Stephen Peck
Mesa Legend

Lady T-Birds Get Defeathered by the Fighting Artichokes Tuesday, 8/29/17, was a hot and miserable outing for the Women’s Soccer team.  The Mesa Community College (MCC) Women’s Soccer traveled to Scottsdale Community College (SCC) to face the Fighting Artichokes.  The game began at 5:30 P.M., local time. The women had come back in overtime in their last match against Gateway Community College (GCC).  They won 3-2. Coach Drew Guarneri said, “It was a great fight.  It shows a little bit of character when you’re down 2-0 and you manage to pull it off. It gives’em some hope.”

The starting line-up for the Lady Thunderbirds is Savannah Cornelo, 1, Martina Bueno, 6, Emily Lynch, 8, Mia Martinez, 10, Jordyn Cullimore, 11, Maia Gajate, 15, Cierra Poarch, 17, Tawsi Rohner, 18, Ellie Beltz, 19, Monica Chavez, 23, and Maddison Ross, 31.  The first half was a lackluster showing after the overtime win at GCC. The Fighting Artichokes Amanda Maciel, 17, assisted by Valeria Villalobos-Haros, 10, to score first in an open net at 16:27.

The next goal came at 35:44 by number 10 with a 35-yard shot into the top-left corner. Kalleigh Gibadlo, 12, came with the assist.  With only 3 seconds left before half, the Lady T-Birds took another blow with the third goal by SCC.  Coach Guarneri had the women get some water and then took them, as a team, out into the field to talk about the first half of the match. The onslaught of goals did not stop there.  SCC poured in three more goals in the second half before MCC put in their first goal.  SCC received a free kick from 25 yards out, at 2:25 into the second half.
Kindall Kaufmann, 22, put the kick in the Thunderbird net.

Kaufmann then crossed to Amanda Maciel for her second goal and fifth of the game for SCC with 39:22 left in the game. Number 22 put the games sixth, her second goal, unassisted, from 30-yards out and plenty of time left on the clock.  The Lady Thunderbirds began to show life even though the Fighting Artichokes had the match in the bag.  Martina Bueno, 6, gave the Thunderbirds their first goal with an assist from Tawsi Rohner, 8.Bueno and Rohner scored the next goal for the Lady T-Birds, but in opposite roles.

Bueno gave Rohner a cross from the right side of the field, headed in by number 8.  These two put these goals in within 1 minute 10 seconds of each other. Mia Martinez had her own spectacular unassisted shot, which she celebrated with a dance, from 30-yards out into the top right corner of SCC’s goal.  SCC’S Kaufmann and Maciel would seal the deal with the seventh goal with 37 seconds left in the match.  SCC had all of the stats to back up their win. They outshot Mesa 13-8 and had five saves.
The Lady Thunderbirds have their next game, away, against the Bears of Phoenix College.

Stephen Peck
Mesa Legend

Lady T-Birds Volleyball Protects the Nest Mesa Community College (MCC) Women’s Volleyball opened the season with a strong win.  Women’s Volleyball had a concrete 2016-17 season advancing to the Division II playoffs, according to MCC’s Athletic Department. The women see themselves in the same place this season. Coach Megan Taylor said, “So, they have that goal to make the postseason, again, and win it to go to Nationals.”This was the first winning season since 05’. It has been a serpentine road for the volleyball team, especially in 14’ having a winless season and 12’ winning only a single game.

The team has women returning from last seasons’ roster.  Camy Cohn is the team’s starting libero, this season and last season. A libero is a player who specializes in defense. The player designated as libero must wear a different color from the rest of the team.  Tonight, the team was in white, so Cohn was wearing red. Paige Greenly, Leah Crist and Tamra Hunt are a few returning sophomores.  A couple of girls red-shirted and the team had players transfer in to the program, according to Coach Taylor.

MCC Women’s Volleyball hosted the Ottawa JV Women at Theo J. Heap Gymnasium, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017. The first game belonged to the T-Birds, by a substantial margin, according to Coach Taylor. The second game had the T-Birds back to the nest. They began the game losing the first four points The women showed losing the first four points was not an issue to them.  When the score was 7-11, the women were duking it out for the point, which went to Ottawa, and MCC called timeout.

They were down almost the entire match. At 18-22, the T-Birds streaked toward the finish, going on a 6-point run to win Game 2, 25-23. Game 3 was a roller coaster ride the Lady T-Birds endured. They led until halfway through the game when Ottawa JV took the lead at 13-14. MCC was behind until at 18-18, the Lady T-Birds took the lead for the final time and the win, 25-21.
They won the match 3-0.

