Abilene Christian University Page 13 inside Pages 6, 8 and 12 acuoptimist.com Pages 2, 4-5, 7, 9-11 For news from around campus, turn to: See the Students’ Association’s Changing of the Guard ceremony at: To see the entire list of all the 2013 graduates, turn to: NEWS VIDEO GRADUATION acuoptimist.com See more shots of Finals Week festivies at: PHOTOS friday, february 17, 2012 2 SECTION, 18 PAGES Senior Stats Everything you ever wanted to know about the class of 2013 This is the final issue of the Optimist of the school year. Look for the Optimist in the fall, distributed after Chapel every Wednesday and Friday. Until then, check out our website at acuoptimist.com. above photos by mandy lambright chief Photographer vol. 101, no. 56 wednesday, may 8, 2013 1 SECTION, 14 PAGES stephen reyes staff Photographer mandy lambright chief Photographer YEAR IN REVIEW It’s been a bittersweet year at ACU. The fall semester began with a bang as ACU rejoined Division I after almost 40 years in D-II. Things took a dangerous turn in September when two sophomores were hospitalized in the same week from separate incidents. Then there were those Twitter accounts that quickly shut down after insulting ACU students. We saw students and faculty from the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences triumph in the memory of grief when they returned to Medina Chil- dren’s Home in October. We came together in support of Rex Fleming’s in- spring and courageous fight against cancer, and we grieved with his family and friends after he died. Now, we cherish the memories and rejoice in the effect his legacy has had, like in the $12 thousand the Flemings raised for their charity last week. Before we reached that point though, our hearts were broken again in the tragic death of Lindsey Smith in January. We remember her sweet spirit, grateful for the time we had with her and the impact she had on us. We celebrated Homecoming and Sing Song, where we witnessed Trojans’ first win and the senior class’ sweep. Within months of the D-I move, athletics unveiled the new Wildcat logo. The sports teams finished out their final LSC seasons, including the women’s basket- ball and tennis teams’ conference championships. We witnessed victories, like when senior Brittany Par- tridge received the Marshall Scholarship. The adminis- tration underwent a good deal of transition, which isn’t over yet. And we prayed in the hard times, like when we read the news reports about tragedies from around the country, such as in Boston or the Sandy Hook shooting. But we end the school year on a bright note: gradu- ation. We will soon send 538 of our classmates and friends into the workforce, hoping only the best for them in their lives after college. – Mark Smith All Photos by Mandy Lambright except bottom left, by Adrian Patenaude A look back at the greatness and heartbreaks of 2012-13 Five hundred eight stu- dents will walk across the stage in Moody Coliseum on Saturday to receive their diplomas during two grad- uation ceremonies. The first ceremony at 11 a.m. will honor 267 under- graduates and 51 graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences. The second ceremony, which starts at 3 p.m., will honor 241 under- graduates and 64 graduate students from the College of Biblical Studies, College of Business Administra- tion, College of Education and Human Services, and Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing. Graduating students and escorts are instructed to arrive at their assigned locations 30 minutes be- fore the ceremony starts. Bethany Morgan, senior Ad/PR major from Nocona and is graduating in the 11 a.m, ceremony, said she is excited to start her career. “I am so ready to gradu- ate,” Morgan said. “I can’t wait to go live out my dreams.” The featured speaker at both ceremonies will be Elise Mitchell (’83), owner of Mitchell Communica- tions Group in Fayetteville, Ark. A reception for students linsey thut page 2 editor Ceremonies to honor 508 seniors graduation see graduates page 8 The 2012-2013 Student’s as- sociation cabinet formally handed over the reigns to the newly elected officers at the Fairway Oaks Country Club on Thursday night. SA officers, Student Con- gress members, friends, and faculty advisers of SA attended the ceremony known as the Changing of the Guard. Recently hired cabinet members in the positions of Chief Communications Of- ficer, Chief Financial Officer and administrative assis- tant were also announced. The CCO is Emily Pybus, a junior graphic design major from North Richland Hills. The CFO is Victoria Garza, a junior speech pathology major from Corpus Christi. The administrative assis- tant is Robert Hull, a junior piano performance major from Ripon, Calif. The evening began with dinner and was followed by Congressmen Superlatives and cabinet pass downs. Each exiting officer spoke about a faculty mentor and awarded that faculty mem- ber with a plaque of grati- tude. Emily O’Rear, sopho- more communications major from Huntsville, re- madeline orr managing editor Elected officers assume positions students’ association see SA page 13 2012-13 SA president Rebecca Dial hands over the presidency to Dylan Benac mandy lambright chief photographer Dylan Benac, 2013-14 SA president, embraces Rebecca Dial, who served as president this past year, at the Changing of the Guard.
It’s been a bittersweet year at ACU.The fall semester began with a bang as ACU rejoined
Division I after almost 40 years in D-II.Things took a dangerous turn in September when
two sophomores were hospitalized in the same week from separate incidents.
Then there were those Twitter accounts that quickly shut down after insulting ACU students.
We saw students and faculty from the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences triumph in the memory of grief when they returned to Medina Chil-dren’s Home in October.
We came together in support of Rex Fleming’s in-spring and courageous fight against cancer, and we grieved with his family and friends after he died. Now, we cherish the memories and rejoice in the effect his legacy has had, like in the $12 thousand the Flemings raised for their charity last week.
Before we reached that point though, our hearts were broken again in the tragic death of Lindsey Smith in January. We remember her sweet spirit, grateful for the time we had with her and the impact she had on us.
We celebrated Homecoming and Sing Song, where we witnessed Trojans’ first win and the senior class’ sweep.
Within months of the D-I move, athletics unveiled the new Wildcat logo. The sports teams finished out their final LSC seasons, including the women’s basket-ball and tennis teams’ conference championships.
We witnessed victories, like when senior Brittany Par-tridge received the Marshall Scholarship. The adminis-tration underwent a good deal of transition, which isn’t over yet. And we prayed in the hard times, like when we read the news reports about tragedies from around the country, such as in Boston or the Sandy Hook shooting.
But we end the school year on a bright note: gradu-ation. We will soon send 538 of our classmates and friends into the workforce, hoping only the best for them in their lives after college.
– Mark SmithAll Photos by Mandy Lambright except bottom left, by
Adrian Patenaude
A look back at the greatness and heartbreaks of 2012-13
see theme page 8b
Five hundred eight stu-dents will walk across the stage in Moody Coliseum on Saturday to receive their
diplomas during two grad-uation ceremonies.
The first ceremony at 11 a.m. will honor 267 under-graduates and 51 graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences. The second ceremony, which starts at 3
p.m., will honor 241 under-graduates and 64 graduate students from the College of Biblical Studies, College of Business Administra-tion, College of Education and Human Services, and Patty Hanks Shelton School
of Nursing.Graduating students
and escorts are instructed to arrive at their assigned locations 30 minutes be-fore the ceremony starts.
Bethany Morgan, senior Ad/PR major from Nocona
and is graduating in the 11 a.m, ceremony, said she is excited to start her career.
“I am so ready to gradu-ate,” Morgan said. “I can’t wait to go live out my dreams.”
