MARYVILLE, Mo. – Griffon Track & Field had a strong showing at the MIAA vs NSIC Showdown at Northwest Missouri on Thursday, picking up three event championships and three NCAA provisionals.

Hanna Williams won the 400-meter for the second-straight week, earning an NCAA regional with a 55.98. Phil Thompson won the triple jump and earned an NCAA provisional in his first outdoor competition of the season and Tanner Butterfield claimed his first-ever win in the javelin.

NOTABLE FINISHES

• Hanna Williams – 1^st, 400-meter (55.98)
• Phil Thompson – 1^st, Triple Jump (48-10 , 14.89m)
• Tanner Butterfield – 1^st, Javelin (183-6, 55.95m)
• Sunni Sellers – 3^rd, 100-meter (12.32)
• Sunni Sellers – 3^rd, 200-meter (25.65)
• Graham Buresh – 6^th, 400-meter (49.84)
• Megan Gillen – 7^th, 800-meter (2:20.04)
• Chris Stanley – 8^th, 800-meter (1:58.99)
• Kelsey Cox – 6^th, 5,000-meter (19:15.79)
• Morgan Doyle, Hanna Williams, Madison Roumph, Taylor Williams – 4^th, Women’s 4×400-meter (4:06.36)
• Spencer Cooper, Graham Buresh, Nate Jelinek, Chris Stanley – 3^rd, Men’s 4×400-meter (3:21.70)
• Sarah Krig – 3^rd, High Jump (5-3, 1.60m)
• Miranda Migletz – 6^th, High Jump (5-1, 1.55m)
• Madison Roumph – 8^th, Triple Jump (33-3 , 10.14m)
• Jordan Garr – 3^rd, Shot Put (52-8 , 16.06m) – Provisional

Williams, Thompson and Garr all earned NCAA provisionals The Griffons also had 16 personal records and broke 12 program records. Overall, the women’s team finished sixth out of 11 teams with the men finishing eighth as a team.

UP NEXT
The Griffons go to Wichita, Kansas for the K.T. Woodman Classic on Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University softball team splits in a double header against Pittsburg State in Maryville, Mo.

The Bearcats are now 20-12 overall and 11-5 in conference, while Pittsburg State goes to 17-26 overall and 7-7 in conference play.

Game One Key Statistics (Northwest 5, Pitt State 2)
– Northwest scored four runs in second and one in the sixth inning. The Gorillas scored two in the sixth inning.
– The Bearcats had five runs on 12 hits and two errors. Pittsburg State scored two runs on 12 hits and no errors.
-Erin Keeney finished 3-for-4 with one RBI.
– Rebecca Maher went 2-for-4 with one run scored, two RBIs and two doubles.
– Jaedra Moses was 2-for-4 with one run scored and a stolen base.
– Kaitlyn Weis went 1-for-3 with one RBI and a walk.
– Karli Allen was 1-for-2 with one RBI, one run scored and a homerun.
– Jessica Rawie finished 1-for-3 with one run scored.
– Sydne Brashear was 1-for-3.
– Kiana Baderdeen went 1-for-3 with one run scored.

Game One Key Innings
– Allen started the bottom of the second inning with a solo homerun to right field to put the Bearcats on the board. Rawie kept the hitting going with a single to left field and moved to second on a hard single to left field by Baderdeen. Both runners came in to score on a double to right center by Maher. Weis hit a sharp single up the middle to score Maher and give the Bearcats a 4-0 lead.

– After an out, Moses hit a soft single to third base and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Keeney hit a two out single up the middle to score Moses and make the score 5-2.

Game Two Key Statistics (Northwest 4, Pittsburg State 5)
– The Bearcats scored one run in the first adn three in the seventh inning. Pitt State scored one in the first, two in the fourth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh inning.
– Northwest had four runs on eight hits and no errors. The Gorillas had five runs on ten hits and one error.
– Weis went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk.
– Keeney was 2-for-3 with one RBI.
– Brashear finished 2-for-3 with one run scored.
– Maher was 1-for-3.
– Baderdeen went 1-for-3 with one run scored.

Game Two Key Innings
– Maher led off the inning with a single up the middle and Moses reached on a fielder’s choice. After an out, Weis singled to the shortstop and Keeney followed it up with a single through the right side. Moses came in to score on a sacrifice fly to center field by Abigail Gilson to make to the score at 1-1.

– In the bottom of the seventh inning, Rawie reached safely on an error and Brashear and Baderdeen loaded the bases with back-to-back singles to load the bases. After two outs, Weis singled up the middle to score Rawie and Brashear. Keeney singled to left field to score Baderdeen and conclude the scoring for the Bearcats.

Up Next
– Northwest will take on Missouri Southern on Saturday in Maryville at noon, weather permitting.

— Northwest Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University has named Andy Peterson as interim director of athletics to fulfill the responsibilities of Mel Tjeerdsma, who retires as the department’s director April 30.

“I’m excited for this opportunity,” Peterson said. “Bearcat athletics has been a special place to me for a long time, and to have this responsibility and opportunity to lead this unbelievably strong group is a dream come true. I am confident in our team to lead our department and do what’s best for our student-athletes, our coaches and our University.”

Peterson is in his fifth year as assistant athletics director for facilities. In that role, he oversees the day-to-day facility operations and scheduling for all Bearcat athletics venues. He also assists with home contest operations and management. He also is in his fourth year as the head women’s golf coach and was an assistant coach from 2011 to 2017 with the men’s basketball program, which he helped lead to five MIAA regular season championships, two conference tournament titles and the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2017.

He served on the University’s steering committee to develop its Campus Master Plan as well as the steering team guiding the design, construction and implementation of the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse. His involvement also includes service with the Northwest Leadership Team, Northwest Staff Council and the Extended Leadership Team.

“Andy’s strategic outlook, keen intellect, business acumen and people management skills are combinations to help continue accentuating the strengths of our athletics department and focus on the student-athlete experience,” Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski said. “His experiences in operations and as a player and coach also provide an important context as we look to the future of continuing our strong focus on student-athlete success and in competing within the MIAA at the DII level.”

Peterson, a native of Trenton, Missouri, is working on his Doctor of Education in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He earned master’s degrees in agriculture in 2008 and in physical education in 2010 from Northwest as well as bachelor’s degrees in agriculture economics and horticulture from Northwest in 2007.

Peterson served on the Northwest Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Team as an undergraduate, was a graduate assistant in the Student Recreation Center, and worked part-time in the David “DC” & Susan Colt Athletic Training Room to assist with student insurance and billing for services.

Peterson played basketball for Northwest from 2003 to 2008 and helped the Bearcats claim the MIAA tournament title in 2008. That year, he was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention as well as Academic All-MIAA. The Bearcats also won the MIAA regular season championship during the 2006-07 season as he led the team in minutes played. Peterson finished his Northwest career with the third highest three-point percentage and is sixth all-time in steals. After his playing career, he spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Northwest, under former head coach Steve Tappmeyer in 2008-09 and present head coach Ben McCollum in 2009-10.

Peterson spent the 2010-11 season as the head men’s golf coach and assistant men’s basketball coach at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa, before returning to Northwest.

He is married to Emily Churchman, an assistant coach with the Bearcat cross country and track and field teams and a former Bearcat track and field student-athlete. The couple has two children, Ellie and Asher, and reside in Maryville.

— Northwest Athletics —