2022-23 Moments of the Year: Winter
Leavenworth, Kan.- In part two of our three-part moments of the year series, we will be looking back at the best moments from the 2022-23 winter sports season.
Men's Basketball:
After a slow start to conference play, the Spires finished the season on a high note, winning three of their last five games of the year. All three games came down to the final five minutes and were close until the very end. On February 4, Saint Mary hosted the Friends Falcons and had a five-point lead at halftime. The Falcons stuck around and cut the Spire's lead to just four points with five minutes left. With the game tied at 58, Friends had no choice but to foul Braylen Duncan with six seconds left, sending him to the free-throw line. Duncan made both free throws to give the Spires a two-point lead. Saint Mary responded with a huge defensive stop as time ran out and secured the 60-58 win and Deshaud St. Martin had a season-high 32 points in the game. A week later, the Spires won again in dramatic fashion over Avila on senior night by a score of 63-61. A late three from Luke Mackey and free throws from St. Martin and Cam Southern helped Saint Mary hold on for the win.
Women's Basketball:
In a season filled with close games and overtime wins, the women's basketball team had a historic season that was capped off in the KCAC tournament. After upsetting the Sterling Warriors in the semifinal game, the Spires had a rematch against Friends University in the KCAC Championship game. With a five-point lead at halftime, the Saint Mary offense erupted as three-point field goals from Jerrica Johnson, Rebecca Gilpin, and Paige Pendley gave USM a comfortable 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Spires continued to put pressure on the Falcons and were up 58-38 with just over six minutes to go. The 20-point USM lead held as time ran out, and Saint Mary was crowned the KCAC Tournament Champions for the first time in program history. Pendley led the Spires with 21 points on the night, going four for five from behind the three-point line.
Men's and Women's Bowling:
Both programs had their best finishes at the KCAC Invitational to end the year in early March. The men's team finished Saturday in fourth place after eight baker games and three team games. On Sunday, the Spires fell in round one of bracket play to Kansas Wesleyan, taking only one of three games against the Coyotes. Josh Kacich ended the tournament in fifth overall in pins and average score. Saint Mary had a slight advantage over the Coyotes, sitting in third place after Saturday, and took on Avila University in the first round of bracket play on Sunday. Saint Mary took the Eagles to a fifth and final game after splitting the first four with Avila. In game five, the Spires fell by just sixteen pins to the Eagles, bringing an end to the season for Saint Mary. Reynolds had the third most pins and average in the tournament throughout the weekend. Jordan Reynolds had the third most pins in the tournament throughout the weekend.
Competitive Cheer:
Saint Mary had a record year in the 2022-23 season. The Spires hit zero as a team on day one of the Bethel Invite in early February and had a strong showing in front of their fans in the Dickinson State Virtual Competition. To end the year, the Spires took third place at the KCAC Championships, their highest placement at the conference ever. Anisa Porter and Trey Galvan were named to the first and second All-KCAC teams and honored as scholar-athletes to finish the year.
Men's and Women's Swimming:
Each team had their highest finishes in program history at the KCAC level this season. The men finished in third place out of sixth, breaking four school records throughout the meet. Women's swimming also broke two records at the meet, with Ayla Pierce breaking the 200yd individual medley record of 2:10.66 and a fourth-place finish. The women's team also was presented a banner being named the conferences Team of Character at the meet. On the final day of the meet, each team watched on as Braydon Kime became the first-ever individual KCAC Champion in program history.
Men's and Women's Wrestling:
Each program had another successful year posting multiple dual wins and impressive individual performances. The men's team had a dual record of 7-6 in the regular season and had two wrestlers place in the top ten at the Missouri Valley Open in late January. The University of Saint Mary hosted the KCAC Championship tournament in mid-February and took third place as a team. Brody Gee, Freddie Barajas, and Gabe Chesbro were ranked nationally in the top 25 for a good chunk of the season. All three also made an appearance at the national tournament in Park City, Kansas. The women's program finished the year with a 6-6 dual record and multiple semifinals and final-round appearances in tournament play, including an individual championship for Araya Boday at the York Open. The Spires finished in fifth at the KCAC Championships at York University and four wrestlers (Boday, Alisha Van Scoy, Avery Ackerman, punched their ticket to the national tournament in Jamestown, North Dakota.
Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field:
Both programs were named 2022-23 KCAC champions, the women's first in team history. At the conference meet, the men's team had three athletes with first-place finishes, Liam Neidig (1000m), Emad Bashir-Mohammed (1 mile & 3000m), and Brendan Erwin (5000m). The Spires also had 11 other podium appearances to give the men's program their fifth indoor conference championship in the last six years. On the road to their first-ever indoor conference title, the women's program had six individual champions at the meet: Maddy Walter-Sherrets (800m & 1000m), Alyssa Armendariz (1 Mile, 3000m, 5000m), and the 4x800 relay team of Riley Fisher, Carlie Gregg, Emilia Diaz, Maddy Walter-Sherrets. Saint Mary had a combined 20 athletes compete in the indoor national meet and had eight athletes earn All-American status for their performances.
We will conclude the series with the 2022-23 Moments of the Year: Spring next week.