Career Closet Benefits Many

BY MARY LAY

Sixty-three ties tied in two hours! On March 13, the James C. Denneny Jr. Career Development Center hosted a tie tying event and 63 students participated. Coaches Kenny Anderson (head coach, track and field), Tevin Riddle (assistant coach, track and field), and Bryan Adams (men’s basketball graduate assistant), along with Brad Dixon (vice president for student life) instructed students on how to properly produce a double Windsor and more.

The tie tying event was made possible by donations to the newly reopened Career Closet. The Career Closet is a donationbased program where students can pick out interview-appropriate attire at no cost. Students are allowed to keep the items they choose. Since reopening, the Career Closet has been a valuable resource to many students who need professional clothing for student teaching, job interviews, and career expos.

“The Career Closet reduces some of the stress of an interview by removing the worry of professional attire, allowing the student to focus on highlighting their talent and skills,” said Mary Lay, director of the Career Development Center. “Students’ faces light up when they know that they have professional clothing to wear to an interview.”

The Career Closet is currently accepting gently used professional clothing, including jackets, ties, shirts, blouses, skirts, dresses, pants, belts and shoes. Donations may be dropped off at the Career Development Center, Room 209 in the Inman Student and Community Center on the Fayette campus, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment.

The Central Methodist University Concert Band, under the direction of Prof. Skip Vandelicht, ’77, presented the second annual Seward Legacy Concert on Sunday, March 5 in the sanctuary of Linn Memorial United Methodist Church. This concert is the “home” tour concert and preceded the band’s annual tour of Missouri from March 9-12.

The inaugural Seward Legacy Concert featured the dedication of the endowments in honor of Ken, ’51, and Nancy Seward, ’52, which were generously donated by Lynn Howard. Beginning this spring, the concert will not only honor the Sewards, but all of the directors in the rich Central Methodist band history. About 30 alumni and friends came together on Saturday, March 4 for dinner at Emmet’s and continued into Sunday with lunch and campus tours. The weekend ended with the CMU Concert Band presenting its Tour Kick Off Concert, where the 2023 Seward Band Award for Excellence winner was announced. This year’s Seward Band Awardee was Mike Watts, ’23, who received a $10,000 award.

The women’s wrestling program had its best season in program history in 2022-23, as the team finished inside the top 10 in the country at the inaugural NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Championships in Jamestown, North Dakota. Leading the way for the Eagles all season was 116-pound grappler Caitlyn Thorne. After not appearing in the individual national rankings for the first two polls of the season, Thorne landed in the top five nationally in the 116-pound weight class in each of the final five rankings, climbing as high as No. 2. Thorne won the program’s firstever individual conference championship at the Heart Championships in Oskaloosa, Iowa in February. She rode that momentum into the national tournament, where she earned the No. 2 seed in her bracket. Thorne would post a 4-0 record through the 116-pound bracket, en route to solidifying a spot in the national finals. She faced off against No. 4 seeded Camille Fournier of Texas Wesleyan in the championship, earning a decisive 10-0 tech fall victory to become the program’s first-ever NAIA National Champion. Altogether, Thorne outscored her opponents 48-8 at the national tournament. She finished the year with a 26-3 record and was one of five NAIA All-Americans to represent Central on the national stage. Joining Thorne as All-Americans were Jaycee Foeller (2nd, 191 pounds), Caitlyn Davis (4th, 155 pounds), Skye Realin (5th, 130 pounds), and Hannah Hall (7th, 116 pounds). Head coach Brieana Delgado was tabbed as both the Heart Conference and NWCA NAIA Women’s Coach of the Year for her work with the program. Central finished the championships with a seventh-place finish and, at one time, had as many as 10 grapplers

The CMU men engineered a remarkable turnaround under first-year head coach Sam Schmitz. The 2022-23 campaign saw the team receiving votes in the national polls during the regular season, including four individuals nationally ranked. During the postseason, Central boasted its highest finish at the conference championships, earning a fifth-place standing in one of the toughest wrestling conferences in the country. Altogether, seven wrestlers reached the top four of the conference, including four podium finishes. Highlighting the conference tournament for CMU were Donald Griffin and Colton King, who were named the Heart Newcomer and Heart CoFreshman of the Year respectively. In addition, five Eagles punched their tickets to the NAIA National Championships in Wichita in mid-March. The postseason concluded with the first two NAIA All-Americans in program history in Griffin (4th, 157 pounds) and Elijah Hynes (8th, 197 pounds) and a top 15 finish at the event.

Under first-year head coach Matt Sherman, ’10, the Central Methodist men’s basketball team finished 2022-23 with a 17-12 overall record, which included a 14-8 record in conference action. Coach Sherman earned his first career win as head coach in the season opener, as CMU defeated Friends University 107-88 on November 3 in Olathe, Kansas. Highlighting the season was an eight-game win streak from January 19 - February 11. Graduate guard James Jordan was tabbed as the Heart Newcomer of the Year and earned an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American nod.

CMU baseball finished the regular season with a 33-15 overall record and a conference mark of 23-7. Central claimed its second regular season conference championship in the last three years and earned a spot in the NAIA National Tournament for the seventh consecutive year. Graduate transfer pitcher Alan West made history by throwing just the second no-hitter in program history against Benedictine College on April 2. For his performance, West was named both the Heart Conference and NAIA National Pitcher of the Week. The Eagles swept the Heart Major Awards, as Robbie Merced was named the Heart Player of the Year, West earned Pitcher of the Year, and Nate Breland was Coach of the Year. Altogether, Central boasted nine Heart All-Conference selections. CMU finished the year ranked No. 25 in the country and hosted an NAIA National Championship Opening Round for the first time on the newly renovated Estes Field.

