Designs

Moses brings leadership to men's golf team

Kody Moses takes a swing at practice last fall. (Photo by A.J. Groebner)

Despite a typical winter season in northern Iowa, with blistering cold wind chills and a few blizzards, junior Kody Moses has one thing on his mind: golf.

In Moses’ early years of golf he said he would go out with his grandpa and his dad and it snowballed from there.

“As I got older my friends and I would just waste a day on the golf course in the summer,” Moses said.

Moses, a native from St. Ansgar, Iowa, was a walk-on to this year’s golf team at Waldorf.

“I played baseball and golf in high school and I was looking to do one when I came to Waldorf,” Moses said.

Moses played golf for four years for the St. Ansgar Saints. In his junior year the team won the conference.

Winning the conference as a team was one of Moses’ most memorable in golf.

“It was a rainy day and none of the other teams wanted to be there,” Moses said. “We (the team) were a group of guys thrown together and we just went out there and had fun and ended up winning conference.”

As far as memories at Waldorf, Moses unfortunately doesn’t have any yet, but he expects to make some in the next year and a half.

The Waldorf men’s golf team this year, before Moses joined the team, only consisted of three players.

Head Coach Mason Babcock remembered hearing Moses played golf in high school and sent Moses an email to see if he was interested in playing golf.

“I gladly chose to golf at Waldorf,” Moses said.

According to Babcock, Moses has a good future in leading the team next year.

“Kody is the type of young man you want on your team and represents Waldorf well,” Babcock said. “There’s no scholarship money for walk-ons. And I know by Kody joining the team without scholarship money he’s doing it for the right reasons.”

Babcock also mentioned if Moses keeps doing things the way they are supposed to be done he would continue to get better.

“I just wish we could have had him on the team for four years,” Babcock said. “I appreciate the efforts he puts into the team.”

Moses has a lot of strength on the course, according to Babcock.

“He’s very strong, has a lot of power, but also has good touch shots,” Babcock said. “It’s been a joke on the team that he hits the longest eight-iron than humanly possible.”

Moses said he’s enjoyed getting to know the guys on the team and playing on some of the golf courses he may have never had a chance to play.
“Before the season I didn’t know Scott McCandless or Matt Smith,” Moses said.

Moses also said he learned a few things from Babcock and also the ins and outs of a college meet.

“Kody balances his competitiveness and personality well and acts appropriate on the golf course,” Babcock said. “Having a walk-on who can be a leader is great. A lot of walk-on’s coaches are just happy to have contribute to the team, but Kody does more and does what it takes to get the job done.”

Warriors basketball teams celibrate coaches vs. cancer

One in eight women or 12.6 percent of all women will get breast cancer in their lifetime.

Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.

Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.

These are just a few facts from about.com that may be shocking to some, but are real to others.

On Feb. 4 the Waldorf men’s and women’s basketball team donated their profits from gate fee’s against Grand View University to the American Cancer Society.

The event was in recognition of “Coaches Against Cancer” week on the Waldorf campus and throughout the Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Not only has Waldorf invested profits from gate fees for donation, other teams around the league have also participated in donating their gate fees to a local cancer organization.

Students and fans showed their support by donating a dollar to put their name on a pink paper basketball that was added to the collection on the John K. and Lewis Hanson Fieldhouse doors. Those who donated also received a pink ribbon to wear to show their support in the fight against breast cancer.

Fan’s also showed their support by wearing pink shirts, shoes and anything else they had that was pink to the game.

Players from the women’s basketball team wore matching black and pink warm-ups with matching accessories to show their support.

Although the men’s basketball team did not wear pink warm-ups a few players supported the cause by wearing pink shoes and donating money.

“We were supporting cancer all the way around,” men’s head coach Chad Brown said. “I’m not saying we don’t support the cause for breast cancer, but our support goes more towards every kind of cancer.”

The teams raised about $500 according to assistant coach Kristin McMillan.

For senior Brianna Gray from Toledo, IA breast cancer and other types of cancer have been through her family and in her life a lot.

