sports - The McKendree Review

24Mar

By The McKendree Review1 Comment

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...

8Mar

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

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...

28Feb

By The McKendree Review7 Comments

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

23Feb

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

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...

21Feb

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

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...

16Feb

By The McKendree Review2 Comments

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

15Feb

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

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...

14Feb

By The McKendree Review1 Comment

Sports

Women’s Track Takes Flight

By Zach Manion, Contributing Writer After a successful weekend at Missouri Southern State University, the McKendree University Women’s track and field team propelled themselves to 21st in the nation, their first national ranking since becoming a Division II program in 2012. Before joining Division II, the men's and women's track and field teams experienced some dominant years at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level. The men’s and women’s teams had a total of six national championships and multiple All-American performances before making the jump to Division II. The women’s team boasts five national championships, including winning the indoor national championship an unprecedented four years in a row. Fast forwarding to the present, the women’s success this ye...

10Feb

By The McKendree Review2 Comments

Sports

Mike Babcock’s Relentless Pursuit

By Grant Riggs, Editor-in-Chief On Wednesday, February 1, at 6:30 a.m., Mike Babcock, 5th-year head football coach at McKendree University, walked into his office knowing the next five hours would determine the future of his program. The occasion? A day that would bring about the culmination of months of hard work - National Signing Day. For Babcock and his nine-man coaching staff, the current day's work began at 7 a.m., when high school seniors started faxing in their National Letters of Intent (NLI) to play football for McKendree. The preparation for this one day, however, required a countless amount of hours. “It’s not 8 to 5” Babcock said, “A lot of times, you’ll be up at 4:30 a.m. to be at a school at 7:30 a.m. because that’s the only time to talk to a kid. It’s a lot of hours for al...

7Feb

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

Campus News, Sports

Weekly Sports Lineup: Feb. 5 – Feb. 11

By Grant Riggs, Editor-in-chief First Glance Sunday, Feb. 5 Men's Tennis: Loss 0-9 at Drury University Women’s Tennis: Loss 0 -9 at Drury University Men’s Wrestling: At the Greyhound Open at University of Indianapolis - http://mckbearcats.com/news/2017/2/5/mens-wrestling-places-10-at-greyhound-open.aspx Women’s Water Polo: Loss 2-17 vs. Villanova University Wednesday, Feb. 8 Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving: GLVC Championships in Crawfordsville, IN. Time TBA. Thursday, Feb. 9 Women’s Basketball: 5:30 p.m. at Drury University Men’s Wrestling: 7 p.m. at The University of Central Missouri Men's Volleyball: 7 p.m. at home vs Loyola University Chicago Men’s Basketball: 7:45 p.m. at Drury University Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving: GLVC Championships in Crawfordsville, IN....