Nov 20, 2024

Four KWU athletic teams open NAIA Championship play beginning Thursday

Posted Nov 20, 2024 11:46 PM

Kansas Wesleyan has sent four teams to their respective NAIA National Championship events this fall season. It is the highest number of teams heading to NAIA Nationals in a single athletic season (fall, winter, spring) in school history.

It all begins Thursday as Men's Soccer plays in the NAIA First Round against Williams Baptist in the Bellevue Bracket in Bellevue, Neb., hosted by Bellevue University. Men's and Women's Cross Country runs in their respective National Championship races on Friday. Football heads to Dickinson N.D. for the NAIA Football Championship Series First Round on Saturday, against Dickinson State.

This is the first time in school history that both cross country teams have qualified as a team for the NAIA National Championships.

MEN'S SOCCER

KWU Men's Soccer received the second automatic bid from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference to the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Tournament. The Coyotes are headed to Bellevue, Neb., to play in the NAIA First Round against Williams Baptist (Ark.).

  1. KWU is 11-5-3 on the season and reached the KCAC Semifinals, but earned the second conference berth as Oklahoma Wesleyan won both the regular season and tournament titles.
  2. Williams Baptist, located in Walnut Ridge, Ark., received an at-large bid to the 40-team NAIA field after tying for second in the American Midwest Conference regular season.
  3. Gerardo Garcia and Kamille Kum lead the Coyotes with six goals each as KWU has six players with at least three goals. Jakob Treitl has four assists to lead KWU. Santiago Pagnutti has played every minute in goal for the Coyotes, with a 1.15 GAA and 50 saves on the season.
  4. Williams Baptist relies on defense to get it done, with 13 shutouts and only 12 allowed goals on the season. Jacobo Obrardors leads the Eagles with 18 goals. Rodrigo Pina is WBU's goalkeeper playing every minute in goal, with 54 saves.
  5. The winner faces No. 7 seeded Bellevue on Saturday at Noon. The winner of Saturday's match advances to the 66th Annual Men's Soccer National Championship final site at Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita beginning December 2.

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

Kansas Wesleyan Men's Cross Country makes its second consecutive appearance as a team at the NAIA National Championships. The Coyotes will run at 10:30 a.m. on Friday at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo.

  1. KWU is ranked No. 18 in the final NAIA Top 25 rating of the season.
  2. KWU finished second at the KCAC Championships on November 9 in Leavenworth. Damion Jackson finished second and Austin Hess finished fourth at the KCAC meet earning All-KCAC honors, while four others were in the Top 20, earning Honorable Mention honors.
  3. The Coyotes finished 14th at the NAIA National Championships a year ago.
  4. Jackson earned NAIA All-America honors last year with a 37th place finish at the National Championships
  5. 36 teams and an additional 80 individual runners comprise the championship field that will have over 300 runners toe the line.

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

KWU Women's Cross Country makes its first NAIA appearance as team since 2013 in Friday's NAIA National Championship. The women will run at 11:30 a.m. on Friday at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo.

  1. KWU is ranked No. 13 in the final NAIA Top 25 rating of the season, the highest rating since 2010 when KWU was ranked No. 9 in the NAIA and finished 16th at the NAIA National Championships that season.
  2. KWU finished second at this year's KCAC Championships in Leavenworth. Josie Koppes and Kierra Jensen were All-KCAC finishing ninth and 10th, respectively.
  3. Koppes, Madisyn Ehrlich and Charlee Lind ran at the NAIA National Championships a year ago. This will be Ehrlich's third appearance at the NAIA National Championships
  4. 35 teams and an additional 82 individuals make up the championship field for Friday's race. Over 300 runners will run in the race.

FOOTBALL

Kansas Wesleyan Football makes its first NAIA National Championship appearance since the fall 2021 season as KWU heads to Dickinson, N.D. to take on Dickinson State in a 2 p.m. kickoff at the Henry Biesiot Activities Center.

  1. After starting the season 2-4, KWU won the Bissell Division of the KCAC with a 5-0 record and earned an automatic bid to the NAIA Football Championship Series.
  2. This is KWU's seventh appearance in the NAIA Football Championship Series (2001, 2002, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021). KWU is 4-6 all-time in FCS games, reaching the Semifinals in 2018.
  3. KWU and DSU have met once prior to this meeting, in the 2018 FCS Quarterfinals in Salina. KWU came away with a 43-40 win over the Blue Hawks, with Demarco Prewitt scoring with 46 seconds left and then threw the 2-point conversion pass to Charlie Simmons, and Takota Anderson sealed the win with an interception with 16 seconds left.
  4. Luke Armstrong leads the Coyotes in rushing with 1297 yards on 160 carries, averaging 8.1 yards per carry and 117.9 per game with 14 touchdowns. Zerek Fewell has 546 yards rushing on 118 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per carry and 49.6 per game.
  5. Byron McNair and Richard Lara split time at quarterback for the Coyotes. McNair has thrown for 760 yards and four touchdowns, completing 51 percent of passes. Lara has thrown for 542 yards and five touchdowns, completing 57 percent of passes.
  6. Dickinson State is 9-1 on the season and won the North Star conference with an 8-0 record. This is their second straight NAIA FCS appearance.
  7. Will Madler is the Blue Hawk signal caller, throwing for 2211 yards and 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, completing 59.5 percent of passes.
  8. Braden Zuroff has gotten the majority of carries for DSU in the rushing game with 147 carries for 661 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and 66.1 per game. Semaj Clark is DSU's top receiver with 39 catches for 758 yards and 10 touchdowns.
  9. DSU only allows 15.4 points per game and 265.4 yards of total offense to opponents.
  10. The winner advances to the NAIA FCS Second Round. Second round matchups will be announced by the NAIA on Sunday.

You can do your part to help support all of these outstanding student-athletes on their National Championship journey. Consider making a donation to the Championship Fund at www.kwu.edu/give.