4 Sports
November 6, 2013
New Director of Media Relations for Athletics Iain Dexter | Sports Editor
Barrett Henderson was named the new director of media relations for Western’s athletic department Oct. 5. Henderson replaces Michael Collins, who took a job at Oregon State University (OSU) as the head of marketing and communications. Henderson spent last year in a similar position as the director of operations and media relations at Montana State Billings. As a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival to Western, Henderson already has experience working within the conference. “It helps that he comes from another university inside of our conference,” said Michael Feuling, the director of athletic development and sales. “He understands what is needed to make sure our student-athletes are highlighted and noted in order to promote the success we are having from our athletic teams.” Before his work at Billings, Henderson was the assistant athletic director at his alma mater, Eastern Oregon University. During his time there, he was named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Sports Information Director of the Year. “The college atmosphere of Monmouth feels different,” said Henderson. “[There is] great community support and it’s great to see the turnout here.” Henderson’s appointment came during Homecoming week, a busy time for the athletic department. Western had home games that week for both football and volleyball. “The first week is crazy,” said Henderson. “With Homecoming, Hall-of-Fame Weekend, and fall sports, it’s just a crazy time. To be honest, that’s the way I like to go: [to] just jump in, trial by fire.” “Barrett has done a great job,” Feuling said. “He was thrown into the fire right away with starting right at one of our busiest athletic weekends and did a tremendous job in his areas.” Before leaving for OSU, Collins had been a part of Western for four years. He has worn many hats at Western, attaining titles such as the associate athletic director of external relations, and sports information director. “The amount of work here [Collins] had was tremendous,” said Henderson. “There was a stretch there when he was doing compliance, business and sports information, and then he also does marketing and promotions.” Collins contributed in many ways at Western: he redesigned the Western athletic marks and athletic page, established new revenue sources through online merchandise, ticket sales and licensing, and served on various hiring committees during his four years. “Working with Michael Collins was great,” said Feuling. “He was able to come in and help lead the athletic department through the new logo changes, help establish our ticketing system that we currently have in place and helped us with getting our social media presence, allowing us to gain more followers and increase our athletic attendance.” Collins worked at OSU as an assistant communications director for the three years before he came to Western. He has over ten years of experience working with collegiate athletics as a result of his jobs at Baylor University, Kansas State University and Marshall University. The athletic department continues to grow stronger with the transition from Collins to Henderson. The foundation that Collins left, combined with the new ideas and energy that Henderson brings, are sure to further the development of Western athletics.
www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal
Tori Gannon | Photo Editor
Volleyball welcomed two Alaskan teams as Western was able to come away with one victory over the weekend.
Volleyball Splits This Week Levi Watkins | Freelancer
Volleyball defeated University of Alaska Thursday, Oct. 31, but dropped a game against the talented University of Alaska-Anchorage team Saturday, Nov 2nd. After this week’s games the Wolves hold an 8-14 overall record and a 5-7 conference record, putting them sixth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). Senior middle blocker Becky Blees is happy with the way the team is fighting through the season. “It is so obvious the leaps and bounds we have made skill- and confidence- wise,” said Blees. I am proud of all the hard work the girls have put in.” On Halloween night, the team hosted the University of Alaska, who came into the game with a 3-20 overall record, two of those wins coming in conference play. Western was able to defeat the Nanooks in four sets. Each set was close as the Wolves won the first, second and fourth 25-18, 25-21 and 25-21 respectively. Alaska beat Western in the third set with a score of 25-22.
Saturday, Nov. 2 Alaska-Anchorage faced the Western team, who was, at the time, on a three-game winning streak. Alaska-Anchorage, ranked 33 in the nation for Division II, was a tough match for Western. The Wolves were able to defeat Alaska-Anchorage in the first set 25-23. Alaska-Anchorage was able to win three sets in a row 25-16, 25-20 and 25-20; a loss that snapped Western’s three-game winning streak. Freshman outside hitter Lani Kalalau is looking forward to Western’s upcoming match against Western Washington Thursday, Nov. 7 in Bellingham, Wash. “We need to look at the good things that we did in that match,” said Kalalau. “We need to be focusing on what we can do as a team to get better.” The Vikings are currently second place in the conference, providing the Wolves with a difficult challenge on the road.
Tori Gannon | Photo Editor
Junior setter Jordin Ramos (#10) sets the ball for freshman middle blocker Hannah Crites (#14) in Western’s 3-1 loss against Alaska-Anchorage.