MVC Round-up: Vikings win SAU Rodeo

MAGNOLIA, Ark. -- After finishing second in the season-opening Viking Stampede, the two-time defending NIRA Ozark Region-champion Missouri Valley College men's rodeo team won the Southern Arkansas Rodeo last weekend.

The Vikings had two cowboys who successfully defended their titles in the meet, senior Jake Shaw in steer wrestling and junior Will Smith in saddle bronc riding. Senior Brady Wilson was second in steer wrestling and fifth in tie-down roping, while senior Kyle Brennecke placed third in bareback riding.

Valley tallied 740 team points, easily getting past Tennessee-Martin (480 points), jumping ahead of the Skyhawks by 150 points in the early-season standings.

Troy (Ala.) won the women's championship by 20 points over UTM, with the Lady Vikings sixth. Senior Katie Kimble was sixth and freshman Lauren Struxness eighth in goat tying and sophomore Jessica Brown paired with freshman Cody Metsker for sixth in team roping to account for Valley's 125 points.

The Vikings will be at the Troy Rodeo on Oct. 15-17.

Men's Soccer

The Vikings scored the first three goals Saturday to defeat Benedictine, 3-1, in a Heart of America Conference home men's soccer match.

Freshman Mike Trench gave Valley a 1-0 halftime lead, while senior Miroslav Petrovic and freshman Lewis Walker both scored within the first seven minutes of the second half to put the Yellowjackets (4-4, 1-1 HAAC) into a hole.

The Vikings took 20th-ranked Benedictine into overtime Tuesday at Atchison, Kan., before senior Sean Lewis garnered the "golden goal" for a 3-2 Raven victory.

Senior Carlos Arribas gave Valley an early lead, then tied the game with 20 minutes remaining in regulation after sophomore Kyle Greig knocked in two shots for Benedictine (10-1, 3-0).

The Vikings (6-3-2, 1-1) host MidAmerica Nazarene on Saturday.

Women's Soccer

The Valley women were unable to break through against a pair of nationally-ranked Heart of America Conference foes during the past week, but came close in the second match.

Sophomore Gisela Arrieta connected four times for No. 14 Graceland (7-1-2, 2-0 HAAC) during a 5-0 victory Saturday at Marshall.

The Lady Vikings took an early lead on a goal by sophomore Patsy Middleton Tuesday at 10th-rated Benedictine, but sophomore Hannah Francescon tied the match 11 minutes later and broke the stalemate in the second overtime period to give the Lady Ravens (10-0-2, 2-0-1) a 2-1 decision.

Valley (2-8, 0-3) is due for a Saturday home match against MidAmerica Nazarene.

Women's Volleyball

Sophomore Katie Povis and senior Amanda Wolf combined for 31 kills as visiting Missouri Baptist (8-10) downed the Valley women's volleyball team in four games (25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18) in a non-conference match Thursday, Oct. 1.

Senior Tricia Mowatt had a match-high 18 spikes and 22 digs for the Lady Vikings (8-10), who also got 21 saves from senior Lindsey Tworek.

Valley's scheduled Heart of America Conference match Tuesday against MidAmerica Nazarene has been postponed until Saturday.

Cross Country

EMPORIA, Kan. -- The Valley men's cross country team took seventh place Friday in the Planet Sub Invitational at Emporia State (Kan.).

Senior Bernard Ronoh (27:08.10) led the Vikings by coming in 32nd in a field of 110 runners. Freshman Matt Leonard (27:43.26) of Higginsville came in 45th.

The Lady Vikings got a nice showing from freshman K.C. Short (20:36.13), placing 33rd out of 101 entries. Junior Taylor Whitacre (21:02.93) was 42nd and freshman Natalie Cotto-Garcia (21:16.99) 48th for the Valley women, who also were seventh in the team standings.

Meanwhile, junior Madison Marshman (20:14.72 ) of Marshall finished 27th for Northwest Missouri State, which claimed the team title. The host Hornets were first on the men's side.

The Vikings take part in the William Jewell Invitational, Saturday at Liberty.