This was a standout sports season for the M State Spartans.
The Minnesota State Community and Technical College football and volleyball teams both continued to win and move up the Division III rankings of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). In golf, the Spartans will play this weekend for a chance to advance to the NJCAA national tournament for the 12th year in a row – the longest record in NJCAA Division III golf.
Head coach Cory Miller had the Spartans roll over with a 6-0, 33-12 win in last Saturday’s M State Homecoming clash, 1 October over Rochester Community and Technical College. The victory made the Spartans of No. 2 in the ranking to the top position.
Running back Rondarius Gregory led the Division in the rush, with over 100 yards of play, and was also first in a touchdown with nine. Quarterback KJ Cooper was second with 14 touchdown passes.
Spartan’s shot play was also a strength as Carsen McKnight scored 26 of the extra 28 points and six of his seven field goals from 47 yards.
Defensively, the Spartans are first in defensive touchdowns with four, and first in failing to recover with 10. The team is second in interceptions with 12.
Head coach Abby Crowser and the Lady Spartans volleyball team had an equally impressive season at No. 6 in the country and a 9-0 record in the highly competitive Minnesota College Athletics Conference (MCAC) Southern Division, which has three teams ranked in the national top 10.
Avery Wanner leads MCAC in digs with 408, and Faith Marion is second in kills with 261. Kaia Strom is one of the leaders in assists per set, averaging 8.35. Lady Spartan leads the MCAC in providing assists and setting assists per game, digging and kills.
The team finished third in the NJCAA National Tournament last fall.
Ellia Soydara had a great season. He has been a medalist in two events, winning the Spartan Invitational at the Pebble Lake Golf Course and the Cougar Invite at the Minnewaska Golf Club.
Soydara has the lowest scoring average of any Spartan in recent women’s golf history. He looks to qualify for the National Tournament in Region XIII National Qualifiers at Victory Links Golf Course in Blaine on Saturday and Sunday, October 8-9.
The Spartan men’s golf team has improved throughout the fall and is playing very good golf. The team has finished second in two of their last three events, with fields spanning many four-year colleges. The team has shown excellent depth, with six different players scoring 80 or lower throughout the season. Leo Stepan has led the Spartans in scoring averages and finished second individually in two of the last three tournaments.
The Spartans will seek to qualify for the National Tournament at Victory Links Golf Course in Blaine on Saturday and Sunday, October 8-9.
