Bearcats Unleashed
All-Americans
Three men’s water polo players were named to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Division II
Men’s Varsity All-America Team, including junior Breno Tebet from Sao Paulo, Brazil
(first team), graduate student Josh Carlson from New Lenox, Ill. and senior Nico Rodriguez
from Bogota, Colombia (honorable mentions).
Scholar All-American & All-District Teams
Redshirt junior Jacob Bachman from Eureka, Ill. was named a College Sports Communicators
(CSC) Division II Academic All-American first team honoree for football. Jacob, along
with Turner Pullen, redshirt senior Kenny Thomason from Mahomet, Ill., redshirt junior
Tyler Siever from Carlyle, Ill., redshirt sophomore Josh Bleich from Melvin, Ill.,
and sophomores Kaleb Barry from Kirkwood, Mo., Billy Doyle IV from Lockport, Ill.
and Jordan Sprycha from Oak Lawn, Ill. were named CSC Academic All-District Team honorees
for football.
Women’s soccer garnered six CSC nods, including seniors Morgan Bova from Troy, Mo., Allison Frederking
from Weldon Springs, Mo., Elizabeth Goldstein from Florissant, Mo. and Abby Tucker
from Wentzville, Mo., and juniors Destiny Johnson from Maryville, Ill. and Reagan
Mauch from Columbia, Ill. Women’s volleyball had four All-District selections, including
senior Claire Diercks from Highland, Ill., and juniors Brianna Binder from Littleton,
Colo., Lauren McCurley from Troy, Ill. and Colleen Preusser from St. Charles, Mo.
National & Regional Highlights
GLVC Conference Players of the Year
Anna Stiffler - Offensive Player of the Year
Women's soccer junior forward Anna Stiffler from O'Fallon, Mo. was named the GLVC
Offensive Player of the Year. She ranked atop a multitude of categories in the GLVC,
leading in points (27), points per game (1.50), goals (13), goals per game (0.72),
and game-winners (6 / 0.33 per game).
Turner Pullen - Offensive Player of the Year
Redshirt junior quarterback Turner Pullen from Shelbyville, Ill. capped off his collegiate career by being named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year. He led the league in passing yards (3,541), completions (329), attempts (469), completion percentage (70.1 percent), passing touchdowns (30), points responsible for (216) and total offense (341.0). In addition, he led all Division II quarterbacks in both total offense (341.0) and completions per game (29.91).
Bass Fishing
Strike King Bassmaster College Series National Championship on Sept. 2-4.
Eight Bearcats qualified for the Bassmaster National Championships, including fifth-year
seniors Tyler Christy ’22 from Bolingbrook, Ill. and Trey Schroeder from Crestwood,
Mo.; seniors Bailey Bleser from Burlington, Wis. and Trey Budach from Morris, Ill.;
juniors Colton Hill from Patoka, Ill. and Harmon Marien from Eagle River, Wis.; and
sophomores Kyle Hopping from Lake St. Louis, Mo. and Jaxson Freeman from Loda, Ill.
Tyler and Trey finished third and earned a spot in the nationally televised College
Classic Bracket Finals at Greenwood Lake in Greenwood, S.C. on Sept. 30-Oct. 3. Tyler
advanced to the semifinals with a 7-10 catch on day one, before falling short on day
two to finish in third place.
2022 Major League Fishing (MLF) School of the Year Race.
After strong appearances at three regional tournaments and an Open event, the McKendree
bass fishing team earned the MLF Central Conference Team of the Year title with a
total of 1,747 points and finished in second place in the National School of The Year
competition.
Illinois State Championships held at Lake Egypt in Marion, Ill. on Oct. 23.
Jaxson Freeman and sophomore Maxwell Trotter from Decatur, Ill. won the state title with two bass weighing 6.63lbs. Trey Schroeder and sophomore Lane Stephens from Talala, Okla. finished in second place.
Bowling
Senior men’s bowler Jorge Rodriguez from Yauco, Puerto Rico was the top finisher with
1,489 pins at the Midwest Collegiate Bowling Championships. Daniel Chin from Daly
City, Calif. was the top finisher with 1,339 pins at the Columbia 300 Western Shootout
and 1,161 pins at the Boilermaker Classic. The men’s team amassed a total of 8,698
pins at the Boilermaker Classic on Oct. 30 to also bring home the team title. The
women’s bowling team won the MOTIV Ladyjack Classic with a 12-2 record and a total
pinfall of 15,230 on Nov. 13 and the 2022 National Collegiate Team Match Games with
a total pinfall of 10,461 on Nov. 20.
