The William Penn men’s bowling team made a run in bracket play at the ISYL Leatherneck Classic Saturday and Sunday.

William Penn was seventh out of 31 teams in qualifying with 8,853 pins, while Lindenwood (Mo.) took the top seed with 9,388 pins.

As the #7 seed, the Statesmen knocked off #2 McKendree (Ill.) 2-1 in the quarterfinals of bracket play, but could not get past #3 Wisconsin-Whitewater in a 2-1 loss.  UW-W eventually defeated Lindenwood 2-1 in the championship.

Jacques Kaune (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska, Business Management) was the navy and gold’s best in the 306-person field with a 199.2 average.

The remaining four members of WPU’s varsity also averaged over 190 pins during the weekend.  Quincy Bruce (So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, General Accounting) led the quartet at 196.3, while Michael Applegate (Sr., Council Bluffs, Iowa, Secondary Education) was at 194.5.  Stian Hoff (Jr., Orkanger, Norway, General Accounting) had a 194.2 average and Nick Walker (Fr., Zeeland, Mich., Business Management) owned a 192.3 clip.

WPU’s second team competed as well, finishing 11th out of 17 teams in the JV division with 8,200 pins.

Cory Rissman (Sr., Yorkville, Ill., Industrial Technology), at 197.3, and Connor Frederick (Sr., Ottumwa, Iowa, History/Government), at 178.6, both started six games, whileJason Forsyth (Fr., Weatherford, Texas, Business Management) started five rounds with a 196.5 mark.

Rylie Reidel (So., Knoxville, Iowa, Business Management) (174.0), Ryan Racimo (Jr. Olympia, Wash., Exercise Science) (173.0), Curtis Majka (So., Elgin, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) (168.3), and
Cody Adair (Jr., Kearns, Utah, Industrial Technology) (145.7) all started three games.  Kevin Wesely (Sr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Industrial Technology) knocked down 136 pins in his lone game.

Next Up: William Penn takes two weeks off before traveling to Madison, Wis. on December 5-6 to compete in the Ebonite Warhawk Open.

The Statesmen women’s bowling squad battled hard, but was unable to reach bracket competition at the ISYL Leatherneck Classic Saturday and Sunday.

William Penn was 12th out of 23 teams in qualifying with 7,738 pins, while Wichita State (Kan.) took the top seed with 8,907 pins.  #5 seed St. Ambrose upset WSU in the semis en route to eventually winning the title.

Stephanie Adams (Jr., Souris, Manitoba, Business Management) tied for 24th out of 202 bowlers with a 188.2 average.  Montana Pence (Sr., Stronghurst, Ill., Elementary Education) started in six games as well, posting a 173.3 clip.

Cybil Lennie (So., Ottumwa, Iowa, Undecided) paced the remaining group with an average of 164.8 pins (five games), while the trio of Briell Newberry (So., Holland, Mich., Secondary Education) (158.0), MacKenzie Boyd (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Human Services/Sociology) (156.7), and Audra Farley (So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Education) (148.3) each started three games.

Cheyanne Starr (Fr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Psychology), at 181.5, and Amber Ovel (Fr., Waterloo, Iowa, Business Management), at 156.5, both had a pair of starts at the Classic.

Next Up: William Penn takes two weeks off before traveling to Madison, Wis. on December 5-6 to compete in the Ebonite Warhawk Open.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–The William Penn football team finished the 2015 campaign in the top 25 as the NAIA released its final rating Sunday.

The Statesmen (7-4, 3-2 North) fell four spots from last week to 23rd with 38 points (Faulkner is tied with WPU).  The navy and gold unfortunately could not extend its season to the playoffs, while the Heart of America Athletic Conference will be represented in the NAIA Football Championship Series by #2 Baker (Kan.) and #3 Grand View.

Morningside (340 points, 14 first-place votes) enters postseason action at #1, while Baker, Grand View, Saint Francis (Ind.) (final first-place vote), and Montana Tech round out the top five.

