Justin Taylor

RENSSELAER, Ind. – The Miners’ conference opener Thursday night didn’t go as well as they had hoped, as Saint Joseph’s answered a second half run by UMR with one of its own and came away with a 70-61 victory.

UMR played on even terms with the Pumas throughout much of the first half, erasing an early eight-point deficit and drawing even at 26 with 3:20 to go in the half on a pair of free throws by Justin Taylor.

However, a late 9-2 run by the Pumas allowed the hosts to take a seven-point lead of 35-28 to the locker room.

Saint Joseph’s built the lead into double figures in the first 90 seconds of the second half on a basket by Andrew Helmer, while the Miners didn’t make a field goal in the first 3:30 after the break. The Miners answered with a 12-0 run, capped by a free throw by Taylor after a technical foul was assessed to the Puma bench with 11:59 to play.

Ronald Coleman’s three-point basket with 11 minutes to go halted the run, then the Pumas got their lead back to 11 at the 8:37 mark on a three-point play by Devin Thomas.

Back-to-back baskets by Taylor allowed the Miners to get back to within seven at 54-47 with 6:40 to go, but that would end up being as close as UMR would get down the stretch. Saint Joseph’s pushed its lead back out to 14 with under five minutes to go.

Taylor, who hit a three-pointer with 18 seconds to go to get the Miners within nine one last time, led all scorers in the game with 27 points to tie his career high. The Pumas (2-2, 1-0 GLVC), meanwhile, had five players in double figures in the contest with Coleman leading the way with 16.

UMR (2-3, 0-1 GLVC) will play at Indianapolis Saturday in a 2 p.m. game at Nicoson Hall. The Greyhounds remained undefeated on the season (5-0, 1-0 GLVC) with a 69-52 victory Thursday over Missouri-St. Louis.

Posted by John Kean at 09:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Katie McElrath

RENSSELAER, Ind. – The Lady Miners opened Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday night by jumping all over an undermanned Saint Joseph’s squad, using a 32-0 run over a stretch of nearly 13 minutes to build a huge lead and go on to a 75-40 win over the Pumas at Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse.

UMR led the Pumas 9-8 after a pair of free throws by Michelle Kiger with 14:55 left in the first half. The free throws would be the last points the Pumas would score until Stephanie Boyle made a free throw with 2:03 to go in the half – during which time the Lady Miners rattled off 32 straight points to go up 41-8.

Eight different players scored for the Lady Miners during the run, with Chism McEntire, Lauren Dubbert and Katie Bunge all scoring six points apiece in that stretch.

The Lady Miners led 45-11 at halftime, shooting 57.6 percent from the floor and holding the Pumas to just 3-of-24 (12.5 percent).

UMR was led by Katie McElrath with 16 points, while Bunge scored 13 and Dubbert 12. The Lady Miners finished the night at 54.1 percent while Saint Joseph’s shot 25.5 percent in the contest.

Saint Joseph’s (0-4, 0-1 GLVC), which had only eight players in uniform for the contest, got 17 points from Kiger.

The Lady Miners (3-0, 1-0 GLVC) will face Indianapolis (4-0, 1-0 GLVC) Saturday in Indianapolis at noon. The Greyhounds also opened GLVC play with a win Thursday as they beat Missouri-St. Louis 79-56.

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Ashton Gronewold

Ashton Gronewold, who has earned All-America honors for his play on the football field for the last two seasons, is on his way to landing numerous post-season laurels again as he has been selected to the Daktronics All-Southwest region team for the 2007 season.

As a first-team selection, Gronewold will be among the players eligible for All-America honors when that team is announced in December.

A regional finalist for the Harlon Hill Award, Gronewold was selected as an all-purpose player after an outstanding senior year as both a wide receiver and kick returner.

Gronewold currently ranks third in NCAA Division II in all-purpose yards as he finished with a school record 2,250 for the year, thanks in large part to his 87 receptions for 1,009 yards and his average of 28 yards per kickoff return as he had 953 yards in that category.

Gronewold was named as the GLFC's receiver of the year for the second straight season, but was beaten out in the voting for the league's top offensive player by Central State running back Derrick Moss, the GLFC's rushing leader with 1,296 yards.

During the season, he broke the NCAA single-game record with 295 yards in kickoff returns and became the seventh player in Division II history to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in the same game when he brought two scores back for scores against Tiffin.

Gronewold is the holder of nearly every receiving, kickoff return and all-purpose yardage records in school history. He had totals of 278 catches, 3,708 yards and 53 touchdowns. His 58 career touchdowns also included five returns for scores. He also had totals of 1,828 kickoff return yards and 5,992 all-purpose yards which were both UMR records.

