Members of the mens basketball team celebrate after beating No. 4 Drury University 60-47.

BRIA CREEDEN | NW MISSOURIAN

MISSOURIAN
SPORTS

BEARCATS BASKETBALL
Follow @NWMSports for full coverage
when Northwest mens and womens
basketball take on Pitt State Saturday.

Complete coverage of Bearcats and Spoofhounds athletics

Thursday |December 4, 2014

It runs in the family

Cunningham races in national

championships Saturday
PATRICK WOOD
Missourian Reporter | @The Missourian

quote by American author

Jim Rohn embodies a certain
Northwest cross country runner who started running as a young
boy.
Motivation is what gets you
started. Habit is what keeps you
going. Motivation is what gets
you started. Habit is what keeps
you going.
Wick Cunningham began running track when he was just five years
old. In fourth grade, he began running
cross country, a sport he excels at still
midway through his sophomore year.
Fifteen years later, Cunningham
has an opportunity to perform on the
national stage at the 2014 NCAA Division II Mens Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.
Cunningham began competing
in Hersheys Track and Field Games
a national youth track and field program at a young age, but he says his
biggest motivation to run was watching his parents do it.
Both my parents ran in college, Cunningham said. My mom
would take me out to the track so she
could run and I always remember just
wanting to run.
Wick Cunninghams mother,
Christina Cunningham, was an AllAmerican at Simpson College in
Indianola, Iowa. His father, Joe Cunningham, was a national qualifier in
track with Christina Cunningham.
Theres always a chance to do
something great in cross country,
Wick Cunningham said. You always
have to push the limits of your body.
Wick Cunningham said it helped
him stick with it because he was
competitive from the beginning.
In an earlier interview with his
coach Scott Lorek, he made it clear
that the sophomore standout is an
outstanding runner.
I have no idea what his potential
is, Lorek said. We are nowhere near
meeting his potential.

SEE WICK | A9

SUBMITTED PHOTO I WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY

Northwest sophomore Wick Cunningham (264) edges out Nebraska Kearneys sophomore Jahn Landrigan (229) at the Central Regional Championships Nov. 22.

Bearcats begin conference play

Long live
the 2014
senior class

TYLER BROWN
Sports Editor | @TyMan4_

The Northwest mens basketball

team was forced to put last seasons
conference championship title and
16-3 conference record in its rearview mirror after losing five seniors
from last seasons team.
The Bearcats (5-1) started conference play last night against Emporia State (4-2) and travel to Pittsburg
State (2-4) Saturday to face a struggling Gorillas team.
This years Bearcats consists of
two seniors and two freshmen playing prominent roles. Seniors Grant
Cozad and Matt Wallace say freshmen Brett Dougherty and Justin Pitts,
and the rest of the team, will be fine
heading into the grueling competition
the MIAA conference brings.
I feel we want to keep the young
guys obviously level headed, Cozad
said. We dont want to get too high,
get too low after losses, obviously.
With a young team, that can kind of
happen. You get too high, and you get
too big of confidence and everything
goes downhill.
With our two roles, we want to
keep a not-satisfied attitude. We did
just beat Drury, but we got a whole
season ahead of us and all of conference play. Anything can happen on
the road in the MIAA.
The Bearcats are fresh off an
impressive early-season statement
win against a top-five team in Drury
Nov. 25. Pitts and Dougherty were
the leading scorers that night with
17 and 13 points, respectively. With
Northwest receiving consistent
play from its seniors, and even its
freshmen, they are confident going
into conference play.
As of last year, we had our doubts
on how we were going to reload and
replace the five seniors that took up a
lot of the minutes, Cozad said. Then
again, the strategy we use we redshirt, weve been redshirting a lot
of guys, and those guys have gotten
into the system, and know what were
about and what the culture is From
an experience point, that redshirting

2014
All - MEC
Football
Selections
First Team
OL - Jacob Cacek
OL - Brendan Weybrew
FB - Brody McMahon
RB - Dakota Beemer
DL - Jacob Cacek
DL - Dustin Piper
LB - Trever Zimmerman
DB- Brody McMahon

