COMMENTARY

Matt Jonathan

For the Review

After the Linfield men’s soccer match last week, I was talking to a group of friends about the game and mentioned how senior Nick Jauregui ducked his head and basically bull-rushed a player out of the way.

One of my friends turned and asked, “Zidane style?”

In case you didn’t know, Zinedine Zidane is the former French midfielder responsible for the infamous head butt against Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final.

What struck me most about my friend’s comment was that it brought to light a concept I hadn’t thought of before: What athletes do last can often tarnish their legacies despite otherwise stellar careers. 

Zidane is one of the greatest soccer players to grace a pitch, and could arguably be mentioned in the same breath as Pelé. His vision and ball control were simply artistic. He won numerous tournaments, both domestically and with his national team, on top of a host of individual accolades. Zidane won two Italian leagues, a Spanish league, a Champions League, a World Cup and a UEFA European Championship.

But what is the first thing that comes to mind regarding one of the game’s greats? Ten seconds of sheer madness.

Think for a second about Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire and the scandal that rocked the foundation, and the record books, of baseball. Look at any before-and-after picture of Bonds, and you will think you are looking at two different people.

In his first two seasons of professional baseball, Bonds stole 68 bases. Before the BALCO investigation, McGuire was practically guaranteed a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Sadly, he still may get it, but does he deserve it? Both Bonds and McGuire are known for their colossal ability to blast balls past the outfield fence, but they will always be associated with the BALCO scandal and the illegal enhancement drugs that contributed to their success.

If you think about notable sports icons weighed down by controversy, a host of players who have soiled their names in less-than-popular circumstances will come to mind.

Of course, many of the world’s top athletes avoid leaving competition with controversy. There are several athletes who, while not ending their careers with great glory, honor their craft and bow out valiantly.

Such an example is Andre Agassi, one of the greatest sports icons of all time.

The personification of everything great about the sports of tennis, Agassi’s U.S. Open defeat at the hands of Benjamin Becker in 2006 was one of the greatest sportsmanship moments in history. There was neither a dry eye in the crowd as fans stood to applaud for eight minutes, nor was there a dry cheek as Agassi made his farewell speech. Agassi’s career, while by no means spotless, will be remembered for inspiration, glory and a crazy hairstyle, as it should be.

This makes one wonder about athletes of the future. Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing. If he doesn’t repeat will that tarnish his grand image as the most successful Olympian ever?

Lance Armstrong said he wants to win an eighth Tour de France. While he still may hold the record for seven consecutive victories, his career may not be remembered with the same reverence if he loses in 2009.

Did Bret Favre make the right decision in reversing his retirement, going to the Jets and alienating Green Bay? Favre already tarnished his reputation by coming back. He should have stayed in retirement, as the toast of the Packers franchise. If he takes the field against the Packers, the boos will be heard nationwide.

We will not know for some time how history will remember these athletes. There are still athletes writing their stories. Rafael Nadal may have gotten the best of Roger Federer in the greatest Wimbledon final ever played, but the battle for supremacy continues.

Alex Rodriguez could become the best baseball player to never win a World Series.

A legacy, while defined by a career, can still be derailed by a final act of imprudence.

A decisive point of class can spark that single illuminating word in sports lingo: legendary.

Until then, ignore the stats.

Will Hermens

Review staff writer

The men’s cross country currently team awaits the return to competition when it will host the Linfield Open at Joe Dancer Park on Sept. 26.

For the first time in four years, the team will host a cross country meet.

In years past, scheduling problems with the local city parks and recreation department prevented the college from hosting home meets.

The biggest challenge for the school remains working to fit the meet into the youth athletics schedule.

After a slow start at each of the first three meets, the team has started to intensify training sessions.

“The hardest workouts are the weeks we don’t have meets,” junior Shawn Fisher, who helped Linfield place fourth at the Lewis & Clark Invitational on Sept. 13, said.

Fisher led the team at the meet, finishing in ninth place with a time of 26 minutes, 13 seconds on the 8k course. Junior Tyler Davis was second on the team with a 26:38 finish.

With three meets left before the conference championship in November, Fisher said he believes the team has a better chance of placing higher at the end of the season than last year’s team did.

“Last year we kind of had a divided team,” he said.

With two-week blocks between most meets, the team trains together to keep up its intensity.