 

Stephen Peck
Mesa Legend

Vice President of Student Affairs for Rio Salado spoke to student athletes Mesa Community College (MCC) delivered a powerful message on August 23, 2017 to the athletics programs at the college.  Dr. Le Rodrick Terry, Vice President of Student Affairs at Rio Salado College, was invited by Mesa Community College to speak at the MCC Theater Outback.  He has an extensive background in athletics. He was a student athlete in his life.  He completed his degree and went on to play in the arena leagues.

It was not his athletic prowess that made him what he is today.  It is the fact that he finished his degree. Dr. Terry said, “I stayed, I got that degree. I talk about that because I had a responsibility.”
His degree landed him a job with Auburn University as Supervisor of Academic Support for the Department of College Athletics. Under his tenure, he had over 30 NFL Draft Picks, A Men’s Basketball Elite 8 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), 2009 and in Track and Field 26 National College Athletics Association (NCAA) Champions, 13 Olympians and six World Champions, according to his PowerPoint.

Dr. Terry said, “Your passions should not be limited to what you do in an athletic arena.”
The video, which is on YouTube, taken of his presentation to the athletes here at MCC delivers the message of passion, commitment, students in the college.  He speaks about life and the drive one should have, because he did not have the best life growing up.  He grew up in an impoverished, low achieving school system with drugs and crime happening all around him.  Dr. Terry emphasized, “When you stand for something, when you believe in something, sometimes you’re going to have to stand alone.”

MCC gave the student athletes a very straightforward direction by having Dr. Terry speak here.
He is also part of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD). MCCCD has a very academic driven man as second in command at Rio Salado.  The video of his presentation allows students to see this man’s passion and how he wants the best for not just the students in his college, but the students enrolled in MCCCD. Dr. Terry said, “Find that piece of you that you own, and drives you, and motivates you, and pushes you beyond yourself to pursue your dreams.”

Orientation had 350 student athletes attend. The venue has 270 seats and 30-person space of overflow. 50 more were left outside of the initial delivered message.  They had Dr. Terry speak more at the following activities, according to Athletic Director John Mulhern.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT3xQCx0hbg

Stephen Peck
Mesa Legend

MCC Thunderbirds Enter the Ring against Fighting Artichokes Mesa Community College (MCC) Men’s Soccer traveled to face the Fighting Artichokes of Scottsdale Community College (SCC) with a win in their pocket. The men are coming off a 3-0 win against Gateway Community College where the Gecko’s were a man down after the sixth minute. They are 1-1 after tonight’s game.

The Fighting Artichokes took an early lead and never looked back. The Thunderbirds were unfortunate not to score the equalizer when the stat sheet showed they had a clear advantage in every category. Brian Ronan said, “It was frustrating, very frustrating…they scored the game winner.”The Thunderbirds starting lineup was, Joshua Stewart, 1, Hunter Wellcome, 2, Christian Robledo, 7, Ivan Medina, 8, Aaron Coloma, 11, Kevin Olivarez, 12, Zach Hellman, 14, Connor Glennen, 15, Alexei Oulton, 22, Travis Hatfield, 23, and Ghanen Lilly-Nolan The first 24 minutes were both teams running up and down the pitch, looking to take the lead.  Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, the Artichokes capitalized.

Brendon Long received an assist from teammate Edwin Lopez inside the 6-yard box to put away the only goal of the game. The second half is when things heated up and both teams intensified the physicality.  A yellow card was handed out at the 65 minute of the game to SCC Forward Slobodan Kajtaz. Less than two minutes later, Defender J.J. Nash received a yellow card, the second for the Artichokes.

MCC’s Christian Robledo received a yellow card in the 87 minute. This was his second yellow in the first two games of the season. If he receives one in the upcoming game against the Bears he will be ineligible to play for a period of time. FIFA suspends players for a game after receiving two yellow cards in two consecutive matches, according to the 2011 FIFA Laws of the Game 20156/2016.

According to Ronan, this was his first loss at the helm to the Fighting Artichokes
They have had a tough start to their season, as the first two games have been on the road.
Their next game is also on the road against the Bears of Phoenix College at 7 p.m.
For more information consult the athletic web page at http://mesatbirdsports.com for future Thunderbird dates and times, or come to journalism department and pick up the last edition of the Mesa Legend.

