NDSU Adds Gooris to Bison Track & Field Coaching Staff

FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State University women's and men's track & field programs announced the hiring of former NCAA All-American Daniel Gooris as an assistant coach on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Gooris served as an assistant coach at Western Illinois University for the 2013-14 season and has been a volunteer assistant at Columbus State University in Georgia this year. In his brief coaching career, Gooris has directed athletes in the sprints, jumps, hurdles, pole vault, javelin and multi-events.

"We are excited to welcome Daniel and his wife Krista to the Bison family," said NDSU head women's track & field coachStevie Keller. "Daniel brings a great deal of knowledge and passion for the sport of track & field that will help the Bison become stronger at the conference, regional and national levels. His experience as a decathlete has been impressive and gives him the opportunity to coach a number of events." 

Gooris competed in college for the University of Northern Iowa, where he earned four All-America honors as one of the top multi-event athletes and pole vaulters in school history. He was a three-time All-American in the multi-events and a seven-time Missouri Valley Conference champion.

A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Gooris has been one of the top multi-event athletes in the U.S. in his post-collegiate career. He placed third in the heptathlon at the 2014 USATF Indoor Championships and eighth in the decathlon at the USATF Outdoor Championships in 2013. Gooris represented Team USA in the Thorpe Cup decathlon in 2013, earning a fourth-place finish.

"I am very excited to be a part of NDSU track & field," Gooris said. "The program has a history of excellence on and off the track, and I am proud to say I am now a Bison. My wife and I are looking forward to the move to Fargo and joining the NDSU family."

Gooris graduated from UNI in 2013 with a major in exercise science and a minor in psychology.

The NDSU women have won 14 straight Summit League team titles between the indoor and outdoor seasons, and the Bison men have won five straight outdoor team titles.

Summit League Baseball Preview by Perfect Game

Photo by Inertia Sports Media

Below is the predicted order of finish and preseason all-league team as selected by Perfect Game for its Summit League preview.

Predicted Order of Finish

Overall/conference win-loss records from 2014 indicated | * Denotes projected conference automatic bid

No.	Team	W	L	W	L
1	Nebraska-Omaha*	31	20	15	9
2	Oral Roberts	30	26	15	15
3	South Dakota State	28	29	11	11
4	North Dakota State	25	26	10	12
5	Western Illinois	21	32	11	13
6	Fort Wayne	19	36	11	13

Preseason All-League Team

Pos.	Name	Class	School	Stats/Notes
C	J.J. Reimer	Sr.	Western Illinois	.319-1-12; solid defender with bat speed
1B	Matt Johnson	So.	South Dakota State	.284-1-23; high upside hitter
MIF	Clayton Taylor	Jr.	Nebraska-Omaha	.342-9-48; power to all fields
MIF	Matt Brandy	Sr.	Oral Roberts	.277-3-36; blossoming power bat
3B	Rolando Martinez	Jr.	Oral Roberts	Potential impact transfer from Bakersfield College
OF	Daniel Jewett	Sr.	Nebraska-Omaha	.333-1-29; disciplined hitter
OF	Cole Gruber	Jr.	Nebraska-Omaha	.319-1-18; game changer on the bases, 34 SB
OF	Evan VanSumeren	Jr.	Fort Wayne	.370-0-4; good athlete, hits to all fields
DH	Greg Kaiser	Jr.	Fort Wayne	.289-8-38; big power to all fields
UT	Alex Schultz	Jr.	Nebraska-Omaha	.302-1-23; speed and athleticism
SP	Tyler Fox	Jr.	Nebraska-Omaha	2.29, 78.2 IP, 57:17; plus command
SP	Parker Trewin	Sr.	North Dakota State	2.57, 77 IP, 68:28; .225 BAA
SP	Guillermo Trujillo	Jr.	Oral Roberts	3.11, 81 IP, 63:25; 90-94 FB, plus stuff
SP	Adam Bray	Sr.	South Dakota State	2.80, 103 IP, 95:17; plus command
RP	J.D. Moore	Sr.	South Dakota State	3.07, 29.1 IP, 27:23; swing and miss stuff

Player of the Year: Clayton Taylor, 2B, Nebraska-Omaha

Pitcher of the Year: Guillermo Trujillo, RHP, Oral Roberts

Freshman of the Year: Nick Roark, SS, Oral Roberts

Denver Men's Golf Partners with Team IMPACT

The University of Denver men's golf team, along with Team IMPACT, has announced the

signing of 12-year old Alex Sherman to a letter of intent.

