Friday, April 26

Tag: sports

Off-Season with McKendree Women’s Soccer
Entertainment, Sports

Off-Season with McKendree Women’s Soccer

By: Elma Oijens Sjoelin Photography: Provided by Elma Oijens Sjoelin As we are slowly approaching the middle of the spring semester, many winter and spring sports at McKendree are currently finishing or just starting their competitive seasons. We see and hear a lot about how it is going for our classmates who are representing McKendree when competing, but have you ever wondered what some of the fall sports are up to during the spring?  One of the sports teams at McKendree currently in their off-season is the women’s soccer team. Last year, the women’s soccer team went undefeated in the Conference games for the first time ever in the history of the program. After the regular season, they claimed a spot in the national tournament and made it to the first round. They were then ...
Wrestling in the Hett: A Historic Event
Sports

Wrestling in the Hett: A Historic Event

Written by and photos taken by Elma Oijens Sjoelin On February 7th, 2023, something historical happened on the campus of McKendree University. For the first time in history, a sporting event was held in the Russel E. & Fern M. Hettenhausen Center for the Arts, commonly known as “The Hett.” The Hett has always had a busy schedule of hosting art events, plays, shows, and fairs, but never before had a sporting event been held in the spacious state-of-the-art facility.  The McKendree men’s wrestling team had the honor of hosting and winning a duel against Davenport University on the Hett stage. The wrestlers added another win to their record with a final score of 55 points to McKendree and -1 to Davenport. McKendree totaled five pins and two technical falls in their win against...
The Arnold Classic: The Greatest Fitness Convention in the World
Sports

The Arnold Classic: The Greatest Fitness Convention in the World

By Dakota Meyers, Contributing Writer The Arnold Classic is a fitness convention held in Columbus, Ohio every year during the first week of March by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Athletes from all around the world come to compete and present their skills during this three-day event. Each year, this convention hosts one of the largest powerlifting meets of the year, with many of the words best powerlifters competing. Not only are there countless numbers of competitions throughout the event including bodybuilding shows, powerlifting meets and MMA meets, but fitness companies also set up booths to display their products or services. Companies with products varying from clothing and accessories to supplement and food distributors set up booths with their athletes and models on hand to persuade custo...
More Than a Game
Sports

More Than a Game

By Grant Riggs, Editor-in-Chief Lebanon, Ill. - To many people, basketball is just a game, and a silly one at that. Players run up and down the court, repeatedly banging away at each other in hopes of putting a small ball into a slightly bigger hoop. To some extent, these people are correct. At the end of the day, it is just a game, with a winner and loser. However, on countless occasions, basketball has touched people in a way that transcends winning and losing. Sports, particularly basketball, have been a crucial part of my family for as long as I can remember. It began with my great-grandpa Otto, who had a passion for following sports in his hometown of Highland, Ill. He became known for being a part of the “chain gang” who operated the first-down markers at every home Highland High Sc...
Behind the Success: Andrew Best
Sports

Behind the Success: Andrew Best

By Zach Breeding, Co-Editor of Sports LEBANON, Ill. - Anyone who has followed the McKendree men's hockey team as of late is well aware of their success. And anyone who pays attention to the stats or watches the games is also aware that much of this success falls on the shoulders of starting goalie Andrew Best. This previous season, Best was a standout performer. He limited opponents to just a 2.06 goals against average prior to entering the team's last tournament of the season. Considering that the Bearcats regularly scored more than seven goals in each game makes this statistic even more impressive. However, looking back on the path that brought Best to Mckendree, it's clear that he faced many trials and tribulations along the way. From a young age, it was clear what sport Best would pl...
McKendree’s Biggest Fans
Personality

