Mesa State Criterion

On March 3, Mesa State senior guard Ryan Mathews separated himself from his team and took a long hard look at the scoreboard. The 64-59 loss to CSU-Pueblo in the Mavericks’ post season berth was not how the senior guard wanted to end the season.
Last season’s Mavs scrapped together a season after the injury of forward Justin Ashbaugh on the back of Mathews’ cut and slash style, newly acquired forward Jase Herl’s grappling defensive, rebounding and tough offense and the hot hands of the three-point all stars: guards Sean Flohr and Brian Kenshalo. The small, guard driven team was anchored by the hefty presence of center Kurt Bangle.
The Mavericks, despite losing Mathews, Bangle, forward Jake Swartzendruber and guard Andre Carter, are back as serious contenders in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The boys in maroon are ranked third in the preseason poll. And for good reason.
Herl is at the helm, returning from last year’s season average of 12.5 points and 7.7 rebounds a game. He was named to the RMAC Preseason All-West Team.
Ashbaugh looks to fill Mathews’ shoes in his senior year despite taking last year off for a torn ACL. In his junior year, Ashbaugh averaged 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds a game, all of which were team highs. The Mavericks will also look to Flohr’s smooth three point shot that lead the team at 45.6 percent. Kenshalo, who was coach Jim Heaps’ late season secret weapon, shooting 45.2 percent from behind the arc, looks to be a consistent contributor.
Bangle’s absence will likely force the Mavericks to lean on 6-foot-7 sophomore Michael Bear who is the only player listed to the post position on the preseason roster, as well as senior forward Ben Crowe and junior transfer forward Lance Fite.
Coach Jim Heaps returns for his 14th season as Mavericks head coach posting a 224-135 overall record and 165-82 conference record. The Mavericks finished 16-12 overall and 13-6 in RMAC play last season.
The Mavericks play their first game Nov. 3 against Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah.

Women’s Basketball

The Mesa State women’s basketball looks to improve upon last season’s dismal performance posting only six wins in the season. New head coach Roger Walters will see the return of three starters from last season, including two of the top three scorers in senior guard Heather Habekost and junior guard Hannah Breidel. Breidel averaged 8.6 points per game and Habekost 7.6 points and 3.2 assists per game.
Mesa State was picked sixth in the preseason RMAC rankings.
The Lady Mavs will start their season in Utah playing Snow College Nov. 13 and Utah Valley State College Nov. 14.

For the Mesa State womens swim team, victory came easily on Saturday as they cruised by the Colorado College Tigers, 212-64, with the team winning all but one race.
Two of the girls stole the show with their performances. Sophomore Katie Wedel won three events including 200 freestyle, the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke. She was also a part of the 200 yard medley relay that took first place.
Sarah Hagerstrom also took first in three events, the 200 butterfly, 500 freestyle and the 200 individual medley.
Kelly Hogan and Jaclyn McMillen also took first in multiple events while diver Annie Rhoades also won both the one and three meter dives.
The win came only a day after a 157-128 loss at Air Force Academy Friday. The women won five races.
Wedel win the 200 yard individual medley, while Rachel Bailey took the 100 yard backstroke, Hogan the 200 yard free style, and Rhoades won the 1 meter dive. The Mavericks also won the 400 freestyle relay.
The Mavs take on Adams State in another dual on Nov. 14.
Mens Swimming
The first year Mesa State Mens swim team lost in their first dual meets in school history over the weekend.
On Saturday against Colorado College. The Mavs lost ten of the sixteen races and were outscored 163-118.
The story for Mesa State was the great work of the freshman on the team. Scott Strehlow and Kent Stavrakas each won two events. Strehlow won the 500 and 1000 meter freestyle events while Stavrakas won the 50 and 100 meter freestyle events.
On the diving board Jordan Cahill won the one-meter and three-meter dive events.
The Mavs also lost 162-96
It was the last meet of the fall for the boys. who have a long time off to practice and prepare for their next meet Jan. 2 in Phoenix, Ariz.

