Sports

Women’s soccer coach Dan Schmidlin. file photo

Women’s Soccer Win Conference Title By RACHEL MOORE

The CMU women’s soccer team faced several challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic this fall, dropping two out of their first three games of the season. Afterwards it was full steam ahead for the Eagles, as they rattled off nine straight wins to finish the year with a 10-2 overall record. With a victory over Clarke on Nov. 14, the women clinched their second-straight Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season championship. Senior forward Anika Kallash became the program’s all-time leading goal scorer, passing teammate Judith Sainz (71) for the most goals scored all-time. Kallash now has 77 career goals in 72 games. She also becomes the program’s career leader in assists, collecting 33 total during her four-year playing career. Like the men’s team, the women have solidified their spot atop the regular season standings and will host throughout the duration of conference tournament, which is set to begin on April 3, 2021.

Football Eagles Climb Above .500

The Central Methodist football team concluded the 2020 season with a 5-4 record.

It marks the first time since the 2014 campaign that the Eagles have been above .500. Signature wins included a season opening victory at

Graceland and a thrilling 14-12 win over

William Penn on Homecoming weekend. The

Eagles also defeated arch rival Missouri Valley

College 23-13 on Oct. 17 in Marshall, marking the third-straight win over the Vikings. 44 The Talon | Fall 2020

Central closed out the regular season with back-to-back wins over Evangel and MNU on senior day, putting an exclamation point on the year with a convincing 45-2 win over the Pioneers on Nov. 14, sending its senior class out on a high-note.

Kemboi Qualifies For Cross Country Nationals First year head coach Kenny Anderson completed his inaugural season with the CMU men’s and women’s cross country teams, as the men competed in five races while the women participated in four. Both squads concluded the regular season at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, hosted Nov. 7 at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan. The women posted an eighth place finish out of 14 teams, and the men were 10th. Senior Radovan Kemboi became a three-time AllConference runner, placing fifth out of 122 runners in a time of 26:49.48 in the 8K. The fifth place finish was good enough to qualify Kemboi for the NAIA Cross Country National Championships, set to take place on April 9, 2021.

Volleyball Wraps Up Regular Season 11-3 CMU volleyball finished the 2020 fall season 11-3 and 9-3 in Heart action. Ten of the Eagles’ wins came in straight set sweeps, and Central nearly upset the top team in the conference, Heart newcomer Park University on Oct. 30 in Fayette, before falling in five sets, (25-15, 25-16, 25-27, 22-25, 13-15). CMU has earned the No. 2 seed in the South Division for the conference tournament and will host the No. 3 seed from the North, William Penn on Tuesday, March 2 in the quarterfinals.

Golf Makes Noise In Return to Links The men’s and women’s golf teams returned to the course for the first time since the 2016-17 season. On the men’s side, CMU posted a Top-3 finish at the MVC Invitational on Sept. 15 and wrapped the fall season with a firstplace finish at the Trojan Fall Tri Match on Oct. 17 in Hannibal, Mo. Junior Matias Baccola recorded two Top-10 finishes, including a second-place finish at the Quincy Country Club Shootout on Sept. 21. Freshman Aaron Teece steadily improved as the season went along, earning a Top-2 spot at the Trojan Fall Tri Match, good enough to earn Heart Men’s Golfer of the Week honors. For the women, the Eagles finished in second place as a team at the Spring Lake Country Club Invite on Sept. 28 in Quincy, Ill. Freshman Cassandra Contreras earned Heart Women’s Golfer of the Week honors after placing fifth in the MVC Invitational Sept. 15 with a two-round score of 164, just seven strokes back from the top spot. Both teams will continue play in the spring of 2021.

Soccer Building For A Three-Peat During COVID-19 By RACHEL MOORE

When Central Methodist University’s men’s soccer team came off the program’s second consecutive NAIA national championship in 2019, it seemed like another target had been painted on its back. The challenges of COVID-19 and the unknown of the 2020 season have taken the spotlight off the national championship and put it elsewhere.

The new challenges are dealing with a split season, staying in shape during the split, and an absence from campus for at least six weeks between semesters. Two-time NAIA national coach of the year Alex Nichols said the pressure of trying to repeat in 2019 did put a target on the team’s backs. However, this season, the Eagles had to replace 10 seniors who posted a 47-3 overall record and a 20-1-1 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference

Alex Nichols, CMU men’s soccer coach the last two years. Of the challenges facing the two-time defending national champions, Coach Nichols said, “There are a lot of new faces to this year’s team. We have a good culture here. It takes time and effort for a new team to gel. We’re fortunate to have athletes that are very dedicated to this program and their teammates.”