McKendree’s Biggest Fans

By J.T. Russell, Contributing Writer "We just love the people and the atmosphere. Everyone is so nice to us. I mean, who doesn’t like going to McKendree games? It’s our favorite thing to do.” This is a quote from 29 year old Mark Junior Reinacher. Mark is part of a tenacious tag team duo with his twin brother, Robert Lee Reinacher. Together, they are, (cue in John Williams’ Superman Score), McKendree’s Biggest Fans. Before Mark and Robert became widely recognized by the Lebanon community as McKendree super fans, the twins could be found roaming the halls of O’Fallon high school. “I loved high school.” says Mark. “Playing volleyball and basketball during P.E. was fun, but talking to all the girls was my favorite.” After high school, Mark and Robert moved down to Carbondale, IL, for a short...
2016-17 Top Ten GLVC Men’s Basketball Players
Sports

2016-17 Top Ten GLVC Men’s Basketball Players

By Grant Riggs, Editor-in-Chief The Great Lakes Valley Conference is annually one of the best Division II basketball conferences in America, with this season being no exception. As postseason play looms, take a look at how the elite players within the conference stack up against one another. Honorable Mention Al Davis. G, Bellarmine Patrick Whelan, G William Jewell Jake Velky, G, Truman State Miles Simelton, G, Lewis Top Ten Kindred Williams, F, St. Joseph’s 2016-17 Conference Per-Game Stats: 14.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.1 blocks, 1.2 steals, FGs: 52.3% FT: 65% Williams, a 6’6” junior, gets the nod over other borderline players such as Whelan, Velky and Simelton because he impacts the game in more ways. His long arms allow him to wreak havoc on the defensive side o...
Weekly Sports Lineup: Feb. 20 – Feb. 26
Sports

Weekly Sports Lineup: Feb. 20 – Feb. 26

By Steve Sladek, Co-Editor of Sports Thursday, Feb. 23   Women’s Basketball: at University of Illinois at Springfield, 5:30 p.m. Men’s Baseketball: at University of Illinois at Springfield, 7:30 p.m.   Friday, Feb. 24  Men’s Wrestling: at NCAA Super Regional 3, All Day Women’s Lacrosse: vs. Florida Southern College, 12:00 p.m. Softball: vs. Ferris State University, 1:00 p.m. Softball: vs. Ohio Dominican University, 3:00 p.m. Baseball: at Drury University, 3:00 p.m.   Saturday, Feb. 25   Women’s Track & Field: at Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor Championships, All Day Men’s Track & Field: at Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor Championships, All Day Baseball: at Drury University, 12:00 p.m. Softball: vs. Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.), 1:00 p.m. Softball: vs. Saginaw Val...
Behind the Success: Darren Wynn
Sports

Behind the Success: Darren Wynn

By Zach Breeding, Co-Editor of Sports Darren Wynn's life is one that is heavily influenced by family and friends. And if it wasn't for his family, he may not have even had the opportunity to achieve the massive success that he has as a wrestler at McKendree. "My biggest inspiration has to go to my family, they always push me. I'm the oldest cousin and brother, so I have to show the younger people in my family how to take care of business," said Wynn, a redshirt junior from Champaign, Ill. This backbone, along with his coaches, is also Wynn's support system. However, it's not just a helping hand that his family provides. They were also his initial push into wrestling. Wrestling has been a part of Wynn's life since the second grade, but this wasn't by his design. Up until his sophomore yea...
Weekly Sports Lineup & Recap: Feb. 12 – Feb. 19
Sports

Weekly Sports Lineup & Recap: Feb. 12 – Feb. 19

By Steve Sladek, Co-Editor of Sports This week in McKendree Athletics, 10 of the Universities’ 33 teams are in action for the Bearcats. Basketball, track and field, baseball, softball, men’s and tennis, men’s volleyball and women’s hockey all compete through the nation in five different states. Thursday, Feb. 16  Women’s Basketball: at Bellarmine University, 5:45 p.m. ET Men’s Basketball: at Bellarmine University, 8:00 p.m. ET Friday, Feb. 17 Women’s Track & Field: at Illinois College, All Day Men’s Track & Field: at Illinois College, All Day Baseball: at University of Montevallo, 2:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 Softball: vs. Saginaw Valley State University, 10:00 a.m. Men’s Tennis: at Southern Illinois University, 11:30 a.m. Women’s Basketball: at Southern Indiana Universi...