BY SCOTT MORRISON

It takes a certain degree of difficulty to meld the rugged nature of ranching with the harmonious structures of writing, but when such a task is completed the outcome proves captivating.

Looking forward to Linda Hasselstrom’s visit to Mount Marty College, audiences have an opportunity to experience this.

Hasselstrom visits MMC on April 8 bringing with her a collection of writing unique to the Great Plains region.

Given the nature of literature, every writer featured in the Great Plains Writers’ Tour at MMC adds their own sense of identity. However, Hasselstrom adds an element rarely used among present day writers.

In fact, her ability to capture a woman’s perspective of rustic life in South Dakota renders her as a perfect match amongst writers noted for their originalities.

Growing up on a ranch in the Black Hills of South Dakota and spending a majority of her life rustling cattle, Hasselstrom imagines herself as “a permanent student of the Great Plains grasslands.”

Born in Texas in 1943, Hasselstrom moved with her family to a farm in South Dakota.
At the age of nine she began to keep a journal of her family’s farm life.

Earning Bachelor’s Degrees in both English and Journalism at the University of South Dakota, she moved on to receive her Master’s Degree in American Literature at Christian College in Missouri.

Working with various publishing companies, Hasselstrom continued to write until she had established herself.

Taking the journals that she wrote in her early childhood, she completed her first masterpiece called Windbreak: A Woman Rancher on the Northern Plains.

Though the labor from her ranch provided much of her financial support, Hasselstrom found glory after she was named South Dakota Author of the Year in 1989.

As she continues to write, Hasselstrom recognizes that her writing uses the plains as a final frontier.

Though she has moved onto to life outside of the farm, Hasselstrom still preserves her ranch house as a writing retreat for women called the Windrbreak House.
Now, as Hasselstrom prepares her journey to MMC, she does so keeping in mind that South Dakota will always be her home.

Hasselstrom will read in the afternoon for the MMC students. She plans on a separate reading in Marian Auditorium in the evening.

Bernatow Thrives as Coach/Info Director

BY SCOTT MORRISON

Some people believe that the lives of baseball players can be defined between dusty chalk lines of a baseball diamond.

For Mount Marty College Head Baseball Coach Andy Bernatow, life isn’t just about what happens on the field, but is also about the accomplishments off of it as well.

This cliché is often used by coaches looking to motivate their players to stay out of trouble while not playing, but in Bernatow’s case this is more requirement than encouragement for his players.

Entering his fourth year as coach for the Lancers baseball squad, Bernatow not only looks to help his players achieve success on the field, but prepare them for life afterwards.

“We never look to lose the value of education among the players. We want to make to make the college experience as good as possible for the kids,” Bernatow said.

And the kids are responding.

During the past two years Bernatow’s Lancers have lead all NAIA teams in grade point average. In this period as many as ten NAIA Academic All-Americans have made their way through the program.

“This is a sign that we have great student athletes as well as the right mind set coming from both the coaches and players,” Bernatow said.

Bernatow’s success can be measured through his players’ ability on the field as well.

As the Lancers transitioned from Coach Kelly Heller (Head Coach Williston State College) to Bernatow, certainty remained that it would be difficult to return the program from its present state to that of the glory days of the teams in the late 1990s.

Given that he had experienced these days as a pitcher during this period, it was obvious that Bernatow was the best choice to help restore it.

With a 60-80 record in four years, Bernatow’s teams have made gradual improvements as he continues to get comfortable in his leadership role.

In the past two seasons, each of Bernatow’s teams has earned appearances in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament.

This continues to be a difficult task given that only the top eight teams in the GPAC are eligible for the conference tournament.
Last season the Lancers found themselves a base hit away from earning a trip to the regional tournament and finished as runners-up in the GPAC tournament.

“Our goal is to always be successful and this takes effort on my behalf as well as the players,” Bernatow said.

His efforts do not stop with just baseball. Bernatow prides himself on being a successful family man.

Shortly after graduating college Bernatow married fellow MMC graduate and Yankton native Steph Bernatow.

