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Author: Dave Riggert

Missouri State’s rally falls short at Oral Roberts

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Warren Niles scored 19 points and Oral Roberts handed Missouri State its first loss of the season, 68-63, on Wednesday night.

The Golden Eagles (5-2) have won five straight and are off to their best start since the 2004-2005 season when they won their first eight games.

Dominique Morrison added 13 points, Roderick Pearson 11 and Michael Craion 10 for Oral Roberts. The Eagles also got 12 rebounds and eight points from Steven Roundtree.

Kyle Weems had 22 points for Missouri State (4-1) and Caleb Patterson added 14.

Oral Roberts led 36-22 at halftime and maintained that cushion for most of the second half. A Weems 3-pointer with 3:50 left got the Bears within 57-50, and he added another trey with 32 seconds remaining to make it 65-60. A 3-pointer from Anthony Downing brought Missouri State within 66-63 with 8 seconds left before Niles closed it out with a pair of free throws.

— Associated Press —

Three Griffons earn Super Region Four honors

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The Missouri Western football team placed three players on Daktronics Super Region Four teams which was released Wednesday morning by the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America. Senior kicker Greg Zuerlein and junior defensive end David Bass were first team selections while junior running back Michael Hill was a second team selection.

Greg Zuerlein set an MWSU record, with 23 field goals in the regular season. He also broke a school record, with a 58-yard field goal against Northwest Missouri State twice. His 21 consecutive field goals made are an MIAA and NCAA Division II record, and he led the conference with 10.7 points per game average. His 2.2 field goals per game average is the best in the nation, and his .952 field goal percentage leads the nation for any kicker with at least 12 attempts.  Zuerlein became Western’s first MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year and is just the third Western kicker named first team all-conference. Zuerlein was named the conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week three times which includes the last two weeks of the season against Northwest Missouri State and Fort Hays State. Zuerlein was also named the D2Football.com Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts in the Griffons 31-28 victory over Northwest Missouri State on November 5. With his 21 consecutive field goals nine of them were from 50 or more yards.

David Bass also garnered first team status for the first time in his career. The junior defensive end broke a school record with 20 tackles for loss.  His 14.5 sacks led the conference and left him one-half sack short of the single season school record. He is 1.5 sacks short of the career record with 28.5. His two, four sack performances each tied a school record for most in a game. Bass earned MIAA Defensive Player of the Week honors twice and was the D2Football.com Player of the Week once. He was fourth in the nation in sacks per game at 1.21 and 18th in the nation in tackles for a loss with 1.67 per game. He also received first team-All-MIAA for the first time in his career.

Michael Hill received his first nod as a second team selection. The junior running back led the conference in rush attempts (165) and rushing yards (1,305). Hill broke the school record for rush attempts in a game with 41 carries, for a career best 246 rushing yards against Southwest Baptist. Hill was named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week for that performance. His 1,562 all-purpose yards were fourth in the MIAA and his 12 touchdowns and 31 receptions were both tops on the team.  Hill is currently 4th all-time in rushing yards with 2,801 which is 595 yards shy of the all-time record which is held by Tony Williams with 3,396 yards. Hill is second all-time in carries with 617 just 76 shy of tying Thomas Hodges for the lead with 693. Hill rushed for over 100 yards five times this season and helped the Griffons to an 8-0 record when rushing for over 200 yards as a team. He was a first team All-MIAA selection this season.

The Griffons finished with a 9-3 overall record which ties a school record for the most wins in school history. They also made their second straight DII playoff appearance and third all-time.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats get five on the All-Super Region Four teams

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The No. 10 Northwest Missouri State Bearcat football team had five players highlighted on the 2011 Daktronics All-Super Region Four Team released Wednesday morning by the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America.

The Bearcats are 11-2 on the year and enter Saturday’s NCAA Division II National Quarterfinal against Pittsburg State in a rematch of a week five loss to the Gorillas. A trio of players earned first-team recognition and will be placed on All-America ballots, as two Bearcats also earned second-team honors.

Offensive linemen Cody Johnson and Rod Williams along with senior linebacker Chad Kilgore were named All-Super Region Four. Johnson and Williams have helped pace the nation’s highest scoring offense, which has also set a Northwest Missouri State record for points in a season. The Bearcats 665 points lead all divisions and are 33 more than Division I Houston, the next closest school.

Kilgore leads a Bearcat defense that has stood strong all season and helped two second-half comebacks during this year’s playoffs. Kilgore leads Northwest in tackles with 116 and 11 tackles for loss. He has 2.5 sacks.

