MSSU's Fraley named Academic All-American

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Missouri Southern track and field athlete Jeff Fraley has been named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American team the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced today.

Fraley, a junior sprinter from St. Robert, Mo., earns second-team Academic All-American honors and he was also a first-team Academic All-District selection.

To be considered for the honor, an athlete must maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA, while participating in at least 50 percent of his team's events. Freshman and first-year transfers are not eligible.

Fraley is one of the most decorated student-athletes ever at Missouri Southern. He earned both the Indoor and Outdoor MIAA High Point Award (equivalent to MVP) at the MIAA Track and Field Meets this season. He won the outdoor 100m, the 200m and was the anchorman on the 4x100m relay team that earned All-MIAA honors for finishing third. He went on to earn All-America status in the 100m dash as he finished just a tenth of a second off the national champion and taking second place in the race.

In the indoor season, Fraley was the MIAA champ in the 60m and the 200m, while anchoring the team that set the indoor mile relay school record. Fraley now owns the indoor 60m, 200m, 400m and mile relay records, while also owning the outdoor 100m, 200m, 400m and 4x100m school records. He earned All-America honors in the 60m and 200m dash at the Indoor Championships. The junior has earned five All-America honors in his career.

But his contributions don't stop on the track. Fraley carries a 3.56 GPA in biology at MSSU and has been a member of the MSSU Dean's List, while also being named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll every semester in attendance. He has also been honored as a track coaches Academic All-American, as well and has been a three-time MIAA Scholar-Athlete. This year, he earned the E.O. and Virginia Humphrey Award which is the highest honor given to a MSSU student-athlete.

Golf pro hired at Schifferdecker

(From the City of Joplin)

Golfers will see a new face around Schifferdecker Golf Course this summer, and may be interested in talking with him about their game. Daryn Buholt, a PGA golf professional, has joined the City staff and will be working in various areas related to the course and skills in playing the game of golf.

Originally from Southwest Missouri, Buholt graduated from Neosho High School where he was a three year letterman and received All Conference Honors in golf. He attended the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla., for the PGA Professional Golf Management Program. He graduated in 2013 with his Class A PGA classification and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. He has been in the golf industry for 10 years, working in various roles at several courses including Neosho Municipal Golf Course, Rose Creek Golf Club and Oak Tree National in Edmond. He was Merchandising Specialist at Golf Galaxy in Oklahoma City, Head Golf Professional at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Moore, OK, and most recently served as an Assistant Golf Professional at Kicking Bird Golf Club in Edmond, Okla. Throughout his career, he has given hundreds of individual lessons to girls and boys of all ages, as well as Get Golf Ready classes, group clinics, and junior camps.

“We’re excited to get Daryn introduced to the golfing community,” said Scott Garrie, Interim Director of Parks and Recreation. “He has a great deal of experience, and can provide some valuable insight to the management of the course, its maintenance and clubhouse merchandising. Of course, he’ll be offering lessons as well, and can help players find the right clubs for them. He’ll be a great asset to our community and to those who enjoy this game.”

According to the PGA website, more than 27,000 professionals are in the field and are well-versed in every aspect of the sport. Pros can help golfers with their swing, fitting their clubs, and assisting with tournament management, as well as providing their knowledge in the finesse needed in playing golf.

“With Buholt on staff, it’s the City’s goal to assist our current golfers with their needs, as well as increase the interest in the sport,” said Garrie. “He will be working with golfers of all ages, and is looking forward to developing a youth league and introducing new programs at Schifferdecker.”

For more information about lessons or other assistance that Buholt could provide, contact him at the Schifferdecker Clubhouse at 417-624-3533.

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Missouri Southern volleyball adds Wisconsin outside hitter

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Missouri Southern volleyball coach John Napier has announced the addition of Bridgette Jaeger for his 2015 recruiting class.

Jaeger, a 5-9 outside hitter/defensive specialist, hails from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin where she prepped at Oconomowoc High School for coach Michelle Bruss.