The featured speaker
at both ceremonies will be Elise Mitchell (’83), owner of Mitchell Communica-tions Group in Fayetteville, Ark.
A reception for students
linsey thutpage 2 editor
Ceremonies to honor 508 seniorsgraduation
see graduates page 8
The 2012-2013 Student’s as-sociation cabinet formally handed over the reigns to the newly elected officers at the Fairway Oaks Country Club on Thursday night.
SA officers, Student Con-gress members, friends, and faculty advisers of SA attended the ceremony known as the Changing of the Guard.
Recently hired cabinet members in the positions of Chief Communications Of-ficer, Chief Financial Officer and administrative assis-tant were also announced. The CCO is Emily Pybus, a junior graphic design major from North Richland Hills. The CFO is Victoria Garza, a junior speech pathology major from Corpus Christi.
The administrative assis-tant is Robert Hull, a junior piano performance major from Ripon, Calif.
The evening began with dinner and was followed by Congressmen Superlatives and cabinet pass downs. Each exiting officer spoke about a faculty mentor and awarded that faculty mem-ber with a plaque of grati-tude.
Emily O’Rear, sopho-more communications major from Huntsville, re-
madeline orrmanaging editor
Elected officers assume positionsstudents’ association
see SA page 13
2012-13 SA president Rebecca Dial hands over the presidency to Dylan Benac
mandy lambright chief photographer
Dylan Benac, 2013-14 SA president, embraces Rebecca Dial, who
served as president this past year, at the Changing of the Guard.
6:30 p.m. The Key City Squares will sponsor a square dancing workshop at the Wagon Wheel in Tye. Beginning lessons will be 7:30-9:30 p.m.
May 9
7:30 a.m. The 2013 Western Heritage Classic will open at the Taylor County Expo Center. Events include trade shows, rodeos, and a parade in downtown Abilene at 6:30 p.m.
5 p.m. The Art Walk will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in downtown historic Abilene.
May 10
6 p.m. A dance will begin at 7 p.m. at the Desdemona Ac-tivity center. Johnny John-son and the Memor-Makers will perform. Concessions open at 6 p.m. Admission will be $5.
May 11
9 a.m. A fundraiser for Loaves and Fishes and Bridges to Home will begin at 9 a.m. There will be live music, a fun house, and free hot dogs. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.
Colton Marcus McInturff (B.S., Animal Science) Cum Laude Franklin, Tenn.
Samantha Elizabeth Priestle (B.S., Animal Science) Summa Cum Laude San Antonio
Wiepie Rojas (B.S., Environmental Sci-ence) Summa Cum Laude WaxahachieHonors Thesis: “Gardening with Grace:” The Effective-ness of a Community Gar-den at Building Community
Samantha Annette Saldivar (B.S., Environmental Sci-ence) Cum Laude San AngeloHonors Thesis: Biore-mediation of a Tallgrass Prairie Revisited
Emilee Ann Shamblin (B.S., Animal Science) Hawley
Art and Design
Ashley Taylor Beddingfield (B.F.A., Art) Nocona
Julianne Avette Brannan (B.F.A., Art) Magna Cum Laude Abilene
Kelcie Marie Broom (B.A., Art) Cum Laude Richardson
Amanda Cantu (B.F.A., Art) Abilene
Jennifer Colleen Craw-ford (B.A., Art) Abilene
Jillian LeAnn Dowdy (B.S., Interior Design) Cum Laude Mount Pleasant
Tara Brianne Holland (B.S., Interior Design) Cum Laude Alpharetta, Ga.
Morgan Michelle Hudson (B.S., Interior Design and A.A., Pre-Architecture) Abilene
Keith Jernigan (B.F.A., Art) Waco
Asja Leznina (B.F.A., Art) Magna Cum Laude Tallinn, Estonia
Evan Daniel Marks (B.F.A., Art) Escondido, Calif.
Chase Martin (B.F.A., Art) The Colony
Emily McCommas (B.F.A., Art) Kingwood
Mallory Nicole Ming (B.F.A., Art) Cum Laude Salado
Chad Ryan Moore (B.S., Interior Design and A.A., Pre-Architecture) Abilene
Anna Kathleen Pinson (B.F.A., Art) Cookeville, Tenn.
Amy Pyer (B.S., Interior Design) Sugar Land
David Ian Singer (B.F.A., Art) Pflugerville
Jennifer Skorusa (B.F.A., Art) Lewisville
Biology
Briana Rose Burton (B.S., Biology) Magna Cum Laude Abilene
Amara Grace Childers (B.S., Biology) Summa Cum Laude Abilene
Emily Ruth Crain (B.S., Biology) Summa Cum Laude Odessa
Zachary Nathan Davis (B.S., Biology) Magna Cum Laude Aurora, Colo.
Samuel Oziegbe Ewalefo (B.S., Biology) Magna Cum Laude Las Vegas, Nev.Honors Thesis: Molecular Systematics of the Class Ophiuoridea Using 165 rDNA
Hailey Horton (B.A., Biology) Summa Cum Laude Rockwall
Anna Jo (B.A., Biology) Kyungnam, Korea
Kande Elaine Jones (B.S., Biology) Kilgore
Jandi Lee Knox (B.S., Biology) Carlsbad, N.M.
Chen Liu (B.S., Biology) Wuhan, China
Elizabeth Grace Medlicott (B.S., Biology) Denton
Lindsey Kay Meredith (B.S., Biology) Cum Laude Hallsville
Zackquill Jennings Mor-gan (B.S., Biology) Cum Laude Keller
Aubrey Grace Palmer (B.S., Biology) Magna Cum Laude Abilene
Blaine Daniel Smith (B.S., Biology) Summa Cum Laude Keller
Marissa Ann Stewart (B.S., Biology) Cum Laude Lamesa
Ryan Spencer Threadgill (B.S., Biology) Magna Cum Laude Plano
Chemistry and Bio-chemistry
Austin Joel Anderson (B.S., Biochemistry) Magna Cum Laude Flower Mound
Undergraduates 2013
continued on page 4
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25% offAll Hats
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Shop with us anytime at campusstore.acu.edu
Gabrielle Ruth Brown (B.S., Biochemistry) Magna Cum Laude LubbockHonors Thesis: Health-care in Guatemala and the United States
Alexander Michael Clen-dening(B.S., Biochemistry) Summa Cum Laude Pampa
John Luke Covalt (B.S., Biochemistry) Magna Cum Laude Pampa
Hillary Lee Eichelberger (B.S., Biochemistry) Summa Cum Laude HoustonHonors Thesis: A Dif-ferential Diagnosis of Victorian Novels: Illness and Identity in Nineteenth Century British Literature
Chloe Cae French (B.S., Biochemistry) Cum Laude Palestine
Charles Jacob Holt (B.S., Biochemistry) Idalou
Ayrea Hurley
(B.S., Chemistry) Abilene
Nathan C. Hurley (B.S., Biochemistry, Chemistry and Physics) Magna Cum Laude Murray, Utah Hannah May Johnston (B.S., Chemistry and Chemistry-Teaching) Cum Laude Fort Worth
William Travis King (B.S., Biochemistry) Summa Cum Laude Lubbock
Zachary A. Kroeger (B.S., Biochemistry) Summa Cum Laude Tempe, Ariz.
