MVC Round-up: Beltz wins Pan-Am gold

Valley freshman Randi Beltz shows off her gold medal from the Pan American Junior Championships. (MVC Athletics) [Click to enlarge]

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Freshman Randi Beltz of St. Clair made an impressive introduction to the Missouri Valley College women's wrestling program Friday.

Beltz won three of four matches to take first place in the 63-kilogram weight class in the FILA Pan American Junior Championships at Guadalajara, Mexico. Beltz was one of three members of Team USA to claim gold medals as it finished first among eight national entries.

Beltz was the first female wrestler to medal at the MSHSAA Championships, doing so twice.

The Lady Vikings take part in their first tournament this season Saturday at the McMaster Open in Hamilton, Ont.

Men's Soccer

Junior Ryan Pow of Edinburgh, Scotland, got the hat trick Wednesday as the Valley men's soccer team rolled over Culver-Stockton for a 7-1 Heart of America Conference road win.

Pow scored the match's first three goals to propel the Vikings to a 4-0 halftime lead. Sophomore Angel Gomez Micha added the other score before the break and sophomores Breno Figueiredo and Roderick Owusu, along with freshman Chris McCoy of Marshall, found the mark during the second half.

The Wildcats (1-13, 0-7 HAAC) avoided the shutout with eight seconds remaining with a boot from senior Bryan Curry.

Valley bounced back after Saturday's tough 2-1 loss at William Jewell. The Vikings led 1-0 at halftime after Gomez-Micha set up a shot for freshman Juan Carlos Barrios.

The Cardinals (10-5, 3-3) came back during the second half on goals by senior Michael Brown and sophomore Troy Green.

Valley (8-4-3, 3-1-1), currently third in the league standings, plays Saturday at Central Methodist.

Women's Soccer

The Lady Vikings' five unanswered goals Wednesday gave them a going-away 5-1 Heart of America Conference win at Culver-Stockton.

The Lady Cardinals (3-13, 0-7 HAAC) broke the ice on junior Danielle Blevins' kick in the 12th minute, but Valley scored four times before halftime. Sophomore Ariel Cantrell connected twice, followed by goals from senior Nicki Erickson of Marshall and freshman Emily Connelly in the final 1:01.

Junior Jessica Yach provided the Lady Vikings' last goal. Valley's defense only allowed one shot after the match-opening goal.

The Lady Vikings were unable to find the net Saturday during a 3-0 loss at William Jewell, which unloaded 16 shots. The Lady Cardinals (10-4, 4-2-1) got two goals from junior Annie Shepard.

Valley (4-10, 2-5), which got three shots on goal from Yach, plays Saturday at Central Methodist.

Women's Volleyball

CANTON -- Culver-Stockton won a battle between teams fighting for the eighth and final spot in the Heart of America Conference Post-season Tournament with a five-set home win Tuesday over visiting Missouri Valley.

This was a back-and-forth affair, with the Lady Vikings winning the first and fourth sets before falling, 23-25, 29-27, 25-15, 18-25, 15-12. Senior Kayla Duncan had a match-high 22 kills for the Lady Wildcats (11-23, 2-7 HAAC).

Senior Tricia Mowatt was one of four Valley players with double digits in kills with 15. Freshman Brittney Sedillo came up with 24 digs and sophomore Ali Schrader got in on 12 blocks and leads the league with 1.4 per game.

The Lady Vikings (9-18, 2-6), who had a pair of non-conference matches Thursday against Stephens, take on MidAmerica Nazarene for their home finale Saturday.

Football

Missouri Valley punter Chris Heale was named Heart of America Conference special teams "player of the week" for his performance Saturday at Central Methodist.

The sophomore from Round Rock, Texas, booted the ball six times for an average of 51.8 yards per attempt, including a long of 61 yards, to give the Vikings the field position which helped them claim a 24-10 decision. Heale currently ranks second in the league with a 38.3-yard season average.

After its bye week, ninth-ranked Valley (7-1, 7-1 HAAC) will host No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene in a clash between NAIA playoff contenders Nov. 7 in Volney C. Ashford Stadium.