the players work full time but don’t attend school.
Partridge played football for Holliday High School but, like Teague and Hughes, never played for MSU. Partridge decided to sign on with the Falcons for fun, which is his main goal.
“The only conflict I have is on Saturdays when we have games and I have to work,” Partridge said.
He believes college football is a full-time thing. The players barely have time for school. Although the chances of being recruited into the NFL are slim, playing semi-pro football gives players the competition they desire without the significant time commitment college football requires.
The Falcons practice for about 2 and one-half hours every Thursday at the Central Boys and Girls Club or Memorial Stadium.
Games are every Saturday throughout the season. There are currently about 400 season ticket holders and between 400 and 500 additional fans come out to cheer the Falcons on at home games.
The team travels to places such as Abilene, Lubbock, Monohans, and Hobbs, N.M. Their fiercest rivals are the Wichita Falls Drillers, who disbanded for about three years but reorganized after the launch of the Falcons.
Unlike most teams, the Falcons don’t utilize busses for their away games. Instead, they pile into teammate’s vehicles and carpool.
Many Falcons players are formerly Drillers. Trade does occur between all teams in the Texas United Football League, but it is rare.
“Most players have jobs, wives and families to support,” Hughes said. “They just want to play.”
Desire is strong, too, as none of the players get a salary.