Li Hsing J. Loh (B.S., Biochemistry) Summa Cum Laude San Antonio
Jacob Lowry (B.S., Biochemistry) Cum Laude Fort Worth
Marissa Marolf
(B.S., Biochemistry) Summa Cum Laude McKinneyHonors Thesis: Address-ing Health Inequalities: Lessons from Cuba and Costa Rica
Luke Sorrell (B.S., Biochemistry) Magna Cum Laude Coppell
Trevor Jordan Wait (B.S., Biochemistry) Summa Cum Laude White Oak
Joseph Gregory Wilbanks (B.S., Biochemistry) Magna Cum Laude Sachse
Katherine Ann Wood (B.S., Biochemistry) Cum Laude Austin
Timothy Christian Zalewski (B.S., Biochemistry) Magna Cum Laude Dripping Springs
Communication
Laurel Blackmon(B.S., Communication) Summa Cum Laude Arlington
Krystal Amanda Fogle (B.S., Communication) Summa Cum Laude Cedar ParkHonors Thesis: Painting the Town Red: A Study in the Art of Communication and Persuasion with the Red Thread Movement
Alexandra Jane Foster (B.S., Communication) Summa Cum Laude Lubbock
Daniel Joe Graves (B.S., Communication) Magna Cum Laude Bulverde
Jacob Anderson Groves (B.S., Communication) Lubbock
Emily Anne Hart (B.S., Communication) Fort Worth
Darwin Johnson (B.S., Communication) Dallas
Kat Kessler (B.S., Communication) Missouri City, Mo.
Elias Foster Klar (B.S., Communication) Juda, Wis.
Brandon David McKee (B.S., Communication) Phoenix, Ariz.
Jaime DeAnn Metscher (B.A., Communication) Cum Laude Austin
Kaci Carinn Millay (B.S., Communication) Magna Cum LaudeHouston
Alexandra Lee Stirling (B.S., Communication) Littleton, Colo.
Chandler Raymond Simpson (B.S., Social Studies-Teaching) Sugar Land
Amber René Stephen (B.S., Social Studies-Teaching) Summa Cum Laude KellerHonors Thesis: Brown v. Board of Education From Past to Present; The Supreme Court’s Evolving View on School Segrega-tion
Julie Kathryn Tarter
(B.A., International Stud-ies) Magna Cum Laude Shallowater
Wilson William White (B.A., History) Ozona
Journalism and Mass Communication
Catrina Bailey (B.S., Electronic Media) Moreno Valley, Calif.
Marcus Gerald Bowen (B.S., Electronic Media) North Richland Hills
Caitlin Bradford (B.S., Electronic Media) Summa Cum Laude Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Carly Gail Branscum (B.S., Advertising/Public Relations) Fort Worth
Caitlin Bradford (B.A., Spanish) Summa Cum Laude Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Hutton Allan Brown (B.A., English) Cum Laude Midland
Megan Lee Claycomb (B.A., English and Political Science) Summa Cum Laude McKinney
Natasha Ann Dosa (B.A., English) Throckmorton
Hillary Lee Eichelberger (B.A., English) Summa Cum Laude HoustonHonors Thesis: A Dif-ferential Diagnosis of Victorian Novels: Illness and Identity in Nineteenth Century British Literature
Christopher Fields(B.A., English) Flower Mound
Katy Marie Goetz (B.A., English-Teaching) Magna Cum Laude Haslet
Kylie Michelle Hanna (B.A., English) Vancouver, Wash.
Hannah Beth Davis Ketteman (B.A., English-Teaching) Temple
Heather Rae Kregel (B.A., English) Magna Cum Laude TylerHonors Thesis: Physicians in the Literature of Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Louis Stevenson: Portray-ing the Icons of Changing Times
Luke Morgan (B.A., English and History) Magna Cum Laude AbileneHonors Thesis:Reevaluating the “Renais-sance Man”: Origins and Continuities of Humanism in American Education
Whitney Noel (B.A., English) Elgin, Okla.
Kimberly B. Pamplin (B.A., English) Summa Cum Laude Manassas, Va.
Luke Dylan Ramsey (B.A., English) Colorado Springs, Colo.
Meghan Rebecca Reynolds (B.A., English) Cum Laude Colorado Springs, Colo.
Ellen Christine Smith (B.A., English-Teaching) Summa Cum Laude College Station
Katy Joan Smith (B.A., English) Magna Cum Laude Aledo
Hannah Michelle Wagner (B.A., English) Cum Laude Centennial, Colo.
David White (B.A., English) Sweeny
Mathematics
Tyler Reese Johnson (B.S., Mathematics-Teaching, Middle School) Carrollton
Gregory Kyle Lammons (B.S., Mathematics) San Antonio
Stefanie Marie Nicholas (B.S., Mathematics-Teaching) Summa Cum Laude Allen
Jared Alan Ohrmundt (B.S., Mathematics-Teaching, Middle School) Hurst
Misty Dawn Preast (B.S., Mathematics-Teach-ing, Middle School) Tyler
David Reynolds(B.S., Mathematics) Summa Cum Laude Austin
Kimberly Anne Rodriguez (B.S., Mathematics-Teaching) Cum Laude San Antonio
Amanda Ruth Sheldon (B.S., Mathematics-Teaching) Summa Cum Laude Colorado Springs, Colo.Honors Thesis: An Intro-duction to Fractals
Music
Shalesia Shavelle Brown (B.A., Music) Longview
Nathan Theodore Hamilton (B.M, Piano Performance) Summa Cum Laude Abilene
Whitney Anne Johnson (B.M., Music Teaching, Instrument-All Level) Coppell
Laura Nolte (B.A., Music) Abilene
Kailey Anne Rhoden (B.A., Music) Magna Cum Laude Sunnyvale
Joe Rush (B.A., Music) Trophy Club
Timothy Lee Savage (B.A., Music) Cum Laude Abilene
Dean Willis (B.M., Vocal Performance) Cum Laude Pago Pago, US-AS
Kristen Willis (B.M., Music Teaching, Voice-All Level) Cum Laude Snyder
Political Science
Garrett Lee Beach (B.A., Political Science) Magna Cum Laude Van Alstyne
Daniel Joseph Borrego (B.A., Political Science) Van Horn
Ashley Danielle Close (B.A., Political Science) Magna Cum Laude Lexington, S.C.
Rebecca Ann Dial (B.A., Political Science) Summa Cum Laude Lexington, S.C.
