Fall Sports Wrap-Ups

Soccer Squads End Season in National Tournament

Women Fall to No. 2 in Double OT

Nichols Reaches 150 Career Wins

The Central Methodist women’s soccer team finished the 2022 campaign with a final record of 19-3-1, including an 11-0-1 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. With their nearperfect record in Heart play, CMU secured its fourth consecutive Heart Regular Season Championship. Central earned the No. 1 seed in the Heart Tournament, winning three-straight games, including a thriller over No. 3 MNU in the championship game. The Eagles cemented their dynasty with their fourth straight Heart Tournament title, becoming only the second team in conference history to win four tournament championships.

In addition, Central earned seven Heart All-Conference selections, including Player and Offensive Player of the Year Sandra Jakobsen, Defensive Player of the Year Laura Riesenbeck, and Coach of the Year Dan Schmidlin. Jakobsen is now a two-time Heart Player and Offensive Player of the Year, and Riesenbeck was named the Heart Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season.

CMU was selected to host the first and second rounds of the NAIA National Championship in nearby Columbia on Nov. 17-19 as the No. 1 seed. The Eagles defeated No. 4 seeded Cardinal Stritch 2-0 in the first round before falling to No. 2 Aquinas in the second round in double overtime, 2-1.

The Central Methodist men’s soccer program continued its historic run in the Heart of America Athletic Conference in 2022. CMU won the Heart Regular Season Championship for the fifth consecutive season, with a final conference mark of 9-0-3. Central then cruised through the Heart Tournament as the No. 1 seed, defeating upstart No. 7 William Penn in the championship game by a score of 4-0 on Nov. 12. The win over William Penn cemented Central’s dynasty with its fourth-straight Heart Conference Tournament title. Central earned seven Heart All-Conference selections, including Defensive Player of the Year Jesse Bank, Freshman of the Year Beer De Vos, and Heart Coach of the Year Alex Nichols. Coach Nichols, a five-time Heart Coach of the Year winner, secured his 150th career win in the Heart Tournament Quarterfinals against No. 8 Mount Mercy on Nov. 5. Central hosted the first and second rounds of the NAIA National Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Columbia Bracket. CMU cruised past Saint Mary in the first round 8-0 on Nov. 17 before falling to No. 3 Rio Grande 1-0 in the second round on Nov. 19. CMU finished the year with a 16-1-5 overall record. Central served as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team on two different occasions this fall during the regular season.

Davis Notches 750th Career Win on Birthday

Longtime Central Methodist head women’s basketball coach Mike Davis secured his 750th career win in the opener of the 2022-23 season, as the No. 9 CMU women rolled past Haskell 94-61 on Halloween Night. To make the feat even more special, it coincided with coach Davis’s birthday.

Davis, a 1983 graduate of CMU, has led the women’s program for two different stints, totaling 21 years. He is the winningest active coach in NAIA Women’s Basketball, racking up more than 750 total wins – more than 75 wins higher than his next closest rival. Over 400 of those wins have come while at Central. Davis coached the Eagles from 1987-2000, and in that span he led Central to four consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances. This included two Round of 16 finishes, one Quarterfinal appearance, and a Fab Four finish in 1998-99. He then moved on to Columbia College, where he started the women’s program. During his 13 seasons with Columbia, he compiled a 316-127 overall record, nine conference championships, and 11 appearances at the NAIA National Tournament. Coach Davis returned to CMU in time for the 2015-16 season, and since then has led the Eagles to more than 175 wins, two Heart Tournament Championships, three regular season titles, and five national tournament appearances, including a Fab Four appearance in 2021-22. As of Nov. 21, 2022, Coach Davis boasts a career record of 753-333 for a 69.3 winning percentage in his 33 years as a head coach. During his time at the helm of the Eagles, Davis has guided his teams to 20 NAIA National Tournament appearances and 11 Conference Championships. He has coached 37 NAIA All-Americans, 105 AllConference selections, 12 Conference Players of the Year, 12 Conference Newcomers of the Year, and seven Conference Freshmen of the Year.

Cross Country Runs to Season Highlights

The Central Methodist cross country programs had several notable performances during the 2022 season. On the women’s side, CMU placed third at the Maple Leaf Invite on Sept. 3, with senior Katherine Bangert placing fourth in the 4K. Bangert and Kjirsten Guilford also earned Top 10 finishes at the Mike Spielman Classic on Oct. 21. At the Heart Championships, the women placed fifth, three places better than their eighth-place finish in 2021.

For the men, CMU finished second at the Mike Spielman Classic on Oct. 21. Shawn Kiptoo and Meshack Kiptanui finished 2-3 at the event in the 8K. At the Gans Creek Classic on Oct. 1, Kiptoo and Kiptanui ran the 10th and 14th fastest times in CMU program history at 25:49.6 for Kiptoo and 26:16.5 for Kiptanui.

Six Eagles Earn AllConference Nods

The Central Methodist football program finished the year with a 1-10 overall record and a 1-4 mark in Heart South Division play. CMU garnered six Heart South Division All-Conference performers, led by Heart First Team selections Davion Stockard and Erik Mays. Lontas McClinton earned Second Team honors, while Trenton Byers, KeShawn Wilson, and Le’Marcus Washington earned Honorable Mention nods. Both Stockard and McClinton earned Heart Defensive Player of the Week recognition, and Stockard led the nation with six forced fumbles and the conference with 117 total tackles.

Volleyball Finishes Season in NAIA Opening Round

The Central Methodist volleyball program posted a 21-9 overall record and a 13-6 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference in 2022. The Eagles raced out to a 7-1 record in their first eight games, securing Top 25 wins over No. 12 Bellevue (Neb.) and No. 18 Taylor University (Ind.). CMU reached the semifinals of the conference tournament for the fifth straight season and ended the season by falling 3-2 to Saint Xavier in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament.

The Eagles earned seven Heart All-Conference selections including the Heart Attacker of the Year and First Team All-Conference member Callie Henson. Joining Henson on the All-Conference First Team was libero Krystal Brauner. Delaney Miller and Annabelle Maassen were selected to the Second Team, while Joana Milho and Shea Luby were recognized as Third Team selections. Senior setter Marina Alonso rounded out the All-Conference members for CMU, earning an Honorable Mention nod.

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