COVID-19 Catch Up
COVID-19 Catch Up
SPORTS
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On the Court Together
By Jack Moore
Mount Vernon Nazarene University knows where to escape from the cold winters and how to see some great action courtside at a basketball game. MVNU men’s basketball tips off the season with some insight from the players. “A lively young group,” said graduate student Milton Gage. “I feel like we definitely have our work cut out for us; but, you know, we're a team full of hard workers.”
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The conference that the Cougars compete in continues to be considered one of the hardest in the NAIA, or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. These players know this all too well. Senior Carter Jones said, “Super excited for league play. We play in probably the best NAIA conference; super competitive every night.”
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While the competition stays the focus of practice, there is something else on the players’ minds. Redshirt junior Trent Koning reflected on time spent with the team instead of any award they received over the years, saying, “I’m looking forward to the little moments–spending time on the buses, eating out at Chipotle, just the little things you start to appreciate more as our time starts to lessen.” Whether the team focuses on the competition to come or looks ahead to the memorable moments just waiting to be made, this season seems promising for this group of young men.
Paw Perks
By Jack Moore
Summer is a time to relax and wind down before going back to school. However, for athletes like Jack Moore, who is on the Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team, his summer was just the opposite.
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As part of the MVNU baseball team, he got a chance to go to Arizona to hone his skills on professional team fields, such as the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies, to play for the Arizona wood bat league.He made the trip once before with his father and had the opportunity this summer to do so again with his dad and brother.
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Moore explained, “We stopped at Springfield, MO, during a local car show. We stopped at Amarillo, TX, came through the panhandle, and stopped at Big Texan Ranch, where me and my brother had to share a bunkbed, and attached was the Big Texan Steakhouse, that was an old- fashioned saloon restaurant. Me and my dad passed it on our trip the first time and were like ‘we gotta go back!’”
Moore played with the Arizona Wood Bat League (or AWBL) from June to July and played 30-40 games. He said, “It was an opportunity to network with different coaches from different colleges.” Moore played with the AWBL to practice for the season for MVNU this year but said “50% of the league is kids who haven’t played college ball yet. I experienced this, too, when I was a freshman. It’s good preparation for those guys.” These new young stars are sure to enjoy the league if it is anything like what Moore experienced this summer.