NAIA Football Final Rating – November 15, 2015
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
1. Morningside (14)
2. Baker (Kan.)
3. Grand View
4. Saint Francis (Ind.) (1)
5. Montana Tech
6. Marian (Ind.)
7. Southern Oregon
8. Tabor (Kan.)
9. Doane (Neb.)
10. Kansas Wesleyan
11. Campbellsville (Ky.)
12. Reinhardt (Ga.)
13. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
14. Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)
15. Montana Western
16. Saint Xavier (Ill.)
17. Point (Ga.)
18. Dickinson State (N.D.)
18. St. Francis (Ill.)
20. St. Ambrose
21. Benedictine (Kan.)
22. Arizona Christian
23. William Penn
23. Faulkner (Ala.)
25. Georgetown (Ky.)

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

PELLA— The No. 20 Central College men’s cross country team, vying for a fourth straight national meet berth, will try to use its home course to an advantage, hosting the NCAA Division III Central Region Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships for a second consecutive year.

The 6,000-meter women’s race starts at 11 a.m. followed by the 8,000-meter men’s race at 12:30 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex course.

The Central Region features 30 women’s teams and 29 men’s teams from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The teams will face off in an effort to qualify for the Division III national meet Nov. 22 in Winneconne, Wis. The top two teams from each side and the top 10 individuals not on either of those teams will automatically advance.Sunday, 16 at-large berths will be given from the eight regions to complete the 32-team field.

Coach Joe Dunham is ready to show off the course to the rest of the region.

“It’s great to represent Central College to the entire region,” he said. “We are an institution set up well to host. We have a great staff and we couldn’t have put together a better team to coordinate this event.”

The Dutch runners are hoping to get a leg up running at home.

“We have been on this course multiple times training throughout the year,” Dunham said. “That should give us a little advantage against the tough competition.”

Overtaking the Oles—If the Dutch men are to win their first regional crown in school history, they have to take down three-time defending regional champion St. Olaf.  The fourth-ranked Oles took second at the national meet last season and have been atop the regional rankings all season. Central competed in the St. Olaf Invitational Sept. 19, taking fourth in the 20-team field while the Oles won the title.

Central earned national berths the past three seasons, placing 12th in the nation in 2012, sixth in 2013 and 11th last year.

Central was third in last year’s regional, behind St. Olaf and Iowa Conference foe Loras. The No. 19 Duhawks won the conference title this season, edging the Dutch by seven points and a total of four seconds at the league meet Oct. 31 at Dubuque.

The Dutch will lean on the services of back-to-back conference champion Cole Decker (senior, Des Moines/Dowling Catholic HS) to lead them back to the national race. Decker took 20th at the regional race last year.

“Cole is really confident right now,” Dunham said. “He’s feeling good and has stayed healthy. We are excited about the opportunity that he has in front of him.”

The Dutch are looking to prove they are among the nation’s elite.

“The conference race did not end the way we wanted,” Dunham said. “We have to put that behind us and focus on qualifying for nationals.”

Carleton going for back-to-back—After the Wartburg women won the Central Regional for three consecutive years from 2011-13, Carleton (Minn.) took the crown last season and is in prime position to do so again. The No. 14 Knights are the highest-ranked member of the Central Region and have been atop the regional rankings all season. St. Thomas (Minn.) and Cornell are the only other Central Region schools nationally ranked, coming in at No. 24 and No. 32, respectively.

The Dutch women will try to improve on their 15th-place finish from last year. Central is coming off a fourth-place finish at the conference race.

“Our women have really developed over the season,” Dunham said. “They have put in a lot of hard work and have set their sights on a better finish than last season.”

Sophomore Holly McKinney (Saint Charles/Interstate 35-Truro HS) has led Central in every race this season and will play a big role if the Dutch want to compete with the best. She took 14th at the conference meet.

“Holly has had a great season,” Dunham said. “She will have a great opportunity to get toward the front and compete with the best runners in the region.”

After running in sub-freezing temperatures at last year’s regional, the teams are looking forward to the high-50s forecast for Saturday.

“It should be very comfortable for the runners,” Dunham said. “Hopefully there will be a breeze to keep them cool and it will be a great day to run.”

Meet information, including course maps, are available on the regional championship website at http://www.central.edu/athletics/cross-country-regionals/. Meet results will be posted there immediately after the races.