Gabriel Michael Anthony Elorreaga (B.A., Political Science) San Antonio
Shelby Gail Hall(B.A., Political Science) Magna Cum Laude Ovilla
Jordan Herman (B.A., Political Science) Grapevine
Rebekah E. Singleton (B.A., Political Science) Magna Cum Laude Austin
Thomas Stephen Wyatt (B.A., Political Science) Dallas
Professional and Continuing Education
Jo Ann Travis Evans (B.A.S., Applied Studies) Angleton
Chestina Ray Gloyna (B.A.S., Applied Studies) Abilene
Casaundra Nichol Jones Washington (B.A.S., Applied Studies) Abilene
FINALSFESTIVITIESStudents de-stress from the pressures of Finals Week on Dead Day
mandy lambright chief photographer
The ACU Alumni Associa-tion will again be hosting an ACU night at a Texas Rang-ers game. It’s called “Meet us at the ballpark” and will take place June 10 at 7 p.m.
The Rangers will be play-ing against the Cleveland In-dians.
According to the ACU website, last year more than 800 members of the ACU community attended the game.
Once again, the ACU Alumni Association is offer-ing a huge discount on tick-ets for the All You Can Eat Porch.
The ACU website said tickets are $25 each and chil-dren age 2 and under are free. Regular tickets for the All You Can Eat Porch cost $47. The ticket price includes as many hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and grilled chicken sandwiches as you can eat
and all the soft drinks or wa-ter you can drink before the 8th inning.
Members attending the game will be sitting in sec-tions 248 and 249 of the All You Can Eat Porch in the right corner, closest to the first base and center field gates and parking lots A, C and D south and east of the ballpark.
Parking in ballpark lots is $15 and is not included in the ticket price. The gates open at 5 p.m. and tickets will be mailed about a week before the game.
Samantha Adkins, senior Alumni Relations officer, is helping with the event.
“This gathering is so much fun for everyone,” Ad-kins said. “It’s a great oppor-tunity to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and enjoy being with other ACU alumni.”
Adkins said this is the second year they’ve been in the All You Can Eat Section. Before that, the Alumni As-
sociation used the Museum section as the venue.
She said this year ACU has the opportunity to throw out the first pitch.
“We’re still working on who that VIP will be,” Ad-kins said. “It will be a notable alum.”
Mark Lavendar, a for-mer employee, had the idea about this event back in 2004.
Kaila Daley, sophomore nursing major from Boerne, went to the game last year and already has her tickets for this year’s game.
“The Rangers are my fa-vorite baseball team,” Daley said. “So combining them with ACU is a dream come true, plus it’s a great deal on the tickets.”
The registration deadline to purchase tickets is June 3 at 11:55 p.m.
Joshua Seth Bouchelle (B.A., Missions and Biblical Text) Summa Cum Laude Amarillo
wednesday 05.08.137 Graduationcontinued from page 5
continued on page 9
ACU is expanding its Christ-centered community to Dallas with two new gradu-ate programs, both of which will begin in 2014.
The programs include a Master in Marriage and
Family Therapy with an emphasis in Medical Family Therapy, and a Post-Bacca-laureate Dietetic Intern-ship.
Each program will chal-lenge students to think critically about the world while they work alongside CitySquare to meet the needs of the clientele. This
location and opportunity will provide a hands-on and vvtransformative educa-tional experience to those who participate.
Graduates will seek a li-censure as a valid “Licensed Marriage and Family Thera-pist” in Texas and other states, and may choose to pursue a licensure as a “Licensed Professional Counselor”. The MFT term begins in Fall 2014 with part-time and full-time stu-dent tracks. The full-time student will finish the de-gree in two years, whereas the part-time student will complete it in three years. It is a 60-hour program with courses being offered face-to-face in Dallas, as well as through live video con-ferencing for students in Abilene and Dallas.
The coursework will in-clude the traditional MFT curriculum in addition to an emphasis on illness and disability across the lifes-pan, collaboration with healthcare systems and medical doctors. In con-junction with the Research Methods in Medical Family Therapy course, students will be required to complete a group research project.
Dr. Jaime Goff, associ-ate professor and chair of the department of marriage
and family studies, was one of the instigators behind the program’s creation. She is confident in the purpose and outcome of the pro-gram’s establishment.
“All of us, the faculty in the department, are re-ally excited. The opportu-nities are so amazing with CitySquare, and also be-ing in a large, urban area like the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex,” Goff said. “Its going to offer so many op-portunities for students for internships, networking . . .It’s a different, unique context of living and work-ing in an urban area that is especially characterized by poverty, which will provide wonderful experiences that will be marketable in seek-ing employment after grad-uation.”
Any student is wel-come to apply. There is no required undergraduate major or undergraduate prerequisites. Though, stu-dents with backgrounds in psychology, family studies, sociology, social work and ministry are most suited. Applicants will be invited to ACU at CitySquare in Dallas for an on-site interview.
The second program is a Post-Baccalaureate Dietetic Internship, accepting only 15 applicants. It is a nine
credit-hour graduate-level certification program for students who have com-pleted the Didactic Program in Dietetics requirements in an accredited program.
This program is to begin in June 2014, and the cours-es are to be completed over an 11-month span. Online coursework begins in June, with internship rotations starting in September. This Dietetic Internship is the first and only one in the na-tion to focus on “commu-nity and poverty”.
Brandon Lemley, direc-tor of graduate marketing, has learned a lot about the programs while helping launch their announce-ment on May 2.
“It’s typical for students to do these types of intern-ships at a food bank or a large school district, but its bot usual to have a univer-sity and non-profit part-nership with a place like CitySquare,” Lemely said. “We can put students that care at the front lines and allow those who are pas-sionate to learn about pov-erty, what creates poverty and how to address it.”
Students will acquire marketable experience through clinical rotations and their direct involve-ment with urban poverty.
Throughout their involve-ment in CitySquare, stu-dents will be required to develop a community pro-gram based on the needs of the clientele they encoun-ter.
Applicants must go through an online match-ing process at https://por-tal.dicas.com, complete an application by Feb. 14, 2014, submit transcripts, main-tain a grade point average of 3.2 and a minimum grade of B in Didactic Program in Dietetics courses and sup-porting courses including the sciences, statistics and management and submit two letters of recommenda-tion.
Both programs have yet to be accredited, seeing as the process will take sev-eral years after the curricu-lum has been established. However, the accreditation for MFT will be retroactive once it’s confirmed, mean-ing that students from the non-accredited program in the past will receive ac-creditation based off their previous participation. Also, a license in MFT can be obtained without ac-creditation.
Three staff members in the office of intramural sports and Student Recreation and Wellness Center will not be returning next semester be-cause of budget cuts.
The Rec Center will work closely with the intra-mural sports program this next school year, leading to stronger programs and low-er costs for the university.
“Intramurals merging with the Rec Center just made sense,” said Dr. Jan Meyer, interim dean of Stu-dent Life. “It is a natural fit, and the staff from both of-fices work well together.”
Because both offices pro-mote physical activity and wellness, working together will help the two groups achieve this goal more ef-fectively. Kenli Edwards, di-rector of intramural sports, believes collaboration and ideas between the two par-ties will create stronger pro-grams.
“Right now, we are talk-ing about what is going to benefit the students the most, because that is what the Rec Center is for, and what intramurals are for,” she said.
Edwards will work with Joel Swedland, executive di-
rector of the SRWC, and Dr. Kerri Hart, assistant director of the SRWC, along with the rest of the SRWC staff.