2007 Daktronics Division II SIDs All-Southwest Region Football Team

First Team Offense
OL: Tony Burson, Sr., Midwestern State
OL: Sam Collins, Jr., Abilene Christian
OL: Reid Kirby, Jr., Northwest Missouri State
OL: John Strand, Sr., Chadron (Neb.) State
OL: Nathan Young, Sr., Abilene Christian
TE: Kolo Kapanui, Sr., West Texas A&M
WR: Johnny Knox, Jr., Abilene Christian
WR: Nick Smart, Sr., Southwest Baptist
QB: Daniel Polk, Sr., Midwestern State
RB: Danny Woodhead, Sr., Chadron State
RB: Bernard Scott, Jr., Abilene Christian
RB: Xavier Omon, Sr., Northwest Missouri State
AP: Ashton Gronewold, Sr., Missouri-Rolla
K: Jared Keating, Jr., Mesa State

First Team Defense
DL: Brandon Swain, Jr., West Texas A&M
DL: Kurt Kissner, Sr., Mesa State
DL: Jason Hill, Sr., Fort Hays State
LB: Jared Brock, Jr., West Texas A&M
LB: Will Clewis, Sr., Central Oklahoma
LB: Jared Erspamer, Sr., Northwest Missouri State
LB: Cody Stutts, Sr., Abilene Christian
CB: Cary Williams, Sr., Washburn
CB: Rod Mosley, Sr., Texas A&M-Kingsville
S: Ranardrick Phillips, Sr., Tarleton State
S: Kendall Ricketts, Sr., Central Missouri
P: Wayne Durham, Sr., Adams State

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ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Owain Hall had the best scoring game of his career Sunday, but otherwise the Miners struggled all afternoon as Harris-Stowe knocked off the Miners 83-68 on the second day of the Missouri-St. Louis Holiday Classic.

Hall scored 20 points in the game, including five three-point baskets, but the Miners struggled all day with the Hornets, turning the ball over 21 times and allowing 22 points off those turnovers. The Hornets also converted 19 second chance points in the game.

The teams traded the lead five times throughout the first half, which saw the Hornets ahead 36-32 at the intermission. UMR was able to stay afloat thanks to the outside shooting of Owain Hall, who connected four times from three-point range to score 12 of the Miners’ 32 points.

A three-point basket by Aaron Hays with just over five minutes to go in the half gave UMR a 27-25 lead, then the Miners extended the lead to four on two free throws by Curtis Mosley. However, Harris-Stowe scored nine of the last 12 points of the half, the last six on a pair of three-pointers by Dustin Fox, to get its halftime advantage.

UMR trailed 42-37 early in the second half before Hall hit his fifth three-pointer and Aaron Hays scored on a fast break layup to tie the game at the 16:53 mark. However, the Hornets made a 16-7 run over a six-minute span to take a nine-point lead at 60-51.

The Miners cut that nine-point lead down to four after a three-point play by Hall, then after a Dustin Fox three-pointer, the junior guard from Jamaica hit a baseline jumper moments later to make it a five-point game at 63-58.

Harris-Stowe led 68-60 with 4:15 to go when the Miners got a four-point possession. Taurance Townsel made the first of two at the line, but DeJon Slaughter got the rebound of the miss and Hays canned a three-pointer at the 3:57 mark to trim the lead to four.

The teams traded points on their next possessions, then the Hornets were able to pull away by scoring eight straight points to take a 78-66 lead with 1:56 remaining.

Besides the 20 points scored by Hall, the Miners also got 14 points from Townsel, 12 from Justin Taylor and 10 from Hays as they shot 44.2 percent for the game. Slaughter had 10 rebounds for UMR.

UMR (2-2) will open Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday when it faces Saint Joseph’s in a 7:30 p.m. game in Rensselaer, Ind.

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LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- A fast start by the Lady Miners Saturday nght allowed them to complete a sweep of their trip to Colorado as UMR routed Saint Leo 90-67 in the Colorado Christian Holiday Classic.

After playing on even terms for the first three minutes, UMR ran off 10 straight points to take a 14-5 lead by the 14:39 mark. Saint Leo closed the gap to six over the next six minutes, then UMR scored 14 of the next 16 points to take a 37-19 lead after two free throws by Maria Bratcher with 5:42 left in the half. The Lady Miners led 51-32 at halftime.

Saint Leo got the margin down to 12 in the first two-plus minutes of the second half and kept the margin there for the next several minutes before UMR went on a run to put some distance between the teams. Bratcher got a three-point play at the 11:04 mark to start a 19-4 run that ended on a three-pointer by Chism McEntire with 5:37 to play and UMR ahead 85-59.

The Lady Miners had four players in double figures, led by Tamara McCaskill with 15 points. UMR also got 12 points from Katie McElrath and Chism McEntire, while Katie Bunge ended up with 10. UMR had three others -- Bratcher, Jennifer Pena and Josie Polk -- with nine points and Lauren Dubbert with eight.

UMR shot 59.3 percent for the game -- including a 64.5 mark in the opening half and eight of 12 from three-point range for the night -- while holding the Lions to 43 percent shooting. UMR also had a huge advantage on the boards as it outrebounded Saint Leo 41-20; Bunge led the way with 10 to end up with a double-double.

UMR (2-0) will open Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday against Saint Joseph's in Rensselaer, Ind.

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Taurance Townsel

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- UMR expanded a one-point halftime lead to 13 early in the second half, then held off Robert Morris-Springfield in the final moments to come away with a 67-62 win Saturday at the Missouri-St. Louis Thanksgiving Classic.

UMR led 31-30 at halftime, then came out in the second half and scored the first six points to build their biggest advantage of the contest of 37-30. UMR then pushed the lead into double figures with just under 14 minutes to go on a foul line jumper by DeJon Slaughter, then the advantage reached 13 at 48-35 about three minutes later on a three-point basket by Owain Hall.

