Stephen Peck
MesaCC Legend

Six games remain in the 2018 baseball season for the Thunderbirds. Mesa Community College (MCC) is not finishing the season the way they began the season. The Thunderbirds are only a game over 500 for the month of April. Mesa was third in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) at the end of March and has slid to fifth with a record of 37-13. After the Arizona Christian game the T-Birds headed up the I-10 to Prescott to face Yavapai College for a doubleheader on April 7.  The first game would go to Yavapai, 12-1, and called after 6-innings to get ready for the regularly formatted game. The third inning was the break out in the first game with six runs put on the scoreboard. MCC would strike first in the second game by putting a run on the board in the bottom of the first.

It would look bleak again for MCC as the Roughriders attacked in the fourth inning scoring three runs, another two runs in the next inning. Mesa would get a couple runs to stay competitive in the sixth and seventh inning.  Infielder Joshua Brown began the eighth inning scoring with a home run. The T-Birds put up five runs to close within one of the Roughriders. They tied up the game in the ninth and went into extra innings and would prevail, 11-10 Number One South Mountain Community College was the next opponent for Mesa. The Thunderbirds would lose both games the Cougars, Game 1, 3-1, Game 2, 6-5.  The first game was difficult to score when the team had 11 strikeouts. The Thunderbirds fielded the ball well leaving seven men on base for the Cougars. South Mountain won the second game in the ninth inning.

A few days later, MCC was in the Tucson area to face the Aztecs of Pima Community College for another away doubleheader. They would split the games with the Aztecs winning Game 1, 7-4, and losing the second game, 7-5.  MCC baseball played Gateway Community College on April 17 and April 18 and won both games, Game 1, 9-8, Game 2, 8-2.  The stats are not on the school website for this game at the time of writing. The last three teams the Thunderbirds will face are Paradise Valley Community College, Scottsdale Community College, and Phoenix College before wrapping up the season.

Stephen Peck
MesaCC Legend

Lady Thunderbird’s golf is the best against all of the other community colleges. Lady T-Birds captured victory in every tournament heading in to host the last tournament of the season at Longbow GC. Haley Kapanicas and Megan Fusak are the top golfers on the women’s team. Kapanicas took medal honors two times this season and Fusak took it once on their own. The two ladies tied for medal honors in the Paradise Valley CC Invitational. Expect these two women to look for medal honors in their home invitational. The last tournament the women played in was a short turnaround from competing in the Paradise Valley CC Invitational out at Wildfire-Faldo Course to Las Colinas GC in Queen Creek.

The women won at Wildfire at the beginning of the week and then had four days before the next tournament. Despite the small break between competitions, the women did not falter at the Chandler-Gilbert Invitational. After the first round of competition, Mesa led the host by two shots, shooting a combined score of 320. Megan Fusak held the individual lead over Kapanicas by 1-stroke, shooting a 4-over-par, 75.  The second round of competition at Las Colinas GC did not change much, except for on the individual leaderboard. Mesa would remain in first place and win another tournament of the season. MCC shot a combined 318 in the final round.

Haley Kapanicas overtook Fusak for her third individual medal of honor on the season with her teammate Megan Fusak in second. Kapanicas shot a 75 in the final round to secure the medal of honors while Fusak added a few shots to her total with a 78. Las Colinas played 6032 Yards and was a Par 71 for the ladies during competition. The women head into their home tournament, Mesa CC Invitational with a perfect record.  They begin the Mesa CC Invitational at 12:30 PM, Monday, April 23, 2018. Assuming they will win again, the ladies will be playing in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Golf Championship at Longbow GC where the men’s golf captured the NJCAA championship last year. The NJCAA tournament begins Monday, May 14, 2018.

Stephen Peck
MesaCC Legend

Thunderbird baseball is in a slump losing five of the last seven games. Baseball will wrap up at the end of April and playoffs will begin for those that advance. Mesa is currently #3 in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC). This is the first significant losing streak for the Thunderbirds this season, opposite of what is normal for the team. The losing streak began with Arizona Central College, which the Mesa Legend ran an article about in its last edition. The team then traveled down to Yuma to play a doubleheader against the Matadors of Arizona Western College. Mesa would split the doubleheader with the Matadors which were run in reverse order as they played only 7-innings in the first game and after a traditional game.