The men have an optimistic outlook even as the fall weather awaits them.

“It doesn’t affect us too much,” Fisher said, adding that the team is prepared for the condition changes.

Assistant coach Travis Olson concurs with Fisher about the weather not being a problem.

“It’s not going to impact the team,” Olson said. It’s a level playing field.”

The team has remained, for the most, part healthy during the season, Olson said.

“Chris McIssac will run at the next meet,” he said of the runner who was injured earlier in the season.

Olson said he believes McIssac will make an immediate impact on the team’s next race because of his experience from last season.

Olson said he remains confident that the team will perform well at the home meet but has a few lingering concerns.

“There are lots of teams we have not seen,” he said.

Olson understands the reality of going to meets where the unfamiliarity of some teams and runners leaves huge questions about the race.

Olson said he felt confident about the possibility of the team having a strong placing at the home meet.

With few injuries and a positive outlook toward coming competitions, the team hopes to flourish.

Katy Thompson

Review staff writer

Junior forward Rachel Miles suffered from a torn meniscus tissue in her left knee last fall, a season-ending injury that caused her to retreat from the competing realm.

Yet the injury did not stop Miles from staying involved with the sport.

Miles, who was accustomed to former coach Melanie Langley’s soccer techniques, now finds herself having to adjust to a different challenge: learning to play under new head coach Yi Lin Liu, who comes to Linfield after coaching 11 seasons at Hanover College in Indiana.

The ’Cats are still learning the new coaching style of Liu. His focus has changed the group dynamic in more ways than one.

The most publicized change is the shift in attention from defense to offense, but the lesser-known shift in strategy Liu has stressed is that the way to create a winning team is by producing a winning lineup.

“His style has been frustrating,” Miles said. “He makes you play in one spot with a certain group of people. Then he switches it up again. But when things do click, then it’s like, this could work out. This is an option we didn’t have before.”

In a way, Liu’s method may not seem like a completely new paradigm.

He is still finalizing the lineup for the first scrimmage.

“It is kind of scary because we have to have this all figured out by conferences.” Miles said.

As far as college ranking go, Linfield is tied with three other teams for second-to-last place.

The women’s soccer team is scheduled to play at home against Whitworth College on Sept. 20 and Whitman University on Sept. 21, both at noon.

Last year, Whitworth placed second in the league and qualified for the NCAA tournament.

The season is barely underway, and Linfield has things to finalize before they are seen as a competitive threat.

“As a team, we need to work on melding the returners’ style with the newbies’ style to form one cohesive unit,” Miles said. “But that is hard for us returners because we are very set in our ways.”

Senior forward Kelli Gillespie is an experienced leader on the team. During the ’Cats’ last game against Western Oregon University, Gillespie helped set up the game-winning shot.

“With the new coach this year, every single person is on a different page, and so one of our biggest challenges as a team is going to be figuring out how we can come together and buy into the coach’s theories,” Gillespie said. “This means that we are going to have to accept that he has a completely different system than what we are used to. So it is just a matter of learning a new strategy and knowing that it will work.”

She said that the team has been afraid of the strategy not working against their opponents in the conference, but now the team is starting to see that they have enough talent and potential to make it work.

Senior outside midfielder Kate Franklin, a seasoned veteran, knows her way around the soccer field “If you are truly a good player and a good athlete then you should be flexible and able to adapt to any situation, regardless of the lineup,” Franklin said.

Despite worries and anxieties, the team is confident that Liu will do his best to make this season and his debut as head coach a memorable one, leaving a lasting impression on the future of the program.

Jordan Jacobo

Sports editor

Freshman outside hitter Samantha Lau knows volleyball inside and out.

For the last 10 years, she has grown increasingly dedicated on the courts in her native Hawaii. Stepping up her game to become a major force for the Wildcats this year has been a natural progression for Lau.

“She’s not the biggest player,” head coach Shane Kimura said of the 5’4” Lau, who he recruited last year. “She’s learned to play smart because she has always been playing against bigger blockers.”

Her diminutive stature has been all but forgotten, as she has impressed her coach and teammates with dominating play. Alongside junior middle blocker Emily Vuylsteke, Lau is top on the offense with 36 kills. Her play is a combination of finesse, power, patience and smarts that has left her opponents struggling to match her defensively.