Second Team
OL - Nate Colwell
LB - Tyler Coleman
DB - Payden Dawson

BRIA CREEDEN | NW MISSOURIAN

Senior guard Mathew Wallace shoots a fade-away jumper against Rockhurst Nov.
22. Northwest went on to defeat Rockhurst 82-58.

helps us. It helps us reload and take

up those seniors that left.
After the big win against Drury,
the Bearcats defeated Graceland 9165 last Saturday. Despite winning by
26 points, head coach Ben McCollum
was disappointed in his teams performance. The Bearcats were tied up

www.nwmissourinews.com

with the NAIA team with just more

than five minutes to go in the first
half. Wallace says Northwest can not
afford to not show up like that in a
conference game.

Honorable
Mention
QB - Trey Oglesby
RB - Payden Dawson
OS - Dakota Beemer
DL - Hayden Taylor

SEE MIAA | A9
@NWMSports

TYLER BROWN
Sports Editor

Northwests football season,

where it sought out a back-to-back
national championship, came to an
abrupt end days before Thanksgiving break when Minnesota-Duluth
erased a 15-point Bearcat lead.
The Bulldogs scored 19 unanswered fourth-quarter points, capped
off with a touchdown with 26 seconds
remaining in the game.
The heartbreaking ending now
leaves Northwest fans wondering
what is in store for their team next
season. The future is questionable because there is one thing do know. The
Bearcats are losing one of their best
senior classes in school history.
They are graduating 21 seniors;
to put that into perspective, the junior
class carried 13 athletes on its home
roster this season.
Fourteen of those very seniors
earned All-MIAA honors in 2014.
There are more all-conference seniors than there are juniors on the
team. The Bearcats are losing quantity, along with quality.
As much as I would love to dive
into all the impact seniors, its simply
impossible. It would take up the entire publication.
Since one could talk all day
about each individual player on the
Bearcats defense, focus on the defensive front 7 for starters. Of those
seven, six are seniors and five are allconference players. Between those six
seniors, Northwest will have to replace 251 tackles and 17.5 sacks.

SEE SENIORS | A9
Northwest Missourian

EXTRA POINT

Thursday | December 4, 2014

nwmissourinews.com

SENIORS

and second-teamer Cole Chevalier

helped lead the Bearcats rushing attack to average 229 yards per game.
The future looks bright for the
running back position, but they will
be losing this seasons leading rusher, Robert Burton III. The California
product led the team with nine rushing touchdowns and 695 yards in
2014.
After putting up nearly 200 yards
receiving in the first two games of
the season, Bryce Young went down
with an ankle injury against Missouri
Southern Sept. 11, and he never really
returned to full strength. Between returning punts and making Wes Welker-like plays, the Bearcats will miss
his high-energy leadership and skills.
Northwest will also lose two other All-MIAA wide receivers in Jason
Jozaites and Korey Jackson. The duo
combined for 77 receptions and 939
yards combined. The combination
placed one and two in virtually all receiving statistics.
Call myself or head coach Adam
Dorrel crazy, but you cant brag
enough about punter Kyle Goodburn.
He consistently pinned offenses inside the 20, with 69 career punts
doing so. Hes another former AllAmerican that will be sorely missed.
Ive mentioned 12 athletes and I
barely scratched the surface. I hope
to see a few of them playing Sundays
because I cant get enough of them.
In the words of Dorrel, If you look
from start to finish, the legacy this
senior class has left, theyve left a very
strong legacy at Northwest Missouri
State and were very proud of them.

