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Photo / Siouxland Sports Authority.com
Beau Kildow has his man beat during the Mustangs' showdown with Sioux Falls |
Morningside Earns Champion Of Character Distinction
Live Broadcasts And Video Streams Of Mustang Athletic Events
Get Personalized Apparel From The Bookstore
Mustangs To Compete In Saturday's NAIA Cross Country National Championships
Gehring Named NAIA Assistant Coach Of The Year
Three Mustangs Named To All-GPAC Volleyball First-Team
Wrestlers Go 1-1 At Sioux Falls Triangular
Mustangs Suffer First Loss At William Penn
Mustangs To Face Nation's No. 1 Run Defense In Missouri Valley
Six Mustangs Named To All-GPAC Football First-Team
Mustang Women's Basketball Team Avenges Opening Game Defeat
Football Playoff Tickets Go On Sale Wednesday
Morningside Football Team Ranked 7th In The Nation
Turnovers Plague Mustangs In GPAC Football Showdown
Lockett Is 197 Lb. Runner-Up At DWU Open
Carlson Wins Two Events At Mustang Invitational
Mustangs Ranked 24th In Final NAIA Volleyball Poll
Mustangs 12th In Final Cross Country Ranking
Kildow A Finalist For William V. Campbell Trophy
Morningside football and men's and women's basketball games are broadcast live by the college's campus radio station KMSC 92.9 FM. In addition, a live video stream is available for Morningside home football and home men's and women's basketball games.
Click here for broadcasts and video streams.
 Morningside College will compete as a team in the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships for the first time in school history on Saturday at the Fort Vancouver Historical Site in Vancouver, Wash. The women’s 5k race is scheduled to start at 1:45 CST.
The Mustangs, ranked 12th nationally in the final NAIA regular season rating, qualified for the national meet with a third place finish at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships held Nov. 7 in Fremont, Neb. Morningside captured team championships at this season’s Briar Cliff University, Grand View University, and Doane College Invitationals.
The Mustangs’ efforts helped earn Morningside’s Dave Nash 2009 GPAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year recognition.
Morningside’s Kara Nelson, a junior from Cherokee, Wash., and Erin Keitges, a senior from Allen, Neb., are no strangers to the national meet. Keitges has competed as an individual at the NAIA National Championships three times during her career, while Nelson was a national qualifier each of the past two years. Nelson ran the fastest time in Morningside history earlier this year with a time of 18:06.28 at the Briar Cliff Invitational.
For the first time, the rest of their teammates are making the trip to nationals as well. The Mustangs’ competitors are the national meet will be Nelson, Keitges, Lydia Ford, a sophomore from Vermillion, S.D.; Tabitha Shepherd, a freshman from Corning, Iowa; Nicole Seier, freshman from Lincoln, Neb.; Jessica Clark, a sophomore from Mondamin, Iowa; and Lisa Grosvenor, a sophomore from Newcastle, Neb.
NAIA National Championships Web Site
 Morningside College offensive coordinator Josh Gehring has been named the American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) 2009 NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year.
Gehring, in his third year at Morningside, is the architect of a Morningside offense that currently ranks third nationally with an average of 49.6 points per game. The Mustangs rank sixth nationally with an average of 496.2 yards total offense and seventh with an average of 233.5 yards rushing per game. The Mustangs have rushed for a school-record 2,335 yards this season. The Mustangs led the nation in team scoring offense with an average of 48.0 points per game in 2008.
Morningside, 9-1, will host Missouri Valley College this Saturday in a first round game in the 2009 NAIA Football Championship Series.
Gehring has developed and implemented a leadership development program for incoming freshman athletes with the purpose of building character, developing leadership skills, and building a foundation for academic success. He initiated the Morningside College Youth Football Camps that serve nearly 200 Siouxland youth and has spearheaded many community service and outreach projects which consist of a player readership program for elementary school children and leading food and clothing drives for local charities.
The Assistant Coach of the Year awards were created to honor assistant coaches who excel in community service, commitment to the student-athlete, on-field coaching success, and AFCA professional organization involvement.
Aside from Gehring, this year’s other winners are Mike MacIntyre of Duke University for the Football Bowl Subdivision, Mark Speir of Appalachian State University for the Football Championship Subdivision, David Needs of Carson-Newman College for NCAA Division II, and Jeff Thomas of the University of the Redlands for the NCAA Division III.
The AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year recipients will be honored at the AFCA Kickoff Luncheon on Jan. 11 at the 2010 AFCA Convention in Orlando, Fla.
Gehring is the second Morningside coach to receive the award in the last three years. Former defensive coordinator Ryan Nourse received the AFCA NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2007.
