MBU Athletics Top Moments of 2019-20

3/23/2020 7:30:00 PM

We stacked up the 32 best moments of 2019-20 and we're putting them head to head until only 1 remains ... and YOU get to decide who wins!

VOTING SCHEDULE
All Polls will be open for 12 Hours (11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.)

Round of 32 Matchups: March 24 - April 17
Round of 16 Matchups: April 21 - May 1
Quarterfinal Matchups: May 5 - May 8
Semifinal Matchups: May 12 - May 13
Championship: Thursday, May 14

HOW TO VOTE
Votes will be added up for each matchup from the four (4) platforms below:

MBU Athletics on Twitter: @MBUAthletics
MBU Athletics on Facebook: /MBUAthletics
MBU Athletics on Instagram: /mbu_athletics
MBU Spartans App: Apple Store / Google Play

KING BECOMES FIRST SPARTAN TO HIT 1,000 YARDS RECEIVING
MBU Football ended its season on Nov. 16 with a senior day sendoff that saw Isaiah King become the first wide receiver in school history to collect 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. King landed right on the 1,000-yard milestone with less than two minutes remaining in the season finale and recorded one more reception for safe measures to finish the season with 1,011 receiving yards. King ended his four-year career as the Spartans’ all-time leader in receptions (166), receiving yards (3,199) and touchdowns (31).

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ROLLINS EXCELS IN BREAKOUT FRESHMAN SEASON
Women’s Wrestling freshman Aliyah Rollins built quite the resume in 2019-20 including a title in her collegiate debut at the Dr. Bob Kellogg Highlander Tournament and a quarterfinal appearance at the USA Wrestling Senior Nationals meet in the first half of the season. After Winter Break, Rollins added a fifth-place finish and All-American honors at WCWA Nationals and a Sooner Athletic Conference title to the list. Rollins, who made her way up to No. 4 in the NAIA Individual rankings, outscored her opponents 52-6 at the inaugural SAC Championships on Feb. 29.

BAYER MAKES NAIA NATIONALS FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
Since 2014, MBU has sent at least one student-athlete to the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships each year and 2019 was no different. Sophomore Emily Bayer earned her consecutive individual bid after a seventh-place finish at the AMC Championships in November. The All-Conference selection concluded her sophomore season finishing near the top half of the National Championship field in Vancouver, Wash. (192nd).

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HOME RUNS SPARK COMEBACK WIN OVER (RV) ST. FRANCIS
Missouri Baptist Softball took down University of St. Francis (Ill.), who was receiving votes, in Game One of the home-opening doubleheader. Senior Jordan Corby delivered a game-tying solo homer in the third inning – her sixth career HR – before senior Caitlin McNiff broke a 1-1 tie with an opposite-field solo shot for the eventual gamewinning run.

ROBINSON BECOMES ALL-TIME ASSISTS LEADER
Senior Jahmouri Robinson became the all-time assists leader for Missouri Baptist Men’s Basketball finishing his four-year career with 422 assists. Robinson broke the record at home against No. 19-ranked Lindsey Wilson surpassing Will Harrington’s career mark of 367 assists. The All-AMC Second Team selection led the team in scoring (15.2 ppg), assists (3.5 apg) and 3-point field goal % (.397) in his final season at MBU.

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BASEBALL GETS AMC SWEEP OVER WILLIAM WOODS
Missouri Baptist Baseball polished off a three-game sweep of William Woods University at the end of February with convincing 5-1 and 11-3 victories at CarShield Field. The Spartans improved to 4-2 in conference with lights out pitching, fireworks from the plate and strong performance defensively.

FERGUSON, MOONEYHAM, TEAM REWRITE THE RECORD BOOKS
Women’s Golf had a historic day at the Crossroads of America Invite in Wentzville, Mo. in late September. Senior Carly Ferguson won the individual title with an MBU 36-hole record of 148, while becoming just the third player in school history to record multiple tournament victories. Fellow senior Macey Mooneyham posted a second-round 72 to tie the lowest single round in MBU Women’s Golf history, a number that had been untouched since 2007. And as a team, the Spartans set a new 36-hole tournament record with a two-day total of 653.