CONTINUED FROM A12

These guys were the heart and soul of
a defense that allowed only 70 yards
rushing per game.
They are headlined by the twotime MIAA Defensive Player of the
Year, defensive end Matt Longacre.
What they are losing in Longacre is
30.5 career sacks and four years of
contribution, not to mention the 2013
National Defensive Player of the Year.
Then comes the young men that
roam the second level of the defense,
Eric Reimer and DJ Gnader. They both
fly around like killer bees and it seems
like either of them are in on every
tackle. Gnader led the team in tackles
as a freshman and never looked back.
Reimer will leave the Bearcats with 29
career tackles for a loss. The two were
both 2013 First Team All-Americans.
The defensive backfield departures are highlighted by Travis Manning and Jared Fox. Manning had a
memorable moment against Lindenwood Oct. 11, when he returned a
pick-six near his hometown in the St.
Louis area. He exits his career racking
up eight interceptions, 187 tackles,
four years of starting and all-conference honors.
While the Bearcats did not get the
results they wanted Oct. 18, against
Pitt State, Fox will be remembered for
his three picks that game, as well as
his weekly hammer hits.
Its hard finding statistics on offensive linemen, but unanimous first
team All-MIAA selection CJ Keeney

WICK

CONTINUED FROM A12

BRIA CREEDEN | NW MISSOURIAN

Freshman guard Justin Pitts drives to the hoop for a one-handed layup Nov. 25. Northwest defeated No. 4 Drury 60-47.

MIAA

CONTINUED FROM A12

If we start out slow like that, its
not going to be a dead even score,
Wallace said. Were going to be down
by 15 instead of even with them. I
think thats got to be in our head when
were getting warmed up and everything. We cant keep taking (them)
for granted for their level or record or
anything like that.
McCollum said his team looked
asleep throughout the Graceland and
credited that to coming off the big
time Drury win.
Regardless of why, you cant

have those slip ups, McCollum said.

You got to be ready for practice, you
got to be ready for games, you got
to be ready every single day so that
when it comes postseason, you have
confidence in the fact that youre
going to be ready. Because if you
have one slip up in postseason, youre
done. Thats what youre preparing
for, for postseason.
I think you probably get more
out of that game not playing well than
you did if you won by 50. You can say
OK youre not that good. If you play
well, you play with energy, you are
good. You can beat the No. 4 team. If
you play with a lack of energy, you can
lose to an NAIA team.
Coming into the Emporia State

game, Northwest had won its last five

games, scoring more than 80 points
per game and shooting a combined
49 percent from the field. Wallace
recognized the teams early success
but wanted to send a message to the
underclassmen that MIAA play is a
different animal.
Some of the first games we
played were against NAIA teams,
Wallace said. I dont want to say they
were easy, some of them were bigger
wins than others and they could be
nervous. Its like going into postseason games. Its a lot faster. Its a lot
more physical and stuff like that so
that could be different for them. But I
think after the first five, ten minutes
well be fine.

Weekend Seafood
Night $9.75

NW MENS BASKETBALL
MIAA STANDINGS

Lunch $6.65
Dinner $7.95
Northwest Students and
Senior Citizen get 10% off
Except seafood night

Happy Hour
Monday - Friday: 3-6pm
Wednesday: 3-Close

130 N Depot St.

Maryville
(660) 582-5676

Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-11pm

Carry-out Available
Daily Lunch Specials Available!

TEXTBOOK SERVICES
Dont forget to turn your books in during finals week
in the lower level of the station!

Finals Week Hours

Dec 8TH - Dec 12TH

Monday, 8TH

8am - 5pm

Tuesday, 9TH

8am - 5pm

Wednesday, 10TH 8am - 5pm

Thursday, 11TH
Friday, 12TH

8am - 7pm
8am - 5pm

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SPONSORED BY NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

Friday & Saturday

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964 A Main Maryville MO

660-582-2997

Lorek expects Wick Cunningham to

be one of the best runners on the track
team coming into the season. He said
that Wick Cunningham is really a
student of the sport one who he can
even discuss training ideas with.
He is so dedicated and committed to the sport, Lorek said. Hes
smart about training and he knows
his body. Thats a trait you usually
only see in older runners.
Wick Cunningham has enjoyed
his time at Northwest so far because
of the amount of support he gets from
everyone in town and on campus. He
also enjoys how his team has become
a family and is looking forward to taking more than just one runner to nationals in the future.
When asked about some of his
fondest memories, Wick Cunningham smiled and started to reminisce
of his first meet.
I dont know how I remember
what time I got, Wick Cunningham
said. At that age I had no idea what
the time meant but for some reason I
remember it really well.
Wick Cunningham won his first
meet at the age of nine. He ran the 3K
course in just 12:36.

