Lindenwood Magazine - Spring 2021

18 19 SPRING 2021 EDITION SPRING 2021 EDITION THE LINDENWOOD THE LINDENWOOD SPORTS RECAPS WRESTLING The No. 2 Lindenwood wrestling team had its best finish in the NCAA era at the Division II National Championships in March. The Lions compiled five All- Americans to finish in third place. Abner Romero completed his undefeated season as national champion at 174 pounds. Romero outscored his four opponents in the tournament by a combined score of 44-4. Ronnie Gentile took home second place at 157 pounds, while Colby Smith and Gavin Londoff each registered a third-place finish, and Tanner Hitchcock earned seventh. The Lions went undefeated in conference duals, as they were crowned 2021 GLVC Champions. Lindenwood compiled 10 all-GLVC performers and added four regional champions. SWIMMING & DIVING Women’s swimming & diving was named the 2021 GLVC Swimming & Diving Champions for the first time in program history after scoring 1,781 points at the GLVC Championships. Head coach Jason Owen earned the conference’s Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year award. The women’s team took fourth place at nationals, while the men’s team finished in fifth place. Jerry Brown capped off the season with the national title in the 100 breaststroke. In all, the swimming and diving program compiled 21 All-Americans, including 16 Lions who earned the honor in multiple events. LINDENWOOD ATHLETICS LINDENWOOD ATHLETICS “I’ve been doing an NFLPA Externship, which allows us to partner with a school or company to enhance our future after the NFL,” said Harris. “We were able to choose what options we wanted to pursue, but I was the only one that wanted to get involved in athletics administration. I like the academic side; you can develop relationships with the student-athletes and really be in their corner off the field. I want to help them develop their life and show them that there is more than just the sport they play, because the sport is what they do not who they are.” Dr. Ron Moses, associate athletic director at Old Dominion helped facilitate the partnership between the NFLPA and ODU. Harris took part in a presentation with a few football players at ODU, little did he know, he would see a familiar face during the virtual meeting. “Ron told me ‘this guy who used to play rugby at Lindenwood is working at ODU’, said Harris. “He made it seem like he played so long ago, so I didn’t know it was Tay until we hoped on the zoom call. It was good to see a familiar face, especially someone who is doing what I want to do. Tay has taken the route of what I want to do when I transition out of playing football, so he will be a great resource for me.” “I had less than 12 hours to prepare the presentation on what we do for student-athlete development,” said Hawker. “I was freaking out trying to get a PowerPoint together, then I found out that Jon would be on the call and thought ‘no way’. We both logged in early and were able to catch up, so it was pretty cool to have two Lindenwood alumni on a call to help mentor student-athletes.” The leadership skills that they learned and the “real experience” that was part of their student experience at Lindenwood provided the foundation for their opportunities to pursue a career in college athletics and their passion to mentor student-athletes. The two Lions have traveled different roads, but the destination is more similar than expected. Harris hopes to continue his playing career, but his plan for after football is to stay close to what he knows, student- athletes. As Hawker continues to establish himself as a valuable mentor, their futures may perhaps cross once more in the world of college athletics. GYMNASTICS The gymnastics squad won its sixth-consecutive MIC Championship in March. The Lions had 12 all-MIC performers, including three who went to the NCAA Regional Championships in Morgantown, W. Va. Kyndall Baze, Courtney Mitchell, and Aleah Leman represented the Lions in the vault, which Lindenwood ranked 27th in the country heading into postseason, and each competing placed inside the top 20. The Lions entered the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships in mid-April, in efforts to win their fourth championship in six seasons. MEN’S TRACK The men’s track team had a strong showing in the 4x400 at the national championships in Birmingham, Ala. Samuel Yaro, Armani Modeste, Damaine Dixon, and Dorian Leda posted a time of 3:13.87 to earn All-American status. Yaro earned individual All-American recognition as well, after finishing the 400-meter race in sixth place. BASKETBALL TJ Crockett of men’s basketball had a season to remember. The University City, Mo. native was named second-team D2CCA All-American, as his 27.5 points per game were considered one of the best at any level of college basketball this season. Crockett set the school and GLVC record with 54 points in a game against McKendree. Crockett was named a unanimous first-team all-GLVC selection, and later earned NABC first-team all-district. At the conclusion of the regular season, Crockett led the GLVC in points per game with 28.1, as no other player in the conference averaged more than 19.5 points per game. Crockett earned GLVC Player of the Week honors four times, as he registered 20 points or more in 17 different games, which was the league lead by nine games. Additionally, Crockett dropped 30 points or more in six different games, which doubled the next player of the list. In March, Crockett won the Dark Horse Dunker Fan Vote and competed in the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, an event featuring some of the best college dunkers and 3-point shooters in the country. Crockett took second place in the event. Photo Credit: Don Adams, Jr. Photo Credit: Drury University Photo Credit: Terry Simpson Photo Credit: Washburn University Photo Credit: State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships ATHLETICS FEATURE STORY (CONTINUED) FUN FACTS ? Did you know that a Lindenwood alumna was one the first female self-made millionaires in the U.S.? Nell Quinlan Donnelly (Class of 1909) started a clothing company that made cheap, stylish dresses between the 1920s through 1940s. Later in life, she married the U.S. Senator from Missouri, James Reed.