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ESPORTS QUALIFIES FOR CSL LEAGUE OF LEGENDS PLAYOFFS
For the first time in school history, the Spartans’ League of Legends team made the Collegiate Star League (CSL) playoffs after defeating Park University in early February. Not only did the team of Jeremy Gang, Evan Stoll, Ian Clark, Ryan Wilson, Nate Rinker and Andrew Burch punched their ticket to the playoffs, but they also extended their winning streak to nine games.

HARDY KNOCKS DOWN LATE THREE TO DEFEAT HSSU AT HOME
In a 96-91 slugfest between Missouri Baptist Men’s Basketball and (RV) Harris-Stowe State on Dec. 21, sophomore Brendon Hardy hit one of the biggest 3-pointers of his career with just 18 seconds remaining. With the eventual AMC Tournament champions applying full court pressure, MBU’s John Yaeger found Hardy with an open look in the corner and the sophomore buried the triple to break a 91-91 tie and send a packed Petty SRC into pandemonium. This game marked one of four wins for the Spartans over an opponent ranked in the Top 25 or receiving votes.

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CRISTIANI, WILSON WIN BEACH VOLLEYBALL MATCH AT NEBRASKA
For the first time since the start of the MBU women’s beach volleyball program in 2016, the Spartans took a match from NCAA volleyball powerhouse University of Nebraska-Lincoln. MBU’s No. 4 pair of Sophia Cristiani and Sarah Wilson spoiled the Huskers’ chance at a clean sweep by taking down Nebraska’s Nicole Drewnick and Riley Zuhn in straight sets, 21-17, 21-18. The dynamic duo finished the shortened season with a .909 winning % at 10-1 overall.

MCCRARY LOADS UP ON INDOOR TRACK & FIELD AWARDS
Senior Megan McCrary stockpiled the awards this winter starting with the three AMC Field Athlete of the Week awards. In February at the AMC Indoor Track & Field Championships, McCrary was named Athlete of the Meet after a pair of first-place finishes in the triple jump and 60m hurdles as well as top-four finishes in the 4x400m relay (2nd), long jump (3rd), and 800m run (4th). McCrary concluded the indoor season with an All-American performance in the triple jump (8th) and an appearance in the pentathlon at the NAIA National Championships in Brookings, S.D.

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CRAWFORD ACHIEVES ALL-AMERICAN STATUS ONCE AGAIN
Track & Field sophomore Jordan Crawford was the first of three Spartans to earn All-American honors at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships finishing fifth overall in the 3000m race walk with an indoor PR of 12:53.56. The race walk standout from Douglasville, Ga. earned All-American status for the second time in his indoor career and third time overall.

BRAUNGARDT EARNS ALL-AMERICAN HONORS AT NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
For just the fifth time in program history, an MBU men’s wrestler recorded a top-three finish at Nationals. 197-pounder Owen Braungardt finished off a memorable freshman season in Park City, Kan. with five wins over Top 12 seeds and his only loss coming to eventual national champion Evan Hansen of Grand View. With the highest finish for a Spartan since 2013, Braungardt finished the season with an overall record of 16-2.

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LIGHTFOOT SHINES IN COLLEGIATE DEBUT
Freshman Felicia Lightfoot kicked off the Glenn Carlson Las Vegas Invitational in December with a third-place finish in the 900 LV Challenge, making it to the eight-person, single-elimination bracket from a field of 267. Lightfoot also led the Spartans in the main event with a 187.11 average and 34th-place finish out of 181.

SALEH BECOMES TWO-TIME NAIA TRACK & FIELD ALL-AMERICAN
After narrowly missing All-American status in the long jump as a freshman at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, sophomore Maegan Saleh successfully checked that box at February’s Indoor Championships in Brookings, S.D., taking third place with a mark of 5.79 meters. Earning All-American honors at the 2019 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, Saleh is now a two-time All-American (1 indoor, 1 outdoor) as well as an Egypt National Champion.

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VASTLY IMPROVED MBU CHEER PLACES SECOND AT REGIONALS
MBU’s competitive cheer squad hit its stride at just the right time. Following a slow start to the season with scores as low as 56 and 63 in their first two competitions, the Spartans registered back-to-back events with final scores in the 80s. At the NAIA Southwest Regional Qualifier on Feb. 29, MBU challenged perennial powerhouse Oklahoma City University and finished as the regional runner-up with a final score of 80.16.

ALLSTUN SETS SINGLE-GAME REBOUND RECORD VS. CBC
On Jan. 23, MBU Women’s Basketball defeated Central Baptist by a score of 70-47 and one of the many impressive performances from the game came from freshman center Alexis Allstun, who broke the individual mark for rebounds in a single game. Allstun cleaned up the glass all night pulling down 20 rebounds and surpassing her previous career high by five. On the year, Allstun finished with eight 10+ rebound games.

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HARMAN NAMED NAIA SETTER OF THE WEEK
Men’s Volleyball senior Jason Harman was selected as NAIA National Setter of the Week on Feb. 4 following three strong performances at the Grand View University Molten Invitational. The Spartans went 3-0 on the weekend while Harman averaged 12.00 assists per set. The highlight of the weekend was Harman’s 59 assists and 9 digs against No. 9 Aquinas, avenging MBU’s loss to the Saints in the NAIA National semifinals last season. This was Harman’s first career NAIA Setter of the Week award.

SPARTAN LINE RECEIVES AT-LARGE BID FOR NAIA DANCE NATIONALS
Rocking a score of 84.48 and a runner-up finish at the NAIA Southwest Qualifier in Oklahoma City, MBU Spartan Line did enough to receive on of seven at-large bids for the NAIA Competitive Dance National Championships. At-large bids for the 12-team field were awarded to teams that did not receive an automatic bid with the highest year-end scores calculated by taking 40% of the team’s season scoring average plus 60% of the team’s qualifying score. Missouri Baptist was making its second championship appearance prior to cancelation.

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WOMEN’S LACROSSE CRUSHES CULVER-STOCKTON IN KCAC DEBUT
The Women's Lacrosse team overpowered first-year program Culver-Stockton College in every facet of the game on March 12 defeating the Wildcats, 18-1. Not only did the Spartans put on a clinic offensively with four players recording hat tricks, but they also flexed their muscles on defense forcing 19 turnovers and limiting the visitors to five shots. It marked the fewest goals allowed by the Spartans since 2015 and just the fourth time in 11 seasons that MBU has held its opponent to one goal or fewer.

SPARTANS DEFEAT WWU IN SNOW BOWL, AMC SEMIS
With temperatures in the 20s and snow consistently falling from the opening kickoff, Missouri Baptist Women’s Soccer overcame everything William Woods and Mother Nature threw its way on Nov. 11. On the road, the Spartans won in a 3-0 triumph over the No. 2-seeded Owls with goals from Gianna Gore, Maddie Mrazik and Allie Heinz. With the win, MBU advanced to its first AMC Championship game since 2014.

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TAYLOR EXPLODES FOR 38 POINTS AT PARK
Trailing for 39 minutes of the game, MBU Women’s Basketball defied the odds on Jan. 30 defeating Park University on the road, 78-77. No one turned in a bigger performance than sophomore guard Tionne Taylor, who provided offensive fireworks and a new career-high of 38 points against the Pirates. Taylor recorded her best shooting percentage from the floor (.636) and 3-point range (.429) while converting on 21-of-24 free throws, the most by an AMC or NAIA player this season.

CIGARINI HAULS IN SEVERAL NATIONAL ACCOLADES
Caterina Cigarini of Women’s Volleyball capped off a decorated career with yet another haul of awards. The senior middle blocker became just the second Spartan to become a four-time AVCA-NAIA All-American, was named 2019 AVCA All-Midwest Region Player of the Year, Co-AMC Player of the Year, NAIA All-Tournament Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District®.

