2008-09 Sports Highlights
Dan Gilland
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Sports
If there was ever a year of firsts for Southwest Minnesota State athletics, 2008-09 is as good a candidate as any.
The sports calendar couldn't have gotten off to a more sparkling and clean start. With the $16 million Regional Event Center primed and ready for its first-ever action, the SMSU football team broke in the artificial-turf field on an immaculate fall day with a 54-14 thumping of Minnesota, Crookston.
Victories of that magnitude were rare for the Mustangs but so were losses. With key seniors like quarterback Josh Shudlick and safety Tyler Reed setting the pace for the team, SMSU finished a steady campaign with a 6-5 overall record, marking the school's first winning season since 1999.
In the process, junior running back Zach Wysong became the fourth player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, finishing with 1,016 yards, second most in school history. Shudlick, meanwhile, provided air support for Wysong. Shudlick's 276.3 passing and rushing yards per game ranked 16th in the country in total offense, and the Mustangs were 14th in passing offense.
The always-formidable volleyball team went through another season with a constant presence in the national polls. The Mustangs never slipped below 16th in the Bison/AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, and peaked at No. 3 on Oct. 27. The team made its fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, bowing out in the second round to Minnesota, Duluth. SMSU ended the season with a 27-8 overall record and a 16-4 record in the NSIC. Kasey Loeslie became just the second player in school history to make the All-America team in Division II. She was named to the third team.
But if noise the previous teams made on the sports scene was loud, the sound produced by the men's basketball team was ear-splitting. The SMSU men - without one player with a double-digit scoring average - reached the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., after winning the Central Region tournament, hosted by SMSU. It was just the second time the Mustangs had ever reached the national quarterfinals.
The sports calendar couldn't have gotten off to a more sparkling and clean start. With the $16 million Regional Event Center primed and ready for its first-ever action, the SMSU football team broke in the artificial-turf field on an immaculate fall day with a 54-14 thumping of Minnesota, Crookston.
Victories of that magnitude were rare for the Mustangs but so were losses. With key seniors like quarterback Josh Shudlick and safety Tyler Reed setting the pace for the team, SMSU finished a steady campaign with a 6-5 overall record, marking the school's first winning season since 1999.
In the process, junior running back Zach Wysong became the fourth player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, finishing with 1,016 yards, second most in school history. Shudlick, meanwhile, provided air support for Wysong. Shudlick's 276.3 passing and rushing yards per game ranked 16th in the country in total offense, and the Mustangs were 14th in passing offense.
The always-formidable volleyball team went through another season with a constant presence in the national polls. The Mustangs never slipped below 16th in the Bison/AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, and peaked at No. 3 on Oct. 27. The team made its fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, bowing out in the second round to Minnesota, Duluth. SMSU ended the season with a 27-8 overall record and a 16-4 record in the NSIC. Kasey Loeslie became just the second player in school history to make the All-America team in Division II. She was named to the third team.
But if noise the previous teams made on the sports scene was loud, the sound produced by the men's basketball team was ear-splitting. The SMSU men - without one player with a double-digit scoring average - reached the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., after winning the Central Region tournament, hosted by SMSU. It was just the second time the Mustangs had ever reached the national quarterfinals.
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