NAIA Lindenwood stacked with former Valley athletes
Another college showcasing a Rio Grande Valley presence is Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.
Ranked third in the NAIA, the Lions’ football team is undefeated in eight outings after surviving Benedictine College on Saturday. Lindenwood also is undefeated in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
McAllen Memorial graduate Joseph Hanks is in his second season at Lindenwood and has played in six games this season. Hanks, a 6-foot-1, 248-pound defensive end, had one solo tackle against Benedictine and has 11 for the year. The sophomore has tallied 16 total tackles in 2009 to go along with three sacks and one recovered fumble.
As a team, the Lions have dominated, outscoring the opposition by an average of 56.0 to 19.8 points per game.
CROSS COUNTRY
Noe Hernandez (jr.) from Mission and Raul Toscano (fr.) of Mercedes compete for the Lindenwood squad which has raced in only three meets this season. By far, the Lions’ best result was a first-place championship during the Greater Louisville Classic (Blue Race) at the University of Louisville on October 3 in Kentucky.
The Lions next meet is Saturday at the HAAC Championship in Marshall, Missouri.
TENNIS
Participating on Lindenwood’s men’s team are McAllen’s Stefan Hernandez and Mission’s Ramon Lozano.
During the Bethany College Tennis Tournament in Salina, Kan. in the middle of September, Hernandez won his Flight Four singles match. He then paired up with Gauthier Schilling to win the Flight Two doubles match.
The Lions have lost just one match overall this season and finished the fall campaign 3-0 following the 2009 ITA Small College Tennis Championships staged in Mobile, Ala.
SWIMMING
Valley members of the Lindenwood swim team consist of Bruce Kroeker (fr., free), Adrian Lopez (fr., breast) and Ricardo Sanchez (fr., free), all from McAllen Memorial; Diego Banda (fr., free) of Brownsville Porter and Edwin Jones (fr., free) of Sharyland.
BASKETBALL
Gina Ferrer, a former Edinburg High standout now playing guard for Lindenwood, entered her final campaign for the Lions when the 2009-10 season began Monday (November 2) at home against Olivet Nazarene University.
VOLLEYBALL
Jessica Martinez (soph., outside hitter) of Harlingen South and Alyssa Sanchez (soph., libero) of Sharyland are currently competing for Navarro Junior College in Corsicana. The Lady Bulldogs recently clinched a third-place seed in this weekend’s NJCAA Region XIV Tournament when they swept Paris College on October 26 at home in Corsicana. The Region XIV tourney takes place Friday and Saturday in Paris, Texas.
FOOTBALL
McAllen Rowe’s Emmanuel Gatling (6-0, 210) is a strong safety for Mississippi State University. Gatling, a junior for the Bulldogs, has played in all nine games for Mississippi State, posting four solo tackles and two assisted in 2009. The Bulldogs are currently 4-5 on the season and 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference following their 31-24 victory over Kentucky this past Saturday. They next host second-ranked Alabama on November 14.
Michael A. Pullen is a former sportswriter in the Rio Grande Valley. His column runs every Tuesday. College news can be reported to him via e-mail at rgvroundup.