“Joel, Kerri and I all work together well and know it’s going to be an easy transi-tion,” Edwards said.
The merge led to two positions being cut – the assistant director of intra-murals and administrative coordinator for intramurals. The plan is to merge the co-ordinator position with the identical position in the Rec Center. However, neither of the two people in the cur-rent positions are able to fill the merged position.
Meyer asked that the names of those whose po-sitions will be cut remain unpublished, though their names and positions are available on the ACU web-site.
The cuts were needed because of budget cuts and the same positions existing at both the SRWC and intra-mural sports, Meyer said.
“There was an adminis-
trative position in the intra-mural office and the same administrative position in the Rec Center,” she said. “We did not need to support two of the same position, so we had to cut one.”
Neither current adminis-trator at the SRWC or intra-murals was able to take the administrative position for next year. That position will be an opportunity for a new candidate.
“The challenge about any eliminated position is that it is often painful,” Meyers said. “But it often provides an opportunity for someone else somewhere.”
Many of the intramural sports will continue to use the SRWC, namely the in-door intramurals requiring those facilities: waterball, volleyball and basketball. At this time, no new sports have been added to intra-mural program, Edwards
New grad programs to be based in Dallasgraduate school
After a week-long elec-tion, new members were welcomed into the Faculty Senate April 25 during the senate’s last meeting of the semester.
Dr. Neal Coates, chair of the Department of Politi-cal Science, said there were three openings on the Sen-ate and one officer position,
the chair elect, which is a three year post.
“The Faculty Senate is the elected body of teachers at ACU who gather together and ask questions an give advice and help the admin-istration oversee campus through a concept called ‘Shared Governance,’” Coates said.
Coates served as the chair elect for the 2012-13 academic year and will serve as the chair for next
year’s senate.He said the Faculty Sen-
ate Constitution requires members to be full-time fac-ulty members at the rank of assistant or above. Officers are required to have served on the senate four years and must have tenure.
Coates said this year’s senate worked with the provost, Dr. Robert Rhodes, to advise him on matters of significance to the fac-ulty and university at large.
He said the senate also spoke with administra-tion regarding how a new science facility would be shaped, communicated with the Board of Trustees, expressed concerns about OpenClass and tuition costs for students and sala-ries for faculty and staff.
Dr. Rodney Ashlock, as-sistant professor of Bible, served as the chair this year. He will serve next year’s senate as the past chair.
“One of the primary responsibilities is to run elections,” he said. “For in-stance, a department might decide that a particular pro-gram is no longer relevant. So if we need to drop a pro-gram or something like that, the faculty votes on that is-sue, and so somebody has to run the election.”
Coates and Ashlock said the goal for next year’s senate is to continue the discussion about faculty
salaries and appointments. Coates said the questions of a new science facility and how campus will operate in a time of lean budgets are important to next year’s senate.
For a complete list of those serving in the faculty senate, visit www.acuopti-mist.com
Timothy Michael Fuentes (B.B.A., Management) Monahans
Nikolaus Gardner (B.B.A., Management) Magna Cum Laude Georgetown
Maitland Albert Warren Griffith (B.B.A., Management) Fort Worth
Jennifer Marie Guerrero (B.B.A., Marketing) Abilene
Hans Hach (B.B.A., Management) Culiacán, Mexico
Margaret M. Harley (B.B.A., Management and Marketing) Magna Cum Laude Columbia, Md.
Robynne Harris (B.B.A., Management and Marketing) Cum Laude Katy
Korey Houston Hart (B.B.A., Marketing) Magna Cum Laude Houston
Stephanie Hatch (B.B.A., Management and Marketing) Scottsdale, Ariz.
Lindzie Ann Henry (B.B.A., Management) Anchorage, Ark.
Bobby Kyle Holden (B.B.A., Marketing) Frisco
Anna Rebeca Ingram (B.B.A., Management) Fortaleza, Brazil
Emily Kathryn Jones (B.B.A., Management) Magna Cum Laude Cedar Park
Simon David Arthur Jowett (B.B.A., Management) Magna Cum Laude Round Rock
Kyung Chae Kim (B.B.A., Management) Seoul, Korea
Ryan Luckie (B.B.A., Management) Pflugerville
Michael James McLemore (B.B.A., Management and Marketing) Boerne
Ashton Skye Mileger (B.B.A., Management) Fairview
Emily Ann Miller (B.B.A., Management) Fort Worth
SeungChan Oh (B.B.A.,Marketing) Seoul, South Korea
Ethan Olson (B.B.A., Management) Summa Cum Laude Abilene
Hannah Brynn Ostertag (B.B.A., Management) Summa Cum Laude Clifton, Va.Honors Thesis: The Launch of Connections Café, a Subsidiary of Wild-cat Ventures: An Analysis of the First Student-Run Enterprise at Abilene Christian University
Rachael Piccin (B.B.A., Management) Flower Mound
Trenton Lee Powers (B.B.A., Management) Clovis, Calif.
Stephen James Prather (B.B.A., Management) Atlanta, Ga.
Sarah Danielle Ratliff (B.B.A., Marketing) Lake Kiowa
Morgan Elizabeth McDonald(B.S., Exercise Science) Waxahachie
Lauren Mary Mesaros (B.S., Nutrition)Cum Laude Lee’s Summit, Miss.
Austin Michael Montgomery(B.S., Exercise Science) Keller
Nicole Elizabeth Priest (B.S., Exercise Science) Cum Laude McAllen, Texas
Kelsie Real(B.S., Nutrition) San Antonio
Layne Sharp(B.S., Exercise and Sport Science) Olathe, KS
Audrey Smith(B.S., Nutrition)Cum Laude Waco
Anedrea Turner(B.S., Exercise Science) Wills Point
Isaac Nathaniel Wright (B.S., Physical Education Teacher Education) Abilene
School of Social Work
Jennifer Carpenter(B.S., Social Work)Magna Cum Laude Fort Worth
L’nae Nichole Carstens (B.S., Social Work) Summa Cum LaudeAustin
Kimberly Marie Chaffee (B.S., Social Work) Abilene
Hunter Brandon Clinton (B.S., Social Work) Keller
Nick Croissant(B.S., Social Work)Magna Cum Laude Glenwood Springs, Co.
Breanna Charisse Finney (B.S., Social Work) Escondido, Calif.
Rebekah Brianne Hahn (B.S., Social Work) Abilene
Lauren Land(B.S., Social Work) Summa Cum Laude Prosper
Terra New (B.S., Social Work) Cum Laude Snyder
Hannah Brynn Ostertag (B.S., Sociology)Summa Cum Laude Clifton, Va.Honors Thesis: The Launch of Connections Café, a Subsidiary of Wild-cat Ventures: An Analysis of the First Student-Run Enterprise at Abilene Christian University
Alexandra Jean Reed (B.S., Social Work) Summa Cum Laude Sanger
Masci Lashaun Sledge (B.S., Social Work) Chickasha, Okla.
Brittany Nicole Taraba (B.S., Sociology)Summa Cum Laude Houston
Lindsey Rebecca Turk (B.S., Social Work) Madison, Miss.