Story provided by Alex Cooper

The South Central Conference has announced their All-Conference teams, and local

athletes are all over the lists.

The first team involves three members of the state qualifying Rockets of Eddyville-

Blakesburg-Fremont. Senior attackers Karlie Taylor and Taylor Leffler were honored,

along with junior libero Haegen Boyer. Centerville had two members on the team:

Senior attacker Alyssa Barger and senior libero Amory Glosser. Finally, the last two

spots were given to two Mustangs from Davis County, as senior attacker Mallory Wells

and junior libero Hallie Owens were named to the team.

Taylor, Leffler, Barger, and Wells were all unanimous selections.

The second team had one player from each of the seven conference schools. EBF’s

McKinley Moore, Centerville’s Libby Sebolt, Davis County’s Connor Wilfawn, Chariton’s

Aubrey Richards, Knoxville’s Haley DeMoss, Albia’s Molly Spurgin, and Clarke’s Maddy

Heath make up the seven member team.

The honorable-mention squad features three players from each team in the conference:

Hannah Romanco Albia

Mary Shepard Albia

Jade Van Polen Albia

Peyton Kauffman Centerville

Alex Kelly Centerville

Mikala White Centerville

Carley Arnold Chariton

Alexis Curran Chariton

Sarah Fuhs Chariton

Baylie Balcaen Clarke

Alex Boyce Clarke

Lexy Carson Clarke

Kaitlin Francis Davis County

Jordyn Thompson Davis County

Bailea Yanke Davis County

Torie Alexander E-B-F

Emma Bunnell E-B-F

Taryn Swartz E-B-F

Jenna Kauzlarich Knoxville

Emily Wallace Knoxville

Chelsea Wares Knoxville

EBF won the conference with a perfect 6-0 record. Centerville was second at 5-1,

followed by Davis County at 4-2. Chariton was in 4th at 3-3, Knoxville finished 5th at 2-4,

Albia finished 6th at 1-5, and Clarke rounded out the conference at 0-6 in SCC play.

PELLA — Central College men’s soccer defender Adelmo Marchiori IV (Carlinville, Ill.) received all-Iowa Conference honorable mention Tuesday.

Marchiori was one of just three players to start all 17 games for the Dutch this season. He took 10 shots from his defender position, four of those on goal.

The junior defender was the team Newcomer of the Year in his freshman season and the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2014. He has three career goals on 40 shots and has played in 53 career games.

Central finished the season 4-13 overall with a 1-6 record in conference play. The Dutch missed the conference tournament by one game after falling 1-0 to Coe in the season finale.

Story provided by Alex Cooper

Oskaloosa–The William Penn wrestling team took advantage of a pair of forfeits and dominated the lighter weights to cruise past Waldorf 35-13 in its home-opening dualTuesday.

The Statesmen (1-0) won five of the eight contested matches and also picked up a two victories at open weights to keep the Warriors (0-3) winless this season.

John Altieri (Fr., Warwick, R.I., Sociology) set the tone early with a dominating performance at 125 pounds.  He held a sizeable lead before finally winning by fall in 4:18 over Kyle Penalosa.

133-pounder Jeremy Andujar (So., Tampa, Fla., Biology) was also in control throughout, winning by technical fall against Jacob Adams 24-8.

Fabian Rodriguez (Fr., Manassas, Va., Business Management) extended the advantage to 17-0 with a forfeit at 141 pounds, while Bryan Pittman (Sr., Flossmoor, Ill., Information Technology) made his season debut with a 14-11 decision over Dustin Samudio at 149 pounds.

By that point, the team victory was locked up, but the navy and gold were not done.  157-pounder Logan Loftus (So., Marengo, Iowa, Industrial Technology) then rallied to pin Zach Milks in 5:37.

Waldorf got on the board with victories at 165 and 174, but then Johnny Hopper (So., Basehor, Kan., Psychology) pushed the margin back to 32-7 with the second of WPU’s forfeits at 184.

Following a WC fall at 197, Matthew Cuthbert (Fr., Yucaipa, Calif., Sociology) closed out the evening by holding off Jacob Pinedo 3-2 at heavyweight.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Decorah Saturday to compete in the Luther Open.  Action begins at 9 a.m.