J. Gromelski
Sports Reporter

Whether dressed as a Halloween ghoul or just sporting Maverick maroon. Saturday was a great way to send off the Mesa State volleyball team’s seniors on a senior night that had a bit of spook to it, with the Mavs (16-9, 14-2 RMAC) winning in three straight games against New Mexico Highlands.
On Halloween night, in front of a packed crowd of crazed and masked fans, the team’s seniors ran out with treats and smiles awaiting their ceremony. After the four seniors received their gifts and gratitude from the team and fans,  the lady Mavs struggled getting started in the first match against the visiting Cowgirls. However, after taking the lead 20-19 late in the match the Mavs cruised through a three game sweep (25-19, 25-13, 25-20) of the Cowboys.
“Highlands put up a fight and that’s what we had to be aware of,” Mesa State coach Dave Fleming said after the game.
Junior Meagan Bosch, from Palisade High School, stood out in the game with a .471 attack percentage and zero errors. Bosch and Gabrielle Lovato also led the team with eight kills each.
“There were some people in different spots,” said Flemming.
Bosch has played all three front row positions with senior outside hitter Ali Tompkins out with tendonitis. It has caused the team to make a few adjustments although it doesn’t worry the players.
“We have great depth,” Bosch said. “Coach can mix up the lineup and it still works.”
Tompkins is much needed for the RMAC tournament and is expected to practice Monday to see if she will be ready for the last home match Tuesday against Western New Mexico. The Lady Mavs will finish the regular season on the road against two conference opponents. The first on Friday in Fort Lewis, and then the final regular season game the next day in Gunnison against the Western State Mountaineers.

jgromels@mesastate.edu

While the sound of a whistle is not uncommon on the football field, it is unusual at 2 a.m. in the middle of a park. Campus police officers hope that this sound will never ring through the bitter night air. But just in case police and other campus organizations are giving students the tools to make sure they are safe.
Associated Student Government, Residence Hall Association, the police department, Housing, and Student Life have all teamed up to provide the campus with free whistles as a safety tool. The whistle program was started in 2000 when the police department and college started a contract for the city to get police on campus. The police that came ordered whistles that year and has taken off ever since and they reorder year after year.
“It’s no different than carrying pepper spray,” police officer Mark Sutton said. “We want to make safety tools easily accessible.”
One of the worries police had was making sure they ordered good quality whistles that would last a long time. To get high quality, they ordered 5,400 American-made whistles. They have placed the whistles in places around campus that students frequent such as CSI, MAVcard office, main desk at Elm Hall, and the housing office.
“It’s something that we’ve definitely done in the past,” ASG president Ryan Hendershot said.  “Every year we should be handing out whistles.”
“It’s a good program,” Vice President of Student Affairs John Marshall said. “We need to make sure it gets priority.”
While those involved believe that it is a very important program, they are also certain that they will not be used that much. At least that is their hope.
“This is just a very safe campus,” Marshall said. “Incidents that do happen occur very far and between. My hope as much as any is that we can have a continued process of awareness. It’s a good reminder that safety is common sense and there are prudent steps to take to protect you and those around you.”