Robert Morris cut the 13-point lead down to six with nine minutes remaining after a fast break basket by Tim Hahn. The Eagles then had a chance to trim it to four, but Tyler Moretto missed an open layup and the Miners answered when Justin Taylor beat the shot clock by canning a 15-foot jumper.

Moments later, the Eagles’ Corley Lee hit a runner in the lane to get Robert Morris to within four at 54-50, then Moretto hit a layup with just over three minutes left made it 55-52. But Townsel scored inside on the Miners’ next possession to make it a five-point game again, then after the Eagles scored, he hit two free throws to give UMR a 59-54 lead with 2:17 to play.

Robert Morris got the margin down to one on a lay-in by Moretto with 54 seconds to go, then Taylor made one of two at the line for UMR to get the lead back to two. Moretto had a chance to tie it at the free throw line with 41 seconds left, but shot an air ball on the second try after making the first to keep the Miner lead at one.

Taurance Townsel made the first of two at the line with 27 seconds left to make it 63-61, then Cameron Jones was fouled on a drive to the basket with 11.7 ticks on the clock. Jones missed the first shot and made the second, then Mosley knocked down two free throws to make the lead three.

Kari Coleman, who hit three three-pointers for the Eagles Saturday, missed an open trey with four seconds that could have tied it. Taylor iced the win for the Miners by making a pair at the line with 2.8 seconds to go.

The Miners had a 9-6 lead in the early going before the Eagles ran off 10 straight points to take their largest lead of the game.

The Miners clawed back into the contest and regained the lead at 21-20 on a layup by Townsel. After the Eagles were able to even the score at 23 with 6:34 to go in the half, Townsel scored again to put the Miners ahead for good in the first half.

Townsel had 12 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 23 points to lead the Miners. UMR also got 11 points from Mosley, while Slaughter and Aaron Hays had 10 rebounds apiece; UMR outrebounded the Eagles by a 42-27 margin.

The Miners shot 57.1 percent in the second half and finished the game at 48.2 percent.

The Miners (2-1) will face Harris-Stowe (1-3) Sunday at 1 p.m. The Hornets lost 74-60 to UMSL Saturday afternoon.

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LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- Coaches always have fears going into a season opener, especially when playing an opponent that already has games under its belt.

The Lady Miners were able to ease any of Alan Eads' fears Friday night with a stellar defensive effort in the second half, holding Oklahoam Panhandle State to 22 second half points in a 65-53 victory over the Aggies in the Colorado Christian Classic.

UMR led the contest 37-31 at halftime, but allowed the Aggies to shoot 54.2 percent in the first 20 minutes. The Lady Miners reversed the course after the intermission by allowing OPSU to make only six of 24 from the field.

The Lady Miners trailed for the first seven-plus mionutes of the game, then took their first lead at 13-11 on a basket by Katie Bunge at the 12:26 mark. After the Aggies closed the margin to one a couple of minutes later, UMR went on a 7-0 run on baskets by Tamara McCaskill, Maria Bratcher and a three-pointer by Josie Polk.

McCaskill's basket at the 18:39 mark of the second half gave UMR its first double-figure lead of the contest at 41-31, then the lead grew to 14 on a basket by newcomer Lauren Dubbert with 15:31 to go. Meanwhile, UMR held OPSU without a point for the first five minutes of the second half to build its lead.

UMR took its biggest lead of the game at 54-38 on a basket by Bratcher at the 9:20 mark. The Aggies closed the gap to eight with 2:16 to play, but Dubbert's basket with 1:25 left returned the lead to double digits for the rest of the night.

Katie McElrath led the Lady Miners with 13 points, while McCaskill and Dubbert had 10 points apiece. UMR also got nine points and three assists from Jennifer Pena, while Dubbert and Bunge had seven rebounds apiece as UMR had a 41-32 advantage on the boards.

UMR was also seven-of-22 from three-point range, with Pena connecting on three treys and Chism McEntire on a pair.

The Lady Miners, who won their season opener for the sixth straight year, will face Saint Leo in their final game of the trip Saturday at 5 p.m. (Central time).

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Taurance Townsel

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Miners were up against a number of obstacles Tuesday night and nearly pulled out a win in spite of that, but Lincoln was able to hold on to beat UMR 67-60 at Jason Gymnasium.

UMR was dealing with foul difficulties and poor free throw shooting for much of the night, yet nearly erased a 10-point deficit in the second half in a physical contest.

The Miners shot 50 percent in the opening half, but committed 17 turnovers and found themselves trailing 27-25 at the intermission.

UMR took its first lead in the contest at the 11:18 mark on a basket by Taurance Townsel during the course of an 8-0 run. The Miners held the Blue Tigers scoreless for over four minutes during that stretch.

The Miners held onto the advantage until the final minute of the half when Ryan Spearman’s three-pointer put Lincoln back in front, but UMR got the lead back moments later on a jumper by Justin Taylor. However, Spearman hit another three just before the buzzer to give LU its halftime lead.

