Sports - The McKendree Review

Bearcats Fall Short, But Set Gaze Forward

19Apr

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

Local News, News, Sports

Bearcats Fall Short, But Set Gaze Forward

By Andrew GardewineMany sports teams on campus competed in their conference meets during the spring semester. Many teams' achievements have been swallowed by the waves of other information that have been thrown at the students this semester. This is a detailed article about the accomplisments of our Men's and Women's track and field team at their conference meet. It was a good meet for the Bearcats - The men finished 2nd overall in the team standings with many podium finishes, falling short only to the University of Indianapolis. On the women’s side they placed 5th overall with great individual finishes. Head coach Michael Mendez was pleased with the team's performance saying, “We may not have finished where we wanted as a team, but I am proud of the way we performed. When we show up, ou...

No Pain, No Gain: Most Common Sports Injuries on Campus

8Apr

By The McKendree Review1 Comment

Campus News, Entertainment, Sports

No Pain, No Gain: Most Common Sports Injuries on Campus

By Madeline Cade, Contributing WriterWhile McKendree University has many great academic programs, we are mostly well-known for our participation in NCAA Division II athletics. Between the 33 teams on campus we hold many GLVC Conference titles and a few National Championships. These trophies do come at a slight cost: the physical and mental well-being of the athletes. Mental wellness aside, athletes are injured a lot of the time. Professor Gabriel Shapiro says, “It sometimes looks like Vietnam around here." You take one look out at campus and you will see walking boots, casts and slings scattered around. It is interesting to do research and find the most common injuries among different sports teams at McKendree. I look at my track and field teammates and see injuries all the time. Since be...

Transferable Skills – From the Field to the Stage

27Feb

By The McKendree Review2 Comments

Campus News, Sports

Transferable Skills – From the Field to the Stage

By Loren Terveer, Contributing Writer McKendree University is becoming known for their wide variety of sporting teams. Water polo, track and field, lacrosse, bowling and bass fishing are just a few examples of the teams that the university offers to students. Being on any of these teams is a large time commitment. Athletes are often spread entirely too thin between demanding practices and required coursework. While they somehow find the time to practice and keep up with their studies, they can also be found somewhere else: the stage. Michelle Magnussen, the McKendree Theatre Department head, often says that some of her best student actors have also been athletes. Throughout her time at McKendree she has seen hundreds of students. The student athletes have multiple skills obtained from the...

Basketball – A Tough Sport for Even Tougher People

20Feb

By The McKendree Review3 Comments

Profiles, Sports

Basketball – A Tough Sport for Even Tougher People

By Jordan Heberg Private photos by interviewees With today’s modern game of basketball there are various injuries that may occur. There is an estimation of 1.6 million injuries that have been recorded associated with basketball each year. There are a few injuries that happen more often such as ankle sprains, jammed fingers and knee injuries. Many injuries can reoccur if not taken care of right away. According to my athletic trainer, Blake Hudspeth, one of the most common injuries that happen in basketball is ankle sprains. An ankle sprain is defined as an acute injury, which means that the injury can have swelling for 24-48 hours until it goes down. An easy way to get the swelling to go down would be rest and ice. Elevation while icing will help the swelling go down majorly with a visual...

When Passion Meets Agression in the Ice Rink

15Feb

By The McKendree Review3 Comments

Sports

When Passion Meets Agression in the Ice Rink

By Caylin Dean Featured Image by McKendree University Athletics Beer, extreme passion and a touch of aggression, the few words I knew that describe the atmosphere of a hockey game. Coming from western Illinois, hockey is not a sport that I ever had the opportunity or desire to watch. That is, until now… On January 25th, I attended my first ever hockey game as the D2 McKendree Bearcats took on the Northern Illinois University Huskies. I observed their expert balance, skill and agility as if it was improvised choreography. As I examined the multitude of masterful techniques that they demonstrated, I had a few thoughts. First of all, to me, hockey seems to be a mixture of multiple sports combined into one. The players pass the puck from one to the next, as basketball players do with a bask...