Marcus Campbell
Mesa Legend

A Maricopa County Community Colleges’ task force has recommended that four of its schools cut their football programs. Mesa Community College, Scottsdale Community College, Glendale Community College, and Phoenix College were among the schools affected.

Former Chancellor Rufus Glasper established the Maricopa Priorities Athletic Task Force five years ago. The report focused on three areas: student academic success, program compliance, and resource utilization.
The task force included a list of recommendations related to the districts’ 10 sports and 16 teams.

The recommendations were provided to current Chancellor Maria Harper-Marinick in early May and are currently under review. The Mesa Thunderbirds football program has been successful since its formation in the late 1960s. Since then the Thunderbirds have gone on to make over 15 top three appearances. Two of those have come in the last five years.

Last year the Thunderbirds finished second in the conference after a hard-fought double overtime win in the Valley of the Sun bowl to close out the season. The Thunderbirds finished with a record of 9-2 and had their best season since 2007. If the football programs are cut because of the report a traditional recruitment avenue for four year colleges would be lost.

The Thunderbird football program has sent over 25 players to the NFL that have combined for over 65 seasons. The recommendation to cut football programs caused concern in the community among student athletes, coaches, staff, and students. Matthew Hasson, a MCCCD official said, “It is important to remember, at this time, this is only a recommendation, and ask for your patience and understanding as the recommendation is studied and its impact reviewed.”

Mesa Community College athletics’ officials could not comment but a press release from the district said, “Mesa Community College…are operating their respective football programs in a “business as usual” manner.”

Stephen Peck
Mesa Legend

Mesa Community College (MCC) Men’s Golf holed its first National Championship in the history of the college. Mesa Community College Men’s Golf ray of sunshine was hosting the Division II National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Championship in East Mesa at Longbow Golf Club.

South Mountain Community College won Regionals by eight-strokes over Mesa, qualifying both teams for the NJCAA Championship. Otherwise, the men are out of the competition. The Championship consisted of teams from Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, and other two-year colleges from around the United States.

Otherwise, the men are out of the competition. The Championship consisted of teams from Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, and other two-year colleges from around the United States.

After the first day of competition, the T-birds were down ten-strokes to leader Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and tied with Murray State College.

Jeff Kelley led the team the first day with a 70, one-under-par for the course. He had a bumpy start with back-to-back bogeys. Then birdied, holes 3,8,9,14, 16 and an eagle at 15 holes.

The second round brought the T-birds a stroke closer to the Bulldogs of Miss. Gulf Coast. Jake guess led the team this round with par for the course, 71. He had three birdies and three bogeys for the round. This was the highest scoring day on the course with a 292, according to the Thunderbirds stat sheet.

Third round is when the clouds withdrew and the sun poured down on the majestic birds of prey allowing the team to gain seven-strokes from the leader. Brad Pottle and Jeff Kelley were leading the team with one-under-par 70’s for the round.

Pottle made his round with a late charge on the back nine, finishing the last five holes five-under-par including an Eagle on 18. Kelley was two-under-par starting the 15 hole, which he bogeyed and finished the final three holes with a par on each hole.

The T-Birds kept clawing at the Bulldogs each round. The final round is when the protective nest instincts and steadfastness’ of the T-birds finished off the Bulldogs, winning by five-strokes. MCC took the championship with 1155 strokes over four days to Miss. Gulf Coast’s 1160. South Mountain finished 5.

Stephen Peck
Mesa Legend

Mesa Community College (MCC) Athletics had a stupendous year, community engagement over the summer with an undeniable legacy.
The Mesa Thunderbirds have a rich tradition of success in athletics. Student athletes not only strive on the field but off the field, too.

Athletics Director John Mulhern, said, “Last year, we had 35 Academic All-Americans and 9 Academic All-American teams.” Basketball player, Malique Washington, finished a dream of his grandfather’s by writing a children’s book. The athletic department collaborated with the City of Mesa Youth Sports to hold a weeklong sports camp. Mesa Thunderbirds lost some players to 4-year universities but earned scholarships from the universities for their efforts while at MCC.

Athletics Director John Mulhern, said, “Last year, we had 35 Academic All-Americans and 9 Academic All-American teams.” Basketball player, Malique Washington, finished a dream of his grandfather’s by writing a children’s book. The athletic department collaborated with the City of Mesa Youth Sports to hold a weeklong sports camp. Mesa Thunderbirds lost some players to 4-year universities but earned scholarships from the universities for their efforts while at MCC.