"We are very excited to have Alex join our team," said Pioneers head coach Erik Billinger. "Alex has proven to be a fighter and his determination and winning attitude will certainly benefit our program. The guys are very happy to learn from Alex and in turn we hope to teach Alex a few things as well this season."

Alex has been fighting Burkitt's Lymphoma since 2011, a type of cancer that begins in the body's immune cells. Upon being diagnosed, he underwent five months of intensive chemotherapy. His cancer is in remission and he currently gets scans, blood work and various tests to check his heart, lung and kidney functions.

Collegiate Baseball Releases Its Summit League Predictions

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper recently released it Division I conference predictions for the upcoming baseball season, which begins Feb. 13. Below is the publication's rundown of The Summit League:

Projected Order of Finish
1. Omaha
2. Oral Roberts
3. South Dakota State
4. North Dakota State
5. Western Illinois
6. Fort Wayne

Projected Pitcher of the Year
RHP Tyler Fox, Omaha

Projected Player of the Year
2B Clayton Taylor, Omaha

Other Top Players To Watch
RHP Zach Williamsen, Omaha
LHP Sam Murphy, Omaha
RHP Guillermo Trujillo, Oral Roberts
RHP Kurt Giller, Oral Roberts
OF Logan Domenico, Oral Roberts
2B Matt Brandy, Oral Roberts
LHP Chris Anderson, South Dakota State
RHP Chad Hodges, South Dakota State
RHP J.D. Moore, South Dakota State
OF Zach Coppola, South Dakota State
IF Matt Johnson, South Dakota State
OF Paul Jacobson, South Dakota State
IF Cody Sharrow, South Dakota State
RHP David Ernst, North Dakota State
LHP Parker Trewin, North Dakota State
RHP Reed Pfannenstein, North Dakota State
RHP Trevor Jaunich, North Dakota State
RHP Nick Milligan, Western Illinois
LHP Tyler Owings, Western Illinois
LHP Tom Constand, Western Illinois
C Adam McGinnis, Western Illinois
3B Chris Tschida, Western Illinois

For more information visit Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

SDSU's Potterveld Named Wooden Cup Semifinalist

Diana Potterveld was honored as a semifinalist for the Wooden Citizenship Cup, presented by the Athletes For

A Better World (ABW) organization.

“This is the first time we have had one of our players receive this award,” head coach Lang Wedemeyer said.  “It’s wonderful that Diana has been recognized for her many hours of volunteer service, fantastic grades and excellence on the field. We are very proud of her.”

Potterveld, who in November became the first Jackrabbit women’s soccer player to be named a first-team Academic All-American, was the lone Summit League athlete to earn this distinction this year.

Western Illinois Volunteers at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Macomb

Members from 10 Western Illinois sports took part in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Macomb's annual Christmas party. The event, held on Sunday (December 7), involved games, face painting and baking cookies.

Organized by Lydia Smith (track and field) and with the help of the director of Big Brothers Big Sister of Macomb, 30 Leathernecks helped wrap presents and were handed out by Santa.

Members of Western Illinois' track and field, golf, tennis, softball, baseball, soccer, football and cheerleading programs were present as Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrated Christmas and made Christmas cards for the retirement home.

South Dakota SAAC's "Share Your Sole" Shoe Drive Collects 600 Shoes

More than 600 pairs of gently used shoes were collected the past two weeks to be donated to the Native American Heritage Association (NAHA). The donated shoes were gathered as a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s “Share Your Sole” shoe drive. This year’s shoe drive effort doubled last year’s donation total.

SAAC set up donation boxes around campus and collected shoes at several athletic events throughout the month. The shoes will be sent to Blackhawk, S.D., in the coming weeks to be delivered to NAHA.