Lincoln extended its lead to six early in the second half before Aaron Hays knocked down the Miners’ first three-point shot of the game to cut the margin to three at 33-30. UMR had a chance to tie the game a couple of minutes later, but turned the ball over and the Blue Tigers started a 9-2 run to build their biggest lead of the contest.

The lead stood at 10 for the Blue Tigers with just over 11 minutes to play when the Miners ran off seven straight points to cut the lead to 47-44. With 7:13 left, the Miners lost Townsel to his fifth foul while trailing by six, but UMR drew to within two at 55-53 on a three-pointer by Justin Taylor with 5:43 to go.

DeJon Slaughter hit one of two at the line to make it a two-point game again at 56-54, then Taylor knocked down another three with 3:10 to play to get UMR to within one at 58-57. LU’s Jared Boone missed an open layup on the next trip down the floor, but Taylor missed two chances to put the Miners in front with just over two minutes to go.

The Miners got another chance after Mario Lucchesi missed two free throws with 1:49 to go, but he made a steal near midcourt and hit a layup to make the lead three. After the Miners missed at the other end, Spearman tipped in a missed shot with 52 seconds left to get the LU lead back to five again.

Taylor led the Miners with 22 points, while Townsell had 13 points before fouling out and Aaron Hays finished with 11.

UMR finished the game at 44.2 percent from the field, but struggled at the free throw line and with foul trouble throughout the contest. The Miners made just 19 of 36 at the line -- after starting 9-of-24 -- and lost three players to fouls.

The Miners (1-1) will play over the Thanksgiving weekend in the Missouri-St. Louis Classic, beginning with Saturday’s 3 p.m. game against Robert Morris-Springfield. UMR will also take on Harris-Stowe Sunday at 1 p.m.

Posted by John Kean at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Erin Bekebrede

University of Missouri-Rolla volleyball coach Jason Holt has announced his first national letter of intent signing for the 2008 season as UMR has signed Erin Bekebrede during the early signing period.

Bekebrede is a 5-11 outside hitter from St. Charles High School in St. Charles, Mo., where she earned all-region honors following the 2007 season. She averaged 3.2 kills per game to lead her squad, while compiling 65 aces and 28 blocks on the season. She has been a three-time all-district and all-conference selection on the first team after earning both honors as a second team selection following her freshman season.

Bekebrede was also named as her team's most valuable player after each of the last two seasons and has also played for the St. Charles XPress and St. Charles XPlosion club teams, playing in major regional tournaments in Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Dallas.

"Erin is an outstanding outside hitter prospect for us and we are thrilled to have her for our 2008 roster as our volleyball continues to grow as a new program in the GLVC,” Holt said. “Erin posses a well-balanced game both offensively and defensively and will provide another great option for us out on the left pin. She is athletic, poised and has a great understanding of the game of volleyball.

“We look to Erin to come in and compete for playing time right away against our strong and maturing outside hitter corps," he added.

2008 volleyball signings list

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The UMR swimming team finished in second place over the weekend in the Western Kentucky Invitational, its last meet prior to the holiday break.

The Miners scored 555 points in the three-day meet that was won by the host school. UMR had a sizeable lead of over 150 points over third place Evansville.

In Sunday's competition, Matt Hug just missed the automatic qualifying mark in the 1,650-yard freestyle, finishing with a time of 16:01.62 to place second. The time was 1.03 seconds off the automatic mark for the NCAA Division II Championships.

However, Hug did lead off the Miners' winning performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as he joined David Sanchez-Turner, Kyle Gordon and Mark Chamberlain to post a time of 3:08.41 to beat out the Western Kentucky squad by over a second.

David Calcara also had a second place finish Sunday in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:09.07, just ahead of teammate Zlatan Hamzic's time of 2:09.08.

Kyle Kammer made a B-cut time in the 200-yard backstroke of 1:54.74 in the finals to end up fourth, while Andrew Trowbridge was fourth in the 1,650 with a time of 16:07.89 as was Zach Lemons in the 200-butterfly in 1:57.29.

Fifth place finishes were recorded by Jeff Enge in the 200-backstroke in 1:55.79, Mitchell Berggren in the 200-breaststroke in 2:14.76 and Gordon in the 100-freestyle in 48.21 seconds, while Danny Murphy was sixth in the 1,650-free in 16:49.06 as was Chamberlain in the 100-free in 48.76.

UMR's highest finish Saturday came from Calcara, who took second in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 59.26 seconds. Hug had a third place finish in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.27

The Miners had four of the top six finishers in the 400-yard individual medley Saturday, led by Zach Lemons' third place showing in 4:10.55 that made the NCAA's B-cut standard. Enge took fourth in 4:12.79, followed by Danny Murphy in 4:13.22 and Dustin Spieker in 4:16.86.

Hamzic finished fifth in the 100-breaststroke in 1:00.07 as did Kammer in the 100-backstroke in 52.99 seconds, while Trowbridge placed sixth in the 200-freestyle in 1:46.85.

UMR's 200-yard medley relay team of Kammer, Calcara, Chamberlain and Sanchez-Turner placed second in 1:36.31 and the 800-freestyle team of Enge, Murphy, Trowbridge and Hug posted a time of 7:03.23 for a third place finish.

On Friday, Hug took second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:39.22, which cleared the B-standard for the NCAA Division II championships. Trowbridge was third in the 500-free in 4:43.04 that was just barely off the mark.

