William Penn #4 Story of the 2013-2014 Year
William Penn University Athletics
Alabama’s classic tune ‘Song of the South’ really hit home for the navy and gold this year as WPU’s announcement to join a new conference comes in as the #4 story from 2013-2014.
At the turn of the century, William Penn made likely the biggest move in its athletics history by leaving NCAA Division III for the NAIA and the Midwest Collegiate Conference/Mid-States Football Association. Only time will tell how big next fall’s switch to the Heart of Athletic Conference will be, but many project and hope it to take WPU to an even higher level.
On January 10, the Statesmen made it official that their decade-plus relationships with the MCC and MSFA were over and that the school would start competing in the HAAC in the fall of 2015. Already with ten schools in its current membership, the addition of William Penn and rival and current MCC institution Grand View will give the HAAC a solid 12-school league which should allow nearly every sport to have two automatic berths to nationals.
A major gain from the transition will be that trips to frigid winter La Crosse, Wis. will be replaced by drives to balmy Springfield, Mo. Also, WPU will now not battle the metropolises of Cedar Rapids and Davenport for players, but instead fellow small communities like Lamoni and Fayette and Canton, Mo. and Peru, Neb. as many of the towns that host HAAC schools are on the quainter side.
While Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Mo. is a wonderful venue for nationals, the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championships are held at the gigantic 10,000-seat Kansas City Municipal Auditorium, and the HAAC hosts the event, therefore giving the conference three automatic berths.
Sadly, in-state rivalries versus the Fighting Bees and Mustangs will likely go by the wayside, but, according to most, the incredible amount of positives easily outweigh the negatives.
The new HAAC will have the following members:
–Avila University in Kansas City, Mo.
–Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan.
–Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan.
–Central Methodist in Fayette, Mo.
–Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo.
–Evangel University in Springfield, Mo.
–Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa
–Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa
–MidAmerica Nazarene in Olathe, Kan.
–Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Mo.
–Peru State College in Peru, Neb.
–William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa
The original story can be found at http://www.statesmenathletics.com/article/4950.php
#4 Performance of the 2013-2014 Year
The red marker was pulled out for the first time in William Penn women’s golf history for the #4 performance of 2013-2014.
Junior Maggie Yang matched her own school record from a week earlier with a 72, but what made her 72 on September 16 so special was that it was actually lower than the par for that day of 73. She used one less stroke than was expected for expert play on the second day at the Nebraska Wesleyan Invitational, pacing her to a bronze finish overall. A first-day effort of 79 also helped Yang to tie her own 36-hole record.
Yang’s performance guided the Statesmen to second place in the team standings, but equally as important, a new 18-hole team record of 307.
The original story can be found at http://www.statesmenathletics.com/article/4731.php