Brittany Michelle Vaughn (B.S., Social Work) Richardson
Benjamin Wiese(B.S., Sociology) San Antonio
Yuxiang Wong(B.S., Social Work) Singapore, Singapore
Teacher Education
Jennifer Michele Baran (B.S., Interdisciplinary Studies Elementary) Cedar Park
Justine Barchus(B.S., Interdisciplinary Studies High School) Phoenix, Ariz.
Eden Brooke Thomas (B.S., Interdisciplinary Studies Elementary) Haskell
Hannah Elizabeth Thompson (B.S., Interdisciplin-ary Studies Elementary) Magna Cum Laude Midland
Jayme Micheal Tomlinson (B.S., Interdisciplinary Studies Elementary) Cum Laude Lindale
wednesday 05.08.13 10graduationcontinued from page 9
continued on page 11
Students gathered for the intramural sports closing ceremonies Tuesday night in Bennett Gymnasium. The women of Sigma Theta Chi were the first place winners of the overall women’s intramural points while the men of Galaxy were the first place winners of the overall men’s intra-mural points. The festivities were led by Suzanne Zeller and Colby Hatchett, two student employees in the intramural sports office. “We’re going to be giving out awards for Mr. and Ms. ACU intramurals, best sportsmanship, biggest
injury, most fun team to watch, most upset about no fun league, most likely to start an intramural league after college, most likely to come back for rivalry week after graduation and coach of the year,” said Suzanne Zeller, senior family studies major from Abilene. The intramural staff also gave out most valu-able player awards for both male and female flag foot-ball, volleyball, waterball, basketball and soccer.But the party didn’t stop with the awards. The intramural staff gave away door prizes including cups, t-shirts and other ACU intramural gear. There was even an “open” banana split bar. A slide show with pic-
tures of students compet-ing in various intramural sports that have been taken over the course of the semester was displayed on the gym wall. “We just really want everyone to come out and have fun,” said Zeller. The festivities closed a successful year of intramu-rals with the announce-ment of overall intramural points winners, and gave many students a reason to celebrate.
Part-time students may be able to vote in future Students’ Association elec-tions. In the final SA meeting of the semester, Executive President Rebecca Dial in-troduced two bills to Con-gress. The first bill sought to make two changes to the SA constitution, allowing for part-time students to vote and for freshmen to run for academic or build-ing positions in Congress. Part-time students have never been allowed to vote in SA elections, though the congressional bylaws indicate that they are con-sidered to be SA constitu-ents. Additionally, though it has not been practiced in recent years, freshmen are not officially allowed to run for any position but repre-sentative residence halls in
Congress. Dial, senior political science and finance major from Lexington, SC, said the Students’ Association is supposed to represent all ACU students. “We do think that those part-time students should have a voice in elections,” Dial said. The bill was passed unanimously by Congress, but, as a constitutional amendment, will need to be approved by a vote from the student body. Dial’s second bill was an amendment to the bylaws dealing with how executive and administrative officers are paid. Previously, of-ficers have been paid an hourly wage and lump sum at the end of the semester, which bumped heads with scholarship money. Dial’s bill would allow for officers to complete hours and receive payment like other student workers. The salary
total will remain the same. Congress also passed Dial’s second bill unanimously. Wednesday’s meeting was Dial’s last as SA presi-dent. The new president is Dylan Benac, junior po-litical science major from Beorne.
wednesday 05.08.1311 graduation
Josh GarciaSpecial Contributor
Paige Linae Wallner (B.S., All-Level Special Education) Magna Cum Laude Arlington Heights, Ill.
Samantha Faughn Word (B.S., All-Level Special Education) Cum Laude Vancouver, Wash.
ACU students and members of the Student Rec and Well-ness Center are now able to rent tennis rackets from the front desk.Travis Stevens, supervisor of the SWRC, came up with the idea for providing tennis
rackets. Stevens said, “I love playing tennis. I tried to come up and play and noticed we didn’t have any rackets. So I forced Kerri Hart, my boss, to use part of the budget to pur-chase the tennis rackets and tennis balls.”Brookelee Galle, junior Ad/PR major from Eula, works at the front desk of the SWRC. Galle said, “We got requests at least
twice a week from members for tennis rackets … now that we have them, people come in daily to rent them.”The new rackets are Wilson brand tennis rackets. Stevens said, “They’re so nice, I want to steal them… but I won’t.”
Saturday’s commencement will grant seniors the re-ward for four years of aca-demic achievement. For a few students, graduate awards will be given in ad-dition to recognize their ac-complishments beyond the diploma.
Two weeks before grad-uation, The Student Life Committee meets to review the award nominations submitted by faculty and staff.
Tina Fleet, associate vice president for Student Life, said the committee consists of faculty, staff and student representatives who select
the awards from the list of potential students based on the criteria for each award. This year, 12 students will be commended for both their academic and charac-ter achievements.
Ryan Threadgill, a senior biology from Plano and Sherrod Scholarship recipi-ent, said he thinks taking opportunities within his major have played a help-ing hand in being a scholar-ship recipient.
“Some of the most im-portant things I have done here are to TA both Gen-eral Biology and Physiol-ogy labs in the Biology de-partment,” he said. “Both those labs provided me the opportunity to get to know the professors in the Biol-
ogy department better. The professors I have worked for have always been very supportive of my goals, and I think it was getting to know them better that led to the nomination.”
For Threadgill, being nominated was an honor in itself.
“My reaction was one of gratitude because medi-cal school is expensive and scholarships like this help out a lot,” he said. “In the end, even just being nomi-nated would have been an honor, because there are a ton of very smart people in my class going on to do great things in graduate school.”
Becca Clay, senior speech pathology major
from Salt Lake City, is also a Sherrod Scholarship award winner.
“I cracked up, don’t get me wrong, I was honored,” she said. “But I have a hard time seeing myself as some-one who is nominated for stuff like that. Seeing as I was also nominated for Homecoming Queen is still really shocking to me. “I’m just very blessed”.
Clay, Coppedge and Ta-tum are also candidates for Mr. and Ms. ACU. Those awards will be announced during Saturday’s com-mencement ceremonies.
and their families will be hosted after each ceremo-ny in the mall area outside of Moody.
Holly Howard, senior children and family min-istry major from Rowlett, said she will miss the tradi-tions here at ACU.
“I love ACU, I would love to be a part of it forever,” Howard said. “I am sad to have my last classes and chapels.”
There will be open seat-ing at the ceremony, except for seats reserved for hand-icapped. The lower sec-tions of U, A and B on the east side of Moody, as well
as J, K and M on the west side, will be available for handicapped. The lower half of Section L is reserved for guests requiring sign language interpretation.
Graduates: Reception to follow cermonies in mall area
Caroline Thompson, freshman accounting and management major from Houston, started her own business here in Abilene utilizing what she grew up around: gymnastics.
Thompson Tumblers is a noncompetitive gym-nastics program that teaches developmentally appropriate gymnastics and gross motor skills to children ages 3-6 years old.
Being a freshman in a different town limits most students’ ability to get a job that works around their school schedule. Caroline Thompson grew up in gymnastics class, but the real reason for bringing the business to Abilene was simple.