Led by a core of four seniors and sparked by Lau’s impressive debut, Linfield is riding the momentum of an undefeated preseason. The ’Cats will be tested by their two biggest Northwest Conference rivals, Pacific Lutheran University and University of Puget Sound, this weekend.

They face PLU tonight. The match against UPS, the preseason favorite to win the NWC, is scheduled for Sept. 20.

Both matches begin at 7 p.m. and will be played in Tacoma, Wash.

Lau will not be the only up-and-coming star on the court tonight. PLU sophomore outside hitter Beth Hanna could steal the show. Hanna, named American Volleyball Coaches Association Freshman of the Year in 2007, will be the focus. Stopping her will be key for Linfield.

“We’ll need to hit the right spots and play around the defense,” senior outside hitter Kelsey French said of the two matches
this weekend.

For Lau, who is replacing All-American graduate Katelyn Baker, this weekend is her first test, since the conference standings are what determines who advances to playoffs and who doesn’t.

 “It can get overwhelming sometimes,” she said. “But it’s a lot of fun. It’s more than I would have imagined, and being able to have this role is a really big honor for me.”

Lau is used to being a major artery of her team’s success. In high school, she played varsity all four years, spending her junior and senior seasons as team captain. As a senior, she led St. Francis High School to sixth place in the Division I Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

This year’s freshman class of volleyball players has been larger than usual, and Lau said the players are packed with talent.

The promise of freshmen athletes already excelling gives hope to the program that has always set lofty aspirations for itself.

The responsibility of guiding Lau and all other freshmen players falls on Kimura and the senior leaders, who, by Lau’s standards, have made her feel welcomed, ready and excited to be here.

“[Kimura’s] a great coach,” she said. “He’s very serious about the sport, but he knows how to motivate his players in the right way. He still knows how to have fun, too.”

For all the expectation, excellence and aspiration, Lau is still just a woman playing a sport she has known and loved all her life.

She grew up watching the University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team. Now a collegiate athlete herself, she has not lost sight of her love for the game in the face of endless possibility.

“I’m just playing the game right now,” Lau said. “Maybe we can make it past the first round of the NCAA regionals. Maybe we can make it to the championships. Who knows? The sky is the limit, I guess.”

Samantha McCarty

Review staff writer

Linfield women’s cross country team is using its momentum to fuel high hopes and big goals
this year.

The ’Cats took fourth out of 10 teams Sept. 13 at their latest meet at the Lewis & Clark Collegiate Invitational. Junior Marci Klimek, placed first and won by a comfortable 25 seconds.

 Her time of 22 minutes, 23 seconds was the seventh-best finish ever recorded at the meet. It was Klimek’s third victory out of three meets this season.

Concordia College runners Linsie Michels, 22:48, and Andria Scheese, 22:59, helped push the school to a first-place finish ahead of the ’Cats.

Also placing in the top ranks was freshman Nelly Evans, coming in tenth with a time of 23:45. Evans was fast enough to finish second on the team behind Klimek. Three freshmen runners, Shanna Peaden, 24:16, Brooke Keudell, 24:22, and
Lindsey Thomas, 24:36, finished on Evans’ heels.

Junior Frances Corcorran said the season looks
promising.

“Everyone is moving up in the races and working really hard,” Corcorran said. “It’s a really good groupthis year.”

The women will face their challenges head-on this season.

Corcorran said the biggest obstacle they face is having it all come together at conference and regionals.  

With Klimek’s winning streak paving the way, Linfield has started off with a solid season so far.

The Wildcats have three races down successfully with hope that the next six will prove just as fruitful, with victory in the near
future. 

Linfield will host the Linfield open at Joe Dancer Park on Sept. 26.

Greg Larson

For the Review

Making their roar heard on the usually tranquil and serene greens of Illahee Country Club’s golf course, the Wildcats defeated their five competitors by a sizeable margin Sept. 15.

A successful season-opener showed the depth of Linfield’s roster, with all six players finishing in the top 10.

Senior Andrew Fitch finished with a 73, while junior Tony Kordosky and sophomore Yutaro Sakamoto followed close behind with 75 each. 

Coach Greg Copeland said he is excited for the progression of new players, such as Sakamoto and freshman Alex Fitch.

When asked about another trip to nationals this year, coach Copeland said he was optimistic.