“I’ve had a good friend from high school’s mom pass away from cancer,” Gray said. “My grandma’s dad had cancer too. It’s a nasty thing and I hope someday they can find a way to prevent it or cure it.”

Gray said her grandma was a two or three-year survivor until it came back.

On Feb. 7,2007, a day in which Gray will never forget, she got a call from her family to go to Ames, IA. Later that afternoon, around 2 pm, at the age of 71 Gray’s grandma passed away.

“I thought something wasn’t good because my family wanted me to go see my grandma,” Gray said. “My grandma was the type of person who was stubborn and didn’t want to put her family in the position she had to be in when her dad and family members had cancer which is why she never really talked about it.”

As the years have gone by Gray and her family have donated and participated in the fight against breast cancer.

“It’s awesome to see that so many people support it at events like Coaches vs. Cancer,” Gray said. “Whenever I go into a store and see something for breast cancer I try to donate to it if the money is going to a good cause like the Susan G. Komen Foundation.”

Last year for the breast cancer event at Waldorf Gray said her parents donated t-shirts, with her grandma’s initials on them, to the men’s and women’s basketball teams in support.

Twylah Kragel, an employee at Waldorf College, said she was one of the lucky ones to have survived breast cancer.

“It was a shock at first,” Kragel said. “There is no history of any types of cancer in my family at all. It changes your perspective on life."

For Kragel catching the cancer early and the help of family, friends and support groups from Mercy Hospital in Mason City, Iowa, she was able to undergo minimal surgery and radiation.

“The support in the cancer center in Mason was wonderful,” Kragel said. “I belonged to a support group for many years.”

Almost five years later Kragel said she will enjoy celebrating her battle with cancer with her family.

“Its overwhelming with all the events that support breast cancer,” Krugel said. “I am very fortunate to survive because I am older. I’ve never paid much attention before, it’s humbling to see what people are willing to do.”

Krugel also added she believes no matter what the government says, women still need to get exams.

For more information about breast cancer and other cancers, visit www.cancer.org.

WH alumna Sarah Swanson gives her all in two sports at Waldorf College

After a long basketball season, Waldorf College junior Sarah Swanson was about to begin her first softball practice for the 2010 season.

On the first day of practice it is a good idea to show the coaches what you have and the improvements made in the off-season, if there is such a thing.

“I was sliding head first into third base in the gym (Hanson Field House) and I hit my head on the floor,” Swanson said.

With the size of the bump on her left eye, it was a pretty hard hit, not to mention it has taken her out of the lineup for a couple of weeks.

“It was quite the welcome back to softball,” Swanson said with a laugh. “But I've been feeling better and the headache's have gone away.”

This is not the first time Swanson has dealt with an injury and playing numerous sports over the years has its wears and tears on the body.

In high school, Swanson played four sports throughout her years at West Hancock High - softball, basketball, track and volleyball. She ended her prolific athlete as an Eagle after graduation in 2006.

“I injured my knee my junior year in high school,” Swanson said. “And again my sophomore year at Waldorf in basketball and I missed both basketball and softball seasons.”

Swanson said she worked hard in the time she was out of the sports to get back in shape, but it wasn't easy.

“It's just something you have to play through,” Swanson said.

Swanson, a two-sport athlete, is one of many at Waldorf and on the softball team.

“It's definitely hard being a two sport athlete,” Swanson said. “Basketball and softball overlap and it gets to be a lot.”

Swanson also said she has learned to adjust over time in college dealing with two sports and maintaining her classes and work as a college student, but it took awhile.

“Having a 3.9 GPA speaks volumes about Sarah and her dedication,” head coach Kristle Wolcott said.” She's a go getter all the time and she's looking to get after it both on the court and the field.”

Swanson said she likes basketball more than softball because it's more her playing style and more physical, but she said it's nice to play softball because it's more relaxed.

“Sarah plays for the love of the game,” Wolcott said. “She shows compassion for both sports and it shows.”