This year’s squad not only faces the challenges of having a plethora of new players, including 11 freshmen, but also the prospect of playing the postseason in the spring instead of late November. The coaching staff sees several benefits to a split season.

“It’s great that we have a fall and a spring,” Nichols said. “That sets us up well. But we must have a good non-conference in the spring if we’re going to be successful. We have to take advantage of the six or seven non-conference games we have and make sure we use the conference tournament to prepare us for the national tournament. I think the split season will turn out to be beneficial for us. But it will still take a lot of maintained discipline.”

COVID-19 continues to challenge the fluidity of most fall sports schedules, and men’s soccer is no exception.

“It’s on and off; it’s been a battle,” Nichols said. “COVID has caused a great deal of challenges, not only for CMU but for every university in the United States. There are extra things daily that we must think about, extra processes we must implement. We have to adapt, and while it’s not all perfect, we are getting better each day.”

The layout of the spring season continues to remain fluid. The national tournament has been moved to the spring as well as the conference tournaments for the men’s and women’s programs. While the minimum number of games to qualify is less than in year’s past (8), there is less room for error, and it serves as a pressure cooker for the team to be at its best every game.

“There are many good teams in our conference, and if you have a hiccup or two in the fall, you may not be guaranteed anything,” Nichols said. “We definitely have to stay focused every day. If we continue to play well in the fall and are fortunate enough to get a bid, that will put us in the driver’s seat. We need to make certain we continue to get better and prepare the same way as teams that are playing their entire season in the spring.”

Another hurdle for many NAIA teams is student-athletes who left campus during the Thanksgiving break and will not return until the spring semester. The onus on many of those student-athletes is to stay fit and ready, with a plan in place so they are prepared when spring season begins again.

“Our returners embrace this challenge,” Nichols said. “But the target on our back was last year, and that was really tough and really difficult. This year, a lot of our guys have already experienced that. It is a new team, and our challenges now are getting better in what we do, learning the system, despite the COVID hiccups, breaks, and the stops. We are getting to know each other and understanding the system and expectations. There are a ton of challenges this year, and as weird as it sounds, having a target on our back is irrelevant.

“All of our new guys and all of our returning guys are up to the challenge. That’s really all you can ask for, and we’re excited to see how far we can go.”

Since our interview with Coach Nichols, his team continues to meet the challenge, notching Nichols’ 100th CMU victory with a 3-1 win over Missouri Valley College on Oct. 29. The Eagles then followed up with a 2-1 win over Park on Nov. 7, clinching their third-straight Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season championship. This earns an automatic bid to the national tournament. The conference tournament will be held April, 10-17. The national tournament opening round games will be April 22-24 on campus sites. CMU will try to claim its third-straight red banner in Columbia County, Ga., May 4-10.

Central’s men’s cross country team.

Cross Country, Track & Field: Starting Anew By RACHEL MOORE

For the first time in almost a decade, practicing with the team,” said Anderson. “It the world. You have your quitters, your the Central Methodist cross country just kind of grew on me and was a part of my survivors, and thrivers. What we want to do and track & field programs has a new life growing up.” here at Central Methodist is thrive. I want leader. That new leader is Following high school, the program to be a top-10 nationally ranked first-year Head Coach Kenny Anderson continued to run program on both the men’s and women’s sides. Anderson, hired in July of in college in the sprints Getting that buy-in from the current student2020. He brings a wealth of and hurdle events. After athletes as well as bringing new talented knowledge and experience his freshman season, he student-athletes, to accomplish that goal, is to the CMU athletics chose to put his focus on our mindset.” community. completing his degree. The culture change of moving to mid-

Of his first few months He continued, however, Missouri from the Sunshine State didn’t blind in Fayette, Anderson said, “I to work with local high Anderson from seeing the qualities that a say this all the time, but it’s schools as an assistant small campus community offers. another day in paradise.” coach. “The family atmosphere and environment,

Originally from Florida, Once his degree was the people out here are great,” said Anderson. Anderson graduated from completed, Anderson “I feel at home. I think what we can do with Florida A&M with a degree continued to work with the facilities and with the support of Dr. in electrical engineering. He local high schools and Drake and Natasha Wilson, we can be very spent the last two seasons served as an assistant successful here. as an assistant track and Coach Kenny Anderson women’s basketball coach “The opportunity, the resources and field coach and recruiting for Division I Stetson the visions align. President Drake is very coordinator for Johnson C. Smith University. University and Division II Lynn University. big on athletics and wants a winning JCSU is an NCAA Division II university in He then joined JCSU as the assistant track and program. I wanted to be somewhere where Charlotte, N.C. field coach and recruiting coordinator. the administration supported athletics. I

His passion for the sport runs all the way When Anderson stepped on to the CMU eat, sleep, and breathe track, so having back to his childhood. He molded himself campus, he hit the ground running. the resources available makes this job very after his father, who was a high school track “The biggest thing for me, once I got here, appealing. We have all the resources and tools and field coach and a collegiate runner. was recruiting and building the culture. I to be successful.”