The athletic department collaborated with the City of Mesa Youth Sports to hold a weeklong sports camp. Mesa Thunderbirds lost some players to 4-year universities but earned scholarships from the universities for their efforts while at MCC.

The athletic tradition here at MCC attracted Red Bull to pull a prank on the baseball team. Red Bull brought in Chicago Cub, Kris Bryant, to pull off the prank. There were two students and the coaches in on the prank, but the rest of the team was oblivious. In the video, the banter between teammates of their thoughts on the new addition late in the season. Once Bryant started batting practice, the team knew something was up.

Mulhern contacted Red Bull on why they chose the school for their prank. Mulhern said, “ because of the proximity to the Chicago Cubs Training Facility…Two was Coach Cirelli, cause he could pull it off, and third was the tradition and history of the program. And the fourth one didn’t underestimate the color Red.”

Malique Washington is a returning Sophomore this year to the college. The children’s book he wrote is titled, Be a Star. He will be returning to the team, according to John Mulhern, MCC Athletics Director. The basketball season will be beginning in October.

MCC partnered with City of Mesa Youth Sports to hold a five-day camp. The camp included five different sports, each one happening on a different day of the week. According to MCC Athletics, Broadway Recreational Center in downtown Mesa was the site of the camp. Mulhern said, “
The football team won the Valley of the Sun Bowl and are coming into the 2017-18 season ranked No. 10.

A tragedy struck the football team, a few weeks before the beginning of the semester, in the loss of Ben McIvor, defensive line/special teams’ coordinator. The athletics department has a plan for remembering the late McIvor at homecoming, according to Athletics Director John Mulhern.
Plenty of other notable events occurred, refer to the T-Birds online page for more information.

To see the Red Bull Prank visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYfWzBh2KIw

Marcus Campbell
Mesa Legend

Students, Parents, and Fans could listen to a live stream of the MCC taking on South Mountain on both April 11th and 12th courtesy of T-Birds sports live. The Thunderbirds defeated South Mountain in both games, rebounding from last week’s losses. The T-Birds won their first game 3-0 and progressed to their second game a few hours later where they won big 12-0.

The first game for MCC was slow and hard fought. The Thunderbirds came out swinging when a double by Garrett Smith allowed Kody Funderburk and Esteban to cross home plate giving Mesa and early 2-0 advantage. The game slowed from there with the next run not coming until the sixth inning giving Mesa the advantage. Strong pitching allowed MCC to hold on and defeat South Mountain in the first game with a final score of 3-0.

The second game against the South Mountain Cougars was a different narrative for the Thunderbirds when they pulled out a 12-0 victory. The game stated out slow with no runs scored in the first inning. Mesa then scored at least one run in three consistent innings. In the second Mesa scored three runs in the second, one run in the third, and two runs in the fourth against a scoreless Cougars.

The Thunderbirds then exploded in the fifth inning, putting up 5 runs and further widening the spread between themselves and their opponent. Funderburk got a grandslam at the close of the fifth inning with a homerun over right field to bring the score to 11-0. The final run of the game came in the seventh inning bringing the score to 12-0, where it stayed for the remainder of the game.

The Thunderbirds advance to 34-12 on the regular season and 19-11 in conference play. Their home win percentage remains considerably better than their away percentage but the team holds playoffs alive with their win over the South Mountain Cougars.

The T-birds go on to play a double header against Pima on Saturday the 15th at home, first pitch is at 12:00 p.m. the second is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. There are only four more games for the Thunderbirds on their way to the playoffs. Hopefully strong conference performances towards the end of their season will help propel them into serious playoff contention. The Thunderbirds are currently 20-12 in conference play.

Marcus Campbell
marcuscampbell.mesalegend@gmail.com
Twitter:marcusnoodlesoup

Marcus Campbell
Mesa Legend

Both men’s and women’s Mesa Community College tennis teams continued their streaks and finished the season strong.  The men’s tennis team closed the regular season with a record of 11-5. They advance to the first round of the division 1 playoffs with a conference record of 6-0. The women’s team also had a successful season and they will advance to the division 1 playoff. The women’s team concluded conference play with a perfect record of 8-0 and an overall record of 13-4.