Enge placed fourth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:58.84, while Lemons came in right behind him in fifth in 1:59.11. UMR also got a fifth place showing from Murphy in the 500-freestyle in 4:47.83.

Chamberlain had a time of 21.89 in the preliminary round of the 50-yard freestyle, while Sanchez-Turner had a mark of 22.19 in the early heats as well.

The Miners' 400-yard medley relay team of Kammer, Calcara, Brian Howell and Kyle Gordon finished second with a time of 3:31.46, while the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Gordon, Chamberlain, Sanchez-Turner, Hug finished third with a time of 1:27.52.

UMR's next competition will take place Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at the Arkansas-Little Rock Christmas Invitational.

Final results

Posted by John Kean at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Miners got a strong start from one of its returners Saturday, then the newcomers joined the party as well to help UMR post a 73-53 opening day victory over Blackburn at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

Justin Taylor scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the first half to help the Miners build a 10-point lead by the intermission, but four other players reached double figures before the game ended to provide UMR a balanced attack in the victory.

UMR never trailed, jumping out to a 14-3 lead six minutes into play on a basket by Taylor. The Miners built their advantage to as many as 14 points on two occasions, the last at 38-24 on a layup by Andrew James at the 2:42 mark.

The Miners led 38-28 at halftime, then saw Blackburn close to within seven at 42-35 on a layup by Tommy Baro at the 15:01 mark of the second half.

UMR took control from there, outscoring the Beavers 13-2 over the next 5:29 to take its biggest lead of the game of 55-37 on a three-pointer by Curtis Mosley. The Miners retained a double figure lead for the rest of the day, closing with a 14-6 spurt after Blackburn had trimmed the lead to 59-47 with just over six minutes to go.

Besides Taylor's 18 points, the Miners also got 13 points and 11 rebounds from Taurance Townsel in his Miner debut, 11 points apiece from Mosley and Aaron Hays and 10 points from James. DeJon Slaughter added eight points and seven rebounds despite being saddled with foul problems for much of the day.

UMR shot 54.9 percent on the afternoon after hitting 16-of-25 (64 percent) in the first half. The Miners also had a 37-29 rebounding advantage.

Baro was the lone Blackburn player in double figures with 17 points.

UMR will play Lincoln Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Jefferson City, Mo.

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Steve Watson

The University of Missouri-Rolla had eight players named Friday to the Great Lakes Football Conference's all-league team for the 2007 season and also gained one of the conference's top awards as quarterback Steve Watson was named as the "Freshman of the Year" by the league's coaches.

Watson, who was forced into duty at quarterback five games into the year due to two season-ending injuries at the position, completed 141-of-248 passes (56.9 percent) for 1,661 yards and 19 touchdowns in just seven games. The 19 touchdown passes ranked second among quarterbacks in the GLFC this season.

Senior Ashton Gronewold, who is a regional finalist for the Harlon Hill Award, was a first-team selection at two positions as he was named as both a wide receiver and return specialist. Gronewold currently ranks second in NCAA Division II in all-purpose yards as he finished with a school record 2,250 for the year, thanks in large part to his 87 receptions for 1,009 yards and his average of 28 yards per kickoff return as he had 953 yards in that category.

Gronewold was named as the GLFC's receiver of the year for the second straight season, but was beaten out in the voting for the league's top offensive player by Central State running back Derrick Moss, the GLFC's rushing leader with 1,296 yards.

He was joined on the first team by offensive tackle James Smith, who anchored a line that allowed the Miners to gain 376.6 yards per game in total offense and average over 30 points a game and placekicker Tim Valencia, who made 36 of his 38 extra points and seven of his 10 field goal tries.

UMR had a pair of second-team selections in defensive end Matt Loula (53 tackles and a team-high five sacks) and punter Renny Dillinger (35.5 yards per punt). Tight end Bryan Crider (29 receptions for 433 yards) and linebacker Garyion Turner (team-high 91 tackles) were honorable mention picks along with Watson.

On the all-independents team listed on the D2Football.com web site, Gronewold was a first-team choice at both wide receiver and return specialist, while Valencia was named as the first team kicker. Second team selections included Crider, Loula and defensive back Robbie Woodard (82 tackles) and Smith was named to the third team.

The Miners finished the 2007 season with a record of 4-7.

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OWENSBORO, Ky. -- For the third straight season, the University of Missouri-Rolla football team wrapped up its season on a winning note as it routed Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday by the score of 49-21.

The Miners overwhelmed the Panthers with a 518-yard offensive performance, including a season-best 321 yards on the ground. Four different Miner backs had at least 50 yards on the ground in the game, led by the 108 yards posted by tailback David Shields.

UMR got on the scoreboard first midway through the opening period when quarterback Steve Watson connected with Bryan Crider in the flat and the sophomore tight end took it to the end zone for a 39-yard scoring play to cap a 65-yard drive.

The Miners drove 65 yards for their second score as well, which came when Watson threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Gronewold with 1:31 to go in the opening period. The drive was set up by an interception by Jamel Sims, one of three interceptions made by the Miner defense Saturday.