“Our guys are willing to work hard and really want that opportunity,” he said. ”We really have the personnel to achieve our goals this year.”

Monday’s goal of 300 strokes or fewer as a team came to fruition as the team shot a sleek 299 to defeat Willamette University, 309, Pacific University, 313, and George Fox University, 344.

Copeland also said that in the Northwest Conference, Linfield is the team to beat.

Pacific, Whitworth and Willamette will all be looking to knock Linfield from the top spot all season.

The players are poised for the Linfield Invitational meet.

“We’ve got a pretty solid group of guys,” Kordosky said. “We are definitely the favorite, which entails some pressure, but Monday was a good start.”

The Wildcats are ready for the challenges ahead and look forward to shining throughout the season. They have the coach, the players and the drive to be successful, and they are ready to represent Linfield on the big stage.

The ’Cats return to Illahee Sept. 24 before hosting the Linfield Invitational on Sept. 27 and 28 at Michelbook Country
Club.

Grant Lucas

Review staff writer

A late fourth quarter push by Linfield was not enough to get past Hardin-Simmons as the Cowboys handed the Wildcats their first loss.

This marks the third straight season-opening loss for Linfield in as many years.

In the first half, the ’Cats spotted Hardin-Simmons University and easy 14 points as the Cowboys turned a pair of Linfield fumbles into quick touchdowns.

The scoring began when Hardin-Simmons junior quarterback Justin Feaster ran the ball in from the two-yard line. Then, after recovering a fumble on Linfield’s next possession, the Cowboys used 10 plays and a 32-yard Feaster pass to senior wide receiver Mychal Carillo for their second score.

Linfield answered with a four-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Simon Lamson.

The Wildcats continued to cut into the Cowboys’ lead during the third quarter when senior placekicker Scott Birkhofer nailed a 26-yard field goal to make the score 21-10.

In the fourth quarter, senior wide out Travis Masters scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, in a span of 5 minutes, 14 seconds, putting Linfield ahead 22-21 with fewer than five minutes left in the game.

However, Hardin-Simmons went 80 yards in 3:40 on a drive that was capped off by a two-yard touchdown by sophomore running back Josh Stephens.

This only left 1:17 for young Cole Franklin, a sophomore, who entered the game in the third quarter after starting junior quarterback Aaron Boehme went down with an injury. The final drive was not of the winning sort as the ’Cats were stalled by the Cowboys’ defense, ending the game 29-22.

Boehme, making just the second start of his Linfieldcareer, suffered a collarbone injury that is rumored to be season-ending. If that is the case, Franklin would take over the top spot at quarterback for the remainder of the year.

Head coach Joe Smith said he was pleased with the comeback, even though the final score did not show it. He said he liked how the team dealt with the adversity.

“The game was moved up four hours, phones went out, clocks went out,” he said. “The score didn’t keep our guys down.”

Linfield put up 351 yards offensively, outgaining the Cowboys, including 215 yards on the ground and 136 yards passing.

“We moved the ball well on offense,” Masters said, who finished with 52 yards receiving, 45 yards rushing and two touchdowns. “We didn’t let the score get to us, and we fought hard.”

Though Linfield outgained the opponent, two key turnovers early on gave Hardin-Simmons the first points and momentum.

“We didn’t really play up to our ability,” Masters said. “We were slow out of the gate and spotted them points.”

Injuries plagued the ’Cats as starting senior running back Reggie Ford went down with a leg injury in the first half. Later, Boehme was hit.

Smith said, however, he knew Franklin would come in and do a great job.

“He scrambled well and made good decisions,” he said.

Linfield has a bye this week and will use the time off to prepare for its home opener against the Raiders of Southern Oregon University, Sept. 27.

“We just need to get healthy and focus on fundamentals,” Smith said. “We need to cut down on turnovers and do a better job blocking.”

Kurtis Williams

For the Review

For the first time this year, the Linfield men’s soccer team went on the road for a physically demanding three-match tour of Southern California.

In game one, the Wildcats remained undefeated, 3-0, in non-conference play with goals from sophomore  midfielder Carter Elhabbassi and freshman midfielder Kyle Wallace that held off Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 2-1, on Sept. 12.

Elhabbassi opened up the scoring 21 minutes into the game with his first goal of the campaign on an assist from junior Kurtis Wong.

Wong has three assists and three goals this year, leading the team in points.

