MIAA Feature Stories

January 19, 2012
MIAA Roundup: January 19, 2012
We’ve reached the halfway point of the 2011-12 MIAA men’s and women’s basketball seasons, and there’s still a lot to be decided. If the first half of the season is any indication, MIAA fans are in for an exciting race down the stretch.

December 15, 2011
MIAA Roundup: December 15, 2011
For the seventh time in eight years, the MIAA will be represented in the NCAA Division II Football National Championship Game. Pittsburg State dismantled Delta State, 49-23, to punch its first national title game ticket since 2004 and fourth overall in Division II.

December 8, 2011
MIAA Roundup: December 8, 2011
December is typically a busy month in the MIAA. This year, just eight days in, has been no exception. The month kicked off on Thursday, Dec. 1, with the Central Missouri Jennies volleyball team taking on four-time defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul in the NCAA quarterfinals.

October 28, 2011
Loss Doesn’t Mean Losing for Mundwiller
It was a quiet morning in the Mundwiller household, the kind of quiet that creates uneasiness. It was on this morning senior wide receiver Andy Mundwiller first learned what it meant to lose something.

October 21, 2011
James Named to Buick Human Highlight Reel
Sean James had dreams of playing in the then Big Eight, but an injury led him to a Kansas junior college and then on to Missouri Southern. Though this might not have been his initial plan, James now says that the time in Joplin helped change his life and direct him towards the path he is paving for himself today.

October 14, 2011
Stein, Bloss Headline ESU Hall of Honor Class
With the traditional start of basketball season on October 15, it is appropriate that two of the individuals that helped jump start the Lady Hornet program will be inducted into the ESU Athletics Hall of Honor on that day.

October 7, 2011
Coaching Nation’s Best Helps Poe Mold the Mules
The last match on the final day of the 2011 Palmer Cup would be the one that decided the annual international event. Stanford’s Andrew Yun and his Pac-12 rival, UCLA’s Pontus Widegren were all square through 16 holes.

October 5, 2011
WU Seniors Want to Finish Strong, Host Regional
They are on pace to become two of only three Lady Blues to have finished their careers having better than a .300 attack percentage. Tell Mollie Lacy and Breanna Lewis that midway through their senior seasons, and it's the furthest thing from their minds. Tell them that their team's style of play limits the number of kills they can get as individuals, and they'll tell you how that only makes them stronger as a team.

September 29, 2011
SBU Coaches Share the Faith Overseas
This past summer, multiple SBU coaches spent time outside of the United States volunteering, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Head football coach Keith Allen, and head cross country and track and field coach, Corey McElhaney, both spent time overseas during the summer volunteering, and sharing their faith in Christ.

September 21, 2011
Taylor Pierce Finding Success the Bearcat Way
Midway through the first quarter last Saturday, senior wide receiver Taylor Pierce finally experienced the exuberance of catching a touchdown pass. Since graduating from Wentzville Holt High School, Pierce has worked for a moment like this one.

September 21, 2011
Griffon Safeties Become Life Savers
As co-captains, and fellow defensive backs, Jack Long and Shane Simpson are used to being in the middle of on-field action together. Apparently, off-the-field heroics are a package deal as well.

September 14, 2011
UCM Literacy Team Engages Community
When most people think of college athletics, they tend to think of stadiums filled with ruckus and loud fans cheering their favorite team on to victory. They might also imagine their favorite team hoisting that championship trophy with the "number 1" finger pointed in the air or rushing the field or court in celebration.

September 12, 2011
Fluellen Developing into Leader for Lincoln
Arriving at Lincoln wasn't always in the cards for O'Hara Fluellen, but with the help of Julien Noel and some other factors, Lincoln became home. “I had some looks from Division I schools while I was in Florida from teams like Miami and Florida State,” the South Plantation High graduate said. “But, my grades weren't too good and so that kind of just left me sitting at home.

September 7, 2011
Soccer Comes to Fort Hays State
The inaugural season for Fort Hays State men's and women's soccer began on Saturday, September 3 at the brand new FHSU Soccer Stadium, part of the new multi-million dollar Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex in Hays, Kan. After a handful of exhibition games at the stadium in late August, the first official games took place as the men hosted Adams State College and the women hosted Newman University.

September 2, 2011
ESU Football Assists Girl's Fight Against Cancer
Football teams across the country have a reputation of using rather colorful language on the field. The Emporia State University football team spent part of their training camp trying to correct this and help a young girl in her battle with leukemia. The Hornets raised $1,509.44 in the first ten days of training camp for Mikala Hodgens, the nine-year old niece of defensive coordinator Bryce Saia.

August 31, 2011
Joplin on the Road to Recovery
May 22, 2011 is a day that no person that calls Joplin home will soon, or for that matter, ever forget. At approximately 5:41 pm on that Sunday evening, what would turn out to be the deadliest tornado recorded in the history of the United States, touched down just south of downtown Joplin and proceeded to level much of the city.