In the match against Glendale on Tuesday April 11 the Thunderbirds showed more of the same dominance they displayed all season. Both teams forfeited matches due to incomplete rosters but won their remaining 6 sets.  The women’s team failed to schedule for one singles match and another doubles match. Doubles team Naa Ankrah and Khanh Huynh won 8-0 against G. Mercado and A. Morales. MCC’s second women’s doubles team Yolanda Carlon and Julia Ortiz defeated Julia Hansen and Savannah Smith 8-2.

In women’s singles action, all MCC athletes defeated their opponents and all 5 who participated, Khanh Huynh, Naa Ankrah, Yolanda Carlon, Julia Ortiz and Hannah Nelson won their matches with a perfect 6-0 finish. The men’s team failed to schedule three matches heading into their game against Glendale. Two singles match and one doubles match went up for grabs but MCC won the remaining matches. Noel Maurin and Linus Holthey beat Andrew Arnold and Bryan Castanon 8-0. Matt fisher and Kim Donghyun had the same result in their doubles match with a perfect 8-0.

Felix and Holthey won their singles matches with two perfect 6-0 games. Donghyun and Fisher each one both their singles matches with 6-0 and 6-1 final scores. The men’s and women’s teams have both had trouble on the road this year and an away game has seemed to spell impending doom for the Thunderbirds win percentage. The women’s team owes half their losses to road matches and the men’s team owes all but one of their 5 losses too road matches. Hopefully this trend doesn’t continue to affect the thunderbirds as they travel to Glendale to close out their season.

One thing the Thunderbirds tennis teams have working in their advantage are the nationally ranked players on their respective rosters. The tennis teams boast 5 ranked players between them. On the Men’s team David Felix is No. 14 and Linus Holthey is No. 31. The women’s team has three ranked contenders heading to the playoffs Khanh Huynh is ranked No. 13, Naa Ankrah is ranked No. 32 and Yolanda Carlon is ranked No. 43. The men’s and women’s MCC tennis teams will both participate in the conference championships next week, 4/18-4/19/2017, in Glendale on the path to the NJCAA Division Championship.

Marcus Campbell
Twitter:marcusnoodlesoup
marcuscampbell.mesalegend@gmail.com

Stephen Peck
Mesa Legend

The Thunderbirds fought valiantly while on the road at Phoenix College, but had to chalk up a loss, a division loss to boot.
The first inning was full of action as three hits, a walk and a run were put up on the scoreboard. The Thunderbirds took the field with Holden Barnhardt, #20, on the mound. The first batter he faced hit a single to right field on a 1-2 count. The next batter was behind when he hit to Holden, allowing the runner at first to advance, but still getting the out.  Kody Funderburk, #16, committed an error when he misjudged a fly ball to shallow right, allowing the Bears to tie the game.  The top of the second was looking like a typical inning. The first batter grounded out to third, then a walk was issued, with a strikeout looking leaving one out in the inning.

Life emerged from the T-Birds and the pinch runner stole second. The shortstop for the Bears then bobbled a grounder, allowing the runner on second to advance third and the hitter was safe at first. The runner at first stole second for the second time in the inning. Second base misjudged a shallow fly to right that allowed in two runs. The inning was capped off by a second error that allowed runners to second and third, but they were not able to score before the third out.  The bottom of the second and top of the third went quickly. The bottom of third the Thunderbirds came away unscathed with the bases loaded, even with Coach Cirelli visiting the mound to talk with Barnhardt.

The bottom of the fourth was the inning that put the Bears in a position to win the game. Phoenix College started the inning with a 1-0 triple to center, followed by a walk. Coach Cirelli then made a pitching change and Barnhardt’s twin came in, Locke Barnhardt, #29. He had a 3-2 count and threw a wild pitch allowing the runner on third to score and the batter to advance to first. Barnhardt, #29, stayed in and had the hitter lay down a bunt to load the bases. A 3-run triple was then blasted to center, again. Locke was done after three hitters and Cirelli brought in Riley Grivette, #7, to finish the inning.

A two-run bomb to left center came in the bottom of the sixth by Ben Aklinski, #20, a guy the team struggles to keep off the bases. Cirelli said, “We tried to go in on him and left it out over the middle and he made us pay for it.” Aklinski hit one of the triples earlier in the game.  The Thunderbirds notched another run in the top of the eighth. Aklinski would come to bat and negate this run by belting another ball over the fence.  The Thunderbirds scratched and clawed the Bears, but the bird strikes were not enough to subdue the Bears power. Cirelli said, “We just couldn’t get that knock, we got guys on and we just couldn’t get them in. We get a knock here or there, that changes the ball game around a bit.”