“I need to make some money. I’m a college stu-dent,” Thompson said.
Thompson Tumblers is a family business that Caroline’s dad runs back
in Houston. Her dad was a competitive gymnast for Houston Baptist and Uni-versity of Arizona and was once ranked third in the nation. In 1984, just be-fore the Olympic trial, he suffered a career-ending
shoulder injury. That year the men’s team received a gold medal in gymnastics. Naturally, it then became the sport of choice and Caroline’s dad went into coaching. He coached competitively and judged collegiately for several years, but soon learned that being a father and competitive coach did not add up.
Thompson Tumblers seemed to be the best so-lution. Caroline and her sisters grew up with the
business, first attending classes themselves, then as assistant coaches for their dad. The girls even directed their own smaller programs.
“Coaching gymnas-tics here in Abilene just
seemed like the natu-ral thing for me to do,” Thompson said.
Caroline’s first program in Abilene was at Pioneer Drive Childcare Develop-ment Center. Along with her two assistant coaches, Whitney Pell and Allison Lamberth, the girls taught eight to twelve students at a time in 30-minute classes.
The program started off with a warm-up that always had a fun educa-tional theme, then the
children were spilt into two smaller groups to work in stations. The girls bring in a lot of equipment that was scaled down in size for young children to be taught basic tumbling, beam, bar and vault-ing skills, as well as basic gross motor skills.
The current program Caroline is working on is a short four-week session. Next semester she plans to add full semester ses-sions, a new location and also offer more classes at Pioneer Drive.
“All of these activities help the children develop in many different areas,” Thompson said. “Over-all fitness is obvious, but non-competitive gymnas-tics also improves overall coordination and flex-ibility; it’s wonderful for building self-confidence.”
A smoke machine in one of the dorm rooms in Mabee Hall caused the fire alarm to go off on Thursday night. ACU Police responded to the incident.
Jordan Bunch, area coor-dinator of Mabee Hall said, the smoke machine was in-
cluded in a party in one of the rooms.
The ACU Police respond-ed to the alarm at 9:30 p.m. Thursday night and showed up to Mabee Hall before the fire department. The ACU Police found no evidence of illicit drugs or alcoholic beverages in the dorm room with the smoke machine.
“There wasn’t any kind of illegal activity going on
other than the fire alarm being activated,” said Chief Ellison from the ACU Police Department.
There isn’t a rule against smoke machines in the dorm rooms, however, Bunch said the smoke ma-
chine itself wasn’t the issue, it was the smoke. ACU is charged $250 every time the fire department is called.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal except for the fact that the fire department had to come out and we had to evacuate the building be-cause we thought there was a fire,” said Bunch.
The residents who were involved took responsibility
for their actions and wish to remain anonymous.
The consequences for those involved remain un-known. The incident is still being processed through judicial affairs.
jimmy ellisonACU police chief
There wasn’t any kind of illegal activity going on other than the fire alarm being activiated.”“
Caitlin Bradford ashley close samuel ewalefo mark smith
Trustees Award Recipients
becca clay kande jones lindsey meredith ryan threadgill
B. Sherrod Scholarship Recipients
katherine bendel
tatum coppedge
Adams Achievement Recipients
Honor Man and Woman
caston boyd kande jones
Requirements for each award
Honor Man and Woman: Character, a recognized example of the ideal stu-dent, scholarship (mini-mum GPA of 3.25).
B. Sherrod Scholarship: Overall contribution to the University. Scholarship to be used for graduate school.
Dean Adams Achievement: Character, cultural growth and development, and obstacles overcome by student.
Trustees Award: Character and outstanding achievement which has brought honor to ACU.
becca clayb. sherrod scholarship recipient
I’m just very blessed.”
“
read the optimist
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ipod
SA: Next year’s staff names full cabinet
ceived the Most Enthusias-tic Congressman award.
“The officers this past year were wonderful and each of them had a very special impact on my life each in different ways,” O’Rear said.
Each of the exiting of-ficers passed down their positions to the elected offi-cers with a word of blessing and a gift that was symbolic of their new position.
“SA has been my safe zone for four years and I’ve loved every minute of it,” said Rebecca Dial, the for-mer SA president. “I’m look-ing forward to the work that Dylan and the new officers continue with Students’ As-sociation.”
Dial, senior polictial science and finance ma-jor from Lexington, S.C., passed down the President’s
Bible to the new president Dylan Benac, junior po-litical science major from Borne.
“This is an exciting time for our university. We’re go-ing through a lot of chang-es,” Benac said. “Some of them will impact next year and some will impact the next 10-15 years. I am ex-cited to play a small part in that.”
Benac concluded the night with his thoughts
on the upcoming school year and a prayer, then the audience followed with a spontaneous singing of the hymn The Lord Bless You and Keep You.
“I’m excited and grateful, and I am looking forward to whatever may come,” Benac said.
students’ association
STATS&FACTSON THE CLASS OF 2013
Gender breakdown
508 seniors graduating
72
12
10
8
6
4
2
Emily
Amanda
Hannah
John
Sarah
The most common names from this
graduating class
12 8 8 8 8
ACCT
PSYC
COMP
MGMT
FAM
Top 5 departments for males25
20
16
Most common
majors
ACCT
FAM
MGMT
PSYC
NURS
Top 5 departments for females
71
58
SummaCum
Laude
MagnaCum
Laude
CumLaude
15
10
518 18 19 24 16 14 14 13 11
Male
Female
ACCT
MKTG
PSYCH5
FAM
COMP
China
Estonia
France
Madagascar
Mexico
California
Colorado
Oklahoma
Texas
Virginia
Republic of Korea
Singapore
Photos by mandy lambright
Top: The 2012-13 SA Cabinet. Bottom: Next year’s cabinet.
The golf team will be finishing up its regional tournament in Washington Wednesday. The Wildcats also played rounds Monday and Tuesday.
The women’s tennis team will be in Arizona for the Round of 16 Wednesday.
The track and field teams are hosting the ACU Oliver Jackson Twilight meet Wednesday all day long.
women’s tennis
standings
briefings
Who’s Hot
The women’s basketball team signed three players for next year’s team.
Chelsea Ngo 5’5” combo guard from Houston, Jessica Elkins is a 5’10” guard from Pasadena and Trei Torain is a 6’2” post player San Antonio.
They will join five other players to make up the 2013 recruiting class for head coach Julie Goodnenough and her staff.
men’s tennis
TeamCameronUIWACUMSU
Div.19-211-512-1416-5
Ovrl.3-01-21-21-2
Freshman runner Xavier King per-formed well in the Lone Star
Conference Cham-pionships over the weekend. King won the 1500m run with a blazing time of un-der four minutes. He followed that up with a third place finish in the 5,000m run. King also finished in seventh place in the 800m run, allowing him to score points for the Wildcats in all three of his track events. King is another in a great line of ACU 1500m runners, as the Wildcats have claimed first place in that event 26 times at the LSC championships since 1978, and King still has three more years to compete.
