BY MAC SLAVIN SPORTS EDITOR
It’s that time of the year where we take a look back at some of the most memorable moments of the year in Wartburg sports. We had many great plays to choose from, but we could only pick ten. So, without further adieu, the top ten plays of 2008:
10. Twelve Straight IIAC Titles for baseball - The Knights baseball team cruised to another conference championship last spring. Head coach Joel Holst’s squad brought home their 12th-straight IIAC championship after racking up a 17-3 conference record. The championship helped the Knights earn a bid into the regional bracket, where they went 1-2 to finish out their season. The Knights finished 27-15 overall.
9. Softball keeps top ten ranking for most of the season - Led by Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-American Angela Hartwig, the Knights softball team finished 15-1 in Iowa Conference play. The Knights earned a bid into regional play where they finished the double-elimination tournament 3-2, and 32-8 overall. The Knights started their season off ranked No. 2 in the nation, and proved that they belonged in the top ten all year.
8. Women’s soccer takes it down to the wire - The Knights scored a goal in the final thirty seconds of their Iowa Conference Championship game against Loras to tie the game at two and force the game into two scoreless overtime periods. The game came down to a shoot-out and ended in favor of the Duhawks. The loss forced the Knights to play the waiting game to see if they received an at-large bid to the national tournament. For some crazy reason, the people who set the pairings didn’t think the Knights deserved a bid, even though they were undefeated in conference play, finished the season 17-2-2 and out-scored their opponents 68-17 this season.
7. An All-American performance for men’s cross - Brian Chenoweth was the only Knight to qualify for the national meet this season and brought home a third place finish for the orange. The senior finished with a time of 24:34, just 12 seconds behind the winner and two seconds behind the runner-up. Chenoweth’s performance was the best performance by a Knight since 2004. He was also crowned Conference Champion earlier this season during the IIAC meet at Buena Vista.
6. Golf wins fourth IIAC title in five years - Three Knights received all-conference honors, en route to their fourth conference team championship in the past five years. Steph Burns was runner-up at the conference meet for the No. 6 Knights, and received all-conference honors. Teammates Kate Thompson, placing fourth, and Daina Deery, placing seventh, also received the honor of being named all-conference. The win qualified the Knights for the national meet held in Port St. Lucie, Fla. at Methodist University in May.
5. Men’s soccer upsets Loras in IIAC tourney - After losing a 2-1 match earlier in the season, everyone knew that the Wartburg v. Loras match-up in the conference tournament would be a great game. The Duhawks came into the game as a favorite, but as we’ve seen before, that doesn’t matter. The Knights, playing in front of a home crowd, dropped the Duhawks 2-0 and earned an automatic bid to the national tournament. The Knights then traveled to the University of Wisconsin – Platteville for their first game of the tournament. Unfortunately the Knights dropped a heartbreaker to the Pioneers 1-0.
4. Vetter makes last second catch to extend Knights season - With seven seconds left in the game, Nick Yordi found Justin Vetter and converted a 23-yard touchdown pass to give the Knights a 30-28 win over Monmouth to extend the Knights season. The game against the Fighting Scots was the second playoff game for the Knights and the win helped the Knights advance to the NCAA Div. III quarterfinals against the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. The game against the Warhawks is the farthest the Knights have made it into the playoffs, and made this season a historic one.
3. Women’s cross finishes in top four nationally - After a conference championship and big finishes at meets hosted by Grinnell, the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, the Knights qualified for the NCAA Div. III National meet in Indiana. At the national meet, the women finished in fourth place behind an All-American finish from Anna Kraayenbrink, who finished 24th. Her finish made her the first All-American since Missy Buttry left the orange and black in 2004.
2. Indoor and outdoor the Knights rule the track - The women’s track and field teams had two outstanding seasons this year. First, the indoor team headed out to Ohio to participate in the NCAA Div. III National Meet and finished just three points behind Illinois Wesleyan and in second place. The final race of the day, the 1,600-meter relay, was the highlight of the meet, as the Knights and Illinois Wesleyan battled it out for first place. Wesleyan came out on top, just .47 seconds ahead of the Knights. The Knights went into the outdoor season looking for revenge, and found themselves in the hunt for a national title. The 1,600-meter relay team won the race this time, and the Knights finished in third place. Wesleyan and the University of Wisconsin - River Falls tied for first, just one point ahead of the Knights.
1. Knights bring home four national titles - The Knights came home from the Div. III National Wrestling Championships with a team title, three individual titles and three runner-up finishes. Romeo Djoumessi, Jacob Naig and Aaron Wernimont were crowned champions in their respective weight classes for the Knights while Jacob Helvey, T.J. Miller and Brian Borchers were runners-up. The Knights ran away with the team portion of the meet with 147 points, while the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse finished in second with 100.
Like I said, there were a lot of good plays over the year and it was hard to pick just 10. The men’s teams on campus brought hom six conference titles this year, wrestling, indoor track and field, baseball, outdoor track and field, football and soccer, while the women’s squads brought hom six titles too, golf, indoor track and field, softball, outdoor track and field, cross country and soccer. Overall, it was a great year for the Knights and I can’t wait for 2009.