Here's the latest athletics update for basketball, soccer, cross country, bowling and wrestling!
Basketball: Basketball season kicked off with perhaps the biggest weekend ever in Newman basketball history when the Jets travelled across town to take on Wichita State in the programs' first ever meeting with an NCAA Div. 1 opponent. Playing in front of a Charles Koch Arena crowd of 10,228 rowdy fans, including a solid showing from Newman fans, the men's squad showed that they are for real this season, falling by just 12 points to the Shockers in an 81-69 contest. Junior transfer Chip Steven led the Jets with 15 points in the game, while Keaton Schultz and Jaray Mathews each added 12 points in the exhibition.
Sunday, the Women returned to Charles Koch Arena for their shot at the Shockers, but came up on the short end of a 97-46 decision in front of less than 1,500 fans. Junior Rainey Nickel led the Jets with 10 points in the game. The Jets were back in action with their second-straight exhibition against an NCAA Div. 1 opponent, taking on the North Texas Mean Green Wednesday night in Denton, Texas.
Men's Soccer: Newman's men's soccer team ended its 2009 season in disappointing fashion with a 4-3 loss Sunday at Texas-Permian Basin. The Jets finish the season with a 3-12-3 overall record, and a 2-7-1 mark in Heartland Conference play.
Cross Country: Sophomore Austin Hunt's school-record 10K outing was one of the lone bright spots in Newman's appearance at the NCAA Div. 2 South Central Regional Championship Saturday in Abilene, Texas. Hunt broke his own school record from a year ago by 50 seconds, posting a 33:25 in the race.
Hunt's performance allowed him to improve his placing by 30 positions from a year ago, and led the men's squad to an 18th place finish in the 26-team region.
In the women's race, Melissa Ortiz missed her shot at the school's 6K record by seven seconds, and missed All-Region honors by four spots, finishing 19th in the 143-runner field. Her time of 22:43 in the race led the Newman women's squad to a 17th place finish in the 28-team field.
Men's Results (10K) 46. Austin Hunt: 33:25; 75. Chris Taylor: 34:27; 107. Zach Ball: 36:05; 110. Nick Abbott: 36:14; 111. Brock Mintie: 36:16; 117. Drew Akler: 36:49; 122. Kyle Graber: 37:46.
Women's Results (6K) 19. Melissa Ortiz: 22:43 74; Katie Hamlin: 24:22; 106. Tatum Walden: 25:18; 109. Kristen Rodriguez: 25:25; 130. Cheyenne Nieheus: 26:34; 135. Stephanie Riley: 27:15; 139. Kristen Meyer: 28:45.
Bowling: Senior Derek Hartnell posted yet another top 10 performance for the Newman men's bowling squad, which finished seventh at the SI Elite tournament last weekend in Fairview Heights, Ill. Hartnell posted an average score of 209, while Sam Swinford averaged 206 over nine games in the tournament. On the women's side, freshman Sara Anderson averaged a 204 for the tournament to lead the Jets.
Newman will return to action Nov. 27 when they return to the St. Louis metro area for the Team Match Play Championships.
Wrestling: Eight Jets earned top-four finishes at the Labette Takedown Tournament last weekend at Labette Community College in Parsons, Kan. James Fox led the Jets, earning top honors in the 144 lb. class. Fox posted a 3-0 record in Newman's first tournament of the season, and was the only Newman wrestler to win all his matches at the tournament. Mitch Arnold (152), Austin Workman (168), and Tyler Hasenbank (177) each earned second-place honors, while Ryan Spencer (160) and Ryan Cox (285) brought third-place medals back to Wichita. Blake Ward (128) and Cody Bitler (136) each went 2-2 in their matches and earned fourth place honors.
Labette Takedown Tourney 128: Blake Ward (2-2) 4th; 136: Trae Treleaven (1-2); 136: JP Carter (1-2); 136: Cody Bitler (2-2) 4th; 144: James Fox (3-0) 1st; 144: John Hagan (1-2); 152: Mitch Arnold (2-1) 2nd; 160: Ryan Spencer (4-1) 3rd; 168: Blake Fulbright (1-2); 168: Austin Workman (3-1) 2nd; 177: Tyler Hasenbank (2-1) 2nd; 177: Jacob Weaver (0-2); 285: Ryan Cox (3-1) 3rd.