125–John Altieri (WPU) won by fall over Kyle Penalosa, 4:18 (6-0)
133–Jeremy Andujar (WPU) won by technical fall over Jacob Adams, 24-8 (11-0)
141–Fabian Rodriguez (WPU) won by forfeit (17-0)
149–Bryan Pittman (WPU) won by decision over Dustin Samudio, 14-11 (20-0)
157–Logan Loftus (WPU) won by fall over Zach Milks, 5:37 (26-0)
165–Sha-Keno Jenkins (WC) won by major decision over Christian Padilla, 14-3 (26-4)
174–D’Monte Aursby (WC) won by decision over Jay Fresh, 10-4 (26-7)
184–Johnny Hopper (WPU) won by forfeit (32-7)
197–Ryan Dugger (WC) won by fall over Chris Rodriguez, 4:25 (32-13)
285–Matthew Cuthbert (WPU) won by decision over Jacob Pinedo, 3-2 (35-13)

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

PELLA—For the second time in as many weeks, Central College football players Aaron Marcellus (kicker, junior, Hudson) and Mitch Schroeder (linebacker, senior, Lowden/North Cedar HS) have been named Iowa Conference players of the week.

Marcellus was named special teams player of the week while Schroeder took home the title of defensive player of the week following a Dutch 38-23 victory over Buena Vista Saturday on Senior Day.

Marcellus does it all— Marcellus almost duplicated his performance last week, connecting on another 32-yard field goal this week and nailing five extra points in the win. His field goal early in the third quarter put the Dutch up 10-7 and they would never relinquish the lead. The junior kicker averaged 55.3 yards per kickoff, including one touchback and also punted once for 21 yards.

Schroeder picks two—Schroeder picked up right where he left off last week, intercepting two Buena Vista passes to give him a league leading five on the season. His two picks came within a 3:30 span from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth. Schroeder returned the interceptions for a total of 18 yards. He also added two tackles and a pass breakup in his final game at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.

The Dutch (6-3 overall, 4-2 conf.) will play their final game of the season Saturday at league-champion Dubuque. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Story provided by Alex Cooper

Oskaloosa–Outside of an injury that forced him from not competing for the individual title, Scottie Bonds (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) could not have gotten off to a better start this year and his efforts were rewarded as he was named Heart of America Athletic Conference Wrestler of the Week Monday.

Bonds won his first four matches with ease, but had to injury default in the 149-pound finals at the Grand View Open.

The junior pinned his first three opponents and then won the fourth match of the day by major decision.

Because the MCC did not sponsor wrestling during his freshman and sophomore campaigns, Bonds’ weekly award is the first of his career.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

PELLA — Central College defensive coordinator Don De Waard will serve as the head coach of Team Stars and Stripes for the fourth straight year in the seventh annual Tazon de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars) football game in Baja, Mexico Saturday, Dec. 19.

The Tazon de Estrellas is an international game hosted by Global Football. The event, and its predecessor, the Aztec Bowl, have a combined 18-year history. De Waard earlier served as an assistant coach for the U.S. team in the Aztec Bowl.

Team Stars and Stripes is a 50-player squad of NCAA Division III seniors who have been nominated by head coaches. The team will face a team all-stars chosen from a national conference of Mexican private colleges.

De Waard has been on the Dutch coaching staff for 34 years and graduated from Central in 1982. He was named the Division III Assistant Coach of the Year in 2000 by the American Football Coaches Association. De Waard holds a 2-1 record as the head coach for Team Stars and Stripes, guiding the team to a 32-15 win in 2012 and a 29-7 win in 2013. He suffered a 31-17 defeat last season.

Central athletic training education program director John Roslien will join De Waard in Mexico as the Player Personnel Director for Team Stars and Stripes. He’s been involved with the game for 18 years. Roslien joined the Central staff in 1986 and has held his current title since 2003. He is also a member of the Iowa Athletic Trainers Society Hall of Honor.

Central head athletic trainer Frank Neu will be making the trip to Mexico as well, serving as the head athletic trainer for Team Stars and Stripes. This is the 15th time he has been a part of the game.

Story provided by Alex Cooper