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 Panthers, continuing their winning streak as they are approaching the NCAA Super Regionals.
On the evening of this event, the Hett was filled with supporters from other sports teams at McKendree who cheered the wrestlers to victory. Once you entered the auditorium, you could tell the students at McKendree were excited about watching the wrestlers live on stage. Every seat was occupied, and some people even had to stand along the walls to watch the duel. As if making history with a victory was not enough, five seniors on the men’s wrestling team were honored and highlighted for their performance and achievements. What better way to celebrate their Senior Night than wrestling on the stage inside the Hett!
On the behalf of McKendree, thank you to seniors Jordan Alcala, Joshua Jones, Christian Mejia, Tyler Delaware, and Rozell Baker for representing McKendree and contributing to the success of the men’s wrestling team.
The idea of hosting a sporting event in the Hett had been lingering for a few years, but Covid-19 made it difficult to execute the idea. It was finally time. McKendree’s own Director of Athletics, Anthony Francis, attended the duel and was happy to share his thoughts on this historic event:
This was the first sporting event hosted in the Hett, and it sure was a success! Many people came to support the men’s wrestling team this Tuesday night. Where did the idea of hosting the duel in the Hett come from?
This has been a conversation on our campus for several years, but the timing of tonight’s event just made sense, from an athletics perspective. We wanted to showcase this wonderful facility and show our campus and surrounding community the high-quality athletics program we have at the university. Our coaches and staff spent countless hours brainstorming and crafting exactly what this night would look like. I’m happy that it turned out so well. Hats off to the Hett staff (Doug [Magnussen], Julia [Hunt], and Michelle [Magnussen]) and all the support staff and coaches for making this historic event a memorable one.
Since the wrestling duel at the Hett was such a success, do you think there might be similar events hosted in the Hett in the future?
Certainly a possibility. The Hett is booked most days out of the year, and as I said, the timing just made sense for tonight’s event. We would love the opportunity to host similar events in the future but understand that the Hett’s priority lies with the academic mission as well as the various performing arts offered throughout the year.
Both the men’s and women’s wrestling programs have been very successful. Any thoughts on their winning history and their future chances in their current seasons?
Both our men’s and women’s programs enter every season intending to win it all. They have built a winning reputation and continue to recruit top-tier student-athletes who want to be part of and contribute to that tradition of success. There’s no reason to believe our programs won’t have a strong finish to the season. We’ll be cheering them on every step of the way!
The wrestlers, the Athletics Department, the Hett staff, and the McKendree supporters truly made this historic event memorable. As I think back on last Tuesday night, the event really captured the true spirit of McKendree: teams supporting other teams, students cheering on each other, and staff working together to make a unique and historic event like this possible. That is what it means to be a Bearcat!
