ON THE MOVE
Summer/Spring 2016 Issue
Where Are They Now? See what our alumni are up to after graduation
Community Outreach GateWay’s athletes help out in the community
Plus:
Baseball & softball reviews + soccer previews
Baseball’s Title Run Spring/Summer 2016 | 1
Geckos on the Move
Spring/Summer 2016
Highlights: Review 4 Softball Catch up on how your Lady
Review 10 Baseball Check out how your Gecko
Geckos did in the 2016 season
baseball team did this season
Bound 6 Enid Gecko baseball makes it
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Soccer Preview
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Where Are They Now?
to the NJCAA Division 2 World Series
Community Outreach See what your Gecko studentathletes are doing to better the community
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See what to expect from the Men’s and Women’s soccer teams in the upcoming fall season See what two of our GateWay Alum are up to after playing
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Meet the coaches of GateWay’s athletic teams
Letter from the Athletic Director
Hello Geckos, Welcome to the 2016 Spring edition of GateWay Geckos: On the Move. This is our third ever digital edition of “On the Move.” We decided to continue going digital in order to reach more of our Geck Nation in addition to our regular, in-print edition. In this edition, you will see baseball and softball reviews and also soccer previews. You will also learn about two former Geckos as they share their experiences at GateWay and after. We are working harder than ever before to continue to create a successful group of student-athletes here at GateWay. We are confident our studentathletes will continue to flourish in academics and sports in order to be the best that they can be. Please continue to attend our games, participate in our fundraisers and root for your fellow Geckos to make GateWay’s athletic department thrive. You can always stay up to date on our latest news by checking out our website, liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter. Go, Geck Nation!
Rob Shabansky GateWay Athleltic Director
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SOFTBALL 2016
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ateWay’s softball team finished the year 12-45-1, going 6-42 in conference play. It was the Lady Gecko’s fourth consecutive year improving their record. They look to continue the trend next year with a strong freshman class returning.
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oach Rhoenita Yancey finished her second year as the head coach of the Lady Gecko softball team and led them to their best season in four years. She looks to continue this upward trend next year and make a run at the playoffs.
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ENID BOUND
For the first time since 2011, the Gecko Baseball team made it back to the NJCAA World Series in Enid, Oklahoma. The team finished second in the nation, falling just short of the National Title to Jones County Junior College out of Mississippi. The Geckos started the tournament by beating North Iowa Area Community College, 11-1, setting the tone for the deep run into the tournament. They then knocked off Jones County and Sinclair in gritty wins. In a reamatch with Jones County, the Geckos came up short to set up a winner-take-all game against Jones County once more. In a hard fought game for the National Championship, the Geckos came out on the wrong side. The 2nd place finish was the best in GateWay history and Geck Nation could not be more proud of the 2016 Gecko Baseball team. 6 | Spring/Summer 2016
Three Geckos stood out during the World Series and were named to the All-Tournament Team. Ian Evans hit for an average of .375 with 4 runs scored, 7 runs batted in and 3 walks while playing a solid defensive second base. Nathan Chokey also hit .381 with 5 runs scored, 3 runs batted in and 3 stolen bases while playing the outfield and first base. On top of that, Chokey pitched himself to a victory, giving up 2 earned runs in 5 innings of work. Brock Whittlesey was last to be named to the All-Tournament Team. Whittlesey provided a spark out of the bullpen. In 3 appearances he pitched 6 innings, giving up one earned run and striking out 8. He picked up a win and a save during the tournament as well.
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Community Outreach The Gecko athletes held a fundraiser for the Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA. The athletes made some of their own donations and collected donations throughout the school to help supply the shelter with some of the essentials that were needed to keep the animals living comfortably.
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The GateWay Men’s and Women’s soccer teams held a clinic at Crockett Elementary School. They worked with the younger kids to teach them some soccer skills and promote getting outside and being active. The elementary school kids had a blast getting to go through drills and playing games, and the student-athletes really enjoyed giving back to the community while promoting soccer.
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BASEBALL ’16
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n the best season in GateWay history, the baseball team finished 2nd in the Nation. They finished with a 43-22 record, setting the school record for wins. They had five players named to All-Conference or All-Region teams (Garrett Poole, Nathan Chokey, Ian Evans, Seth Nordlin and Isaac Parra), while Garrett Poole was also named an All-American. The team set many single season records and Issac Parra added a National Gold Glove Award at the shortstop position. This was GateWay’s fourth consecutive year with a Gold Glove winner. Ten sophomores are moving on to play at the next level including six going on to play Division 1. The Geckos will bring back a strong returning class and look to build on their success this year to work their way back to the World Series and win a National Championship.
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SOCCER PREVIEW ‘16
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Soccer 2016 Women’s Soccer looks to get back to their competitive ways after having a somewhat disappointing season last year. They finished the season at 2-16-2. The Lady Geckos will need some help replacing AllACCAC Honorable Mention, Logan Fischer. Coach Greg Johnson has brought in a talented freshman class that will look to help the returning sophomores make a playoff run this year.
The Men’s Soccer team will also be looking to improve this year after finishing 1-19 last year. They lost team MVP and AllACCAC Honaorable Mention Goalie, Brian Silva, but have brought in a group of solid, fundamental freshman to help. They are chomping at the bit to get the season started and start a winning tradition of Men’s Soccer at GateWay.