Overall

No. 6 Central Missouri..........7-0

NORTHWEST........................5-1
Central Oklahoma.................7-2
Emporia State......................4-2
Fort Hays St........................4-2
Lindenwood.........................4-2
Nebraska-Keareny.................2-1
Missouri Southern................5-3
Missouri Western.................3-3
Pittsburg St.........................3-4
Southwest Baptist................3-4
Washburn...........................3-5
Lincoln...............................3-6
Northeastern St...................1-5

MIAA

0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0

Dec. 6

Through his short college career,

Wick Cunningham says his favorite
memory was the conference meet
and the great team effort that everyone put forth.
With his relaxed demeanor outside of races, it is ironic that the game
plan for nationals for Wick Cunningham is to get after it.
Wick has established himself as
a gutsy runner, Lorek said. Hes going to go out there and put it on the
line. He wont be afraid or timid, because thats not who he is.
Lorek emphasized that they will
not have a plan in place that involves
Wick Cunningham holding anything
back. Lorek made it clear that he will
be getting after it and hopefully will
reach a top 40 spot, which will result
in All-American status.
Its going to be cool to go to a
new course, Wick Cunningham said.
I dont want to race for anything less
than 40th. Im going to put myself in
position to be an All-American.
Wick Cunningham will race Saturday, Dec. 6, in Louisville, Kentucky.
If history and family ties tells us anything, Wick Cunningham has it in
him to perform like an All-American
this weekend.

NW WOMENS BASKETBALL
MIAA STANDINGS

Overall

No. 7 Washburn...................6-0
Missouri Southern.................6-0
No. 1 Emporia St..................5-0
Lindenwood.........................5-0
No. 8 Pittsburg St.................8-1
Fort Hays St.........................5-1
Missouri Western..................5-1
No. 21Central Missouri..........5-1
Lincoln................................4-1
Central Oklahoma.................6-2
Southwest Baptist.................3-2
Nebraska-Kearney..................3-3
NORTHWEST.........................3-4
Northeastern St.....................2-3
NORTHWEST at Pittsburg St.

Iowa Wesleyan at NORTHWEST

NORTHWEST at Quincy

Missouri Valley at NORTHWEST

Fort Hays St. at NORTHWEST

Dec. 16

Dec. 13

Dec. 17

Dec. 20

MEC STANDINGS

Overall

MIAA

Lafayette............................1-0
Smithville...........................1-0
Benton...............................1-1
Chillicothe...........................1-1
Cameron.............................0-0
Bishop LeBlond....................0-1
Savannah............................0-1
MARYVILLE..........................0-1

1-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-1

Dec. 9

Clarinda at MARYVILLE

Dec. 12

MARYVILLE at Benton

Dec. 15

MARYVILE at East Buchanan

Dec. 16

MARYVILLE at South Harrison

MIAA

0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0

Dec.6

NORTHWEST at Pittsburg St.

MHS BOYS BASKETBALL

A9

MHS GIRLS BASKETBALL

MEC STANDINGS

Overall

Chillicothe...........................1-0
Benton...............................1-0
Bishop LeBlond....................1-0
Cameron.............................1-0
Smithville............................1-1
Savannah............................0-0
Lafayette.............................0-1
MARYVILLE..........................0-1

Dec. 9

MARYVILLE at Clarinda

Dec. 15

East Buchanan at MARYVILLE

Dec. 16

MARYVILLE at South Harrison

Dec. 18

Jefferson at MARYVILLE

MIAA

0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0