Hello Mustang Fans!

On Monday, Southwest Minnesota State University and Marshall Public Schools broke ground on the Marshall Regional Track and Field Complex. There was a great showing of university, school district and community support at the groundbreaking ceremony.

I want to thank everyone who attended the ceremony with the chilly weather conditions we experienced. It was great to see the student-athletes from the SMSU and Marshall High School track and field teams at the event as well as the Mustang football team who provided a great windbreak for all who attended.

The work on the Marshall Regional Track and Field Complex will continue through the spring and summer months. The project will include a MONDO track surface, an artificial turf track infield and an area for field events area located to the north of the track facility. The projected is slated to be completed sometime in August and weather will play a major role in maintaining the construction timeline.

SMSU hosting Mini Sports Camp

The Mustang Booster Club will be hosting an event for the entire family with the first Mini-Sports Camp on April 26, at the Schwan Regional Events Center.

The Mini-Sports Camp, which begins with registration from 8:30 to 9 a.m., is for families with kids from age 4 through sixth grade participating in mini-camp sessions with SMSU student-athletes and coaches.

The sports featured in the mini-camps include basketball, football, soccer and volleyball and will be conducted from 9 a.m.. to 12 p.m.

The registration fee is $25 and includes a T-shirt, participation in the four mini-camps and lunch. Following the mini-camps, the Mustang Booster Club will provide a free family lunch at the Schwan Regional Events Center at 12 p.m.

The Mustang Booster Club will share a brief message on family packages and benefits available for the 2014-15 SMSU athletic season.

The Mustang football program will conclude the day with its annual spring game at 1 p.m. with all participants invited to attend.

For more information, call Jennifer Graven at 507-537-6233.

Download the Mustang app

The SMSU Department of Athletics and sponsors, Aramark, Hy-Vee and Pepsi, have begun the soft launch phase of a new way for fans to interact with Mustang athletics on their mobile devices.

The new Mustang app, which is available for download now, will not only allow you to keep updated with SMSU?athletics, but you’ll earn rewards for attending Mustang events and receive great offers from Aramark Dining Services, Hy-Vee, and Pepsi.

The app, which is compatible with Apple devices and Android based platforms, can be downloaded by searching “Mustang app” in the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or any other app stores.

Another way to download the Mustang app is to follow the instructions: 1. Text ‘Mustangs’ to 80802; 2. Click the link in the text message you receive; 3. Download from Application Store; 4. Register for Application; 5. Start Earning Rewards.

SMSU baseball helps to fight cancer

This weekend, the SMSU baseball team, along with the Vs. Cancer Foundation, have joined forces to help the fight against cancer. The Mustangs have set a goal to raise $5,000 by Saturday to help cure childhood cancer.

SMSU baseball players will be shaving their heads after the game against Augustana at Alumni Field in Saturday in support of the cause.

The Mustangs are looking for donations and/or support on or before Saturday to help raise awareness to childhood cancer.

Childhood cancer is becoming a bigger threat every year. In the United States, approximately 13,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year. That’s more than a classroom of kids a day.

Many SMSU players and members of the Mustang coaching staff have been or know of someone that has been affected by this terrible disease.

You can go online to www.stayclassy.org/fundraise/team?ftid=28364, where they will be able to choose how much to donate to this cause. Any amount small or large will help. You can either choose to make a one-time donation or set up a monthly donation to the fundraiser. Either way you choose, it helps a great cause!

After entering the amount, you will be taken to the page where you will be asked to enter your payment information. At this point, you will be able to write a message and tell us why you are donating to this fund. You can also opt to make an anonymous payment. Once you have filled everything out you click “Send Gift.”

Gifts will be split in two ways. One half of the donations collected will go the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, which will aid in funding new research for childhood cancer. The other half will go to the Vs. Cancer Foundation.

SMSU is one of numerous teams from across the country participating in the fundraiser for childhood cancer research.

Drown SMSU Golf Classic

Save the date!

The 29th annual David and Carol Drown SMSU Golf Classic will be held June 20 at the Marshall Golf Club.

