Men's Cross Country Team Wins NCCAA National Title; Women Finish Runner-Up

     The Malone College men's cross country team, ranked #1 in the NAIA, captured the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) national championship in Yellow Springs, Ohio last Saturday among a 22-team field while the Malone women's team finished runner-up among 24 teams.
     The Malone men, which rested a number of their top runners, tallied 30 points to easily outdistance runner-up Indiana Wesleyan University, which had 63 points.  MidAmerica Nazarene (KS) University took third (91), Cedarville University was fourth (97) and Dallas Baptist (TX) University rounded out the top five (155).
     The Pioneer women's team, ranked fifth in the NAIA, earned its runner-up national finish by posting 61 points as Cedarville University took the women's national title with 29 points.  Indiana Wesleyan was third (94), Dallas Baptist came in fourth (125) and MidAmerica Nazarene rounded out the top five (132).
     For the men's team, Chris Sinick (So., Field H.S.) led the way by finishing third overall in a time of 25:27.72 while Mike Coates (Sr., Sandy Valley H.S.) was right behind in fourth (25:32.67).  Others who scored for Malone included James Zeuch (Fr., Galion H.S.) in sixth (25:38.85), Justin Baum (Sr., Kenston H.S.) in eighth (25:44.34) and Matt Nichols (Fr., Crestwood H.S.) in 15th (26:15.67).  By virtue of their top-15 finishes, all five of these athletes earned NCCAA All-America honors.  In addition, Malone head coach Jack Hazen was named the NCCAA National Men' s Coach of the Year.
     Also competing for the men's team were Dan McCracken (So., Anna H.S.) in 25th (26:38.16) and Kyle Randolph (Fr., Galion H.S.) in 28th (26:44.92).
     NCCAA Scholar Athletes (those who earned at least a 3.40 cumulative GPA), were named at the meet and those earned the distinction for the men were Keith Burns (Jr., Minerva H.S.), Mike Coates, Jon Easterling (Jr., Ashtabula H.S.), Nik Schweikert (Jr., Beavercreek H.S.) and Joe Siebert (Jr., Sandy Valley H.S.).
     For the women's team, Rebekah Genter (Jr., Crestview H.S.) paced the squad with a seventh-place overall finish in a time of 18:32.28.  Kalie Hauenstein (So., Ashland H.S.) was close behind in 10th place (18:43.52).  Others who scored for the team included Sarah Hines (So., Northmor H.S.) in 12th (18:47.02), Emily Grad (Fr., Field H.S.) in 15th (19:00.24) and Kristin Downing (Fr., Lake H.S.) in 17th (19:08.88).  Genter, Hauenstein, Hines and Grad were all named NCCAA All-Americans by virtue of their top-15 finishes.
     Also competing for the women's team were Lindsey Pihfer (Fr., Colonel Crawford H.S.) in 30th (19:41.22) and Gabrielle Wuensch (Fr., New London H.S.) in 42nd (20:00.34).
     NCCAA Scholar Athletes for the women included Katie Bagley (Jr., Van Wert H.S.) and Rebekah Genter.
     This week, the Malone teams will compete at the NAIA National Championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  The men's race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (CST) and the women's race is set for 11:45 a.m. (CST).   