Since their marriage nearly eight years ago, the pair has had two children.

This starts with their oldest child and only daughter Brooklyn Bernatow. Brooklyn is six years old and is currently enrolled in kindergarten.

Their lone son Luke is three years old and is beginning his experience with baseball.

While with the team, Bernatow continually shifts from the role of coach to parent as he brings his children to various baseball events.

While providing for his family, Bernatow is not just a coach alone.

Hired last year as the Sports Information Director for the Mount Marty College Athletic Department, Bernatow helps each MMC team keep track of their progress.

This begins with the management of statistics. He keeps a detailed record of team and individual statistics throughout the course of each season.

“I help to oversee statistics in order to help each program run smoothly. I also work together with MMC College Relations program in order to make sure there are no tangles,” Bernatow said.

As Bernatow MMC career continues to expand, so to endures his search for excellence in everyday life.

“I try to offer everything that I have. I try to balance everything, but demand is high,” Bernatow added.

BY SCOTT MORRISON
sports@yankton.net

As the finishing touches are put onto the new Yankton High School track, coach Randy Fischer hopes the facility can usher in a new era for Mount Marty College Track & Field who will also be using the field.

“Yankton’s new track is one of the nicest tracks anywhere in the state of South Dakota. We are very excited to use it. It is a great deal for everyone who is involved,” Fischer said.

With the new track and a few new athletes, Coach Fischer and the Lancer team can now ready themselves for their oncoming outdoor season.

“Our team is looking forward to beginning the new season in hopes that some new things can materialize,” Fischer said.

With this in mind the Lancers already have a runner who has qualified for the NAIA National Meet.

After moving to the United States from Kenya just a few short months ago. Freshman Titus Cosgey qualified in the marathon race with a 1:13.23 run in the half marathon race.

“Titus has adjusted very well. He is making good progress and working very hard,” Fischer said.

Another Lancer standout is junior NAIA All-American Laura Wortmann.

Wortmann finished fourth at the NAIA Indoor National Meet in the shot put. She set a MMC record earlier this year with a throw of 47.8 ft.

Wortmann will throw both shot put and discuss during the outdoor season.

Another bright spot for the Lancers should be their 1600 meter relay team. This includes sophomore Carly Benson, senior Laura Condon, freshman Stephanie Schultz, and newcomer freshman Megan Nelson.

Nelson will participate in collegiate track for the first time in her collegiate career after finishing with the basketball season.

“Nelson will be one of our better legs. She’ll help us out with her talent and past experience,” Fischer said.

The relay team believes they can hit the 4:00 mark.

Fischer also expects junior Dan Sternhagen to be solid in the Javelin Throw. A throw over 200 feet will help get him into the national meet.

The Lancers have two quality pole vaulters including senior Melissa Cumbee and freshman Lindsey Bardwell. They should be able to use their competition in practice to translate into each meet.

Cumbee is a particularly exceptional story given her situation. Cumbee juggles raising a young child, attending nursing student, and participating in collegiate athletics all in the same breath.

“It is a challenge for Melissa, but she does a great job adjusting. She even brings her little girl to practice sometimes,” Fischer said.

Junior Megan O’Grady can provide the Lancers with a distance threat. She is the current MMC record holder in the 5K race and will look to improve on her mark throughout the outdoor
season.

“Our distance runners are making nice improvements and we hope they continue to work on it,” Fischer said.

Freshman Brandon Phizacklea should be ready to help the Lancers in sprinting events. Philacklea is coming off a solid indoor season, but may have difficulty getting healthy for the outdoor season.

Angela Kaiser, Janelle Oltmans, and Kayla Pavel should have a good shot in the weight events. Overall Fischer believes his team can do well.

“We will get better as the season continues. We hope we can run better when the weather gets nicer,” Fischer added.

Lancers Basketball Looks For Improvement

BY SCOTT MORRISON

With a senior class that had five healthy returning starters coming into the season, Coach Jim Thorson and the Mount Marty College men’s basketball team had high expectations.

