ST. JOSEPH -The Missouri Western State University Board of Governors has approved the addition of men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field and men’s and women’s cross country to the Griffon Athletics program in time for the 2017-18 academic year.

The additional six teams will bring Missouri Western’s total number of sponsored intercollegiate athletics teams to 16. Missouri Western was one of just two current MIAA member institutions to not sponsor track and field or cross country. Director of Athletics Kurt McGuffin said the timing was right to add teams.

“We felt it was crucial that our current teams were in a position to compete for championships each and every year before we added any additional sports,” McGuffin said. “The recent success of our 10 current teams proved to me we were ready to move forward with adding sports. I also think it’s important to keep the momentum we’ve had athletically, with success on and off the fields as well as facility improvements.”

A coaching search will begin soon with the staff expected to be in place during the fall of 2016. Competition for the teams will begin during the 2017-18 academic year. The teams are expected to bring incremental increases to enrollment at the University with the expected addition of up to 70 student-athletes.

“We’re excited about what track and field and cross country can add for an athletic program, but there is no question this is also a good thing for the University,” McGuffin said. “It takes a significant number of student-athletes to remain competitive in these sports, and those are students who might not have been looking at Missouri Western as an option before the addition of these teams.”

The board also approved additional scholarships for the women’s soccer and baseball programs. The additional scholarships will bring both up to the NCAA Division II maximum (9.9 for women’s soccer, 9 for baseball). The additional scholarships are projected to bring in an additional 15 student-athletes.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western softball head coach Jen Trotter was recognized Thursday by the St. Joseph YWCA as the 2016 Woman in the Workplace during the organization’s 15th Annual Women of Excellence Luncheon.

Trotter was selected from a list of 16 nominees for the award. Her nominator wrote, “(Trotter) is credited with applying careful recruitment of women athletes that are talented both academically and athletically, creating unusual continuity within her program. Jen encourages her athletes to continually give back to the community they live in, including fundraisers and volunteer time with the YWCA CHOICES program for middle school-aged girls. Athletes under her leadership have extremely high graduation rates, grade point averages and community service hours. Jen is compassionate, optimistic and admired by students, coaches and the community.”

Trotter just completed her 15th season as the head softball coach at Missouri Western. The 2016 season brought her a fourth MIAA Coach of the Year honor as she led the team to its second MIAA Regular Season and Tournament Championships and its ninth appearance in the NCAA Central Regional. Trotter has maintained high academic standards for her student-athletes, with 13 softball student-athletes named to the 2016 MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

Now in its 15th year, the Women of Excellence Awards Luncheon honors outstanding women and employers in the St. Joseph community. The YWCA St. Joseph is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Griffon Athletics supports the YWCA and protective shelter in St. Joseph through various volunteer opportunities and the annual MWSU/YWCA Charity Golf Classic.

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ST. JOSEPH. – Missouri Western Women’s Basketball head coach Rob Edmisson has announced the signings of Dana Lewis to a national letter of intent for the 2016-17 season.

Lewis will transfer to Missouri Wetern from the University of Arkansas Fort-Smith where she played one season. Lewis joins Savannah Lentz, Trudy Peterson and Erin Anderson as signees for the upcoming 2016-17 season.

Dana Lewis | 6-0 | F | Las Vegas, Nev. | Arkansas-Fort Smith
Lewis played in 30 games with seven starts last season at Arkasnas Fort-Smith after trasferring from Grand Canyon University. At UAFS, Lewis averaged 4.1 points, 3.7 rebounds per game and 16.2 minutes per game. In her senior year at Arbor View High School, Lewis averaged 10.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

“We’re very excited to add Dana to our team for next season,” head coach Rob Edmisson said. “She has great size and the ability to provide us some depth in the post.”

Missouri Western is coming off of a memorable season that saw the team claim its first MIAA Regular Season Championship since 2002 and first NCAA Regional appearance since 2004. Edmisson’s Griffons said an MIAA record with 20 conference wins.

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ST. JOSEPH – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers have named Missouri Western infielder David Glaude a second team All-American.

Glaude became the first All-American for the program since Ryan Degner in 2014 by batting .403 with team-highs in hits (91), doubles (22), triples (6) and RBIs (74). His 10 home runs were also tied for second on the team and his 62 runs scored were second behind Orencio Fisher. The junior started all 58 games for the Griffons, primarily playing second base, but showing versatility as a third baseman as well. In the field, Glaude committed just seven errors all season with 116 putouts and 147 assists.

The Canadian (Quebec City) helped Missouri Western to its third ever appearance in the NCAA Central Regional and the second most wins (38) in program history. The team also broke single-season records for several of Glaudes team leading offensive categories: hits, runs, home runs and RBIs. In addition to this honor, Gluade was also named first team All-MIAA, first team NCBWA All-Central Region, first team ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region and second team D2CCA All-Central Region.

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ST. JOSEPH – Add two more honors to the mantle for Missouri Western baseball’s David Glaude and Landon Mason. Both of the infielders were named to ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division II All-Region Teams.

Glaude was named a first team infielder, his third All-Region honor and second first team selection. Playing primarily second base, the junior tied for the team lead with Mason, batting .403 on the season. Glaude was twice named MIAA Hitter of the Week and led the team in hits (91), doubles (22), triples (6) and RBIs (74). His 10 home runs were second on the team as were his 62 runs scored. In the field, the Quebec City native committed just seven errors with 147 assists and 116 putouts for a .974 fielding percentage.