The Thunderbirds fell in Game 1, 6-2. The bats were not awake for MCC as they only mustered 6 hits in the game.  Game 2 MCC squeaked out a win, 7-6, off of 10 hits and two errors in the game.  The Gauchos from Glendale Community College were next on the docket for Mesa. The first game was in Glendale and the Thunderbirds lost 9-1.  MCC just could not get the ball going in this game. They had 32 at bats and whiffed on all but 5 attempts. The Gauchos, on the other hand, put runs on the scoreboard in every inning except the second, fifth, and seventh.  The two teams played each other the next day in Mesa. The Gauchos claimed victory in our house, 9-4.

Mesa put all four of their runs on the board in the sixth inning with first baseman Riley Peterson hitting a Grand Slam. Glendale put up runs eight and nine in the top of the inning.  Mesa went down swinging. They had three strikeouts, five walks, and seven hits.  MCC decimated Arizona Christian University at home on April 4, 16-3. The Mesa CC Legend cannot provide any stats because the athletic website does not have any to provide.  The Thunderbirds next games were in Prescott on April 7 against Yavapai College.

Rob Steiner
MesaCC Legend

Health science club students at Mesa Community College (MCC) cash in on the sweat equity they have built all semester with a weightlifting competition.  The health and wellness program use exercise and weightlifting as a main part of their curriculum. Students have been working all semester lifting weights and gaining strength to compete with no way to test themselves against others until now. As the day draws near, students look forward to challenging each other and striving to lift the highest weight.  Members of the Health and Wellness club are organizing the competition. The event is open to all and will have three levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced.  “Anybody that knows about it can come down and get involved with it,” said Craig Nolan, a faculty member in exercise science.

The competition consists of three events, bench press, back squat, and deadlift. Each event costs $10 individually or $25 for all three. Spectators are welcome to attend for a $2 fee. The competition takes place on April 14. “It is all going to take place in the health improvement center on campus,” said Nolan. “Volunteers, which are mostly exercised science students, and students in the exercise science club will be helping out with collecting money and setting up the weights,” continued Nolan. Fundraising is a necessary activity to help the health science club. “Usually the funds go to like attending conferences…. Maybe purchase equipment for the club, but I think the main thing they use it for is continuing education,” said Nolan.

Nolan does not specifically train his students for the competition. But, they have known about it since the beginning of the semester and he hopes they have been preparing.  “The person that wins the powerlifting competition is the one who lifts the most weight…. whoever is the strongest in each category is the one that would be the winner,” said Nolan. Jackson Park, a student participating in the competition said, “it’s a fundraiser for the school and obviously for a good cause so I’m going to go and have some fun.” Park has been lifting weights for about 10 years and hopes this competition will help increase the amount of weight he can lift.  “I do have my own goals I would like to reach… I never competed seriously now I just do it as a hobby kind of thing,” said Park. This is the first weightlifting competition held by the Health Science Club and they hope it will become an annual event. They are already planning on how to improve the marketing for next year to continue to build on this experience.

Stephen Peck
MesaCC Legend

Mesa Community College Women’s golf vanquishes the competition again this season when they are out on the links. The ladies were out in North Phoenix at Wildfire, on the Faldo course, at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge resort. Faldo course is a Par 71 and 6016 Yards long for this particular event. The ladies are unbeaten this season and on par to take the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) Championship, which is what they have done since the program returned to MCC in 2001, except in 2006.  Mesa Community College (MCC) played this tournament early last week Monday, Apr. 2 and Tuesday, Apr. 3. The course held an LPGA Founders Cup event recently and was still in professional shape for the ladies to competition.

Lady T-Bird Megan Fusak led, individually, after shooting a 78 in the first round. Teammate Haley Kapanicas held third position after the first round of competition.  Hannah Brown finished the day in ninth for the first round. She felt she struck the ball well, but her targeting was off. The greens were also the most difficult part of the first round for Brown. Hole 16 was particularly difficult for Brown. Brown started out in the fairway off the tee and hit her second shot off to the left of the green. “It went left down into a sand, ditch area, was under a tree and unfortunately couldn’t get it out. So, I had to take an unplayable. I hit that one and landed in a drainage area that I got free relief from. It was a bad hole. I ended up taking a really bad score,” Brown said.  The ladies shot a combined first round of 342 to take the lead in the Paradise Valley CC Invite.

Lady T-Birds entered the second day with a 31-stroke lead over Chandler-Gilbert Community College. MCC would knock five strokes off of their previous team total and claim victory for the fifth time this season. Lady T-Birds were victorious by shooting a two-day team combined score of 342-337 — 679, 69-strokes ahead of second place Chandler-Gilbert.  Megan Fusak and Haley Kapanicas tied for the individual lead with Fusak shooting 78-81 – 159 and Kapanicas 82-77 – 159.  The Lady Thunderbirds had a short time between competitions as they competed again on April 7 and April 8 at Las Colinas GC in Queen Creek. The course will require accuracy as a housing community was built around the course.  Check out the athletic website to see how the ladies finished the competitive week.

Stephen Peck
MesaCC Legend

The Mesa Community College (MCC) Women’s basketball team volunteered their time to serve others before the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tournament in Harrison, Arkansas. The Lady Thunderbirds basketball team and the coaches mentored the children of the Brandon Burlsworth Youth Center.  The facility was minutes away from the Pioneer Pavilion, the center where the national competition was held.

According to MCC Athletics, the women went to the youth center after their first official tournament practice to spend time with 6-12-year-old children. The team went over plays and gave the young athletes tips about the game. The children also ran through some drills and basketball workouts. The Lady-T-Birds capped the day by playing a match with the kids to make the day more interesting.

The youth center is named after Harrison native, Brandon Burlsworth, who died in a vehicle accident on his way home to Harrison, just 11 days after being drafted into the NFL by the Indianapolis Colts. MCC prides itself on giving back to the community. The college has a community and civic engagement component to student learning and there is a course that focuses on leadership and giving back, open enrollment for any student.

Mari DeSanto
MesaCC Legend

Students can increase strength and energy by working out and exercising at MCC and earn course credits while staying fit.  Each semester the college offers over 20 exercise classes including, weightlifting, yoga, martial arts, and many more.  “We have a one-credit class, which is $86, and that would be for four months, so that’s $20 a month,” Jim Haggerty, manager of the fitness wellness program at MCC, said. “The one credit is very cost effective.” The program also offers a personalized fitness plan. The staff goes through a preliminary analysis of a person’s health, interest and goals and from there a plan is created.

State-of-the-art equipment, known as the Human Performance Lab (HPL), will do the assessments. “There are two advantages of the HPL. First, we can assess current fitness and then use the assessment to design a fitness program to enhance your physical health,” Jeffrey Messer, chair of the exercise science department, said.  Once a plan is developed, students will meet with a floor supervisor whom Hagerty said, “are all certified personal trainers”. These are professionals working in the program who will create an effective session.

Haggerty explained that the MCC gym has the latest standards of cardiovascular exercise, weight training, and flexibility.  There is no shortage of support in the program either. There are about 700 students attending fitness classes. Among the basic courses are various levels including intermediate and a few advanced.  There are many different types of workouts available such as aerobics, boot camp, martial arts classes, as well as all the activities in the Fitness Center.

Outdoors enthusiasts have options to choose from, like scheduled hikes and wall climbing.  For those who prefer dancing, there is everything from belly dancing to tap dancing. Do not worry, sports are also available.  “Physical activity or physical education will lead to improvement of mental and physical health”, exercise department chair Messer said. Not to forget, for those students who are eligible, there are some non-credit classes available for seniors, known as Silver Sneakers. There are also some classes that are offered solely for faculty and staff.

Stephen Peck
MesaCC Legend

MCC Men’s baseball is on a two-game losing streak after playing Arizona Central College over the weekend. The first game was at the Thunderbirds home diamond where Mesa fell 5-2, on Friday, Mar. 23. The next game was the following day in Coolidge, Arizona at the Vaqueros home field. The Vaqueros won the second game 13-8.  Central Arizona stepped into the batter’s box, after winning on the road, and put up four runs in the first inning after holding Mesa to a single run. The Thunderbirds scored two more runs in the top of the second inning.

Central added five runst o their lead after sending the Thunderbirds back out on to the diamond. Thunderbirds put a run up on the scoreboard in the top of the inning for the next three innings. MCC still trailed the Vaqueros by three runs after the fifth inning.  Both teams would not score in the sixth inning. Central notched three more runs when they came to bat in the seventh inning.The Thunderbirds got two more runs in the top of the eighth, which would not be enough as Central notched another run in the bottom of the inning.

MCC would lose its second game, 13-8, with 19 hits and give the series to the Vaqueros. The stats for Mesa were not available on either team’s website. The previous day the two teams played in Mesa. Central Arizona College would take the first game of the two-game series 5-2.  Neither team scored in the first four innings as Jimmy Boyce and RJ Dabovich were battling it out on the mound.

Boyce was the first one to have the opponent breakthrough on the scoreboard. The Vaqueros notched three runs off a Brennan Reback homer to right field that scored teammates Reagan Teegarden and Daniel Cervantes. Alix Garcia made it a 5-0 lead in the top of the eighth with another homer to right field scoring teammate Jake Vander Wal. The Thunderbirds remained scoreless until Marcus Skundrich singled to right-field, earning 2-RBI, bringing in Paul Steffenson and Connor Denning. The team travels to Yuma to face the Matadors of Arizona Western College for a doubleheader Tuesday, Mar. 27, 2018.

Stephen Peck
MesaCC Legend

Mesa Community College women’s basketball is 6-1 in February, falling only to Cochise College, the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference leader with only one game left before playoffs. The women decisively beat most of the teams they played this month. Cochise only beat the Thunderbirds by four points when they came to the campus gym. Mesa barely beat Pima Community College and Central Arizona College. The final game of the season is at home against Phoenix College before heading into playoffs. MCC handled the Jegos with ease on the road, 80-37. Every lady on the team contributed and put points on the scoreboard.  Cheyenne Begay led the team with 16 points. Lynnae Mitchell and Courtney Colleary were the only other ladies in double figures.

Lady T-Birds shot 37.9 percent from the hardwood, 21.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line. Chandler-Gilbert would be next for the winning Lady T-Birds. MCC would win all four quarters and Diamond Fuller would lead the team with 22 points The Lady T-Birds shot 51.4 percent inside the arc, 25 percent beyond the arc, and 82.4 percent from the line and took the game, 91-47. Next, MCC traveled down the interstate to Casa Grande to face Central Arizona College. Central Arizona only outscored the Thunderbirds in the third quarter, 23-16. Every starter for Mesa scored 10 or more points. Mesa could have lost this game because the home team stats surpassed the visitors on the hardwood.

Except, Central Arizona College sent MCC to the free throw line 33 times to their 21 times and turned over the ball 16 times to Mesa’s seven turnovers. Eastern Arizona College was next to come to the Southern and Dobson Campus on Valentine’s Day. Mesa would win the first two quarters and the Gila Monsters would win the last two quarters.  Fuller and Anessa Glenn, being the only two in double figures, would carry the team on their shoulders.  The visitors would have a better shooting percentage, 41.3, but turnovers were their downfall with 32.  A short ride up the Loop 101 took the Lady T-Birds to Scottsdale Community College for their next game.  MCC stepped on the gas at tip-off for the game. They won all four quarters and the game, 95-68.

Five ladies would end the game in double figures, Leah Goodman, Deja Dagons, Takara Wade, Mitchell, and Glenn.  Scottsdale’s stats are not available, but Mesa shot 45.2 percent inside the arc, 27.3 percent beyond the arc, and 65 percent from the free throw line. ACCAC’s top team, Cochise College, would be next for the ladies at home and the team that gave them their last loss.  Mesa led by five points going into halftime. The third quarter is when the Apaches put the pedal to the metal and took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter.  Mesa would only be able to cut the deficit by half before time ran out. Cochise had a better field goal percentage, but their ability to get into the paint was a key, especially with the bench stepping up.

An away game in the Tucson area against Pima Community College was a battle.  The Aztecs would lead the game at the half, 39-35. Mesa would be down by eight heading into the fourth quarter.  The ladies did not let the deficit faze them. They would make up the eight-points and add an extra five to win the game.  Goodman, Glenn, Wade, and Begay all scored over 10 points. Turnovers gave the game to the Lady Thunderbirds. Phoenix College will come to Theo J. Heap gymnasium for the last game of the season on Tuesday, Feb. 27.

Stephen Peck
MesaCC Legend

Mesa Community College (MCC) faced off against Glendale Community College (GCC), on the Thunderbirds diamond, for the first meeting of the season, which would end in dramatic fashion.  Mesa and Glendale split last season’s four meetings, 2-2.  The Gauchos stepped into the batters-box and brought in three runs. Gauchos #23 Crenshaw would hit a 2-run homer over the right-field fence. MCC would not let the 3-run Gaucho first phase them. The T-Birds rallied and put three of their own on the scoreboard, then took the lead with a fourth run before they ran out of outs. Marcus Skundrich ended the top of the third by throwing out the base runner stealing second. Skundrich led off by hitting a single to get the T-Birds off to a very productive offensive inning. MCC would put everyone on the line-up to the plate once and bring in 7-runs.

Greg Student took a foul ball off his bat that struck him in the mouth by his nose. Student would not leave the game and end up on base despite the injury. Glendale would make a pitching change, bringing #40 Nick Zappala to the hill. T-Birds would make a pitching change to begin the fifth inning by bringing #15 Richard Walker to the mound. Glendale brought in Chandler Rogers, #38, for the bottom of the fifth. Skundrich would strike out looking to end the fifth inning.  Jace DeGrange would replace Student in right field for the start of the sixth inning. According to Rocco Cirelli he came out to get some other guys work on the diamond.  Walker had men at first and third with two out. He escaped the sixth inning when the batter popped-out to short, keeping his earned-run average (ERA) intact.

In the sixth, against the T-Birds, Chandler Rodgers would be relieved after walking the first two batters. Nick Rodgers, #35, would step in to face Josh Brown, who would fly-out to center for the first out of the inning. Corey Chaplin would strikeout swinging to end the inning. Walker returned to the mound for the seventh against the Gauchos. He had to keep his composure with the bases loaded.  The Gauchos Crenshaw would hit a single to right and bring in two to make it 11-5. Next batter outran the throw to first from SS Corey Chaplin and another Gaucho scored.  Walker would not make it thru this inning and #38 Dustin Jordan seize the mound. Paul Steffenson would end the inning by catching a long fly ball to left, ending the 3-run Glendale inning.

DeGrange would walk to begin the T-Bird seventh and #11 singled after replacing Denning in the line-up. Glendale sent #13 Barnes to the mound after #11 single. Glendale would intentionally walk Skundrich to load the bases after Peterson grounded out and advanced the runners. Glendale would walk #9 and bring in another Thunderbird run, bringing the score to 12-6.  #22 Jake Denham controls the mound for Mesa to start the eighth and put up a scoreless inning. T-Birds would put another run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth inning.Umpires and coaches agreed to call the game due to darkness after the end of the eighth inning. The Thunderbirds would lose the away game the following day to the Gauchos, 9-6. This would be Mesa’s first loss of the season.

After facing the Gauchos, the Coyotes of Chandler-Gilbert were the next opponent for MCC. T-Birds would fall, 10-6, and had now lost two in a row. The Coyotes put up 6-runs in the third and took away the Thunderbird lead, and commanded the home game the rest of the way.  Mesa would begin a 7-game win streak following the two losses. Their streak would end at home, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, to the Gateway Community College Geckos.  MCC’s next game is at home against Phoenix College on Tuesday, Feb. 27 and then face Phoenix on their diamond the following day.