NIACC 2008-2009 Athletic Review

The 2008-2009 academic year has witnessed some great moments as the current group of Trojan Athletes added their chapter to the storied history on North Iowa Area Community College Athletics.

Volleyball: The Lady Trojan Volleyball Team posted a 15-28 record. Freshman, Amanda Young (Rockford), led the team in kills and blocks. Young received many post season honors, having been named to First Team All-Conference, First Team All-Region, and All-Tournament Team at the Cross Divisional Tournament.

Cross Country: Coach Curtis Vais and the men’s and women’s Cross Country teams produced a productive season with both the men and women teams placing 2^nd at the Region XI Championships. The Men finished 13^th at the NJCAA D1 Cross Country National Championships, while the Women placed 18^th, the best in schools history. The men were led by Casey Robertson (Columbus Junction) and the women by Konnie Kiefer (Garner-Hayfield). Both athletes were named to Second Team All-Region along with Raleigh Morgan (Mounds View, MN).

Men’s Soccer: The NIACC Soccer team had a standout season this past fall with the record of 14-4-2. The Trojan’s made it all the way to the Regional Championship game where they faced Iowa Western and lost 0-1. Head Coach, Mike Regan, was named Regional Coach of the year, while many of his players received high honors. Mike Unwin (Yateley, England) was named First Team All-American and First Team All-Region. Lewis Clack (Farnborough, England) and Simon Cook (Alton, England) were also named to First Team All-Region.

Men’s Basketball: First year head coach, Mark Mohl, and his squad finished 15-15 on the season. At one point during competition, the Trojans were ranked as high has 10^th in the nation. The Trojan’s have three athlete’s moving on next season. Chris Clausen (Aidlaide, Australia) will be heading north to Division 1 Universtiy of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND. Max Papendieck (Pembroke, Australia) to Division 2 Nova SE in Fort Lauderdale, FL. and Joe Speth (Bentendorf) to NAIA St. Ambrose in Davenport, IA. 

Women’s Basketball: The Lady Trojans posted a  reocord of 4-27. Two Trojans recieved post season honors. Freshman, Nicole Eenhuis (Mason City) was named Second Team All-Region and sophomore, Tiffany Braun (St. Ansgar) named to honorable mention.

Wrestling: NIACC wrestlers placed second at the Regional VIII meet this past season qualifying all ten weight classes for the NJCAA National Championships. The Trojans returned home from nationals with 3 All-Americans. The three All-Americans were; TJ Moen (Des Moines) placing 3^rd at 149lbs, Brett Rosedale (Marshalltown) 4^th at 174lbs, and Tim Springs was 6^th at 165lbs.

Track & Field: The Trojans had numerous top place finishes during the indoor and outdoor seasons. For the indoor; six events, eleven athletes, qualified for the NJCAA Indoor Nationals. The women’s 4x800 ( Svardh, Mujica, Garcia, Poolman) finished the best for NIACC in 9^th place setting a new school record. The Trojans broke a total of twelve school records during the season. The outdoor season broke a total of six school records and qualified three events, six athletes, for the NJCAA Outdoor National Championships. Sophomore, Marin Thorson, returned to the national meet to defend her NJCAA’s champion title in the Discus. Thorson placed fifth this year with a distance of 43.05 m. The women’s 4x800 (Dahn, Mujica, Garcia, Svardh) set a new school record placing 13^th at the national meet.  

Men’s and Women’s Golf: Both teams stood as strong competitors this spring. The men placed fourth at the Regional XI tournament, sophomores Nate Haaland (Osage) and Steven Wyborny (Rockford) led NIACC with two-day totals of 155. The women qualified one for the national golf tournament, sophomore Brittney O’Brien (Elgin). This was O’Brien’s second time qualifying to the national tournament.   

Softball: Trojan Softball team posted a 31-20 record on the season. The Trojans finished their season with a round IV loss to Iowa Central in the Region XI Tournament. Five athletes earned post season honors. Maggie Leavens, sophomore outfielder from Charles City, Laci Pustina, freshman pitcher from Highland, WI and Jordan Vaske, freshman outfielder from Bancroft were all named Second Team All-Region. Teammates, Jayna Blome, freshman infielder from Ledyard and Allyson Gross, sophomore infielder from Crystal Lake were received honorable mention honors.