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BASEBALL ALUMNI
Former GateWay baseball player Tyler Clancy has had an extremely successful time since he joined the Geckos. Clancy played two years at GateWay in 2013 and 2014 and was a pivotal part of the two team’s pitching staffs. In his career at GateWay, he compiled a 7-7 record over 120 innings while striking out 75. After getting his Associate’s Degree from GateWay he moved on to Louisanna Tech University. In his junior year, he had a team high 6 wins, while striking out 41 in 79 innings of work. Clancy’s senior year campaign started off about impressive as anyone else in the country. He went into sixth ranked Lousianna Lafayette’s house and beat them 6-2. The next week he started against twelth ranked Arkansas and pitched brilliantly again beating them 3-2. 14 | Spring/Summer 2016
Clancy made five more starts for the Bulldogs before his season was cut short due to injuries. He finished the season with a 3-2 record. He threw 31 innings with a 3.73 ERA and 22 strikeouts. Clancy graduated in the spring of 2016 with a degree in general studies. He has since returned back home to Arizona. The 22-year-old is rehabbing his shoulder right now in an attempt to make one last run at playing baseball professionally. Clancy said his favorite part about being a Gecko was, “being a part of Geck Nation and meeting some great friends, teammates and coaches along the way.” His advice to current and future Geckos is to, “chase your dreams and make the most out of your opportunity to play at the collegiate level.”
SOFTBALL ALUMNI
Sydney Johnson just finished her second year at GateWay in the spring of 2016. She was a major impact player for the Lady Geckos in her two years on the diamond. In her freshman year, she played in 31 games and went 5 for 25. Johnson added a stolen base and two runs batted in to go with her versatility on defense. Johnson’s playing time increased significantly in her sophomore year due to her constant determination to make herself a better player.
Her head coach Rhoenita Yancey said, “Sydney was a true pleasure to have for two years here at Gateway. Her constant positive attitude and energy were contagious to her teammates and she made us a better team because of it.” This was proven by the team improving in each of the years she was here at Gateway. Johnson is moving on to continue her playing career at Ohio Valley University in West Virginia after recieveing a scholarship to go there.
She played in 55 of the 57 games the team played that year. She collected 22 hits and drove in 6 runners while playing all over the field defensively. Spring/Summer 2016 | 15
Rob Shabansky, Head Baseball Coach
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ead baseball coach Rob Shabansky is in his 11th season coaching at GateWay. The Las Vegas native was a pitcher for the University of Arizona Wildcats’ baseball team and played in Minor League Baseball into his adult years. He received his bachelor’s degree in communications. Shabansky said his favorite aspect of coaching is working with studentathletes. “I really enjoy being a part of their life and trying to prepare them for the next level of athletics and helping them earn a degree,” he said. “It’s a satisfying feeling to see student-athletes succeed beyond GateWay.”
Zeke Zimmerman, Assistant Baseball Coach
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ssistant baseball coach Zeke Zimmerman has been coaching with GateWay since the beginning of the 2014 season. Prior to coaching at GateWay, Zimmerman coached with Mesa High School and Mesa Community College. The Utah native also spent time with many professional organizations. He played professionaly for the St. Louis Cardinals and was a coach for the Los Angeles Angels and the San Francisco Giants.
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Rhoenita Yancey, Head Softball Coach
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ead softball coach Rhoenita Yancey has been coaching at GateWay for eight years and just finished her third year as head coach. Before her years coaching she played at Mesa Community College and Bethune-Cookman University. She was inducted into the Arizona Softball Hall of Fame in 2009 for her participation on the 2001 softball national championship team. Yancey said her favorite part of coaching is being able to watch the evolution of a player. “I really enjoy seeing an athlete through from start to finish,” she said. “It is rewarding when they return and say thank you without knowing that their continued success is more satisfying than anything they will ever know.”
Alex Fajardo, Assistant Softball Coach
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ssistant softball coach Alex Fajardo just finished his third year coaching at GateWay, but he has been coaching for nine years at elementary and highschool levels. He also coaches the Krazy Kats, a fastpitch club in the Valley. He said coaching at a college-level has been a dream come true for him. Fajardo said he was proud of the players who stuck it through the season. “The girls played their hearts out for each other,” he said. “That’s a team.”
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ead soccer coach Greg Johnson has a master’s degree in education from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, and has 24 years of coaching experience. He is the first to coach the men’s and women’s soccer teams at GateWay and has been with the Geckos for five-anda-half years. Johnson’s favorite part of coaching is helping players get to the highest level they can accomplish. He also enjoys helping players improve in all aspects of life, especially helping them become responsible members of the community. Johnson is a Chandler native and a diehard Los Angeles Kings fan.
Greg Johnson, Head Soccer Coach
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ssistant coach Alberto Milan, a former GateWay soccer player, has been coaching the men’s soccer team for five years now. During his time here he has been a huge asset to the team. Milan also helps coach the Legacy San Tan Soccer Club in his time away from GateWay. The Rocky Point, Mexico, native said he is passionate about coaching soccer. “My passion has and always will be the game of soccer and the ability to help the youth develop.”
Alberto Milan, Assistant Soccer Coach 18 | Spring/Summer 2016
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