The Mesa State football team (5-5, 5-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) punched the final nail in the proverbial coffin of their RMAC title chances, falling to Chadron State 31-7 on the road. In a lackluster effort from the offense, the Mavs have found themselves in their first conference losing streak, two straight games.
“It was embarrassing how the offense played,” said senior receiver Justin Murray, who led all receivers with three catches for 29 yards. “We were held under 100 yards of total offense. It was just embarrassing.”
The Mavs scored the first touchdown of the game after getting the ball on an interception by senior defensive back Josh Padilla. The touchdown came two plays later on a four-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Michael Mankoff to fullback Zach Belloni. After that drive, the Maverick offense never gained significant field position and was held to just five first downs and a season low 97 yards of total offense.
The Maverick defense worked tenaciously to slow the Eagle offense, that grinded out 149 yards of rushing and 211 yards through the air. Still, the defense kept the game within 10 points going into the fourth quarter.
“The defense played great considering they were on the field for more than half the game,” Murray said. “When you’re out on the field for that long, the other team can start figuring out what you’re doing and picking it apart. And all those guys just get tired.”
The Mavericks almost scored again on their next drive, but Mankoff had a pass picked off by Chadron’s sophomore safety Nick Milani on Chadron’s 6 yard line. The Eagles couldn’t put anything together offensively to take advantage of the turnover, but would not be stopped twice. With 2:29 left in the first half, Mankoff was picked off again, this time by senior linebacker Duke Eardley, and the Chadron offense punched in a four-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Maurice Threatts to knot the score at 7-7.
After a quick three-and-out by the Maverick offense, the Chadron offense started with the ball on their own 23 yard line and 58 seconds left on the clock. Eight plays and a pass interference penalty later, senior kicker Travis Atter blasted a 42-yard field goal as time expired to leave the Mavericks trailing 10-7.
The Maverick defense started showing the fatigue of being constantly left on the field, and surrendered two touchdowns to Threatts and the Chadron ground game, one in the third quarter and one early in the fourth quarter.
After another three-and-out, the Eagle offense marched 54 yards on eight plays and capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Garrett Treffer to senior receiver Joel Schommer to end scoring at 31-7.
The Maverick aerial attack sputtered this week. Mankoff started at quarterback for Mavericks, and threw for 56 yards on 9-19 passing, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Freshman Robert Felberg entered late in the game and threw for 5 yards on 1-4 passing.
“Whoever is in at the quarterback, we just roll with them and play our butts off,” Murray said.
The Maverick ground game is still feeling the loss of running back Joey Applehans. Sophomore Will Halboth lead the Maverick rushing attack with 33 yards on 14 carries.
“It’s always hard when you lose one of your starting players, but Will and James (Hamm) are doing a great job stepping up,” Murray said.
The Maverick defense held strong, but ultimately suffered from fatigue, because of 11 Maverick punts and the Chadron offense controlling the ball nearly twice as long as Mesa.Seniors Aaron Silverthorne and Bennett Newton lead the Maverick with 12 and 11 tackles, respectively. Padilla and sophomore defensive back Tanner Whaley both recorded interceptions for the Maverick defense.
The Mavericks look to change their mindset going into their final game.
“Our goals have changed because one of our goals was to win the RMAC,” Murray said. “We’re still going to work hard and play our butts off.”
The Mavericks close out the regular season at home against #8 Nebraska Kearney, who recently clinched at least a partial share of the RMAC title, at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Even after all of her hard work to gain a degree in sociology, Veronica Herrera’s degree is now worthless. Herrera, 46, a mother of six children, was rear ended in a tragic car accident and suffered a bad neck injury, spinal and nerve damage. She now has seizures, lives in chronic pain, and can’t use her degree she worked so hard to gain. Herrera graduated from Mesa State in 2005, a year after her oldest son. Herrera worked for Human Services and helped people with special needs.
“It’s truly ironic because I worked with people with special needs,” Herrera said. “But (now) I can only do it two to three hours on a good day and sometimes I can’t even do that.”
Veronica’s son Aaron Herrera, 22, is a junior at Mesa who has had to watch his mom suffer. “She’s depressed because she went through all of that hard work to graduate and now it kind of went all down the drain,” he said.
Aaron and his siblings help support their mother and are putting on a Hip-Hop Dance Contest fundraiser, Nov. 14 from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. at Roper Music located on 5th and Main Street. The contest is $10, or $8 with a MAVcard. The event will consist of rap battles, many forms of dancing, food, and drinks. The money you pay to get in will go straight to Veronica’s charity which is called “V Charity.” Drinks will be provided by La Raza and there will also be homemade burritos.
If unable to attend the event but would still like to help Veronica, visit her website at www.vcharity.us to give a donation.

