Kato Cornhole champs never caught napping Men’s golf seeing improvement

By MOHAMED WARSAME Staff Writer

The first ever Kato Cornhole tournament is in the history books. The inaugural cornhole tournament took place Wednesday at the Myers Field House.

The event was organized by students in Event Management in Sport, a class offered to students in the Sports Management department.

The Maverick students took on the challenge of organizing this tournament for a large portion of their grade.

Part of the course’s objectives include describing the concept and creation of an event, evaluating the process of selecting the location of an event or new facility and developing an understanding of the basic principles associated with managing a sport event, along with the application of those basic principles.

The Sports Management department as a whole strongly believes in education through activity. Doing random tests isn’t their vibe.

Senior Chance Kamrowski

played a critical role in this event coming to life.

“I was in charge of sponsorships so that was acquisition of like in kind donations. So that was like our prizes. We got a bunch of bobbleheads, we got some hats, we got some tickets to the moon dogs game, so anything like that they’ll use as prizes came through,” Kamrowski said.

The turnout caught many of the organizers by surprise. The tournament consisted of 35 teams of two. This was an extraordinary rise in contestants that turned up compared to an Esports event that took place a few years ago.

The rules were as follows: Both players play one board at a time and stay in their designated lane for the whole game.

Players start the game at one board and alternate pitching bags until each player has pitched all 4 of their bags. Players must deliver the bag with an underhanded release. Feet must stay behind the front of the board at the time of releasing the bag as well as inside the pitcher’s box.

Kamrowski was able to tap into his connections that he accumulated over the years to help the class get some sponsors.

University of Connecticut.

“I had to reach out to a lot of old connections. People I’ve worked with in the past, you know being in the Sports Management department, obviously, get some connections with teams. So like, we got stuff from the St. Cloud Rox, I used to work with their assistant general manager. I have some connections to the Timberwolves so they gave us bobbleheads, so the process was kind of fun for me to see my old friends again, and them helping me out. So that’s how that came about,” Kamrowski said.

Senior Genna Thomazin, who is a part of this class and a sport management major, appreciated the hard work on display by the group to organize this event.

“I haven’t had any previous experience planning or putting on an event, but I really wanted to find a way to bring MNSU students together for a competitive game and sense of community. This class really improved my communication, time management, and leadership skills,” Thomazin said.

The team named ‘Screw Napping’ were crowned champions on the night.

By LUKE JACKSON Staff Writer

Despite finishing near the middle of the pack, the Minnesota State Men’s Golf team saw serious improvement at The Mule Tuesday. Over the course of 54 holes, the five Maverick players combined for 874 totaling 34 strokes over par. This was good enough to place eighth out of 19 teams overall.

The improvements this week came individually and as a team. Through three rounds, Junior Jack Klimek shot 74-68-69. His progress from the first round to the third gave him a jump of 11 spots propelling him to finish fifth overall individually.

Throughout Monday, he put up six birdies shooting his personal best of 68. He also shot 16 consecutive pars or better in his second round. Tuesday saw Klimek shoot -1 due to five birdies, three of which were all in a span of five holes.

“To have a couple of scores below par is really good golfing,” Head Coach Alex Schmitz said. “Jack has a really low ball flight and in the wind that’s the preferred shot. I think that really benefited him.”

Through Klimek’s success, the team also found its stride. After Monday’s grueling 12-hour day of golf, the Mavericks were tied with nationally ranked Rodgers State University for 12th place. The Mavs found their flow Tuesday and shot the third-best on the course. The University of Central Missouri and Harding University tied with 12 shots over par while the Mavericks shot 13 over. This was good enough to surpass Rodgers State and propel them four spots giving them a top-10 finish.

“They grinded,” Schmitz said. “Staying consistent, in the present and not looking too far ahead is what helped. To know that we struggled a bit and were able to come back and compete with some of the best teams in the region is something really good to build off of.”

One improvement Schmitz hopes for is to have more than one player shoot under par. This would help them get to the top of the leaderboard.

“I think our men’s team is very solid from top to bottom but the difference would be having two players put up good scores at the same time. Just like in any other sport. If one player has 40 points you can win some games right? But if you have two guys get 40 then you’ll probably never lose. It’s the same with golf, two scores can make the difference.”

Home course advantage worked in Central Missouri’s favor as they hosted and won the players has the option to decommit from Mankato following the recent coaching changes of Hastings and Knott. But it’s highly unlikely all of them will, and an even better chance we’ll see these young players in purple and gold starting next season.

Additionally, the Mavericks have the opportunity to recruit current players from the NCAA’s transfer portal. Some of the top current players in the portal the Mavericks should express interest in are 35-point scorer Ryan Miotto of Canisius, 25-point scoring defenseman David Melaragni of Canisius, and possibly sophomore goaltender Logan Terness of the

But in order for these players to fully commit to the program, finding a head coach is first priority. Who should the Mavericks target?

The list isn’t that long.

Dan Muse, head coach of the U.S. National Team Development Program 18s has a resume like none other. Other than leading USA’s premier development program, Muse has coached in the NHL with Nashville, in the NCAA with Yale, and in the USHL with Chicago.

Another top candidate includes Nick Oliver, head coach of the USHL’s Fargo Force. Oliver has also had other positions as an as- sistant coach with St. Cloud State University and director of scouting with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede.

So what’s next for the Mavericks after a week of unprecedented change and adversity? Find a coach and understand that the future remains bright with the groundwork laid in previous years by Hastings and Knott.

“The last 11-12 years have been really special and the support has built that up,” said Beal. “It’s not only coach Hastings, it’s the community and the business people in the community that have boosted this team up. I’m just hoping the next coach gets a fair shot to do something similar.”