A two-time All-Conference (Wisconsin Little Ten) selection, Jaeger was a member of the 2015 Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association All-Academic Team. As a senior, she led the team in digs with 411, as well as digs per set with 3.9. She also led the team in attempts with 836 and finnished second in kills with 2.7 per set.

She finished her career with 839 kills and 1,27 digs, averaging 3.4 digs per set. She also played her club ball for the Milwaukee Sting.

Jaeger plans to major in business at Missouri Southern and she is the daughter of Jennifer and Ron Jaeger. Her sister, Natalie is a setter at Division I Northwestern State in Louisiana.

"Bridgette comes from a successful high school and club program so she has competed at a high level and has the physical and mental skills to succeed in the MIAA," Napier said. "What's great about Bridgette is her ability to fill different positions. She was a successful libero/defensive specialist, as well as an accomplished outside hitter in high school and club, and we see the same for her here at MSSU.

"She is strong academically and I've received nothing but positive reports from her high school and club coaches about her character and coachability. We really liked her when she came on a visit here and we immediately received positive feedback from the advisors and counselors after she met with them. We are very excited to welcome Bridgette to the Lion Pride."

Fifty-five MSSU athletes named to MIAA Academic Honor Roll

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

A total of 55 additional Missouri Southern student-athletes were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll as the league office announced the end-of-year academic awards for newcomers.

The MIAA Academic Honor Roll is for student-athletes that maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average. The end-of-year list is designated for freshmen and first-year transfers who have two terms of attendance.

In addition to the 55 student-athletes that were named to the Academic Honor Roll, four individuals were named MIAA Scholar-Athletes. To be named a Scholar-Athlete, a student must maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA, as well as being named All-MIAA. Three baseball players (Richie Gorski, Chris Hoffman and Jesse Rall), as well as freshman football kicker Brock Renken were all named Scholar-Athletes.

Nine other student-athletes earned the MIAA's highest academic honor, the Academic Excellence Award. This award goes to a student-athlete that has maintained a 4.0 GPA. Earning that honor were softball's Abi Corbett, volleyball's Katie Wiele, women's basketball's Kayla Kivinski, soccer's Hanna Johnson, and women's track and field's Sierra Gray, Allie Heckemeyer, Lexi Pesek, Katie Skelton and Allie Webb.

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Four to be inducted into MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern athletics department will induct the 2015 Athletics Hall of Fame Class as four individuals will be enshrined as part of Hall of Fame Weekend on September 18-19. The list includes four former student-athletes from the sports of football, men's soccer, men's basketball and women’s track and field.

Mary (Garrett) Still (Women's Track and Field 2000-04), Terry Shumpert (Men's Basketball 1998-02), Michael Bryson (Men's Soccer 1980-83), and Josh Chapman (Football 1999-02) will all be enshrined into the 2015 class of the Hall of Fame

The newest class will be present at a social on September 18 and will be inducted at a lunch on Saturday, Sept. 19. The group will be introduced as new Hall of Fame members at halftime of the Lions’ football game vs. Nebraska-Kearney on that Saturday.

Below are short biographies of each of the newest inductees.

Mary (Garrett) Still (Women's Track and Field – 2000-04) – Mary was a four-year letter winner for the Missouri Southern Women's Track and Field team from 2000-04 under coach Patty Vavra. Mary earned All-American honors five times in her career at Southern taking second place in the 400m hurdles in 2001, 03, and 04 and placing fourth in 2000. She earned NCAA D-2 Regional Female Athlete of the Year honors for her performance during the indoor season in 2004. Mary also was a three time MIAA champion winning the 400m and 600yd indoor titles and the outdoor 400m hurdle titles during her senior campaign.

Mary holds the school indoor records in the 400m dash and the 600yd run and the outdoor 400m hurdles. She holds all top 10 times in the 400m hurdles and holds eight of the top 10 times in the indoor 400m dash. She also has the second best time in the indoor 220m dash and the outdoor 400m dash. In 2004, Mary earned MIAA Athlete of the Week nine times and was the MSSU Female Athlete of the Year in 2003 and the E.O. & Virginia Humphrey Award winner in 2004. Mary was also a success in the classroom as she earned Verizon Academic All-American honors including first team honors in 2003 and 2004. She was also a finalist for the Ken B. Jones award which is the highest award the MIAA gives out to student athletes.