The Wildcat’s men and women track and field teams both finished third in their last Lone Star Conference Champion-ships over the weekend in Canyon. The third place finish snaps the ACU men’s nineteen year first place streak, as Angelo State took home first and West Texas edged out the Wildcats for second place by half a point.
“It was an exciting weekend that brought the best out of everybody,” Head Coach Jarrod Cook said. “When all is said and done, I’m proud of all of the athletes. They all stepped up and did their
part to make everything happen for each other.” The team finished the competition with great performances and per-sonal bests. Capturing first place freshman was Andrew Hudson in the discus, freshman Xavier King in the 1500m, sopho-more Lexus Williams in the 100m hurdles, and the 4x400m relay of senior Shennae Steele, sopho-more Karolyn Palmer, se-nior Ayesha Rumble and freshman Elea Diarra, which passed two teams at the finish line for a sea-son best mark of 3:46.80.
Hudson finished with a win in the discus and a third place finish in the hammer throw (166-11). King was fantastic in the 1500m, as he took home
first with a 3:58.61 time, third place in the 5,000m (15:23.63) and finished seventh in the 800m (1:59.21). In the 100m hur-dles, Williams recorded a 13.8 second time to earn a first place finish as well.
“The biggest thing among all our winners today was their high level of expectation of them-selves and to continue the program’s legacy,” Cook said. “Their performanc-es are a real testament to their mental strength and physical ability.”
ACU also set LSC and stadium records over the weekend. Senior Shalaina Lakey recorded a cham-pionship record toss of 175 feet-09 inches (53.58 meters), which broke the previous record held
by Angelo State’s Adree Lakey since 2009 (173-8/52.93m). Senior Bap-tiste Kerjean also set the new record in the ham-mer throw with a 209-10 throw.
Senior Chloe Sus-set captured an unprec-edented fourth straight steeplechase victory at the championships. She finished with a 10:54.05 time, which set a new West Texas Stadium re-cord. A six-time confer-ence champion, Susset won her first steeplechase title in 2010. She then won both the steeplechase and 1500m titles at the 2011 and 2012 meets.
ACU’s 4x400m men’s team of sophomore Osei Allyene-Forte, junior Dar-ian Hogg, senior Banjo
Jaiyesimi and senior Jor-dan Geary finished third behind Angelo and Tar-leton State with a season best and NCAA provision-al mark of 3:47.86.
“Jordan is all heart and I can’t say enough good things about him,” Cook said. “He played a major role for us at the meet, and got us back in that last race along with Banjo. They all were incredible.”
The team’s next event will be in Abilene at El-mer Gray Stadium. ACU will compete in the ACU Oliver Jackson Twilight on May 8.
The ACU baseball team trav-elled to Canyon with hopes of winning the Lone Star Conference tournament, but ended up going 1-2 over the weekend and falling short.
The Wildcats started off the tournament by playing Texas A&M Kingsville in the first round. The ACU offense got off to a hot start, scoring five unanswered runs to start the game.
From there, ACU got into a shootout with the Javelinas and gave up a couple of big innings, falling short 9-8.
“In the third inning they
gave up five runs and then in the fifth or sixth inning they put up a four spot,” head coach Britt Bonneau said. “The difference in that game was their reliever Cody Wil-liams came in and put up a few zeros.”
Third basemen Kyle Guis-ti was the player of the game for the Wildcats, getting three hits and two runs. Kyle Conwell also had three RBIs.
The next day, ACU faced off against Incarnate Word in an elimination game and rose to the occasion with a 6-3 victory.
Pitcher Ty Taylor (6-4) threw 130 pitches in 8.2 in-nings to keep ACU’s season alive. Taylor punched out
seven batters and only gave up two runs in the contest. Carter Hahn came in during the ninth inning and record-ed a save.
“We knew we needed pitchers to go deep into games if we wanted to win this tournament and Taylor went into the ninth inning,” Bonneau said. “He gave us a dominating performance and never gave the other team a chance.”
ACU had multi-hit games from five players including Seth Spivey, Guisti, Tyler Ea-ger, Chuck Dwarte and Ryan Luckie. ACU scored all six of their runs in the first three innings, but that was enough to conquer the Cardinals.
Sunday, the Wildcats faced off against the rival An-gelo State Rams, but suffered a heart-breaking 4-3 loss.
ACU went into the last inning trailing by one run when Eager scored on a pass ball with two outs in the top of the ninth.
In the bottom of the in-ning, the Rams scored a run of their own to end ACU’s season.
Eager had an outstanding game for ACU, getting three hits in the contest and scor-ing twice.
The Wildcats season ends with a record 29-25, which is an improvement upon last season when ACU finished below .500.
“From the start of the fall and all the way through the spring, I thought our guys played hard every game,” Bonneau said. “Our pitch-ing kept us in a lot of games when we were struggling swinging the bat and our de-fense was solid all year. That is why we were able to beat two or three top 15 teams in the nation. We wanted to make it to regionals and do some other things, but over-all I think we had a really good season.”
baseball
mandy lambright chief Photographer
Outfielder Tyler Eage hits a ball in front of the plate against Angelo State at Crutcher Scott Field. ACU lost to Angelo State 4-3 last weekend.
The Abilene Christian softball team could not surmount a comeback af-ter No. 8 West Texas A&M scored four runs in the first inning at the Lone Star Conference champi-onship.
The team left the LSC this past weekend for the last time losing 1-4. Senior starting pitcher Caitlyn Crain pitched perfect with five scoreless innings after the first, but the Wildcat offense could not get the timely hits they needed.
“I tip my hat off to the team; they battled like they have all year never giving up, but we’re going to carry on and get better,” said head coach Bobby Reeves.
The team got on base each inning throughout the game, but could not capitalize when the time was right.
In the third and sixth ‘Cats had runners on third in scoring position, but could not place the ball in a gap to plate their chanc-
es.Coach Reeves was
pleased with Crain’s ef-fort on the circle pitching of her last game as a Wild-cat, with four strikeouts including sending her last sixteen batters to retire-
ment.“You know she gave up
four runs in the first in-ning, but settled down and took care of the bat-ters the rest of the game,” said Reeves.
It’s an end of an era as
the Wildcats leave D-II and the LSC conference, but the ‘Cats will come back next year with some great recruits in attempt to re-place four seniors; leadoff hitter and highest batting average on the team in Ke-
anna Winkfield, shortstop Sara Vaughn and two of the LSC’s best pitchers in Crain and Shelby Hall.
“Caitlyn and Shelby both have done a great job. Caitlyn has come in throwing in some big time games and third in the conference in strike-outs. Shelby helped keep the ball on the ground all year for those easy outs as well,” said Reeves.
“It’s going to be hard to replace those four, but we’re going to carry on and replace them as best we can.”
The Wildcats an-nounced four all-Lone Star Conference selec-tions. The four are listed below:
1. Centerfielder Ke-anna Winkfield.
2. Designated hitter Lyndi Smith.
3. Shortstop Sara Vaughn, who also made ACU’s all-academic team.
4. Pitcher Caitlyn Crain.
softball
Daniel zepedasports editor
paige otway Staff Photographer
The softball team celebrates at home plate after a home run at home this season.