Mason battled through the season to hit .403 and earn his third second team All-Region honor. The junior shortstop hit safely in 37 of the 47 games he played in, including a 21-game hitting streak that saw his batting average climb from .412 to .448. A Blue Springs native, Mason was charged with nine errors in 47 games, picking up 95 assists and 58 putouts for a .944 fielding percentage.

Both were named first team All-MIAA and were selected to both D2CCA and NCBWA All-Central Region teams. The pair helped Missouri Western to the second most wins in program history (38) and its third ever appearance in the NCAA Central Regional. Glaude and Mason were instrumental in the team setting program records for hits (673), runs (481), home runs (67) and RBIs (447) in a season.

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AURORA, Col. – The Missouri Western Women’s Golf team closed out its first ever appearance at the NCAA Division II Golf Championships with a 324 in round four, finishing with a total score of 1,275 and a 12th place finish.

Shi Qing Ong and Madison Romjue both turned in 7-over 79s in the fourth round. Ong finished tied for 34th individually and Romjue ended tied for 62nd. Tiffanie Yabut finished with an 85 on round four and a 69th place finish. Celine Lim shot a 91 on day four and ended the event 70th as an individual. Callie Wilson’s 81 on Saturday gave her a four-round score of 337 and left her tied for 71st.

Rollins College claimed the team championship, shooting a four-round total 1,489 (+21). Gabrielle Shipley of Grand Valley State was the individual champion, using a 3-under 69 on the final day to finish the event with a 6-under 282.

The memorable season for Griffon Golf was highlighted by the program’s first ever regional bid then first ever qualification for the National Championships. Three members of the team were named All-MIAA, including Ong’s selection as the MIAA Freshman of the Year. Ong was also named WGCA All-Region. The bulk of the roster will return for the 2016-17 season with Wilson the only senior of the five players who participated in the National Championships.

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ST. CLOUD, Minn. – A bad break broke open a 1-1 tie in the top of the second and the Missouri Western baseball team couldn’t recover, falling 10-4 in the NCAA Central Regional to top seeded St. Cloud State on Friday morning.

With one on and two out in the top of the second, Nick Gawley slipped down and just missed a pop up that would have ended the inning. A run scored on Gawley’s fall and St. Cloud State went on to score four more in the inning to take a 6-1 lead. St. Cloud added two more in the top of the fifth on back-to-back solo home runs that chased Weston Caindec from the game. In his final start for the Griffons, Caindec went four and a third, allowing eight runs on 11 hits. He struck out one and walked one.

Orencio Fisher hit a one-out solo home run to left in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 8-2. Jeremy Alvarado also hit a one-out solo shot in the sixth to pull the Griffons within three. In the seventh, Gawley cut the lead to four runs with an RBI single that scored Fisher for the third time in the game, but a fielding error in the bottom eighth allowed a fly ball that would have been the final out of the inning to score a run. St. Cloud State added another in the ninth.

Missouri Western struggled to move runners, stranding 11. The Griffons touched St. Cloud State for 13 hits, but just the four runs to show for it. Fisher went 3-5 with an RBI and three runs scored in his final game as a Griffon. Gawley wasl also 3-5 with an RBI and Alavarado went 3-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

The loss ended the Griffons’ season at 38-20, the second most wins in program history. Along the way, the team set program records for runs, hits, home runs and RBIs. It was just the third regional appearance for the program. The team is now 1-6 in regional games and has not won since its first appearance in 2006.

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AURORA, Col. – The Missouri Western Women’s Golf team still sits 12th after three rounds of competition at the NCAA Division II National Championships.

The Griffons fired a 315 as a team on Friday and have a three-round total of 951. Shi Qing Ong turned in a 2-0ver 74 on day three and now sits tied for 23rd as an individual. Celine Lim was 7-over in the third round. Madison Romjue turned in an 81 as did Callie Wilson. Tiffanie Yabut finished day three with an 82.

Rollins College stayed on top of the leaderboard with a 293 in round three and holds a seven stroke lead over the University of Indianapolis going into the fourth and final round on Saturday at Common Ground Golf Course. Isabell Jimenez Perea took over the top of the individual leaderboard on Friday with a 3-under 69. She’s now 3-under through the first three rounds.

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ST. CLOUD, Minn. – One team had 18 hits and 15 runs, the other had four and none. Unfortunately for the Missouri Western Baseball team, the latter was the line for the Griffons as the team lost in the opening round of the NCAA Central Regional, 15-0 to Arkansas at Monticello.

After two and a half innings of scoreless baseball, the Boll Weevils got to Richard Peoples in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs. They added five in the fifth off Preston Bailey and would go on to score three in the sixth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth. After Orencio Fisher was stranded at third to end the first inning, Missouri Western never got a runner past first base and did not have more than one runner on in any inning. Fisher, David Glaude, Alex Heuring and Andy Rieth had one hit apiece.

Peoples took the loss, falling to 10-4 on the season. He gave up four runs and seven hits in two and a third. Bailey went two and two thirds, allowing five funs, four earned on four hits. He also walked three. Chris Estrada, Blaine Werth and Joe Tieman pitched one inning apiece to get the Griffons to the end of the game. They allowed a combined six runs, all earned, on seven hits.

The fifth seeded Griffons will play No. 1 seed St. Cloud State in an elimination game at 10:00 a.m. Friday.  The Huskies lost to No. 8 seed Minnesota State 1-0 in 11 innings.

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