Volleyball Claims Runner-Up Finish At AMC/NAIA Region IX Tournament

     The Malone College volleyball team advanced to the championship match of the American Mideast Conference/NAIA Region IX Tournament over the weekend where they dropped a hard-fought contest to tournament host Mount Vernon Nazarene University by the final scores of 31-33, 20-30, 30-26, 26-30.  With the victory, the Cougars captured their first region title and received an automatic berth in the upcoming NAIA National Tournament.  The Pioneers, meanwhile, concluded their solid season with a 23-18 overall record (11-3 AMC North).
     Malone had split its pool play contests on Friday afternoon to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round as the squad defeated Point Park (PA) University 30-14, 26-30, 26-30, 30-25, 15-8 before falling to the Mount Vernon Nazarene 23-30, 26-30, 28-30.  With the top two records from their three-team pool, Malone and MVNU each earned spots in Saturday’s semifinal (Point Park was eliminated).  The Pioneers then knocked off Cedarville University 30-23, 30-18, 26-30, 30-28 to advance to Saturday evening’s final round where they once again faced off with the Cougars, losing by the three games to one margin (Mount Vernon Nazarene, ranked 13th in the most recent NAIA national poll, had defeated Walsh University in Saturday’s other semifinal contest).  In addition to their meetings on Friday and Saturday, MVNU and Malone had faced off on three different occasions during the 2007 regular season with the Cougars coming out on top in each of those previous matches.
     Against Point Park on Friday, Jennifer Gahagan (Fr., Ravenna Southeast H.S.) hammered a season-high 21 kills in addition to scooping up 13 digs and registering six blocks (two solo).  Erica Gann (So., Meadowbrook H.S.) added 15 kills and seven blocks (three solo), Lori Ickes (Fr., Smithville H.S.) posted nine kills and 14 digs, while Kristen Schoolcraft (So., McKinley H.S.) tallied seven kills and ten blocks (five solo).  Other important contributors in the five-game triumph included Emily Beiting (Fr., Fort Thomas, KY) with six kills, 13 digs, and two service aces and Alyssa Dibell (So., Fairless H.S.) with 51 assists.
     In Friday’s pool play match with Mount Vernon Nazarene, Ickes, Gahagan, and Gann each shared the team lead in kills with nine apiece.  Ickes also recorded 13 digs and two service aces, Gahagan notched 11 digs, and Gann registered six blocks (one solo).  Beiting added three aces, four kills and seven digs.
     Against Cedarville in Saturday’s semifinal, Gahagan again led the way with 19 kills, 20 digs and five blocks.  Ickes tallied 14 kills and a team-high 24 digs, Beiting posted ten kills and 12 digs, while Schoolcraft drilled nine kills with nine blocks (three solo).  Dibell added 47 assists and 14 digs in the victory.
     In the championship contest with Mount Vernon Nazarene, Gahagan ripped 17 kills with 13 digs and six blocks (one solo).  Gann followed with 12 kills and six blocks (one solo) while Ickes and Schoolcraft each registered nine kills.  Ickes also recorded 19 digs while Schoolcraft notched seven blocks (two solo).  Bethany Thompson (Jr., Tuscarawas Central Catholic H.S.) dished out 23 assists with two services aces and Beiting totaled five kills, four blocks and nine digs in the four-game defeat.

