Sports Recap
Football
Linebacker A.J. Wentland ’17 was named the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year. The Cliff Harris Award nominee was
also a D2CCA second-team All-American and first-team All-Super Region 4 honoree. He
finished the 2016 season with a conference leading 145 stops and 11 tackles for loss.
He shattered the McKendree career mark with 421 stops and helped lead the team to
an 8–3 overall record.
Women’s Soccer
Sophomore forward Sydnee Carroll was named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year. She was also a National Soccer Coaches
Association of America’s All-American second-team and All-Midwest Region first-team
honoree, and D2CCA All-Midwest Region honorable mention team honoree. She had a league-best
18 goals and helped the team capture the 2016 GLVC Championship title and an automatic
bid to the NCAA tournament.
Women’s Volleyball
Junior outside hitter Arela Williams was named the 2016 GLVC Fall Scholar-Athlete of the year. She was an American Volleyball
Coaches Association NCAA Division II All-American honorable mention team and All-Midwest
Region first-team honoree, and D2CCA All-Midwest Region second-team honoree. She helped
lead the team to a 23–10 overall record and a runner-up finish at the GLVC Conference
Championship.
Power Lifting
The men’s and women’s power lifting teams placed seven athletes in the top 15 at the
Collegiate Nationals in San Antonio, Texas. Junior Lindsey Raker led the women’s squad, finishing third in the 72kg weight class. Freshman Emmit Metzger capped the men’s efforts, finishing second in the 59kg weight class with a total of
1063lbs. Junior Kyle Franke (120kg), and freshmen Remington Paris (66kg), Bryce Paszkiewicz (66kg), Dakota Meyers (120+kg) and Oliva Toth (84kg) finished in the top 15 in their respective weight classes.
Men’s Bowling
Defending their national title from 2016, the men’s bowling team swept their way into the finals of the USBC Men’s Intercollegiate Championship before
dropping a close best-of-five Baker match to Webber International University. Three
bowlers earned individual national accomplishments this season. Junior Greg Young was named to the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association All-America first-team.
Armando Godoy ’17 qualified for the USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championships. Freshman Bryan Hahlen made Junior Team USA in January.
Water Polo
In its inaugural season, the men’s water polo team placed eighth overall in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) and qualified
for the CWPA National Collegiate Club Championships.
Five players on the men’s and women’s teams earned All-CWPA honors. Freshman attacker
Brianna Mullalley was named to the All-CWPA first-team. Freshmen attackers Michael Krause, Joseph Mahan and Catie Young and freshman utility player Alex Nicholas were named to the All-CWPA second team.
Track & Field
Sophomore Demontez McCray was named the GLVC Indoor & GLVC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year. The All-American
finished first in the 200-meter at the 2017 GLVC Indoor Championships and as runner-up
at the 2017 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, breaking his own personal record
with a time of 21.18 seconds. At the GLVC Outdoor Championships, he took home first
place in the 100-meter dash and followed with a GLVC record breaking time of 21.72
seconds in the 200-meter. He was also a member of the top finishing 4x100-meter relay
team with Donovan Friscia ’17, senior Kevin Witcik and sophomore Tyree Allen, and the 4x400-meter relay team with Tyree, and sophomores Tyler Johnson and Andrew Gardewine.
The men’s team won the 2017 GLVC Outdoor Championship title in May. In addition to the first-place
finishes by Demontez and the relay teams, sophomore Monte Wolke finished first in the pole vault. At the 2017 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships,
Demontez finished seventh in the 100-meter, sixth in the 200-meter dash, and fifth
in the 4x100-meter relay, along with Donovan, Kevin and Tyree. In addition, teammate
Ryan Pearce ’17 competed in the discus throw
The women’s team was led by sophomore Quincy McSweeney during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. The All-American finished second in the
800-meter at the GLVC Indoor Championships, eighth in the 800-meter at the NCAA Indoor
Championships, first in the 1500-meter at the GLVC Outdoor Championships, and fifth
in the 800-meter at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Along with Quincy’s efforts, Irma Maciukaite ’17 finished first in the 400-meter hurdles at the GLVC Outdoor Championships and competed
in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Junior Kevin Witcik won the Elite 90 Award at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The biology major carries
a cumulative 3.993 grade-point average, the highest among all of the athletes that
competed at nationals.
Hockey
Sophomore goalie Andrew Best was named the Mid America D2 Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA) Goalie of the
Year. The first-team All-Conference player led the league with a .935 save percentage
and 2.07 goals against average. He helped the Bearcats capture the 2017 MACHA Championship
title and led them to a runner-up finish at the ACHA Central Region Championships
in February. Andrew also represented MACHA at the American Collegiate Hockey Association
Division II All-Star Challenge, along with Ryan Sizer ’17 and Steve Csanyi ’17, sophomore Ty Watt, and freshmen Levi Armstrong and Dominic Naas.
Swimming & Diving
Six men’s swimmers qualified for the NCAA II Swimming and Diving Nationals in March.
Sophomore Daniel Buijs led the team with a sixth place finish in the 200-yard backstroke and earned All-American
honors. Freshman Matija Pucarevic finished in first place in the “B” finals of the 100-yard butterfly and earned All-American
honorable mention honors, along with the 400-yard and 800-yard freestyle relay teams.
The freestyle relay teams included Daniel, Matija, and freshmen Luca Simonetti (400- and 800-yard), Peyton Shafto (400-yard) and Cole Morgan (800-yard). Captain Josh Lamb ’17 joined Matija, Daniel and Luca on the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relay teams.
The women’s swimming & diving team was honored as a College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA)
Scholar All-America team. In the fall semester, the team posted a combined grade point
average of 3.66, tied for the third highest GPA in NCAA Division II.
Wrestling
Freshman Nick Foster was selected as the GLVC Freshman Men’s Wrestler of the Year. He collected six falls,
one tech fall, five major decisions, and 14 decisions to post a 26–12 overall record.
He finished in third place at 165-pounds at the NCAA Central Super Regionals in February
and eighth place at the NCAA Division II National Championships in March. The All-American
was a key contributor to the men’s fifth place team finish at nationals, along with
Darren Wynn ’17, juniors Ryan Strope and NaQuan Hardy, and sophomores Brock Wingbermuehle and Isaiah Kemper. Isaiah was also named to the NWCA All-Academic second-team with a 3.64 GPA in the
fall semester.
Junior Megan Black won the 55kg division title at the 2017 USA Wrestling University Women’s Nationals
Tournament in March. She beat senior teammate Gabby Weyhrich to win the crown. Four other teammates were named All-Americans at, at Nationals,
including senior Tayler Resuriz, junior Alexis Porter, sophomore Alexa Glauda, and freshman Andrea Sennett.
In February, Megan also finished as runner-up at 130-pounds at the Women’s Collegiate
Wrestling Association National Championships. The team finished in sixth place overall,
with five wrestlers earning All-American honors, including Megan, Alexa, juniors Brandy Lowe and Jasmine Bailey, and freshman Janelle Fuamatu.
Men’s Golf
Junior golfer Keenai Sampson made program history by winning the NCAA Division II Midwest/Central Regional in
men’s golf with a 199 (17-under par) finish. The win earned him a berth to the 2017
NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships, where he finished tied for 20th place with
a 216 (+6 over par) finish.
Softball
Infielder Rachel Hastings ’17 was named to the 2017 Softball Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association
All-Midwest Region Second-Team. She led the Bearcats with nine home runs, 47 RBI’s
and a .373 batting average.
Lacrosse
Midfielder Victoria Lelo ’17 was named the GLIAC Midfielder of the Year and to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse
Coaches Association All-American second-team and All-Region first-team. She was among
the nation’s top 10 goal scorers, with 67 goals this season. In addition to point
production, Victoria tallied 124 draw controls, 17 assists, 43 ground balls and 26
caused turnovers.
Goalkeeper Amy Porta ’17 was selected as the GLIAC Goalkeeper of the Year. She finished the season with the
highest save percentage in the conference, at 48.3 percent. Amy started all 18 games
between the pipes for the Bearcats, securing 13 wins, 152 saves, and 44 groundballs.
Victoria and Amy helped lead the women’s lacrosse team to its first GLIAC Tournament Championship title. The Bearcats posted a 12–8 victory
over Grand Valley State University to claim the crown.
Bass Fishing
For the second straight year, the bass fishing program finished in the top 5 of the final Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) School
of the Year standings. The Bearcats placed fifth overall out of 211 colleges and universities.
The program competed in 15 tournaments and registered 26 top-10 finishes. The season
was highlighted by five tournament victories, including a winning effort by senior
J.T. Russell and sophomore Jacob Louis at the Bassmaster Midwest Conference Regional.
To go along with its national top-five standing for 2016-17, McKendree is already
off to a strong start for the upcoming 2017-18 campaign. The Bearcats have already
qualified three teams to fish in the 2018 FLW National Championship, as well as two
teams to compete in this summer's Bassmaster National Championship.
Coaching News
Melissa Gyllenborg was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)
Lacrosse Coach of the Year. She guided McKendree to its first-ever GLIAC Tournament
crown. Melissa mentored an offensive unit that is ninth in the nation in scoring
offense at 16.25 goals per game.
Michael Mendez ’10 was named the GLVC Outdoor Men’s Track and Field Coach of the Year. In his five seasons
as head coach, he has coached 43 GLVC Champions, six GLVC Athletes of the Year and
one GLVC Championship Team.
Colleen Lischwe was selected as the CWPA Midwest Division Women’s Water Polo Coach of the Year. She
took over the reins as interim head coach of the women’s water polo team and led the
Bearcats to a second place finish in its first Midwest Division Championship appearance.
Shannon O’Keefe was named the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Division
II/III and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Women’s Bowling
Coach of the Year. She led the Bearcats to its first NCAA and Intercollegiate Team
Championship (ITC) National Championship titles.
Jim Kisgen was named Super Region 3 Men’s Wrestling Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling
Coaches Association. During his 14-year tenure at McKendree, he has coached nine National
Champions, seven runnersup, and seven third-place finishers. Since transitioning to
the NCAA, he has led the Bearcats to four top 10 finishes at the NCAA National Championships.
Home Openers
9/2/17 – Men’s Soccer vs. Fort Hays State
9/3/17 –Women’s Soccer vs. Kentucky Wesleyan College
9/9/17 – Football vs. Kentucky State University
9/14/17 – Women’s Volleyball vs. University of Indianapolis
For more game updates, visit McKBearcats.com.