Junior running back and kick returner Jordan Simmons earned Second-Team Super Region Four honors as a return specialist. Simmons has amassed more than 600 yards in the return game and returned two kickoffs and one punt for a touchdown this season.

Joining Simmons on the second-team is MIAA Freshman of the Year Bryce Enyard. Enyard led Northwest with six interceptions for 135 return yards. The freshman also returned his latest interception for a touchdown going 59 yards in the final game of the regular season against Emporia State.

The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the NCAA Division II members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA), with the online nomination and voting process powered by ATHLETICSITE.COM.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest softball adds three to 2013 recruiting class

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The Northwest Missouri State softball team signed a pair of junior college transfers and a high school senior during the early signing period for the 2013 class, head coach Ryan Anderson announced this week.

The Bearcats added Stephanie Price and Sarah Krysl from Jefferson College in the St. Louis metro area along with Madison Jones, a senior at Millard South in Omaha, Neb.

Price enters her sophomore season after an outstanding high school career McCluer High School in CITY and freshman season at Jefferson College. Price hit .475 last spring and drove in 44 runs for the Vikings. She also earned all-conference accolades at shortstop, adding eight home runs while helping the Vikings finish 44-11 on the year.

Price’s teammate, Krysl, also had a solid freshman season at Jefferson College. She hit .356 on the year while patrolling the outfield and helping the Vikings to the Region 16 championship game. She was also a two-time all-state selection at Hillsboro High School in CITY and earned all-district and all-metro honors as a junior and senior.

Jones enters her senior season at Milllard South as team captain after honorable mention all-state honors as a sophomore and junior. She is a three-year letter winner and was named first-team all-division.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Chiefs add two to practice squad

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The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Wednesday that the team has added OL Rob Bruggeman and WR Zeke Markshausen to the practice squad.

Bruggeman (6-4, 286) has played in two games with Atlanta (2010-11). He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Tampa Bay in 2009. Bruggeman was a second-team All-Big Ten selection as a senior at Iowa.

Markshausen (5-11, 185) went to training camp with Kansas City in 2011 and Chicago in 2010. He played in 27 games at Northwestern, catching 92 passes for 864 yards with three TDs. He added four carries for nine yards. As a senior, he registered 91 receptions for 858 yards with three scores. His 91 catches were the second-highest seasonal total in Northwestern history. He was an all-conference selection at North Boone High School in Poplar Grove, Ill.

— Chiefs Public Relations —

Chiefs sign tackle David Mims to 53-man roster

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The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has signed T David Mims to the 53-man roster.

Mims (6-8, 335) spent the first 11 games of the 2011 season on the Chiefs practice squad after entering the NFL as a rookie free agent with the club.

He opened 42 games as a four-year starter at Virginia Union, earning All-America honors his final two seasons.

— Chiefs Public Relations —

Royals sign relief pitcher Broxton to one-year contract

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The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has agreed to terms with right-handed relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton on a one-year Major League contract for the 2012 season, pending a physical exam.  Consistent with club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“We are delighted to add someone as talented as Jonathan to our bullpen,” Royals GM Dayton Moore said.  “He will be used in a set up role to closer Joakim Soria and will help solidify what we feel is a young and talented bullpen.”

The 27-year-old Broxton was a two-time National League All-Star (2009, 2010) while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, including picking up the save for the National League in the 2010 Midsummer Classic in Anaheim.  Since debuting in 2005 for the Dodgers, Broxton has compiled a 25-20 record with 84 saves and a 3.19 ERA in 386 appearances, all in relief.

In 392.0 career innings, the 6-foot-4 right-hander has struck out 503, a ratio of 11.55 strikeouts per nine innings which is the third-highest in baseball since 2005 among pitchers with at least 350 innings.  Broxton was 1-2 with seven saves and a 5.68 ERA in just 14 games for the Dodgers in 2011 before being placed on the Disabled List on May 6 with bone spurs in his right elbow that eventually required arthroscopic surgery on September 19.

— Royals Media Relations —

Chiefs release Jared Gaither

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The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the team has released T Jared Gaither.

Gaither (6-9, 340) has played in 43 regular season games (28 starts) and started five postseason contests with Baltimore (2007-10) and Kansas City (2011).

He originally entered the league as Baltimore’s fifth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Supplemental Draft. He saw action in 23 games (17 starts) in two seasons at Maryland. Gaither played one season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va.

— Chiefs Public Relations —

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