After the Panthers got into the end zone on Chris Owen’s quarterback sneak early in the second period, the Miners answered right back as Gronewold took an option pitch 63 yards to the end zone to give UMR a 21-7 lead.

The touchdown, Gronewold’s 57th in his record-setting career as a Miner, was his first rushing touchdown in his four seasons at UMR. He scored his 58th touchdown just under five minutes later when he caught a 12-yard scoring pass from Watson.

UMR built its lead to 35-7 just over a minute before halftime when Shields ran 13 yards for a score after an interception by Kirk Stilwell. Shields scored again on UMR’s first possession of the second half on an eight-yard run to give UMR a 42-7 lead.

The Panthers scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, which were sandwiched around Nathan Binder’s 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It marked the fourth time that the Miners returned a kickoff for a score during the 2007 season.

Besides the 108 yards posted by Shields on the ground, the Miners also got 81 yards from Chad Shockley, 64 from Gronewold and 53 from Mike Greaving, who played periodically at quarterback on Saturday.

Watson completed 14-of-22 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns, with Gronewold catching 10 passes for 87 yards.

In his last game at UMR, Gronewold compiled 162 all-purpose yards to finish the year with a school record 2,250 yards and a career total of 5,992. He also broke his own record for catches in a season with 87 and finished over the 1,000-yard mark in receptions with 1,009.

Gronewold, who was named Friday as one of the Southwest region finalists for the Harlon Hill Award, ended up with receiving totals of 278 catches, 3,708 yards and 52 touchdowns. His 58 career touchdowns also included five returns for scores.

Linebacker Steve Edwards led the Miners with eight tackles while Garyion Turner posted seven stops on the afternoon. UMR also got an interception from linebacker Brandon Kessler among the four turnovers it forced on the day.

UMR finished the 2007 season with a record of 4-7.

Posted by John Kean at 09:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Miner swimming team dropped a dual meet decision Saturday by a count of 140-90 to defending NCAA Division II champion Drury, but had three of its swimmers make a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Division II Championships.

The Panthers won nine of the 11 events in the meet, with the Miner victories coming from Matt Hug in the 1,000-yard freestyle in a time of 9:33 -- which made the B-cut standard for the NCAA Division II meet -- and Brian Howell in the 200-yard butterfly where he edged DU's Kyle Kearbey by three-hundredths of a second in 1:58.71.

Hug also finished second in the 500-freestyle Saturday with a time of 4:36.06 that made the B-cut time for the national meet.

UMR also had

Andrew Trowbridge did it in the 1,000-freestyle with his mark of 9:47.37 and Jeff Enge in the 400-yard individual medley with his time of 4:11.19.

UMR got second place showings from Kyle Kammer in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:48.61, Kyle Gordon in the 50-yard freestyle in 21.98 and 100-free in 48.92 and Zlatan Hamzic in the 200-breaststroke in 2:09.05.

The Miners' 400-yard medley relay team of Kammer, David Calcara, Paul Reinisch and Gordon also took second in 3:36.55 as did the 400-freestyle relay quartet of Hug, David Sanchez-Turner, Jeff Enge and Mark Chamberlain with a time of 3:15.43.

Andrew Trowbridge had a third in the 500-freestyle in 4:44.90, as did Kammer in the 200-backstroke in 1:56.04, Chamberlain in the 200-free in 1:49.80 and 100-free in 49.35 seconds, Sanchez-Turner in the 50-free in 22.47, Zach Lemons in the 200-butterfly in 1:59.42, Calcara in the 200-breaststroke in 2:10.05 and Enge in the 400-IM.

UMR will compete next weekend at the Western Kentucky Invitational, a three-day meet that begins Friday in Bowling Green, Ky.

Posted by John Kean at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ashton Gronewold

Ashton Gronewold has reached first on a number of lists during his four-year career at the University of Missouri-Rolla, but the most recent is a first for the university's football program.

The senior wide receiver was named Friday as one of the six regional finalists for the Harlon Hill Award, the award given to the top player in NCAA Division II and the division's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Gronewold is the first player from the Miner program to named as one of the regional finalists since the award's inception in 1986.

A total of 24 players nationwide made the regional ballots and the top two players from each region selected in the voting by sports informaton directors at the 150 schools that play football in Division II will be placed on the national ballot. The winner will be announced Dec. 14 in Florence, Ala., as part of the festivities associated with the NCAA Division II Championship game that will take place the next day.

Gronewold, who is currently ranked second in the nation in all-purpose yards and third in receptions per game, was the only wide receiver named as a regional finalist from the Southwest region. He joins the 2006 winner, Chadron State running back Danny Woodhead, Northwest Missouri State running back Xavier Omon, Abilene Christian running back Bernard Scott and pair of quarterbacks, Keith Null of West Texas A&M and Daniel Polk of Midwestern State on the regional ballot.

In the 2007 season, Gronewold has a total of 2,088 all-purpose yards which is one of the 26 school records he holds at UMR. He has 77 catches for 922 yards and 11 touchdowns, while returning kickoffs for an avearge of 28.6 yards per return which ranks among the top 20 in the country.

Last week, he broke the NCAA single-game record with 295 yards in kickoff returns and became the seventh player in Division II history to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in the same game.