The Golf Classic is the next Mustang Booster Club fundraising event, and the Golf Classic Committee will be convening in the next couple of weeks to begin the planning for this great event.

Online

For all your information the Mustang app and SMSU athletics, visit our website at www.smsumustamgs.com.

Upcoming SMSU athletic events

Women’s Tennis

The Mustang women’s tennis team (3-16 overall, 1-10 Nothern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) concluded their 2014 season on Sunday in a 6-3 loss to Upper Iowa in Winona.

SMSU picked up a victory by injury default at No. 3 doubles to get on the board early. The Mustangs scored another point due to injury default later with Samantha Ritter earning a win at No. 6 singles. SMSU’s third and final match point came with Erin Bones’ convincing 6-1, 6-1win over Laura Alvarez at No. 5 singles.

The Mustangs finished tied for tenth in the NSIC with a 1-10 conference mark. The top eight teams in the conference compete in the 2014 NSIC Tournament Championships on April 26-27 at Lifetime Fitness Oakdale in Minnetonka.

A big thank you to head coach Charlie Kost, and our student-athletes on the women’s tennis team for all their hard work and dedication throughout the year.

Baseball

The SMSU baseball team (17-14, 8-7 NSIC) split a doubleheader at Sioux Falls on Tuesday, winning 6-4 in Game 1 before losing 8-7 in Game 2.

Southwest Minnesota State returns to action Friday and Saturday to open a four-game series versus Augustana College at Alumni Field. Friday’s doubleheader begins at 1:30 p.m. before Saturday’s twin-bill starts at 12 p.m.

Congratulations to Patrick Rients for being named the NSIC Player of the Week for his performance last week against Winona State and Wayne State.

Softball

The Mustang softball team (11-24-1, 8-11-1 NSIC) was shut out twice, 7-0 and 6-0, at Augustana on Tuesday.

SMSU hosts doubleheaders against Upper Iowa at 1 p.m. Friday and Winona State at 12 p.m. Saturday.

Women’s Golf

The Mustangs tied for fifth place at the 11-team Augustana Invitational at Prairie Green Golf Course on Sunday. The final round was canceled due to poor weather.

Abby Gruber and Rachel Patnoe, who tied for 19th place, each scored rounds of 9-over 81 to lead SMSU.

Augustana won the tournament with a 14-over 302, three shots ahead of Concordia-St. Paul.

This was SMSU’s last regular season women’s golf tournament of the spring season. The Mustangs will compete in the NSIC Spring Championships on April 26-27 at the Dakotah Ridge Golf Club in Morton.

Track and Field

The SMSU women’s and men’s track and field team competed in its first outdoor meet of the season on Saturday at the Lee Krough Invite at Gustavus Adolphus College.

On the women’s side, Rylee Armstrong won the high jump with a mark of 5-feet, 3-inches, while Samantha McNeel earned a first place finish in the long jump with a mark of 16-8.

In the men’s meet, Dallin Finley recorded a first place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.48 seconds. Alejandro Sanchez also picked up a victory with a time of 50.12 in the 400 dash. O.J. Ojullu and Chris Kveseth finished second and third, respectively, in the 800 run with times of 1:59.15 and 1:59.84.

Ben Tonsager, competing in his first track competition at SMSU, won the shot put with a throw of 47-3 1/2, while Anthony Dean, also competing in his first meet finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 42-4 3/4.

SMSU will be competing in the Northwestern Red Raider Open, which began Wednesday and continued Thursday in Orange City, Iowa.

Good luck to all of our SMSU Teams competing this weekend!

Go Mustangs!

Trivia Contest

Congratulation to Chris Versaevel who provided the correct answer to the Mustang Hoofprint’s Trivia Question: What SMSU women’s tennis player holds the record for the most career singles wins?

Michelle Olson recorded 107 career wins as a singles player at SMSU from 1986 to 1989.

Trivia Question

Can you name the two recipients from SMSU who have received the Noel Olson Volunteer of the Year Award from the NSIC?

The first person to email me at MustangHoofPrints@SMSU.edu with the correct answer to this question will receive an SMSU T-shirt.