Before joining the Mustangs, Gehring was the defensive coordinator at Concordia University in River Forest, Ill. He has also been an assistant coach at Missouri State University, Western Kentucky University, Manchester College, and Ottawa University.
 Morningside College’s Emily Christen, Jessica Tjaden, and Jamie Vander Kooi, have been named to the 2009 All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Volleyball First-Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.
In addition to their three first-team selections, the Mustangs' Liz Sutherland was tabbed to the All-GPAC second team and Amanda Nelson received All-GPAC honorable mention recognition.
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Brian Block |
Morningside opened the dual portion of its wrestling schedule when it went 1-1 in a triangular on Tuesday at Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Mustangs opened the competition with a 32-12 victory over the University of Sioux Falls before they suffered a 30-11 setback against NCAA Division II Minnesota State Moorhead University. Minnesota State Moorhead pummeled Sioux Falls 51-0 in the other dual.
Justin Truckenmiller won by fall in the Mustangs’ win against Sioux Falls when he disposed of the Cougars’ Jacob McClure in 5:44 in the 149 lb. match to put the Mustangs in front 16-6.
The Cougars closed within 19-12 before the Mustangs put their opponent away with back-to-back technical falls from Brian Block and Joe Lockett. Block trounced Jacob Renken by a 16-1 score at 184 lbs. and Lockett toppled Clint Whitley by a 17-2 score at 197 lbs.
Alex Will capped the triumph with a 9-4 decision against Joe Skow in the heavyweight bout.
Morningside also received victories from Jake McManigal with a forfeit at 133 lbs., Drew Smith with a 9-0 major decision at 141 lbs., and Andrew Anthofer with a 13-6 decision at 165 lbs.
The Mustangs fell behind 24-0 against Minnesota State Moorhead before Chad Morehead defeated Jacob McLean by an 8-1 decision in the 174 lb. match. Block had the Mustangs’ most impressive victory in the dual with a 19-2 technical fall against Roger Sirek at 184 lbs. for his second technical fall of the night. Lockett provided the Mustangs’ other win with a 7-0 decision against Tayler Yliniemi in the 197 lb. bout.
Sioux Falls Box
Minnesota State Moorhead Box
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Mitch Carstens |
Morningside’s men’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season with a 92-63 setback against William Penn University on Tuesday in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
The Statesmen shot 52.9 percent from the field and dominated the boards with a 49-36 rebounding advantage while climbing to 7-1 on the season. Morningside, which lost for the first time in four games, shot just 35.7 percent from the field, including a dismal 29.4 percent showing in the first half when the guests fell behind 47-26 by the intermission.
Morningside trailed just 23-20 near the midway point of the first half before William Penn went on a 20-2 scoring run to put the Mustangs away with a 43-22 advantage. The Mustangs never got closer than 17 points after that and eventually trailed by 33 points, 89-56, after a 3-pointer by Blake Sandquist with 2:54 left in the game.
Mitch Carstens finished with 14 points for Mustang scoring honors, while Eddie Marrs was right behind with 12 tallies. Ryan Gass was next with nine points.
Adam Palmer, Garth Hamilton, and freshman Tyler Pleiss, who made his Morningside debut, each grabbed five rebounds to share Mustang honors.
Mustang freshman Jake Hamburger led all performers with three steals.
The Mustangs will travel to Fremont, Neb., on Saturday to face Midland Lutheran College in their GPAC opener.
Box Score
 The nation’s leading rusher will go up against the nation’s No. 1 defense against the run when Morningside hosts Missouri Valley College on Saturday in the opening round of the 2009 NAIA Football Championship Series.
Morningside’s Jake Peterson has run for a school-record 1,468 yards this season and is the NAIA national leader with an average of 146.8 yards per game. Missouri Valley, meanwhile, boasts a defense that has allowed an average of only 45.0 yards rushing per game to lead the nation. The Vikings’ opponents are averaging only 1.7 yards per rushing attempt.
Morningside, ranked seventh in the nation in the final NAIA regular season poll, has a 9-1 record and finished second in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) standings.
Missouri Valley is ranked 11th in the nation in the final NAIA regular season poll and is a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC). The Wildcats have an 8-2 record and finished third in the HAAC standings with an 8-2 league mark.
Morningside is in the NAIA Championship Series for the sixth year in a row and has advanced to at least the quarterfinals each of the past four seasons.
Click here to read more.
 Six Morningside College football players have been named to the All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) First-Team as selected by the league’s head football coaches.