Gronewold enters Saturday's game at Kentucky Wesleyan as the holder of nearly every receiving, kickoff return and all-purpose yardage records in school history. He has totals of 268 catches for 3,621 yards and 50 touchdowns -- one of six players in Division II history with at least 50 touchdown receptions -- with a UMR record 1,819 kickoff return yards, 5,830 all-purpose yards and 55 touchdowns.

He currently ranks in a tie for eighth in Division II history for receptions, tied for fourth in touchdown catches and could reach the top 20 in receiving yards in Saturday's game.

In his 40-game career at UMR, Gronewold has 11 games with at least 200 all-purpose yards -- including a record 357 last week at Tiffin and 329 earlier this season against Arkansas-Monticello -- seven games with at least 10 catches and 18 games with 100 or more yards in receptions. He has scored a touchdown in 28 of his 40 career games.

The 357 all-purpose yards last week are the third-most by a player in Division II this year. He is currently averaging 208.8 all-purpose yards and 7.7 receptions per game. He has been named three times as the Great Lakes Football Conference's "Offensive Player of the Week" during the 2007 season.

Posted by John Kean at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Joffroi Holcombe

Joffroi Holcombe's performance over the weekend at the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional has earned him all-region honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Holcombe finished in 13th place at the regional meet over the weekend and the top 15 finishers were named to the all-region squad. The senior from Alexandria, La., who was the Miners' top runner throughout the 2007 campaign, covered the 10-kilometer course in a time of 32:12.

Earlier this season, Holcombe earned all-conference from the Great Lakes Valley Conference when he placed 10th at the conference meet. He was also the winner of the Miner Invitational in September and was a two-time recipient of the GLVC's "Runner of the Week" award.

The Miners finished seventh as a team in the regional meet held Saturday in Edwardsville, Ill.

2007 All-Great Lakes Region
Jeremy Trein, Ashland
Jai Villa Zapatero, Drury
Nate Peck, Grand Valley State
James Gale, Grand Valley State
Robbie Young, Grand Valley State
Chris Hammer, Grand Valley State
Nick Polk, Grand Valley State
Grant Fall, Grand Valley State
Ross Faasse, Grand Valley State
Joffroi Holcombe, Missouri-Rolla
Nick Krus, Saginaw Valley State
Paul Jellema, Southern Indiana
Chad Roberts, Tiffin
Abdullah Saleh, Wayne State (Mich.)
Kevin Christensen, Wayne State (Mich.)

Posted by John Kean at 09:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ashton Gronewold

Ashton Gronewold put his name in the NCAA record books again Saturday and in the process earned his third "Offensive Player of the Week" award from the Great Lakes Football Conference for the 2007 season.

The senior wide receiver established a new school record with 357 all-purpose yards in the Miners' 73-30 loss at Tiffin and also made the NCAA record books in two categories along the way. Gronewold accumulated a NCAA Division II record 295 yards in kickoff returns which included two runbacks for touchdowns.

The returns that covered 90 and 94 yards made him the seventh player in Division II history to return two kickoffs for scores in the same game and the first to do so since Southern Arkansas' Jordan Babineaux in a 2003 game against Delta State.

Gronewold also had five receptions for 64 yards in the game as he moved his 2007 total for all-purpose yards past the 2,000 mark. His career total now stands at 5,830 yards heading into UMR's season finale Saturday at Kentucky Wesleyan.

The 357 all-purpose yards are the third-most by a player in Division II this year. He is currently second in the nation in all-purpose yards (208.8 yards per game) and third in receptions (7.7 per game).

Posted by John Kean at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The University of Missouri-Rolla men's basketball opened its season Saturday night by falling 80-43 to Southeast Missouri State in an exhibition contest at the Show Me Center.

The Miners played on relatively even terms with the Redhawks over the first 10 minutes of the game, trailing 17-14 at the 9:02 mark after a lay-in by freshman guard Aaron Hays. However, the Miners struggled with their shooting against Southeast for much of the night and the Redhawks were able to start building a lead that reached 17 points by the intermission.

UMR shot 29.3 percent for the game while Southeast made 52.6 percent of its shots on the evening.

Hays led the Miners with 12 points, while DeJon Slaughter had nine and Taurance Townsel finished with seven. Townsel also had seven rebounds to lead UMR. Jaycen Herring led the Redhawks with 19 points.

UMR will open the 2007-08 season Nov. 17 when it hosts Blackburn in a 3 p.m. game at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

Posted by John Kean at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- The Lady Miners finished their first volleyball season Saturday night by dropping a 3-0 decision to seventh-ranked Truman State University.

UMR dropped the three games to the Bulldogs by scores of 30-15, 30-28 and 30-21.

After falling in the first game, UMR played Truman to a nip-and-tuck battle in the second game. The teams were tied at 16 and the Lady Miners stayed within two points until Truman scored three straight points to go up 24-20. UMR fought back and closed the gap to one at 28-27. Bridget Williams had a kill when Truman had game point to draw to within one again before the Bulldogs won the match on the next point.

In the third game, UMR took a 14-11 lead on a kill by Katie Herington. Lauren Summerville's kill moments later tied the game at 15 before the Bulldogs took the lead for good.

Leandra Pelae led UMR with 10 kills in the game while Herington finished with six. Ashlyn Balensiefer recorded 25 assists and Williams led UMR with 13 digs.