Football Falls 31-21 In Regular Season Finale At NAIA #3 Ohio Dominican

     The Malone College football team came up just short in its upset bid at Ohio Dominican University on Saturday afternoon, falling by a final score of 31-21.  The Panthers, ranked third in the most recent NAIA national poll, entered the game with a perfect 10-0 record on the year and, despite the Pioneers’ best efforts, were able to preserve their unblemished regular season with a hard-fought, 10-point victory. 
     Malone piled up 563 total yards (134 rushing, 429 passing) in the contest while holding the high-powered Ohio Dominican offensive attack to 333 yards (88 rushing, 245 passing), marking the Panthers’ lowest total offensive output of the season.  Much like in the previous two weeks, though, the Pioneers were plagued by costly turnovers as the squad threw two interceptions and coughed up a pair of fumbles.  ODU scored touchdowns on each of its first four possessions but then was held out of the endzone over the remainder of the game as an early fourth-quarter Panther field goal accounted for the only points scored by either team in the second half of the contest.  The loss dropped NAIA #23 Malone to 7-4 overall (4-3 MSFA Mideast) on the season while Ohio Dominican improved to 11-0 (7-0 MSFA Mideast), securing its first Mid-States Football Association Mideast League Title.
     The Pioneers opened the game with a promising drive, moving the ball to the Ohio Dominican 21-yard line before a sack by Panther linebacker Josh Fraley jarred the ball from Malone quarterback Billy Bob Orsagh’s (Jr., Eastland, TX) hands.  ODU defensive lineman Nick Yanko scooped up the fumble to bring the Pioneers’ opening possession to a screeching halt.  Ohio Dominican then took the ball and quickly moved down the field as quarterback Cris Reisert capped off a nine-play, 74-yard drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Justin Sayre.  The Pioneers bounced right back on their ensuing possession, though, as running back Bernard Payton (Jr., Pomona, CA) dashed into the endzone from 23 yards out to knot the score at 7-7 with 3:41 remaining in the first quarter.
     The Panthers countered minutes later as Reisert scored on an eight-yard run to put ODU back in front 14-7.  Orsagh evened things up on the second play of the second quarter after hitting wide-out Josh Settlemire (Jr., Howland H.S.) on a 27-yard TD pass.  However, a 46-yard kickoff return by Ohio Dominican wide receiver Josh Smart set the Panthers up with a short field on their next possession.  ODU wasted little time in cashing in on this opportunity as four plays later running back Nathan Clark plunged into the endzone from a yard out to put his squad back on top 21-14.  Following Malone’s fumbled return on the ensuing kickoff, the Panthers’ seven-point lead quickly grew to 14 when Reisert connected with Smart on a five-yard touchdown pass at the 12:19 mark of the second stanza. 
     Malone trimmed the deficit to 28-21 later in the second quarter as Orsagh found wide receiver Derek Deardorff (Jr., Kenton H.S.) in the endzone on a 10-yard touchdown pass.  The momentum then seemed to swing in the visitors’ favor as Pioneer cornerback Doug Alford (Jr., St. Peter Chanel H.S.) picked off a Reisert pass attempt on the first play of Ohio Dominican’s next possession, giving the ball back to the Malone offense with over three minutes remaining in the half.  The Pioneers then slowly marched the ball down to the Panther 15-yard line, setting up a 33-yard field goal attempt with just five seconds left in the quarter.  ODU was able to block place kicker Mike Skvor’s (Jr., Long Beach, CA) try, though, preserving the seven-point halftime advantage.
     Despite 49 first-half points, the final two quarters of the game belonged to the defenses as neither team got on the scoreboard again until the 11:52 mark of the fourth stanza when Panther kicker Andy Warnickle booted a 33-yard field goal to stretch the Ohio Dominican lead to 31-21.  Malone moved the ball into ODU territory on each of its final three possessions of the contest but the squad was unable to score as the Panther defense forced an interception in the endzone, a punt, and a turnover on downs to bring an end to each of the Pioneers’ final drives.
     Orsagh completed 28 of his 43 pass attempts on the afternoon for 429 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.  The 6’0” junior set two new Malone single-season records in the contest as he has now piled up 2998 passing yards and 3036 yards of total offense this year, breaking the previous marks of 2612 passing yards and 2689 total yards of offense set by quarterback Brian Magrell during the 1998 season.
     Payton posted his seventh consecutive 100-yard performance as he carried the ball 31 times for 152 yards to go with seven catches for 75 yards and one rushing touchdown.  Payton has now gained 100 or more yards in nine of Malone’s 11 games this season.
     Deardorff pulled in eight catches for a season-high 137 yards.  With his second-quarter touchdown grab, Deardorff tied the Malone single-season record for touchdown catches with 11 (Shane Hostetler also had 11 TD receptions in 1998).  Settlemire hauled in seven catches on the day for 130 yards with one score while tight end LaRoi Johnson (Sr., Pittsburgh, PA) caught three passes for 58 yards.
     Defensively, linebacker Jamal Gambrell (Sr., Maple Heights H.S.) led the way with 10 total tackles (six solo).  Defensive back Dennis Thornton (Jr., Shaker Heights H.S.) followed with nine tackles (five solo) and one forced fumble while linebackers Justin Murphy (Sr., Minerva H.S.) and Kevin Kapostasy (Sr., Fairport H.S.) each registered eight stops.  On special teams, Tyler Parry (Jr., North Loxahatchee, FL) punted four times for 144 yards with one kick downed inside the 20-yard line.
     This week, Malone (7-4, 4-3 MSFA Mideast) will travel to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania to participate in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Victory Bowl against former conference foe Geneva College (8-2, 7-1 PAC).  The contest is slated for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Geneva’s Reeves Stadium.  This will be the second straight Victory Bowl appearance for the Pioneers as the squad fell 56-28 at NCAA Division II North Greenville (SC) University in last year’s game.  The Golden Tornadoes have taken part in four previous Victory Bowls (1998, 1999, 2002 and 2003) and notched wins in all four contests.  Malone and Geneva have a storied rivalry and met a total of 15 times before the Golden Tornadoes moved from the NAIA (and the MSFA Mideast League) to NCAA Div. III after last season.  Malone holds a slight 8-7 advantage in the all-time series and the Pioneers defeated Geneva in the most recent meeting (last season) by the score of 22-13 (at Malone).  In addition, Malone’s first-ever NAIA playoff game was against Geneva in 1995 (in the Pioneers’ third season of football), in which Malone emerged with a dramatic 24-23 last-second victory at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.
    Pioneer Notes: Malone set four new single-season team records in Saturday’s contest including passes attempted (410), passes completed (260), touchdown passes (24), and total plays (868)…Deardorff needs just 15 more yards to join Eric Miller (1027 in 1994) as the only Pioneers to tally 1000 receiving yards in a single season.