After graduating from Missouri Southern, Mary went on to earn her masters and doctorate's degrees in psychology from Iowa State University. She is married to Jeremiah Still and they live in San Jose, California where Mary is a psychology professor at San Jose State University.

Terry Shumpert (Men's Basketball 1998-02) – Shumpert was a four-year letter winner for MSSU Athletics Hall of Famer Robert Corn and was part of the best men's basketball team in school history. During his four-year career in the Green & Gold, Shumpert helped the team to an 82-37 record, including a 30-3 season in 1999-2000 as they opened The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center and made the school's only trip to the NCAA D-2 Elite Eight in Louisville, Kentucky.

Terry finished his career ninth (Currently 10th) on the all-time scoring list with 1,379 points and averaged 11.8 points per contest. In the 1999-00 MIAA Tournament Championship game against Northwest Missouri Terry was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe as he put the Lions up for good at the 15:47 mark in the first half. Shumpert's free throw with 2:51 left in the first half of the South Central Regional game against Midwestern (Texas) State gave the Lions a 30-29 lead and Southern never looked back in route to the regional title.

A native of Paducah, Kentucky Terry graduated from Missouri Southern in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. He is currently employed by the State of Kentucky and is an assistant basketball coach at McCracken County HS. Terry is engaged to Miranda Calendar and he resides in Paducah with his three kids Alexis, Kaden, and Kingston.

Michael Bryson (Men's Soccer 1980-83) – Bryson is a 1984 graduate of Missouri Southern where he played both soccer and baseball for the Lions. During his two sport career at Southern Bryson earned four letters in soccer and two in baseball. In 1980 Bryson earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) before sitting out the 1981 season due to a broken foot. In 1982 his teammates elected him as a captain, while he earned Goal of the Year and Offensive MVP honors.

His junior season he was again elected captain and earned Offensive MVP, All-District, and All-Midwest honors as he led the Lions to a 12-6-1 record and a 5-3-0 record in district play. During his senior campaign Bryson earned NSCAA All-American honors was well as being named co-captain, earning his third Offensive MVP honor and his second All-District and All-Midwest honors. During his time in the Green & Gold, Bryson set the school's all-time scoring record with 59 goals.

In high school at Sedalia Smith-Cotton, Bryson was a three sport standout where he lettered in soccer, baseball, and basketball. He set the state record his senior year for goals scored in a season at 42, it has since been broken and currently sits at 72.

Bryson was a native of Sedalia, Missouri and graduated from MSSU with a bachelor's degree in Marketing. He had two sons Evan and Tyler before passing away in 2008 following a battle with cancer. Bryson was also inducted into the Sedalia Smith-Cotton HS Hall of Fame in February of 2015.

Josh Chapman (Football 1999-02) – Chapman's success at Missouri Southern is evident all over the record books as he either holds or is in the top 10 in career marks in 26 different offensive categories. But his success did not stop on the field as Chapman was a four-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll during his time in the Green & Gold.

Chapman is one of only 23 players in the history of NCAA D-2 to have ever rushed and passed for over 1,000 yards in the same season and he did it twice. In 2001 he rushed for 1,025 yards and passed for 1,623, while in 2002 he rushed for 1,010 and passed for 2,398 yards. His performance in 2002 led to multiple awards and honors as he earned first team All-MIAA honors, MIAA Offensive Player of the Year, first team All-Region, and All-American honors. He was also invited to play in the Cactus Bowl, the D-2 All-Star game and earned national player of the week honors for his 593-yard performance in the 52-28 win over Washburn. The 593 yards gained against Washburn is a school record for most yards gained in a game, he also holds records in most games with 200 yards or more at 20, 300 yards or more in a game with 9, and most consecutive games with 300 yards or more with four. Chapman also holds every quarterback rushing record with 246 in a game against Missouri S&T in 2002, 1,025 yards in a season in 2001, and 3,233 yards for his career. In the game against Missouri S&T in 2002 Chapman also set the record for most touchdowns responsible for in a game with six against the Miners.

