Southwest Baptist took six determined track and field athletes to the Emporia State ATG Sports Twilight Qualifier this past weekend, returning with success. In the sport of track, an athlete who is teetering on the bubble of a trip to the national track meet or staying home can test their skills in a "last chance meet" which takes place on the last weekend to qualify for the national meet.
School records in both indoor and outdoor track, multiple MIAA all-conference medals, and plenty of memories are only a smattering of the accomplishments senior Jeff Weseloh will hold in his possession after his last season with the Bearcats. Weseloh grew up in Liberty Mo.
The SBU Department of Athletics is accepting nominations for the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame, class of 2010. The inductees will be recognized at the annual SBU Honors Night banquet, which will be held on Saturday, February 6, 2010. That evening, we will also recognize our senior student-athletes.
SBU Bearcat head coach Keith Allen has released the 2009 football schedule. The 11-game regular season slate includes a road trip to an FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) opponent, some former MIAA foes and several tough holdovers from the 2008 schedule.
Southwest Baptist University athletics has announced that Shyrah Perry and Michael Pierce are the 2008-09 winners of the Rex Brown Award for Excellence. The Rex Brown Award for Excellence is the highest honor presented by SBU athletics. Each year it is awarded to one female and one male senior student-athlete who has strong Christian character, academic achievement, leadership qualities and has impacted their sport.
This semester has been quite the ride for the sports world on campus. We began the semester with a men's basketball team ranked in the top-10 in the entire nation, and they improved their ranking each and every week. All the while, the women's basketball team battled on the edge of making the MIAA tournament with every game, and the baseball team began their season with a modest start, around .
Southwest Baptist University high jumper, sophomore Kyle Grant, was named MIAA men's field athlete of the week for the week ending April 26. Grant, a 6 foot 3 sophomore from Martin Town, Bahamas, automatically qualified for nationals in the high jump with his victory at the Missouri Southern Bill Williams/Bob Laptad Invitational Friday on April 24.
It was a hot and humid defeat for the Bearcats as they fell in the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Tournament held last week in Austin, Texas. For the third time in the 2009 season, Washburn University was able to nudge out a victory over the SBU men's tennis team.
Southwest Baptist Bearcat baseball third baseman junior Justin Barnhart has been to the CoSIDA "ESPN The Magazine" Academic All-District VII first team. Barnhart, from St. Charles, carries a 3.95 GPA in biology/pre-medicine. He started in all 50 games this season for the Bearcats, and led the team in stolen bases and walks and was second in runs scored and doubles.
The Southwest Baptist University women's cross country team has quite a season ahead after placing third at the MIAA Conference Championships and finishing sixth at the regional meet. However, this year the team looks to be faster and stronger than ever before.