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JOHNSON STANDS OUT AT TIER 1 BOWLING TOURNEY
Zachary Johnson of Men’s Bowling rose to the occasion at the Columbia 300 Hoosier Classic in Indianapolis, finishing in the Top 10 percent of the Lee Johnson Memorial Friday Night Eliminator and then leading the way for the Spartans throughout the tournament with a 187.16 average and high game of 225.

JOHNSON NAMED NAIA CHEER ALL-AMERICAN
In addition to helping MBU Cheer to a runner-up finish at the NAIA Southwest Regional Qualifier, junior Dominic Johnson corralled an individual honor for the program earning NAIA Honorable Mention on March 3 after a successful All-America try-out. Johnson becomes the first MBU Cheer student-athlete in program history to garner NAIA All-American or Honorable Mention status.

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BOOS SCORES FROM WAY OUT IN 2-1 WIN OVER WILLIAM WOODS
Down 1-0 in the AMC Game of the Week on Sept. 21, senior midfielder Brandon Boos delivered a bullet of a shot from about 25 yards out into the top left corner of the goal. The highlight reel goal knotted the game at 1-all and was the turning point for the Spartans, who scored the gamewinner with less than five minutes remaining in the 2-1 contest.

RYAN EARNS NAIA DANCE ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
In addition to helping lead Spartan Line to a runner-up finish at the NAIA Southwest Regional Qualifier and an at-large bid to the NAIA Dance National Championships in Davenport, Iowa, junior Kaleigh Ryan received welcome news on March 3, when she was named an NAIA Dance All-American. Ryan becomes the first Spartan Line member to garner NAIA All-American or Honorable Mention status. In her tryout routine, Ryan performed a turning switch pitch, calypso-step-calypso and an aerial.

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WOMEN’S SOCCER DEFEATS FHU, 5-0, ON SENIOR DAY
With rain falling sideways at Spartan Field, which was in full construction mode, Women’s Soccer overcame the chilly and less-than-ideal circumstances to dismantle Freed-Hardeman University, 5-0, on Senior Day for eight Spartan seniors. Four of MBU’s five goals came during an 11-minute stretch which sent the Lady Lions, who had upset the No. 1-seeded Spartans in the opening round of the 2018 AMC Tournament, into a tail spin. Madi Dunahue and Riley Janvrin scored all five goals on a combined six shots between the duo.

BRAUNGARDT COLLECTS HARDWARE AT AMC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Freshman Owen Braungardt brought home a gold medal for the Spartans with a thrilling victory in the 197-pound championship bout at the AMC Wrestling Championships hosted by MBU. After being put on his back by No. 14-ranked Jack Servies of Marian, Braungardt quickly served up a reversal and eventual pin at the 1:31 mark of the first period. The first-year standout was named 2020 AMC Freshman of the Year and secured an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships with his win.

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DEL CAMPO HANGS WITH THE BIG BOYS
At the Skyhawk Classic in October featuring seven NCAA DI schools, Fernando Del Campo logged his highest tournament finish to date with a third-place finish out of 80 competitors. The Madrid, Spain native fired a second-round 71 (-1) to tie a career-low round and lead Missouri Baptist men’s golf at the tournament.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL ASCENDS TO NO. 1 IN TOP 25
The MBU women’s volleyball program unseated 2018 national champion and AMC rival Park in the Sept. 11 Coaches’ Top 25 poll and obtained a No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2015. The Spartans proved their worth playing arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in the country securing wins over four preseason Top-10 squads including No. 3 Grand View in five sets, No. 5 Viterbo in four, and No. 8 Midland and No. 9 Lindsey Wilson in straight sets. MBU held the No. 1 ranking in three separate polls this season.

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FILLA AMONG THE NATION’S BEST IN SAVES, SAVE %
Hunter Filla of Men’s Lacrosse was extremely efficient in the cage recording 19 saves in each of the Spartans’ first two games against Top-10 opponents – No. 6 Madonna (Mich.) and No. 5 Columbia. The senior goalie ranked fourth in the NAIA in both saves per game (19.00) and save percentage (0.667) before the season was cut short by COVID-19.

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