Enduring a difficult schedule and numerous close losses, the Lancers season did not have the season that they had hoped for.

These themes began to emerge immediately as the Lancers travel to play various teams on their nonconference schedule.

The Lancers (8-23, 3-15 GPAC) lost their first two games of the season by one point and continued in the wrong direction losing four of their first five contests.

“In hindsight you can’t help to look back and wonder what these games would have done to our team’s confidence had we won them,” Thorson said.

One of the Lancers brightest spots of the year came against nationally ranked Jamestown University in the home opener at Cimpl Arena. The Lancers won the contest 82-73.

Before beginning GPAC play the Lancers defeated Graceland University 64-59. However, the Lancers struggled inside of their own conference.

This, in part, was due to their schedule. The Lancers traveled to play their first three conference games, all of which resulted in losses.

“When a team is forced to play the competition that we had to on the road, it is difficult to get out to any kind of a good start,” Thorson said.

Their best stretch of the season came during the middle of December where they won three out of four contests.

After this stretch the Lancers continued conference play with losses against Dordt College and Dakota Weslyan University.

The Lancers dropped their first six conference games before they defeated Midland Lutheran University 77-62 on January 9.

They also defeated Concordia University to capture two of their three conference wins.
After this point, the Lancers lost nine out of their last ten games to finish the season.

Following the end of the regular season, the Lancers lost in the first round of the GPAC tournament to Hastings College 84-71.

Overall for the Lancers it was a difficult season in which they struggled to pull out numerous victories towards the end of contests.

The Lancers will say goodbye to five seniors including Pat Anderson, Stan Johnson, Alan Hough, and Nathan Fisher.

Lancers Finish Indoor Race

Entering his first year as head coach for the Mount Marty College Track and Field team, Coach Randy Fischer did not know what to expect from some of his athletes.

As the Indoor season progressed and performances began to unfold, Fischer realized that he would not be disappointed.

“Coming in to the season, we knew we were going to have a young team. Throughout the season we gained a lot of valuable experience and have the potential to improve,” Fischer said.

As the season winded down and the Lancers competed in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships, numerous athletes competed to their maximum abilities.

Two athletes qualified for the NAIA National Meet in Johnson City, Tenn.. These were throwers Laura Wortmann and Angela Kayser.

Wortmann achieved NAIA All-American status after a fourth place finish in the shot put at the meet. Her longest throw for the year was a 47.8 ft throw that came at the GPAC meet.

“Laura started the season well and continued to get better every week. We were happy with the progression that she made and her performance at the national meet,” Fischer said.

Kayser, one of the Lancers few seniors, qualified for the national meet in the weight throw. She earned a MMC record in the event with a throw of 50.35 ft.

“Angela started well and performed great at the GPAC meet. She was able to earn a school record and then made it to nationals,” Fischer said.

Along with the two girls that qualified for nationals, numerous athletes came just short in the GPAC meet.

Sophomore Carly Benson led the Lancer women from a sprinting aspect. She ran a 1:02.49 in the 400 meter race. She also participated in the 400 meter relay and the long jump.

Senior Laura Condon missed qualifying for nationals in the high jump by just inches. In the GPAC meet, she jumped a 5’1” which turned out to be just short of the 5’3” needed.

Condon also ran in the 400 meter relay.

Titus Cosgey, a student in his first semester away from Nigeria, proved to be one of the Lancers better runners.

Cosgey ran the 800, 1000, and 1600 meter races. He set a MMC record in the 1000 meter race with a time of 2:35.78 minutes.

Juniors Brittney Fischer and Megan O’Grady were among the frontrunners for the Lancers running distance.

Fischer had the best 1600 meter time for the Lancer women with a 5:59.00 minute run. O’Grady competed in the 3K and 5K races. Her best time for the year was in 19:54.73 minutes.

The Lancers had a number of freshmen that made an impact throughout the course of the year.

