Sports

10 SPORTS January 12, 2021 Self Isolation breeds better mindset for new members of Men’s Basketball team

Rey Green “This pandemic gave me the opporSports Editor tunity to remember what life is all about, Nothing sounds better than a fresh start after a year like 2020. With sports on hold for a while, this gave student athletes time to sit down and reflect on their lives outside of their sport. A few members of the Men’s Basketball team took some time to self reflect and set New Year’s resolutions. Freshman Guard Colby Gennett said his New Year’s resolution was to “simply enjoy life during the pandemic.” “2020 will be viewed as a dark time for a while but for me, I saw it as an opportunity to grow as a person,” Gennett said. Gennett said he just wanted to be better whether it was for basketball or not. He said he took full advantage of all the free time that got put into his life. spent with my family doing activities we were never able to do because of a crazy basketball schedule will always be remembered and well needed.” Gennett said he’ll never take playing basketball for granted. He said it was a struggle trying to find an open park to shoot hoops at. Usually Gennett has access to indoor basketball courts, but due to COVID-19 restrictions that was no longer a possibility. “By doing the little things like making DIY projects to help dribbling and shooting at your house, that made the difference,” Gennett said. “It’s the little things in life that are now so important during this time.” This year I want to be more mindful and thankful for what I have and to also take advantage of everything I have been given so I can become the best man I can be, to actually do it. - Gaige Ainslie, Freshman forward

Photo courtsey of Gage Ainsli

Colby Gennett from Post Falls High School drives to the basketball to finish an acrobatic lay up.

Freshman forward Gaige Ainslie said the little resources I had then once I am he has learned that your life can change back to a gym and weight room every day, completely in one day. I would be one of the hardest workers,

“This year I want to be more mindful because I knew what it was like to have and thankful for what I have and to also nothing,” Ainslie said. take advantage of everything I have been CWU’s men’s basketball team finished given so I can become the best man I can last season 17-11 falling just short of a be,” Ainslie said. playoff run. In the upcoming season head

Ainslie said everything that hap- coach Brandon Rinta says he will make pened last year has made him work sure his team is well prepared for the seaharder because he didn’t know whether son. or not he was going to be able to workout Rinta said COVID-19 has given the consecutive days at certain gyms due to coaching staff more time to look at the COVID-19 restrictions. game at a much deeper level and says the

“I thought that if I worked hard with staff is way better because of it.

GNAC member Azusa Pacific discontinues football

Sean Bessette Senior Reporter

Last month, GNAC member Azusa Pacific University (APU) ended its football program effective immediately after 55 years of competition in the NCAA and NAIA.

“You hate to see any program discontinue because it ultimately affects those student athletes, coaches and staff personnel,” CWU Director of Athletics Dennis Francois said. “For a lot of them, it’s the reason why they came to a university, whether it be athletics or academics, and when those [programs] get discontinued or dropped, it’s heartbreaking for those student athletes and coaches.”

According to an official release on athletics.apu.edu, one of the biggest reasons for the discontinuation of the program was the extensive travel necessary for APU to participate in all of their scheduled away games.

In 2019, APU had to take air travel for all six of their away games. This made APU the only DII school that had to fly for all of their away games.

With APU ending its program, a large hole opens up in CWU’s schedule. There are now only three GNAC schools with football programs, including CWU, Western Oregon and Simon Fraser.

One solution to this is a scheduling alliance between the Lone Star Conference (LSC) and the GNAC. LSC member institutions are located in the southwestern United States. enjoying it,” Gennett said. “The time

“The Lone Star Conference is definitely going to play a major part in us continuing to have a very competitive schedule and have that opportunity to push on with football at CWU,” Francois said.

This scheduling alliance means football will face schools that CWU has never faced before.

“I’ll be excited to play new teams that we haven’t faced before,” senior running back Michael Roots said.

While there is excitement for what

Michael Roots (Middle) running for a touchdown against Azusa Pacific back in 2019. the future brings, there’s also room to reminisce on some of the memorable moments between CWU and APU in recent history.

“It was a great rivalry. Every single game was a barnburner. You knew you had to bring your ‘A’ game every time you went against them,” Fisk said.

The most recent matchup between CWU and APU resulted in a 27-24 victory for the Wildcats on Nov. 2, 2019. Roots rushed for 196 yards on 22 attempts and

Photo courtsey of CWU atheletics

one TD on the evening.

Before discontinuing the program, APU won four division championships during their eight years in the GNAC, including a shared championship with CWU in 2018.

“It’s a blow to DII football on the west coast. We feel terrible for the players and the coaching staff of that program,” Fisk said. “Azusa had quality people surrounding their program and we had a mutual respect for one another.”

Rey Green Sports Editor

The quarantine theme for members of the women’s basketball team was a lot of self love and self care. Being isolated produced productivity and time was not wasted. Every moment alone was valued and taken advantage of.

Senior forward Kassidy Malcolm said she developed new hobbies since basketball was taken away from her.

“In the springtime, during quarantine I started focusing on yoga,” said Malcolm. “I did yoga in the past but [quarantine] gave me more time to actually do it.”

Malcolm said that it was the perfect time to implement yoga into her life because it allowed her to focus on relaxation and things within the practice.

“I go to Indigo Yoga here in town but since it closed down, the instructor would still do Zoom classes,” Malcolm said. “Instead of doing it in a class, everyone got to do it at home.”

Another hobby Malcolm started was journaling during her free time.

“At first I was actually journaling about [COVID-19], because this is crazy,” Malcolm said. “I was doing a timeline, writing down everyday what’s going on today, number of cases and things like that.”

Malcolm said later on in the year she would write down what she is grateful for like her health and her family’s health. She said the whole experience has been eye opening.

“Life is precious, [I’ve learned] how quickly it can be taken away from you,” Malcolm said.

The third hobby that Malcolm got into was hiking on trails with her sister.

“I got to hike at Colchuck, Lake Serene, Pete Lake and Yosemite and they looked amazing,” Malcolm said.

New transfer student and senior guard Kizzah Maltezo said she used her time wisely and decided to work on her mental health, personal health and developing a better nutrition plan.

“During this whole quarantine I honed in to taking care of myself first,” said Maltezo. “I was sitting there by myself and realized that I need to take care of me.”

Maltezo said she’s not ashamed to acknowledge that she has been struggling.

“I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety as a student athlete for a while now, probably for more than two years,” Maltezo said. “2020 was very hard on my mental health but thankfully quarantine was a blessing in disguise. I had the time to practice healthy mental health habits.”

Maltezo said she likes to stay fit and it was definitely hard without basketball practice and workouts. She would work out everyday at the same time so she would have her own set schedule.

“That was my personal growth, I’ve never had to make my own schedule because I’ve always had people tell me what to do,” Maltezo said.

Maltezo said she also struggled with eating frequently because she was always on the go and just never had the time. She said she then started to develop her own nutrition plan.

“I used to only eat once a day, but now I make sure I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack,” Maltezo said.

Maltezo said she now enjoys cooking and has been cooking for herself during quarantine.

“My favorite meal to make is dinner, I’m definitely a dinner person,” Maltezo said. “My favorite dish to make is some roasted veggies, quinoa and a steak.”

The women’s basketball team finished 19-11 after making it to the GNAC tournament. Head coach Randi Richardson-Thornley will lead the Wildcats and have them prepared for the upcoming season.

Doing yoga while on a hike in the PNWPhotograph Courtesy of Kassidy Malcolm