Beau Kildow, Tyler Lloyd, and Jake Peterson were named to the All-GPAC First-Team Offense, while Mike Buckley, Ben Haugen, and Brett Nickolite were named to the All-GPAC First-Team Defense.
The Mustangs also had eight players named to the All-GPAC second-team and three others named to the All-GPAC honorable mention list.
Click here to read more.
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Brittany Williamson |
Laura Nelson |
Morningside’s women’s basketball team avenged a loss in its season’s opener with an 81-71 victory against Minot State University in a Sunday matinee in the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center.
The victory came against the same Minot State team that upset the Mustangs 103-94 in overtime on Oct. 30 in Minot, N.D., to snap Morningside’s 55-game regular season winning streak.
The Beavers took an early 8-5 lead in Sunday’s rematch before Brittany Williamson made a layup with 14:43 left in the first quarter to ignite a 17-0 Morningside scoring run that ended at the 10:29 mark of the first half when a Roni Miller layup put the Mustangs in front 22-8.
Morningside eventually led by as many as 23 points with 1:57 left in the half when a Laura Nelson 3-pointer made it 41-18.
The loss was Minot State’s first of the season to drop the Beavers to 3-1.
Williamson led the Mustangs, who climbed to 3-4, with 15 points to lead a group of five players in double figures. Nelson was next with 14 points, followed by Tanaeya Worden with 11, Miller with10, and Leslie Foral with 10.
MacKenzie Mack, who came into the game averaging a double-double, posted another with game-high totals of 22 points and 18 rebounds. Caroline Folven, Ari Hendrix, and Sacarra Molina all chipped in with 10.
Mack’s 18-rebound haul paced the Beavers to a 45-37 advantage on the boards. Miller had six rebounds to lead the winners.
Foral led all performers with five assists and four steals.
Morningside will open the GPAC portion of its schedule on Saturday when it travels to Fremont, Neb., for a 2 p.m. game against Midland Lutheran College.
Box Score
 Advance tickets for this Saturday’s game between Morningside College and Missouri Valley College in the first round of the 2009 NAIA Football Championship Series will go on sale Wednesday in the Hindman-Hobbs Center, 3501 Peters Avenue.
Tickets may be purchased on Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students in grades K-12 and college students with an id.
Saturday’s game is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Elwood Olsen Stadium. Gates will open at noon.
All fans must purchase tickets. Regular season passes and student ids will not grant admission to games in the 2009 NAIA Football Championship Series.
 Morningside College is ranked seventh nationally in the final regular season NAIA football poll released on Nov. 15.
The Mustangs, who were ranked fourth in the previous week’s poll, finished the regular season with a 9-1 record after they lost 49-21 against No. 1-ranked University of Sioux Falls on Saturday at Elwood Olsen Stadium.
Morningside and Sioux Falls are two of four teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) ranked in the final NAIA Top 25. Hastings College is ranked 13th and Northwestern College is ranked 25th.
Click here for the complete NAIA Top 25.
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Joe Don Hunter |
Beau Kildow |
No. 1-ranked University of Sioux Falls flexed its muscle in the second half when it defeated No. 4 Morningside College 49-21 Saturday at Elwood Olsen Stadium in the long awaited showdown between the two Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) football powers.
Morningside, 9-1 and headed for a sixth consecutive NAIA post-season appearance, had hopes of pulling an upset when it went into the intermission trailing the defending NAIA National Champions 28-21 after a first half where it turned the ball over four times. The Mustangs’ 21 points were the most Sioux Falls had allowed in a game all season, but the hosts were unable to add to their scoring total in the second half while their final turnover count rose to six.
The Cougars’ 49 points were the most the Mustangs allowed in a game since a 53-3 loss against the University of Saint Francis in the opening round of the 2004 NAIA Championship Series.
The Cougars climbed to 11-0 and claimed the GPAC championship, their eighth in the last nine years, with a perfect 10-0 mark and extended their winning streak to 25 games. The Cougars’ only blemish during their GPAC reign came in 2005 when Morningside claimed the crown on the strength of a 27-26 win at Olsen Stadium. The 2005 setback is the Cougars’ only loss in their last 84 GPAC contests.
Sioux Falls quarterback Lorenzo Brown accounted for 315 yards total offense and six touchdowns. Brown completed 17 of 26 pass attempts for 260 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 55 yards in 14 carries, including TD runs of one and 16 yards.
Three of Brown’s touchdown passes went to Jon Ryan on strikes of 38, four, and 10 yards. Brown’s other TD pass was a 38-yarder to Brad Theilen. Ryan, who finished with five catches for 97 yards, became the first receiver to catch three touchdown passes against Morningside in the same game since the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Ed Thompson did it in 1995.