Wallace scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season in the second half.

Despite a last-minute goal from Claremont’s senior forward Kevin Festini, the win was a positive result for
the team.

The second leg of the journey proved less successful for the ’Cats as they fell 1-0 to Pomona-Pitzer College, who pushed their undefeated record to 3-0.

Although Linfield had more offensive presence and eight more corner kicks than Pomona, a third-minute goal by junior Wynn Sullivan beat the ’Cats’ senior goalkeeper Mike Belzberg.

Looking to finish their California tour on a positive note, the ’Cats faced Whittier College in the final game of the trip. It took 85 of the 90 minutes for the Wildcats to break through the stalemate with a goal by junior captain Travis Isaacs, winning 1-0 and pushing their record to 4-1.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jon Thompson recorded the team’s third  shutout of the season. Linfield’s defense stood strong this year, and has only allowed two goals in five games while alternating between its three goalkeepers.

Although the rotation of goalkeepers may seem like a preseason gimmick, it is not just an attempt by head coach Ian Lefebvre to give each player experience in different situations.

“I feel pretty confident with whoever is in there,” he said.

Lefebvre said he had mixed feelings about the California tour but was pleased with the results.

“The trip was a good team builder,” he said. “We had to battle through three games, but we should have won all three. We let in an early goal against Pomona.”

The team will need to be stingy Sept. 20 when Linfield starts conference play at home against Whitworth University, the defending NWC champions, at 2:30 p.m. The Pirates will enter the game with a comparable record of 4-0-1.

Whitworth was ranked first by coaches in the NWC preseason poll and
sits at ninth place in the national ranking.

Linfield was voted sixth in the former poll, but Lefebvre knows that anything can happen.

“The polls basically follow last year’s final standings, but the league should be wide open this year,” Lefebvre said. “Whitworth and Pacific will be two tough matches along with UPS and Whitman.”

The ’Cats will have an extra boost against the Pirates when sophomore midfield Michael Camacho makes his home debut after seeing his first action of the year in California.

On the road, Camacho played forward, due to solid play from Isaacs, Elhabbassi and sophomore midfield Roland Mason.

Camacho suffered a partially torn MCL and hamstring six weeks before the season started, stunting his training.

Camacho begin training with the rest of the team only a week ago. The positive impact was immediately felt.

“I think I can help out offensively and keep the team organized,” Camacho said.

Starting 14 games at center midfield last year, Camacho was an emerging part of the offensive attack and looks to get on the scoring sheet this weekend against Whitworth.

Camacho and Lefebvre give credit to Whitworth. They know the game will be tough but said they do not think anyone should count them out.

“I think they rank in the top 10 right now,” Camacho said. “We have a pretty young team, but we’re skillful and it wouldn’t be farfetched to say we could beat them.”

Jordan Jacobo

Sports editor

For a program that through the decades has become synonymous with winning, watching the last two seasons end on a sour note has been a letdown.

Call it a symptom of the streak. Call it the pressure of tradition. At Linfield, football seasons are expected to include the postseason. Anything else is cause for concern.

But head coach Joe Smith and his Wildcats have redemption on their minds. On Sept. 13, they get a chance to start off on the right foot with a third installment of the Hardin-Simmons rivalry that has brought explosive plays and high-octane offense for the last two seasons.

The ‘Cats face off against the Cowboys in Abilene, Texas, at noon with the promise of starting the year anew and new names appearing on the depth chart, eager to push Linfield to the top of the Northwest Conference.

Adding to the anticipation of Linfield’s first contest of the season is the showcase of a quarterback battle that has been playing out since the end of last season. Junior Aaron Boehme and sophomore Cole Franklin spent training camp trying to distinquish themselves from one another, but Smith said both players have impressed him.

Although Boehme will be the official starter, Smith said Franklin will also have a chance to lead the team down the field in several drives.

“They are both very capable leaders,” Smith said of the two men. “They are poised, confident and hard-working. When things aren’t going well, these are the type of players who take it on their shoulders and see it as their responsibility to try and motivate the team.”

Several key positions will feature new starters being tested for the first time, as no official starters from last year’s roster are returning.

Junior cornerback Bubba Lemon, who last season registered three interceptions, is the anchor of a position that will otherwise be counting on relative newcomers.