25Jan

By The McKendree Review3 Comments

Campus Events, Campus News, Sports

The Story of a Walk On

By Jawaun Jackson, Contributing Writer Photo: Jawaun Jackson For starters, I walked onto a non-NCAA team here at McKendree, so technically I just joined a sport club in terms of bureaucracy. However, I have always seen it as I walked on to a championship winning program. In comparison, McKendree to bowling is the same as University of Alabama to football. I found myself being the weak link of a dynasty destined organization. There was also this chip on my shoulder because I lacked skill compared to my new-found teammates, and it didn’t help that they were some of the best amateur bowlers in the nation. Now, to the comedic part of my story. When applying to this great institution I accidentally put golf instead of bowling as my sport due to a mouse and keypad snafu that I did not notice f...

16Nov

By The McKendree Review2 Comments

Opinion, Sports

More Than Just A Game

By Blake Johnson Photo: Blake Johnson There are many wonders and joys in life, whether it’s a shiny day, a smile from someone’s face, or in this case, playing a sport. Most of the time, we as athletes grow our love for a sport in our early stages of life. From growing up with a ball in my hand before I could walk, the time has now come where I must say goodbye to the game. It never seems real to even think that something that has been a part of our lives for 20 plus years could ever be taken away. But, there will come a day where the uniform will be put on, goggles tightened, and cleats laced up one last time. It has always been a dream for many athletes, including myself, to play professionally because everyone wants to play the children’s game. Now, there are many reasons as to why th...

Alexis Porter; Student, Wrestler, Inspiration

24Oct

By The McKendree Review3 Comments

Profiles, Sports

Alexis Porter; Student, Wrestler, Inspiration

By Kyle Boldin When considering female athletic inspirations, a couple names come to mind: Venus, Serena Williams, Simone Biles and Rhonda Rousey. All outstanding athletes in their respected fields, all with accomplishments that will inspire generations to come. So much so, the next generation has already been inspired, one of those people being senior Alexis Porter. Hailing from the great state of New York, Porter has carved a name for herself in the world of women's wrestling. She began her career as a young child, where she would be used as a wrestling dummy, for her older brother, as he practiced his moves. As time went on, Porter began to pick up the steps, and shortly after seeing her raw talent, her father placed her in a minors wrestling tournament amongst her male counterparts. A...

8Oct

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

Personality, Profiles, Sports

Krysten Baker: Coach and Counselor

By Kenneth Spisak Krysten Baker goes by multiple names: Krysten, Coach Baker, Ms. Baker, KB. Depending how you are acquainted with her, one of these will be how you address her. Baker is on the coaching staff for McKendree’s track and field team as the throwers coach. Not only is coaching essentially a full-time gig, she also has her daily job of a high school guidance counselor for Columbia High School. Often times I wonder how coaches got into their beloved sport from the get-go, and after kindly agreeing to an interview, Baker answered that very question. “I technically got involved in track and field in 5th grade," Baker said. "We had a small team at my elementary school where we had modified versions of regulation track events. It was in 6th grade when I actually joined my junior hig...

The Woman Who Refused to Give up on Her Dream

28Sep

By The McKendree Review1 Comment

Profiles, Sports

The Woman Who Refused to Give up on Her Dream

By Victoria Sananikone, Copy-Editor Swimming is a sport that produces athletes of true grit that is so raw and uncultivated, it's as if they carried this quality straight out of the womb. These athletes are unlike any other; they can persevere through any hardship the world throws at them due to the suffering they endure within their sport. The McKendree University Swimming and Diving program’s new assistant coach, Amanda Siehs, is the optimal example for this phenomenon. Siehs was not always a swimmer. At the age of nine, she began synchronized swimming, a sport that's only related to actual swimming in that they both take place in the water. “One day a friend asked me if I wanted to do a swim clinic with her and it just escalated from there,” Siehs said. “I wanted to get stronger in sy...