Ryan Lowmiller led the Sioux Falls ground attack with 160 yards in 17 carries, including a touchdown run of 22 yards.
Morningside’s Tim Richard passed for 287 yards and a touchdown, but was pressured into throwing four interceptions after he had suffered only five picks in the Mustangs’ previous nine games. Sioux Falls sacked Richard four times, including three times in the second half.
Richard finished with 305 yards total offense and figured in two of the Mustangs’ touchdowns with a two-yard TD pass to Chad Buchholz and a one-yard touchdown run to spark the hosts to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
Morningside’s other touchdown came on a two-yard run by Joe Don Hunter that tied the score at 21-21 with 1:28 left in the first half. Hunter finished with 45 yards in 13 carries, while Jake Peterson, the NAIA national rushing leader, had 77 yards in 17 attempts.
Beau Kildow led the Mustangs’ receivers with nine catches for 119 yards for the 10th 100-yard game of his career. Joel Nixon caught four passes for 70 yards and Bradley Norwood had three receptions for 68 yards.
Hunter’s second quarter touchdown run capped an 11-play, 60-yard drive, but the Cougars answered less than one minute later to take a 28-21 lead into the intermission. Adam Lopez returned the kickoff 36 yards to the Sioux Falls 44-yard line and the Cougars scored four plays later on Brown’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Theilen with 49 seconds left in the half.
Sioux Falls took the second half kickoff and staged a four-play, 65-yard touchdown drive capped by a 10-yard scoring pass from Brown to Ryan to gain some breathing room with a 35-21 advantage. The big play of the drive was a 38-yard pass from Brown to Ryan.
The Cougars made it 42-21 with 49 seconds left in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Brown, who later capped the scoring with a 16-yard TD dash with 7:18 left in the game.
Mike Buckley topped the Mustangs’ tackle chart with 10 stops, including six solos, while Riley Tusha had eight solos and a career-high nine tackles.
Ben Rickord had the Mustangs’ only defensive takeaway with a third quarter interception when Brown suffered only his second interception of the season.
Cody Cavender had a game-high 14 tackles, including eight solo stops, and an interception for the Cougars. Andrew Schoenfelder and Trevor Holleman added 13 and 11 tackles, respectively, while Dan Scheichel had two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble to go along with five tackles. Holleman, the Cougars’ All-American defensive back, had an interception and a pair of pass breakups.
The NAIA Championship Series pairings will be announced on Sunday afternoon.
Box Score
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Joe Lockett |
Joe Lockett, a senior from Bellevue, Neb., had the Mustangs top individual performance with a second place finish in the 197 lb. division at the Dakota Wesleyan University Open wrestling tournament held Saturday in Mitchell, S.D.
Lockett dropped a 10-5 decision against Ty Copsey of Augustana College in the 197 lb. title bout. He advanced to the finals with a 4-0 victory against Alex Monegro of Dana College, a 15-0 technical fall against Clint Whitley of the University of Sioux Falls, and a 6-1 decision against Karl Spain of William Penn University.
Drew Smith, a junior from Milburn, Neb., placed fourth at 141 lbs. The Mustangs had fifth place finishes from Jake McManigal, a sophomore from Center, Neb., at 133 lbs.; Brian Block, a freshman from Sibley, Iowa, at 184 lbs.; and Alex Will, a sophomore from Spirit Lake, Iowa, at heavyweight. The Mustangs’ other place winners were: Morgan Freese, a senior from Treynor, Iowa, with a sixth place finish at 149 lbs.; Joe Sievert, a freshman from Akron, Iowa, with a sixth place finish at 167 lbs.; Justin Truckenmiller, a freshman from Sibley, Iowa, with a seventh place finish at 149 lbs.; Andrew Anthofer, a freshman from Coon Rapids, Iowa, with a seventh place finish at 167 lbs.; and Matt Mueller, a sophomore from Malcolm, Neb., with an eighth place finish at 167 lbs.
Results
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Krystal Carlson |
Maggie Fast |
Krystal Carlson, a freshman from Richfield, Minn., won two events at the Mustang Invitational swimming meet held Saturday in the HPER Center.
Carlson triumphed in the women’s 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:29.01 and in the women’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:05.54. She was also the runner-up in the women’s 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:30.99.
The Morningside women also received a victory from Maggie Fast, a senior from Hastings, Neb., who won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:08.99.
The Mustangs won two events in the men’s competition. Edward Funes, a freshman from El Paso, Texas, won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:07.31, and Sean Roberts, a sophomore from Omaha, Neb., won the 200-yard individual medley with as time of 2:26.06.