Football
Two football players were nominated for National Player of the Year awards. Turner
Pullen was a candidate for the 2022 Harlon Hill Trophy for the NCAA Division II College
Football Player of the Year. Kenny Thomason was a candidate for the 2022 Gene Upshaw
Division II Lineman of the Year Award by the Manheim Touchdown Club.
Golf
The men’s golf team closed out the fall season with three tournament titles at the Bearcat Dual Gender
Tournament at Far Oaks Golf Club in Caseyville, Ill., the Midwest Regional at Panther
Creek Country Club in Springfield, Ill., and the Kentucky Wesleyan Fall Invitational
at The Pearl Club in Owensboro, Ky. Sophomore men’s golfer Fabian Wennerlof from Onsala,
Sweden tied for first place at the Midwest Regional Tournament with a 210 for 54 holes.
Sophomore women’s golfer Imogen Rafferty from Derbyshire, England won medalist honors
with a 235 for 54 holes at the Bearcat Dual Gender Tournament.
Powerlifting
The men’s and women’s powerlifting teams placed second and third respectively at the
Midwest Collegiate Regional. Four Bearcats won their weight classes, including sophomore
Jake Waltzer (75kg) from Elkton, Md., with a combined total of 650kg; first-year Dawson
Stebbins (90kg) from Swartz Creek, Mich., with a combined total of 630kg; first-year
Steven Singleton (100kg) from Nashville, Tenn., with a combined total of 685kg; and
junior Kailee Carr (56kg) from St. Peters, Mo., with a combined total of 332.5kg.
Soccer
The women’s soccer team closed out the regular season with a program-first unbeaten record and qualified for their sixth straight NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament, where they lost in the first round to Cedarville University. Three players were named to both the 2022 D2CCA All- Midwest Region and United Soccer Coaches' All-Midwest Region Teams, including Anna Stiffler (first teams), Morgan Bova from Troy, Mo. (first and second team), and Allison Frederking from Weldon Springs, Mo. (second teams).
Swimming
Sophomore men’s swimmer Jackson Lustig from Milwaukee, Wis. set the third all-time fastest time of 1:42.14 in the 200 butterfly for NCAA DII at the Mizzou Invite in November. During the fall, he was named the PNC GLVC Men’s Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week three times.
Tennis
Senior Ryan Fung from Miami, Fla. and sophomore Tomas Leston from Buenos Aires, Argentina won the Flight ‘C’ Doubles title at the Intercollegiate Team Association (ITA) Midwest Regional Championships. Two men’s doubles teams won their respective flights championships at the Southwest Baptist Invitational. Ryan and Tomas earned an 8-5 win in the “B” Doubles Draw final. Senior Leonardo Frederico from Tijucas-Santa Cantrina, Brazil and first-year Benedek Szombathelyi from Budapest, Hungary earned an 8-2 win in the “A” Doubles Draw final. Senior women’s tennis player Manuela Barriga from Bogota, Colombia claimed the “A” Singles Draw title with a 3-0 record.
Men’s Volleyball
Sophomore Kevin Schuele from Aurora, Ill. and first-year Robert Nardoni from Sierra Madre, Calif. competed at the USA Volleyball Beach Collegiate Challenge, at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Md. in September.
Men’s Water Polo
The men’s varsity water polo team finished seventh at the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Regional Championships in the Bronx, N.Y. The men’s club water polo team won the Missouri Valley Division Club Championship title and made a return trip to the 2022 National Collegiate Club Championships, where they finished in eighth place.
Athletic Staff & Coaching News
Brandi (Branka) Kordelewski ’13 was hired as the first-ever Assistant Athletic Director
for Development. She is responsible for promoting and advancing McKendree Athletics
to the broader community and increasing Bearcat Club membership and philanthropic
gifts.
Amanda Howett was hired as an Assistant Athletic Director and Senior Women’s Compliance
Officer. She comes to McKendree after spending nearly two years as the director of
athletics at Penn State Shenango in Sharon, Pa.
Other new athletic hires include Cameron Conner, manager of event and game operations;
Connie Henss-Nunn, athletic business manager; and Nick Staely, Division 3 head men’s
hockey coach.
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