The ‘60s marked a period of great growth for the college as well as a new President of the school Dr. William Medesy who was appointed in 1963. During this time, the campus more than tripled in physical size, because of the growth of the student body, which was now at 1,300 enrolled.
The W.W. Campbell College Center was built and it housed a dining hall, meeting rooms, and a bookstore. It was named after William W. Campbell who left the college much of his estate to establish a loan fund for students. Jack Scott, alumni and former Director of Administration and girls basketball coach, remembers hunting rabbits where the student center was built and said, “The school has grown so much it’s hard to believe.”
Many other buildings were developed during this time. In 1967 the new Library and Administration building was built and named Heiny Hall, after faculty member Lowell Heiny. The library had grown to 80,000 volumes.
Also, in 1967 the Fine Arts building was proposed and it would house Music, Arts, and Theatre. It was later named after Daily Sentinel editor Walter Walker who had helped create the idea of a junior college in Grand Junction.
The ‘70s marked a major transition point for the college. Dr. Medesy retired in 1970 and Dr. Theodore Albers was appointed as the next president. It was under his reign that the college started the long road to becoming a four year school.
There were many concerns from faculty and students regarding the effects of a four year program as well as concerns about where funding would come from to support the program. There was even a suggestion to make the college a three year program instead. It would take four years for the college to achieve this goal, and in 1974 the school offered degrees in Human Services, Business Management, Visual and Performing Arts, and Liberal Studies. Dr. Albers resigned at the end of this year due to bad health, and Elm Hall was renamed in his honor.
Dr. John U. Tomlinson became the next president of the college in 1974 and it was under his tenure that the college completed its transition to a four year school.
Due to the transition much more classroom space and dorm space was needed. The Main Hall was remodeled, adding on eight new classrooms and it was formally dedicated in 1980 as Houston Hall. Also in 1977, more apartment buildings and dorms were added and they were named Walnut Ridge, Juniper Hall (later renamed Rait Hall), Aspen Hall (later renamed Tolman Hall), and Pinon Hall.
It was also in the ‘70s that KMSA, the first student run radio station, was created.
Finally, in 1976 Mesa College celebrated its 50th commencement ceremony, and for the first time was able to formally award four year bachelor degrees to 117 students.
One major changed that marked the ‘80s was when Mesa College became Mesa State College. The college in 1988 became part of a Board of Trustees system that was in control of several other colleges including Metro State College, Adams State College and Western State College. It was because of this that Mesa College changed its name to Mesa State College to be consistent with the names of the other schools.
Also during this time the Tomlinson Library that we know today, was built. It is capable of holding 332,000 books, 55,000 maps, and 328 specialized books.
Dr. Tomlinson resigned in 1988 and Ray Kieft was appointed president for Mesa State College. Yet with President Kieft came controversy. He was largely responsible for administration and faculty changes, and making it clear to the community that Mesa College was now a state college and not a community college, President Tim Foster remembers that it was during this time when the college started looking inwards and somewhat closed itself off to the community. It is his hope today to open up to the community once again.
It was during the ‘90s that the college continued to grow and expand giving more opportunities to the student population which reached 4,626 enrolled. In 1991 Montrose Higher Education Center became a part of Mesa State College. It was during this time that the college spread to its current boundaries. In 1995 Mesa State Foundation undertook this expansion by matching a $250,000 annual donation from the City of Grand Junction for the next ten years.
However Dr. Kieft left in frustration in 1996 and Dr. Michael Gallagher become the next president of the college.
Another expansion of the college came in 1996. The Unified Technical Education Campus aka UTEC was finished. This program provided associate degrees and today it is a two year program known as Western Colorado Community College which has created an identity of its own.
To accommodate for the growing student body, Monument Hall was built to house more students in 1996.
And in 2000 the Humanities building (also known as the Fine Arts Building) was constructed to house the art department and the mass communications program. Then in 2002 the remodeling of the old Fine Arts Building was finished and was named the Moss Performing Arts Center, after John and Angie Moss.
In 1997 Mesa State College began classes with 17 students enrolled in the new masters of business administration program.
Today Mesa State College continues to grow under the leadership of President Tim Foster. Enrollment now is around 7,000 students. The college is also independent from the Board of Trustees system that it was under in the late ‘80s.
Buildings are going up left and right and as President Foster said, “The finish line is always moving.”
The growth over the last 85 years that the college has seen is immeasurable. “It just gets bigger and better, well I should say bigger and bigger because the quality has always been good,” Dan MacKendrick, alumni and former professor said.

Students can now not only go bowling for class but they can also go skiing down Powderhorn in competitions as a part of the Athletic Program with the new Alpine Ski Team. The club sport will be under the athletic department so they receive funding from them and are provided with things such as equipment, scholarships, and travel funds.
Coach Jack Harbottle brought his love for skiing from Western State College in Gunnison to Mesa State after being recruited by president Tim Foster.
The program will be associated with the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association, rather than the NCAA due to the openness of the league. The NCAA is very exclusive to student athletes at the national team level, where as the USCSA league will accept anyone from beginners to the pros, according to Harbottle.
In addition, the USCSA covers a wide variety of skiing categories, unlike the NCAA who only have alpine and Nordic skiing.
“It’s available for student athletes to ski four different ways,” Harbottle said. “It’s available for the whole gauntlet; they can do a little bit of everything.”
While the sport is commonly a winter sport, there will be dry land training in the fall for athletes so that they are able to get into shape before they get on the snow. Because the team is under the athletic department, they will be able to travel and compete in nationals within the region including the state of Colorado as well as University of Wyoming. Student athletes will also be held responsible for their grades to be allowed to be on the team. Training will usually be after school on the weekdays with competitions on the weekends.
“We want our athletes to graduate,” Harbottle said. “We can give our students the opportunity to ski, race, and get a degree.”
Students interested in joining the alpine ski team are invited to the informational meeting on Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m. in Saunders Field House room 1107.

The Mesa State administration has declared war on Adams State College. Maybe “war” is too strong, but Mesa State has engaged with Adams State in a Facebook Face-Off. The Facebook Face-Off is a competition between the two colleges to see which one can gain 2,000 new fans first.
“It takes the competition off the field and into cyber space,” Director of Marketing and Publications Mike Mansheim said. The Face-Off cultivates a healthy rivalry between schools and it also gives Mesa students a chance to show their support for the school. “It’s a fun way to get a little more interest,” Mansheim said.
The idea for the Face-Off started when Mesa State Director of Admissions Jared Meier was talking to his Adams State counterpart. The two of them came up with the idea. Meier then teamed up with several of his Mesa State colleagues to make the Face-Off possible.
“It definitely adds to the popularity of the school. Everyone has a Facebook,” sophomore Kelsey Nordin said.
Considering how many students are on Facebook at any given time, the possibilities for exposure for the schools can reach beyond high schools and colleges, especially with Facebook’s ever-growing age range.
But what are the internal effects? “It’s something fun for everyone to be involved in,” Nordin said. “It’s good for school spirit.” Everyone on campus can easily get involved with this activity. It is the perfect all-inclusive activity for a college campus.
For those without an account who would like to participate, it’s easy to get one. Go to www.facebook.com and register; all that is needed is an e-mail address. Once signed up, do a search for Mesa State College, go to the profile and click the “Become a Fan” link.

Mesa State College will be holding advising sessions for the teaching degree at Colorado Mountain College and Colorado Northwest Community College. The sessions will give potential students information on what courses they will need to take to transfer to Mesa State after their first two years at a community college.
“It provides the opportunity for someone who lives and works in Colorado to go to a local community college to complete the first two years and then join a cohort where Mesa State brings in the program for the last two years,” Ben Keefer, director of extended studies, said.
The program is geared towards those who have a desire to obtain a teaching degree, but do not want to relocate to Grand Junction. Colorado Mountain College and Colorado Northwest Community College will be working closely with Mesa State’s main campus to deliver the Mesa State based programs to their colleges.
There are two ways students can go about obtaining an elementary teaching license; through the teaching program at Mesa State’s main campus. Second, they can go through either Colorado Mountain College, Colorado Northwest Community College or through the Montrose campus and work on getting a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, while obtaining a elementary teaching licenser. Students can expect to put in 12 credit hours and 800 student teaching hours. The Alpine Campus in Steamboat Springs will be hosting the advising sessions on Nov. 2 from 2-6 p.m., as well as the Vail-Eagle Campus on Nov. 11 from 1-6 p.m. and the Spring Valley Center near Glenwood Springs on Nov. 12 from 2-6 p.m.