Earlier in the day, the Lady Miners dropped a 3-0 match to No. 17-ranked Emporia State in Pershing Arena, as the Hornets won by scores of 30-25, 30-18 and 30-8.

Pelae's kill early in game one gave UMR a 12-11 lead, then a service ace by Williams extended the lead to two. ESU scored the next three points to take the lead for good.

Pelae led UMR with eight kills while Jessica Laughary had seven; Balensiefer posted 32 assists and Williams had eight kills to lead the Lady Miners.

Posted by John Kean at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TIFFIN, Ohio -- UMR's Ashton Gronewold put his name in the record books again Saturday, but even his exploits weren't enough to take the Miners to a victory Saturday afternoon.

Gronewold became the first player in Miner history to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in a game and broke both the UMR single game and career records for all-purpose yards along the way, but the Miner defense struggled to slow down Tiffin's offensive attack as the Dragons posted a 73-30 win over UMR.

The Dragons recorded 645 yards of total offense in the game and even as the Miners held two leads early in the contest, ran away from UMR in the first half by building a 56-23 lead by the intermission.

Tiffin jumped on top on its opening possession when quarterback Donnie Johnson capped a 67-yard drive with an eight-yard run. However, Dragon kicker Andrew Breen missed the extra point, then UMR got the lead moments later when Gronewold returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a score. Tim Valencia's extra point gave UMR a 7-6 lead.

The Dragons answered Gronewold's score with one of their own when Dyshaun Edwards brought the next kick back 87 yards for a touchdown. UMR got the lead back a little under three minutes later when Matt Loula returned a fumble 21 yards for a score to give UMR a 14-13 lead with 8:38 left in the opening quarter.

But from there, Tiffin took control of the contest, scoring 21 unanswered points before Gronewold got his second kickoff return for a score as he went 94 yards early in the second quarter to make the score 35-20.

The Dragons got a short field moments later after a 16-yard punt and scored on a two-yard pass from Matt Root to Tom Fritsch. UMR got a 36-yard field goal from Tim Valencia on its next series, but that would be the Miners' last points until Steve Watson threw a 29-yard scoring pass to Nathan Binder late in the third quarter.

The Miners finished the game with 207 yards of total offense, getting 147 through the air as Watson was 15-of-31 in the game. Gronewold caught five passes for 64 yards, but broke records for kickoff return yards (295) and all-purpose yards (357) for one game. The 357 all-purpose yards also allowed him to establish a new single-season mark as he moved his total for the year to 2,088; he is currently ranked sixth in NCAA Division II for all-purpose yards.

Jerome Miller led the Miners with 46 yards on the ground.

UMR will close the 2007 season Nov. 10 at Kentucky Wesleyan.

Posted by John Kean at 06:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- The University of Missouri-Rolla men's cross country team wrapped up its season Saturday with a seventh place finish at the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional held at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

UMR, which entered the meet ranked seventh in the Great Lakes region, finished with a team score of 184, six points behind Saginaw Valley State. The top four teams in the meet -- Grand Valley State, Wayne State (Mich.), Southern Indiana and Northern Kentucky -- earned the region's automatic berths to the NCAA Division II Championships Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo.

The Miners' highest finisher was Joffroi Holcombe, who ended up 13th overall but two spots shy of making the national meet as an individual. Holcombe posted a time of 32:12 in the 10-kilometer race, which was 12 seconds in back of 10th place finisher Chad Roberts of Tiffin, who had the second-highest finish among those from teams that did not finish among the top four overall.

Holcombe's finish among the top 15 at the meet earned him all-region honors.

Chris Murray came in 31st for the Miners with a time of 32:45, while Kurt Schauwecker was 33rd in 32:53. UMR's top five was rounded out by Brendan Smith in 45th place in a time of 33:06 and Chris Thielker ended up 53rd in 33:32. The Miners also got a 69th place finish from Brett Agee in 33:44.

Complete results

Posted by John Kean at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The Lady Miners' first season of Great Lakes Valley Conference play came to an end on a down note Friday night, as Southern Indiana handed UMR a 3-0 loss in volleyball action.

The Screaming Eagles won the three games by scores of 30-15, 30-23 and 30-15 in a game they needed to win in their quest to make the conference tournament. USI moved into a tie for fourth place in the GLVC West with Drury with Friday's win.

After the Eagles won the opener, UMR hung tough in the early stages of game two and were down by one at 12-11 after a block by Maddie Owak and Ashlyn Balensiefer. USI pushed its lead back out only to see the Lady Miners draw to within six on a kill by Owak, but that was as close as UMR would get in that game. An early 8-0 run by the Eagles in the final game put them ahead for good.

Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners with 10 kills in the contest, while Owak had six and Lisa Robinson finished with four. Balensiefer was credited with 20 assists while Pelae and Bridget Williams had 10 digs apiece.

UMR will conclude its inaugural season with a pair of matches Saturday against nationally-ranked teams in Kirksville, Mo. The Lady Miners will take on No. 17 Emporia State at 3 p.m. and then finish the year with a 7 p.m. contest against No. 7 Truman State. Truman beat Emporia State 3-2 Friday night.

Posted by John Kean at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)