The CMU outdoor track & field program continued its impressive campaign, as the women won the Heart Outdoor Conference Championship for the first time in program history in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It also completed the championship sweep for the women, as they took home the team title during the indoor season. CMU boasted six individual conference champions, and, as a result, Head Coach Kenny Anderson was named the Heart Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year. He was also named the USTFCCCA South Central Women’s Outdoor Regional Coach of the Year. The CMU men earned a podium finish with a third place standing at the conference championships. It marks the third-straight year the men have finished in the top three. Altogether, Central qualified 18 athletes for the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in Marion, Indiana in late May. At the National Championships, the women posted a 14th place finish and produced four NAIA All-Americans. Freshman Gizel Clayton ran the 100m hurdles in a program record of 13.38 seconds, finishing as the NAIA National Runner Up and earning All-America status. Fellow freshman thrower Baylee Beard placed sixth and seventh in the hammer throw and shot put respectively, breaking both school records and earning All-America status in each event. Sophomore Renee Finke rounded out the All-America honors for the Eagles, finishing fifth in the high

CMU men’s golf picked up two team tournament wins in the spring, winning both the William Woods Spring Invitational and the Missouri Valley Spring Inviational. The Eagles posted a thirdplace finish at the Heart Conference Tournament Championship, which included top five finishes for both Luke Truter and Chad Coburn. Altogether, five Eagles earned Heart All-Conference honors including Truter, Coburn, Aaron Teece, Matias Baccola, and Tomas Lopez Mazzalay.

The CMU women’s golf program finished the spring season with four top three tournament finishes, including a second-place finish at both the Missouri Valley Spring Invitational and the William Penn Invitational. The Eagles posted a fourth-place finish at the conference tournament in early May, highlighted by a top 10 finish from Sarah Krenowicz. Freshman Mechelle Vermillion was named to the Heart AllConference team for her play during both the regular season and Heart Tournament Championship.

With a young squad in 2023, CMU softball continued its impressive run from previous seasons, boasting a final record of 42-12 and a 21-5 mark in conference play. Central claimed its second straight Heart regular season championship and remained hot entering the postseason. CMU swept the conference tournament in Baldwin City, Kansas, winning each game by an average of 8.5 runs per game. Junior outfielder Kelena Oots was tabbed as the Heart Player of the Year and Coach Pat Reardon the Heart Coach of the Year. Freshman pitcher Jordyn Ball was a welcome addition to the pitching staff, as the Fayette native boasted a 10-2 overall record in conference play. She threw a perfect game against Peru State College on Aprill 22 and, for her efforts, was named the Heart Conference and NAIA National Pitcher of the Week. Altogether, Central garnered eight Heart All-Conference selections. In addition, CMU jumped to No. 15 in the final national poll, earning the No. 1 seed in the Henderson Bracket of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round in Tennessee. The Eagles went a perfect 3-0 in the bracket, capped with a 6-4 victory in 10 innings over host school Freed-Hardeman. The win clinched the Eagles’ fourth-ever NAIA World Series berth in Columbus, Georgia. At the final site, Central knocked off conference foe Baker University in the opener, before falling in their next two games to close the season.

Under third year head coach Kenny Anderson, the Central Methodist track & field programs posted another solid showing during the indoor season. The CMU women repeated as Heart Indoor Conference Champions, while the men improved one spot to fifth place. For their efforts, Coach Anderson and George Robinson were named the Heart Women’s Indoor Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year. In addition, Coach Anderson was tabbed as the USTFCCCA NAIA South Central Regional Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Central continued to roll into the NAIA National Championships in Brookings, South Dakota in early March. On the women’s side, the Eagles posted an eighth-place team standing out of 55 teams which included nine NAIA All-Americans, the most in a single championship in program history. Junior Dayana Montenegro was the NAIA national runner-up in the 600m run, while Yanira Paninka placed third in the 3000m race walk.

This year, the guard leapt out of their comfort zone on the football field. CMU Winter Guard took the floor in their first competitive season with the Mid-Continent Color Guard Association. Their program, “Outside Looking In,” featured the song “I’m Still Here” from Stereo Avenue. The team earned fourth, first, and sixth place rankings during the season. The team is directed by Caryn Jeffries, ’13, with additional assistance from Matt Fohn, ’20.

The Central Methodist Eagle Envy dance team took part in the NDA Dance National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida in April. CMU competed in two divisions beginning in the Dance Spirit Rally Open Division competition, which also featured the University of Texas at Dallas and Iowa Central Community College. CMU opened with a preliminary performance, posting a score of 87.8 to sit in second place going into the finals. The Eagles improved upon their performance score in the finals with a score of 90.325, finishing in second place. Central also competed in the Hip Hop NAIA Division, posting a preliminary score of 84.7714 to finish just short of a finals appearance. The Eagles ultimately finished fourth.

Under first-year head coach Kennedy Wingbermuehle, the Central Methodist Competitive Cheer program took on the NCA Cheer National Championships this past April in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Eagles competed in both the prelims and finals of the Advanced Small Coed NAIA Gameday Division. Joining Central in the Division were Missouri Baptist University, Ottawa University, and Ottawa University Arizona. CMU posted a preliminary score of 83.8148, followed by a finals score of 84.8611 to finish in fourth place.