The Mustangs’ Cora Kugler, a freshman from Watertown, Minn., placed second in three of the women’s events with times of 2:26.87 in the 200-yard individual medley, 5:23.69 in the 400-yard individual medley, and 2:41.83 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
The University of Nebraska-Kearney won the women’s competition with 367 points, followed by Morningside, 353; Simpson College, 249; College of Saint Mary, 185; and Iowa Central Community College, 72.
Iowa Central won the men’s competition with 414 points, followed by Morningside, 387; and Simpson, 135.
The Mustangs will compete in a dual against Coe College on Saturday, Nov. 21, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Results
 Morningside College is ranked 24th nationally in the final regular season NAIA volleyball poll released on Nov. 10.
The Mustangs, who will take a 31-6 record into a Wednesday match against Doane College in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Tournament Semifinals, were also ranked 24th in last week’s poll. Wednesday’s Morningside/Doane match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center.
Morningside is one of three teams from the GPAC ranked in the NAIA Top 25. Northwestern College is ranked third and Doane is ranked 18th.
The Mustangs are already assured of the host berth for the upcoming NAIA Volleyball National Championships to be held Dec. 1-5 in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.
Click here for the complete NAIA Top 25.
 Morningside College is ranked 12th nationally in the final 2009 NAIA Women’s Cross Country poll.
The Mustangs are ranked 12th for the third week in a row.
Morningside has qualified for the upcoming NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championships for the first time in school history after the Mustangs finished third at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Cross Country Championships. The NAIA National Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 21, in Vancouver, Wash.
Morningside is one of two teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) ranked in this week’s NAIA Top 25. Concordia University is ranked eighth.
Click here for the complete NAIA Women's Top 25.
 Beau Kildow, a 5-10, 170 lb. senior wide receiver from Omaha, Neb., is one of 16 college football players named to the 2009 National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete class announced by the NFF and College Hall of Fame.
The 16 players are the finalists for the 20th anniversary William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth. They were selected from a nationwide pool of 154 semifinalists among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA.
The Campbell Trophy, formerly known as the Draddy Trophy, recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation. The award was renamed this fall in honor of Bill Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, and former player and head coach at Columbia University.
Each finalist will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. The recipient of the Campbell Trophy will receive a 25 lb. bronze trophy and a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship. The 16 National Scholar-Athlete Award recipients will be honored at the 2009 NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where the winner of the 2009 Campbell Trophy will be announced.
Aside from Kildow, the other 2009 National Scholar-Athletes are: Jon Asamoah of the University of Illinois, Matt Bauman of Brigham Young University, Eric Decker of the University of Minnesota, Moses Harris of Fresno State, Tim Hiller of Western Michigan University, Paul Jasinowski of Brown University, Josh Mahoney of the University of Northern Iowa, Colt McCoy of the University of Texas, Jarrell Smith of Tusculum College, Joe Pawelek of Baylor University, Todd Reesing of the University of Kansas, ZaVious Robbins of Hardin-Simmons University, Tim Tebow of the University of Florida, Blaine Westemeyer of Augustana College (Ill.), and Reed Williams of West Virginia University.
Kildow has a 4.00 cumulative grade point average and is majoring in chemistry and biology. He has twice been named a Daktronics-NAIA Football Scholar-Athlete, is a two-time ESPN The Magazine All-District selection, and has made Morningside’s Dean’s Honor List after each of his first six semesters.
He was a first-team College Fanz Sports Network All-American last season when he caught 64 passes for 977 yards and 14 touchdowns. Kildow tied a Morningside single-game record earlier this season when he had 287 pass reception yards in a 56-21 win against Dakota Wesleyan University and is Morningside’s all-time leader with 32 career touchdown receptions. He ranks third in Morningside history with 174 career receptions and 2,755 career reception yards.
Kildow traveled to Louisiana as part of a mission trip to help in the restoration efforts in New Orleans and surrounding areas following the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. He participated in “Build a House for Blake,” a volunteer project for a person who had been recently paralyzed, and is a Goodwill Thanksgiving volunteer.
The NFF’s National Scholar-Athlete program, launched in 1959, is the first initiative in history to award scholar-athletes post-graduate scholarships for their combined athletic, academic, and leadership abilities.
Candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least a 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. Past winners of the Campbell Trophy have included actor Mark Harmon, NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, former Dateline NBC anchor Stone Phillips, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club Billy Payne, former NFL quarterback Steve Young, current NFL standout Derrick Brooks, and Heisman Trophy winners Terry Baker, Gary Beban, Doug Flutie, and DannyWuerffel.
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