#SummitMBB Trio Nominated for NABC Good Works Team

Denver's Brett Olson

INDIANAPOLIS – Denver’s Brett Olson, Omaha’s Kyler Erickson and South Dakota’s Brandon Bos represent The Summit League among the 158 student-athletes named by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Allstate Insurance Company as nominees for the 2015 Good Works Team.

This prestigious community service award recognizes a distinguished group of student-athletes who have demonstrated a commitment to enriching the lives of others and contributing to the greater good in their communities.

College sports information directors and basketball coaches across the country nominated players who exhibit exceptional leadership skills and an unwavering commitment to volunteerism. From the 158 NABC nominees, distinguished voting panels will select five student-athletes from the NCAA® Division I level. The final roster of 20 award recipients will be unveiled in February.

Former Duke University student-athlete, two-time NCAA champion and seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill will headline the Allstate NABC Good Works Team® voting panel.

More information about the Allstate NABC Good Works Team® and the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® is available at www.nabc.org and www.wbca.org.

DU's Wirth, SDSU's Stuart Nominated for WBCA Allstate Good Works Team

2015 Allstate WBCA Good Works Team®

DU's Theresa Wirth

Denver's Theresa Wirth and South Dakota State's Megan Stuart were named two of the 251 nominees for 2015 Allstate Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and National Association of Basketball Coaches Good Works Teams® Wednesday.
the

Wirth, a Pioneer forward on the court, spends her time off the court volunteering for a number of organizations. She has served meals at the Denver Rescue Mission, visits children at Children’s Hospital Colorado and talks to students at local elementary schools about being a collegiate student-athlete. During the summer of 2013 Wirth interned with Special Olympics Colorado and volunteered at a number of their events. She cooks meals for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Charities and helped get Athletes in Action recognized as an official club on the University of Denver campus.

Stuart spent this past summer as an intern with the Sanford Arts in Healthcare at the Sioux Falls Sanford Hospital.

A biology pre-medicine and studio arts double major, Stuart created art—such as painting, paper-crane folding, friendship bracelet making, doodling and molding clay—with cancer patients, family members and healthcare employees at the Sanford Cancer Center and the Sanford Children’s Hospital through the Children’s Hospital Healing Arts program.

SDSU's Megan Stuart

She also helped with programs such as the Survivor's Picnic, The Kindness Challenge and Bottles of Hope workshops. Each program supports cancer survivors and their families by using art as a form of healing. 

As sophomore, Stuart completed a medical mission to Kenya, working with International Medical Aid distributing hygienic supplies to local schools and taught students how to wash their hands and brush their teeth. She also helped paint an orphanage. 

With the Jackrabbit basketball team and as a three-year member of SAAC, Stuart has volunteered at the Special Olympics softball tournament, helped with the Brookings area Harvest Table, participated in Project Joy by purchasing and delivering gifts to local families, read at local elementary schools and decorated a local nursing home for SDSU’s Hobo Day weekend.

This prestigious community service award recognizes a distinguished group of student-athletes who have demonstrated a commitment to enriching the lives of others and contributing to the greater good in their communities.

For the third year, the Allstate WBCA and NABC Good Works Teams® help spotlight the off-the-court good works and service to others that often goes unnoticed and unrewarded. From creating organizations benefitting at-risk youth to volunteering overseas to help impoverished communities, there are countless remarkable stories of service among this year’s group of nominees. As full-time students and athletes, these players choose to dedicate their limited free time to improving the lives of those around them.

Members of the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® will be recognized during the 2015 WBCA Convention and at the 2015 NCAA Women’s Final Four® in Tampa Bay, and will also participate in a local community project.

IUPUI's Laird to Compete in FINA World Championships

Beginning on Dec. 3, IUPUI women's swimmer Alexus Laird will represent Seychelles when she competes in the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships.

The FINA World Swimming Championships take place Dec. 3-7, and Laird will compete in the 50 free, 100 free, 50 back, 100 back, 200 back, 4x50 mixed freestyle relay and the 4x50 mixed medley relay.

Laird's first event will be the 100 back, which takes place at 2:00 a.m. in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Laird recently just clocked a NCAA 'B' cut time in the event for the second straight year, and she is the only swimmer in program history to post a NCAA 'B' cut time.
in the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships.