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Morningside home 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.

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Mustangs Win Seventh Straight Opener With 40-7 Romp

C.J. Gradoville

Senior kicker C.J. Gradoville became the all-time leading scorer in Morningside history to help the fifth-ranked Mustangs roll to a 40-7 victory against Doane College in Saturday’s season opener at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

Gradoville provided a pair of field goals and four PATs to account for 10 of the Mustangs’ points. He raised his career total to 306 points to top the former Morningside standard of 299 career points set by Jerry Johnson from 1914-17.

One of Gradoville’s field goals was a 47-yarder, the longest of his career, which came in the first quarter. His other field goal was a 37-yarder that capped the Mustangs’ scoring with 6:53 left in the game.

The Mustangs, who won their season opener for the seventh year in a row, pulled away with four touchdowns in the third quarter to break open a game where they led 9-0 at the intermission.

Newcomers Chris Stutzriem and Mike McNulty and returning junior Joel Nixon were the big players in a Mustang offensive attack that racked up 490 yards total offense.

Stutzriem, a strong-armed junior who quarterbacked the University of Wyoming to an upset victory against the University of Tennessee earlier in his career, passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 17 of 27 attempts without an interception and hurled third quarter TD passes of 38 yards to Nixon, 12 yards to Bradley Norwood, and 14 yards to Kyle Christensen. Stutzriem, who joined the Mustangs in the offseason as a transfer from NCAA Division I-AA Indiana State University, also had a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

McNulty opened the game’s scoring with a three-yard touchdown run with 4:08 left in the first quarter and finished with 134 yards in 25 attempts in his Morningside debut. McNulty joined the Mustangs this year as a transfer from College of DuPage, where he was the nation’s 10th leading rusher in the junior college ranks last fall with an average of 111.6 yards per game.

Nixon, the Mustangs’ top returning offensive threat from last season, caught six passes for 106 yards for his second straight 100-yard game dating back to a five-catch, 122-yard performance in last year’s NAIA Championship Series Quarterfinals against the University of Sioux Falls.

While it took the Mustangs’ offense a half to start clicking, the Morningside defense was dominant from the start. The Mustangs, who return eight starters from last year’s stingy defensive unit that yielded an average of only 17.0 points per game to rank seventh nationally, limited Doane to 149 yards total offense through three quarters and didn’t allow a score until the Tigers scored against the Mustangs’ second unit with 5:25 left in the game.

The Mustangs sacked Doane quarterback Anthony Dunn four times and pressured him into two interceptions. Vernon Moore had two of the sacks, while Ben Haugen and Matt Muschall had the others. Colby Henderson and Thomas Macfarlane had the interceptions for a Morningside defense that has intercepted at least one pass in 36 of the last 37 games.

Henderson, a transfer addition who saw significant playing time last year at NCAA Division II University of Nebraska-Kearney, finished with six tackles to finish right behind Haugen, a returning first-team All-GPAC performer who had seven tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage.

Morningside will travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face Nebraska Wesleyan University next Saturday.

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Late Goals Lift Kansas Wesleyan Past Mustangs


Rick Kievits	Cameron Meter

Kansas Wesleyan scored two goals in the final 20 minutes to pull away from a 1-1 deadlock when it defeated Morningside 3-1 in Saturday’s men’s soccer contest at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

Kansas Wesleyan, the 2009 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) post-season tournament champion and 2007 and 2008 KCAC regular season champion, spotted the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead when the hosts Rick Kievits beat goal keeper Juan Morales with a shot just 11 minutes into the contest.

Kievits’ goal was set up by an assist from Cameron Meter.

The guests tied the score at 1-1 on a goal by Robbie Hector at the 35-minute mark of the first half.

The score remained the same until Alex Chavez scored goals at the 71 and 75-minute marks, the second score on a penalty kick.

Kansas Wesleyan outshot the Mutangs by an 11-6 margin.

Mustang goal keeper Daniel Whithorn had six saves.

Morningside, 0-2, will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, for a contest against Grand View University on Wednesday, Sept. 8.

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Mustangs Battle Kansas Wesleyan To 0-0 Standoff

Morningside battled perennial Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) power Kansas Wesleyan University to a 0-0 double overtime standoff in Saturday’s women’s soccer contest at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

The Mustangs, who started six freshmen, tied a strong Kansas Wesleyan team that has won three regular season KCAC titles and four KCAC post-season tournament championships over the past five seasons.

Freshman goal keeper Felicia Reimann made a strong showing for the Mustangs to keep the score tied in a contest where the guests enjoyed a 16-4 shot advantage. Reimann came up with nine saves, including four in the final overtime period. It was the second straight strong effort for the freshman keeper, who gave up only one goal despite an 18-1 shot differential in one half of play in a 5-0 loss at William Jewell College in the season opener.

Freshman Breanna Turner had two of the Mustangs’ four shots. The other shots came from Kelsey Niles and Kathryn Sorenson.

Morningside, 0-1-1, will host College of Saint Mary to a 3 p.m. contest on Sunday, Sept. 12.

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Hudelson Is Women's Champ At Concordia Invite

Jessica Hudelson

Morningside’s Jessica Hudelson was the women’s individual champion at the Concordia Invitational cross country meet held Saturday in Seward, Neb.

Hudelson had a time of 19:33 to edge Concordia’s Sarah Kortze at the finish line by one second, while Mustang teammate Kara Nelson finished a close third in 19:37.

Morningside’s Lydia Ford also had a top 10 finish with the fifth place time of 20:02.

The Mustangs, ranked 19th nationally in the NAIA Pre-Season Poll, finished second in the six-team field with 35 points, while 12th-ranked Concordia finished first with 30 tallies.

Morningside finished third in the seven-team men’s field. The Mustangs’ top runner was Brian Gesink, who finished sixth with a time of 21:36. Garret Ehlers was next with the 11th place time of 21:48.

Morningside will compete in the Iowa State Open on Sept. 18 in Ames, Iowa.

Women’s Results

Men’s Results

Mustangs Finish Sixth At Siouxland Invitational

Dave Young

Morningside finished in sixth place in a 14-team field at the Siouxland Invitational men’s golf tournament played Friday at The Ridge in Sioux Center, Iowa, and Saturday at Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City, Iowa.

The Mustangs finished with a two-day total of 638 to put them just six strokes out of second place.

Dave Young, the first round leader with a 75, carded a 79 on Saturday to finish eighth in the individual standings with a 154. The Mustangs’ next best finisher was Nick Hessa with rounds of 83 and 76 for a 159 to put him in 19th place.

The Mustangs’ Cole Schwarz also broke 80 on Saturday with a79.

Morningside will compete in the Briar Cliff Invitational on Wednesday, Sept. 8.

Results

Mustangs Go 2-2 At Bellevue Tourney


Kaeli Austin	Monica Iverson

Morningside dropped a pair of matches against nationally ranked teams on Saturday at the Bellevue University Classic volleyball tournament in Bellevue, Neb., to finish with a 2-2 record for the tournament.

The Mustangs, ranked 18th in the NAIA Pre-Season Poll, saw their record leveled at 5-5 after they lost 25-23, 31-29, 25-20 against No. 17 Bellevue and 26-24, 26-24, 24-26, 23-25, 15-13 against No. 12 Olivet Nazarene.

The Mustangs went 2-0 in Friday’s action with a 22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-19 victory against Baker University and a 25-12, 25-18, 25-17 triumph against York College.

The Mustangs received a solid performance from setter Monica Iverson, who dealt 34 assists, led the team with 11 digs, and supplied seven kills to the Mustangs’ attack in the loss against Bellevue.

Erin Downing was the big hitter in the Mustangs’ attack with 13 kills, while Kaeli Austin just missed double figures with nine terminations.

Darcy Christensen had 10 digs and Leslie Foral had four block assists.

Austin paced the Mustangs’ attack with 12 kills against Olivet Nazarene, followed by Downing with 11, Liz Sutherland with nine, and Kati Steffen with nine.,

Iverson dealt 48 assists to go along with 10 digs.

Christensen led the Mustangs with 28 digs, while freshman Shannon Rutherford added 11 for the first double figure performance of her collegiate career.

The win against Baker came against a team that had swept 14th-ranked Point Loma Nazarene University 3-0 earlier this season.

Austin slammed a career-high 19 kills in the win against Baker to top the Mustangs’ attack in that department for the sixth match in a row. She also had 10 digs to register the Mustangs’ second double-double of the young season.

Aside from Austin’s 19 kills, the Mustangs also received productive hitting from Sutherland and Steffen, who pounded 12 and 10 kills, respectively. The 10 kills by the freshman Steffen, a former Woodbury Central prep all-stater, was the first double figure kill performance of her collegiate career.

Iverson dealt a career-high 50 assists to help ignite the Mustangs’ attack, while Downing led the winners with three ace serves.

Riley Callan led the Mustangs’ court coverage with 16 digs, followed by Christensen with 12. Foral paced the Mustangs defensive effort at the net with two solo blocks and three block assists.

Sutherland had nine kills to lead a balanced Mustang attack in the win against York. Austin added seven kills, while Callan and Amy Chambers each had five.

Christensen and Callan led the court coverage with 18 and 10 digs, respectively. The Mustangs’ other leaders were Iverson with 39 assists and Foral with three block assists.

Morningside will open the GPAC portion of its schedule with a match against Concordia University on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at Seward, Neb.

Morningside To Host Mini-Cheer Camp

Morningside will host a Mini-Cheer Camp for youth in grades K-5 on Saturday, Sept. 18.

The mini-camp will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center/Allee Gymnasium, 3415 Peters Avenue. Participants will learn several cheers and chants at the mini-camp and use them at that afternoon’s football game between Morningside and Briar Cliff at Elwood Olsen Stadium, 3201 Peters Avenue.

The mini-camp participants will be admitted to the game for free. Discounted tickets for the prices of $3 for adults and $1 for siblings will be sold in the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center from 8:30 to 9 a.m. and from 11 to 11:30 a.m.

Cost for the mini-camp is $25 and includes a camp t-shirt to be worn at the football game. Registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 10.

To register or for additional information, contact Lindsey Huber, Morningside cheer and dance head coach, at (712) 274-5350 or by e-mail at huberl@morningside.edu.

Registration Form

Mustangs 19th In Women's Cross Country Pre-Season Poll

Morningside is ranked 19th nationally in the NAIA women’s cross country pre-season poll.

Morningside returns five of their seven runners who competed at last year’s NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships when the Mustangs qualified for the national meet as a team for the first time in school history.

The Mustangs’ top returning runner is Kara Nelson, a senior from Cherokee, Iowa, who finished 30th at last year’s national meet to earn NAIA All-America honors.

Morningside is one of two teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) ranked in the NAIA Pre-Season Top 25. The other GPAC team is Concordia, which is ranked 12th.

The Mustangs will open the 2010 season on Saturday, Sept. 4, at the Concordia Invitational in Seward, Neb.

Click here for the complete NAIA Pre-Season Top 25.

Mustangs 18th In NAIA Pre-Season Volleyball Poll

Morningside College is ranked 18th nationally in the 2010 NAIA Pre-Season Volleyball Poll.

The Mustangs are coming off a 2009 season where they finished 32-9 and made their second consecutive appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championships. Morningside will open the season this Saturday with matches against Valley City State University and Waldorf College in a triangular at Forest City, Iowa.

Morningside is one of three teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) ranked in the NAIA Top 25. Northwestern College is ranked fifth and Doane College is ranked 20th.

Click here for the complete NAIA Pre-Season Top 25.

KWSL To Broadcast Mustang Football And Basketball Games

Morningside College and Clear Channel Radio/KWSL 1470 AM have announced that Mustang football and basketball games will be broadcast on the Sioux City radio station during the 2010-2011 season.

All 10 Morningside regular-season football games, starting with the September 4 home game with Doane College, will be carried on KWSL. The station also will broadcast 41 selected men’s and women’s basketball games.

“It’s exciting that Mustang fans within the KWSL broadcast area will have the opportunity to tune into our football and basketball games,” said Jerry Schmutte, athletic director at Morningside. “And fans anywhere can hear the games streamed live online at www.1470kwsl.com.”

Kelli Erickson, vice president and marketing manager for Clear Channel Radio, said, “This partnership with Morningside College enhances the range of programming available to sports fans on Clear Channel’s Sioux City radio stations.”

Curtis Anderson with “Your Sports Show” will coordinate play-by-play coverage of the Morningside games on KWSL.

Mustangs Ranked 5th Nationally In Pre-Season Football Poll

Morningside College is ranked fifth nationally in the 2010 NAIA pre-season football poll released on Aug. 9.
The Mustangs are coming off a banner 2009 season where they posted a 10-2 record for the second highest victory total in school history.

Morningside is one of four teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) ranked in the NAIA Pre-Season Top 25. Aside from Morningside, the University of Sioux Falls is ranked No. 1, Hastings College is ranked 13th, and Northwestern College is ranked 23rd.

Morningside will open the 2010 season on Saturday, Sept. 4, with a 7 p.m. game against Doane College at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

The Mustangs have a 58-14 record for a .806 winning percentage since the start of the 2004 season. Morningside has made six consecutive appearances in the NAIA Championship Series and has advanced to at least the quarterfinal round each of the past five seasons.

Click here for the complete NAIA Pre-Season Top 25.