“After school, I was always around and believe there are three types of people in With the COVID-19 pandemic running

rampant across the nation, Anderson stepped into an unusual situation as a first-year head coach. Many limitations were placed on recruiting and training.

“COVID has been challenging, just because of the restrictions placed on a head coach,” he said. “We’ve learned the systems and restrictions; I think we have a handle on it so far. As it pertains to recruiting, there were no high school meets last year, so we have been getting out when we can or when folks are having events.”

Anderson said he looks for specific kinds of athletes when out on the recruiting trail.

“A diverse athlete, multifaceted, athletes that do multiple things,” he said. “Someone who is driven and competitive. The mindset has a lot to do with it. We intend to recruit studentathletes who want to be the best versions of themselves, in the classroom and on the track. Someone who can take care of the little things is who we want. If you do the little things well, the big things come easy. When it comes to recruiting, it is about the mindset and the ability to learn, adapt, and grow.”

As Anderson continues to build up his program, we asked where he sees the program heading within the next couple of years.

Anderson offered some thoughts on how he would like to see the program grown and evolve over the next couple years. “Recruiting-wise, we have a great start to the 2020-21 class. We’ve got some great pieces on campus right here, right now. Within the next year or two, I think we will be on the cusp of building that foundation. My saying is, the empire wasn’t built in a day, it’s built every day. Every day, we are working to accomplish that goal. It is important to bring people in who want to help us achieve that and who want to be the foundation of something great. Long story short, in two years, the number of athletes that we qualify for the national meet will definitely increase. Three to five years from now, we are contenders, bringing 10-plus athletes on each side, being competitive and bringing back All-Americans.”

After visiting with Anderson, both cross country programs wrapped up their seasons at the conference championships in Baldwin City, Kan., on Nov. 7.

Esports Team Continues To Thrive Finding Success in School and Competition By EMILY KESEL

The Central Methodist University Esports team began humbly with just 10 recruits in its first year of competition in 2018. Only two years later, the team has grown so much that it has had to expand its special facilities – twice.

The team begins the 2020 fall season with 54 athletes on the roster, spread over six online games for competition – Hearthstone, Fortnite, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, and Rocket League. In his second year as the head coach of the Eagles, Aaron Shockley, ’12, says he identifies a number of factors that have contributed to the team’s rapid growth.

“First and foremost is our recent success, having reached 10 playoff appearances, three national rankings, and one league title, which has built our reputation of competing within the collegiate realm at a high level,” he said. Under Shockley’s leadership, the program finished the 2019-2020 season with an overall record of 61-62, securing an undefeated League of Legends campaign for an ECAC Gold Division League championship.

Aside from the team’s early success, the coach also credits the growth to the dedication of everyone involved and the relationships they’ve formed with high schools in the recruiting process.

“I will be the first to say it takes more than a coach to grow a program to this magnitude and success,” said Shockley. “It takes countless hours of our coaches, players, and entire Enrollment Management Department to successfully achieve recruiting metrics and achieve success in matches.”

The Esports athletes aren’t just finding success in competition, however. As a program, they have earned a total of 40 All-Academic awards, reflecting the students’ dedication to succeeding in the classroom.

“I instill in the Esports players from the first meeting that academics will be our focus and Esports second,” Shockley said. “Having the amazing resources here at CMU – the Center for Learning and Teaching, the amazing tutoring staff, and the dedicated professors – fosters an academic culture that our Esports players buy into when they attend our university.”

Shockley says the players are allotted study hall ours in addition to their regular game training, as well as weight training and other wellness activities to make sure they are “focused and ready” to compete.

In a world gone virtual due to the need for social distancing, Shockley’s team has something of a leg up over other sports on campus that have seen big changes to the way their practices and competitions are run.

“I think this is a prime time for Esports to get a bigger push in the collegiate scene due to the fact that even if universities decide to go virtual, this allows Esports teams and universities to still have engagement with their student life to cheer on a team,” he said. “I also think this will allow more students who are unsure what Esports is to have a better understanding of how much time and effort these players put into their game to compete at such a high level.”

While more traditional sports are restricted to playing certain competition, often within their own division or conference, Esports teams are able to compete against anyone, something Shockley sees as a great opportunity for small programs to level the virtual playing field with bigger universities.

The Central team is well on its way to doing just that, but Shockley isn’t one to settle with what has already been done.

“We’ve had a great start, but we aren’t satisfied,” Shockley said.

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