Though last year the job of leading the ground game fell upon senior wide receiver-turned-tailback Travis Masters, he should spend considerably less time in the backfield this season.

Seniors Reggie Ford and Dan Lever and sophomore Simon Lamson will be the main forces of the ground game, Smith said.

Last year, Lamson and Lever combined for five touchdowns and gained nearly 300 yards of offense as secondary parts of the running game.

Ford, a transfer student from Central Washington University, has the promise of a feature tailback, Smith said.

“[Ford] had tremendous vision, patience and acceleration,” he said.

Masters said the offense’s biggest strength this year is its versatility and depth. He added that his play will be primarily as a wide receiver, though he may go in motion into the backfield on some occasions.

“I think we’re a lot more dynamic this year,” Masters said. “We can throw the ball. We can run the ball.

It’s definitely going to be a tough offense for teams to stop.”

With the speed and agility of Boehme, Masters and Ford all placed into consideration, the football for the ‘Cats will be in the hands of a player with big game-breaking ability on most plays.

Hardin-Simmons’ senior slot receiver Mychal Carillo, who last week helped the Cowboys win their season-opener with 87 yards receiving and a touchdown, will be a threat for Linfield’s defense.

Junior linebacker Alex Tkachuck said the defense will be keyed in on containing Carillo and adjusting its schemes to try and keep the ball out of his hands.

Tkachuck said the ‘Cats are hoping to learn from close losses experienced last year against Willamette University, Whitworth University and Western Oregon University.

“Those games could have gone either way based on the breaks,” he said. “This year we really need to keep our composure when we get into the crunch time. We need to not let up mentally and avoid those simple mistakes.”

For all the tests that Linfield faces in this first game, the results will likely set the tone for the remaining
contests.

They have been predicted to finish first in each of the last eight NWC preseason coaches’ polls, and as the perennial team-to-beat, the ‘Cats are set to face the best efforts from their opponents in all nine of their regular season games this year.

“That’s what we like,” Masters said. “That’s why a lot of people came here. They wanted to be a part of that winning tradition. I think everyone’s playing with a chip on their shoulder because it’s extremely disappointing to not make the playoffs two years in a row.”

By Dominic Baez

Managing editor

With a core group of proven returning runners and a bounty of freshmen to bolster its forces, the women’s cross country team is off to a fast start this year.

Leading the pack is junior Marci Klimek, who powered through the Whitman Invitational on Sept. 6, earning first place and securing a fourth place finish for the team. She ran the four-kilometer race in 14 minutes, 30 seconds.

Freshmen Nelly Evans, Brooke Keudell, Shanna Peaden and Lindsey Thomas, also ran for Linfield.

Evans finished 14th with a time of 15:39.

Klimek also excelled at the Summer’s End Invitational, hosted by Western Oregon University on Aug. 29.

Klimek placed first, winning the meet with a time of 18:39 for the 5K course. She finished the race with a 20-meter lead, a distance not easily surpassed by the runners behind her.

Klimek also placed 68th at the NCAA championships last year.

However, she is not the only standout returning athlete on the team.

Junior Frances Corcorran said she is looking forward to racing this season, as she was injured for both the cross country and track seasons last year. She has goals for herself and the team.

“For the team, I am looking forward to hopefully competing in the conference and regional championships as a whole team,” Corcoran said. “Everyone is working hard, and so we just need to keep doing that and then we will be able to get stronger and faster and work on closing gaps between our runners.”

Because of the larger-than-normal freshman class this year, the team is jam-packed with freshmen.

“There are a lot of freshmen on the team on both the girls’ and guys’ sides,” Corcorran said. “That brings new talent to the team and just an overall new team dynamic, both of which have been very positive for us this year. I am really excited about the women participants on the team. We have a lot of potential.”

Also returning is junior Amanda DeHass, who earned All-Region acclaim in 2005.

The core of freshmen running behind Klimek’s leadership and strong performances shows promise for the cross country program.

Placing a dissapointing sixth in the NWC last year, it’s likely that the team will finish near the top of the conference this fall, stacked with raw talent and under the direction of head coach Gary Killgore.

Next, the Wildcats will travel to the Lewis & Clark Collegiate Invitational Saturday, Sept. 13.

After that, they host the Linfield Open, which is open to anyone who enters the $50 team fee, on Sept. 26 at Joe DancerPark.