Men’s Basketball Splits Contests At Goshen (IN) Tournament

Women’s Basketball Opens Season With Pair Of Losses At Cedarville Classic

     The Malone College women’s basketball team, led by fifth-year head coach Lori Wynn, opened its 2007-2008 season over the weekend with two games at the Cedarville University Classic.  The squad began play on Friday evening with an 80-55 loss to NAIA Division II #15 Indiana Wesleyan University before suffering an 84-56 defeat to host Cedarville on Saturday afternoon.
     In Friday’s opener with IWU, the Wildcats used a 13-0 run over the final 3:48 of the first half to take a 37-17 lead at intermission.  Malone was able to trim the deficit to 12 points at 56-44 midway through the second stanza before Indiana Wesleyan pulled away for the 80-55 win.  The Wildcats, who last year won the NAIA Division II national title with a perfect 38-0 record, picked up right where they left off last season as the squad shot over 58% (34-58) from the field and held a 34-25 advantage in total rebounds.  Freshman guard Ashley Speicher (Plymouth H.S.) came off the bench to lead Malone in scoring with ten points.  Senior guard Heather Fenner (Shelby H.S.) followed with nine points, all coming on three-point baskets.  Guards Katie Murphy (Jr., St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.), Kellyn Murphy (Sr., St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.), and Bree Zehnder (So., Garaway H.S.) each added eight points apiece with Katie Murphy also pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.
     Against Cedarville in Saturday’s finale, the Yellow Jackets used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to open up a 30-13 advantage.  The hosts then pushed their lead to 47-25 at halftime and maintained a 20-point advantage throughout the second stanza en route to the 84-56 final.  Cedarville controlled the paint as they out-rebounded the Pioneers by a 51-26 margin.  The Yellow Jackets committed 25 turnovers in the contest but knocked down 29 of 54 (57.1%) shots from the field, including 10 of 15 (66.7%) three-pointers.  Kellyn Murphy paced Malone with a game-high 17 points.  Fenner followed with nine points while sophomore guard Amanda Bryan (Carrollton H.S.) tossed in eight points.  Fenner was named to the All-Tournament Team at the event after knocking down six of 11 three-point attempts in the two contests.
     This week, Malone (0-2, 0-0 AMC North) will travel to Urbana University (2-0, 0-0 AMC South) on Tuesday evening for a 5:30 p.m. game with the Blue Knights.  The squad will then return home on Friday and Saturday to host the Canton Comfort Inn Tip-Off Classic with an opening night contest scheduled against Missouri Baptist University (1-1, 0-0 American Midwest) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday followed by a 7:30 p.m. match-up that will feature Indiana Wesleyan University (3-0, 0-0 MCC) against Roberts Wesleyan (NY) College (0-0, 0-0 AMC North).  On Saturday, Roberts Wesleyan will play Missouri Baptist at 2:00 p.m. and Malone will face IWU at 4:00 p.m.