Josh is a 2003 graduate of Missouri Southern and has two bachelor's degree in business management and marketing. He is currently employed by Schreiber Foods and is a plant manager in Smithfield, Utah. Chapman is married to Katie and they have two children, Kelsey and Addie.

The Missouri Southern Athletics Hall of Fame was established to pay tribute and give deserved recognition while enhancing school tradition by honoring former athletic letter winners and/or coaches who have shown distinctive, unique or exceptional ability while at Missouri Southern or since graduation. The honorees must be graduates of Missouri Southern and there must have been a lapse of at least 10 years since the individual last participated in athletics at Southern.

With the addition of the 2015 class, the MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame now includes 113 members and two teams.

Former MSSU track coach inducted into MIAA Hall of Fame

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Former Missouri Southern track and field and cross country coach Tom Rutledge was inducted into the MIAA Hall of Fame in a ceremony today.

Rutlege was one of ten individuals to be bestowed the honor by the MIAA. The ceremony was conducted at the Kansas City Public Library – Plaza Branch, in Kansas City, Mo.

Rutledge coached for 24 years at Missouri Southern after coming to Joplin in 1988 as an assistant football coach. In 1989, he became the first head cross country and track and field coach for both men's and women's programs.

During his tenure, Rutledge was named MIAA Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year five times and Indoor Coach of the Year twice. He was also honored as South Central Region Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year in 1999, 2004 and 2007, and South Central Region Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2007 for his contributions to the sport.

He mentored eight cross country All-Americans and fifty-eight Track and Field All-Americans, including many achieving multiple All-American honors.

The cross country course at Missouri Southern is named the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in his honor. Rutledge was inducted as a member of the MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, while also being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Joining Rutledge tonight as part of the 2015 MIAA Hall of Fame Class were: Kim Anderson (UCM - Basketball Coach), Kristin (Anderson) Swisher (UCM - Track and Field), Leslie (Dudley) Morrow (PSU - Basketball), Kathy (Kearns) Behounek (NWMO - XC/TF), Tony Miles (NWMO - Football), Darla (Curp) Moberly (UCM - XC/TF), Danny Powers (UCM - Baseball), Clint Prange (NWMO - Track), and Brian Shay (ESU - Football).

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MSSU men's basketball adds Division One transfer

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Missouri Southern men's basketball coach Jeff Boschee has announced the addition of Division I transfer Isaac Kreuer from the University of Missouri - Kansas City.

Kreuer will have two years of eligibility left after transferring to the Lions from UMKC.

A native of Harrisonville, Mo., Kreuer (6-10/250) will come in and help solidify a post presence for the Lions.

As a sophomore for the 'Roos, Kreuer played in 29 games with eight starts. He averaged 10.5 minutes per game with 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per contest. He also had nine blocks on the season, while shooting 81 percent from the free throw line.

As a true freshman, he played in all 30 games, averaging 10.4 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 11 points at home against CSU-Bakersfield, while having a season high 5-8 shooting and eight rebounds against Creighton later in the season. He finished the year with three double-figure scoring games. He was a two-time Academic All-Conference selection at UMKC.

Kreuer prepped at Kansas City Metro Academy where he played for coach Robin Sullivan. While there he was ranked as one of the top homeschool players in the nation, garnering All-American honors as both a junior and a senior. As a senior, he averaged 19.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.5 assists per game.

After high school, Kreuer played at the Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas in order to prep for the next level.

The son of Ladd and Kelly Kreuer, both his parents are graduates of Minnesota State - Mankato. He has five siblings and plans to major in business at Southern.

"Isaac fulfills another much needed physical presence inside," Boschee said. "He has the ability to run the floor which is very vital to our style of play. He is a very physical player who understands how to post up and demand the basketball.

"He is a great kid and also excels in the classroom. We, as a staff, talked about bringing kids in that will be great additions to the locker room and will take pride in wearing the Green and Gold. Isaac will fit that mold perfectly. I am ecstatic that he chose to be a Lion."