This began with Lindsey Bardwell who pole vaulted for the Lancers. She also participated in the 400 meter relay along with numerous jumping events.

“Coming into the year, we knew that Lindsey had a lot of potential. She adjusted well to the competition and we are excited for her to keep improving,” Fischer said.

On the men’s side Brandon Phizacklea proved a valuable newcomer. He tied a MMC record in the 55 meter run with a 6.74 second run and just missed the record in the 60 meter dash.

The Lancers look to have hope and talent on their side after completing their indoor season.

“We improve a lot this year as a team. Hopefully we can keep our current athletes going and can strengthen our numbers in the off-season,” Fischer said.

As the Lancers transition into the Outdoor season, they will begin to use the newly renovated high school track located near Yankton High School.

“We are excited about using the high school track. It will be something that will benefit us in our improvement,” Fischer said.

Lancers Produce Admirable Season

BY SCOTT MORRISON

Entering the 2007-2008 season with a senior class full of experienced veterans to go along with depth from younger players, the Mount Marty College women’s basketball team had a lot to look forward to.

With their first non-conference game against Black Hills State University, the Lancers embarked on a difficult schedule which presented tremendous competition and a season full of ups and downs.

Despite falling behind 18-0 in the first half against BHSU, the Lancers began the season playing well.

Not only did they comeback in the contest to make it a respectable 65-60 loss, they won four out of their next five games.

These wins came against South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (86-68), Jamestown College (66-46), Valley City State University (74-66), and Dakota State University (69-61).

“We started to get on a roll against a number of tough nonconference opponents. We had a tough schedule and performed well against some top competition,” Lancer coach Chuck Iverson said.

However, headed into their first conference game on the road against Morningside College, the Lancers lost senior forward Carrie Alhers to injury.

“Our team knew that we had a lot of depth and talent, but we lost a lot of confidence when Carrie went down,” Iverson said.

They lost their first four Great Plains Athletic Conference contests, three of which were on the road in the beginning of December.

These losses came against Morningside College (78-69), Hastings College (77-59), Briar Cliff University (76-73), and at home against Northwestern College 98-82.

This moved the Lancers to 4-6 with a 0-4 GPC record.

This stretch proved costly to the Lancers who could have benefited from winning one or two more victories with conference tournament seeding.

During their Christmas trip through parts of Kansas and Colorado, the Lancers put a close to their streak with victories against Kansas Wesleyan University (70-62) and Johnson and Wales University (82-65).

After the Lancers returned with a 6-7 record, they caught by winning 11 out of their last 14 regular season games.

After losing their second game of the season to Northwesten (85-77), the Lancers went on a school record 11 game winning streak that lasted into the post-season.

This began with a 74-64 win against Dakota Wesleyan University and continued until they defeated heavily favored Concordia 68-58 in the GPAC conference tournament.

The Lancers season came to an abrupt halt in the semifinals against Morningside with an 87-57 loss.

The contest was the Lancers third in five days second game on the road.

“We didn’t have our best game and they played extremely well,” Iverson said. “Our quickness level was down and fatigue played a role for our girls.

Though unable to advance as far as they had a season ago, the Lancers put together a quality effort throughout the year.

“I couldn’t have been more proud of the team. They played their best and got hot at the end of the season,” Iverson said.

Among the leaders throughout the year, the Lancers’ seniors proved to be a key to success.

Senior NAIA All-American point guard Tevan Wenbourne proved one of the team’s greatest assets throughout the year.

She led the team with 4.6 assists per game and 3.3 steals per game while averaging 7.8 points per game.

Other seniors that making an enormous impact were guard Emily Witte, forward Carrie Ahlers, forward Stacy Lickteig, forward Cassie Iverson, and forward Carrie Ahlers.

“Each senior showed leadership on and off the court. They all had extremely positive attitudes no matter their role,” Iverson said.

As a whole, the Lancer team meshed well with team chemistry. They all played for a common goal and had good relationships.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our team. They battled through adversity and managed to be successful despite playing an extremely challenging schedule,” Iverson added.