Valerie Brayton
Staff Reporter

Hustling is a fact of life when it comes to playing basketball and St. Ansgar native Stephanie Widen seems to have mastered this ability.

Widen, a sophomore forward, said that she contributes to the team with her hustle and by shooting the right shots, not to mention being a positive leader.

"She talks a lot and asks a lot of questions so that we all understand what is going on," teammate Jill Brant said about Widen's role on the squad.

Leadership and her hustle are only the beginning of Widen's abilities, according to her coach. "She rebounds well and can score on the inside and from the outside," Coach John Oertel said. Widen said that communication on the floor and an active defense are strengths she relies on, as are playing smart and knowing how to play in certain situations.

Brant said that knowing how to play more than one position and a nice jump shot make Widen stand out.

"She is very athletic and has all around good skills," Oertel said. "She is one of the key factors to our success and her playing well will help."

Over three games, Widen has amassed a total of five assists, five steals and one block. Widen averages 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game this season, while making 83% of her free throws.

Oertel said that even though her stats aren't big, she is consistent every game.

Widen said that the first games of the season showed what assets the team has.

The first games also show that some kinks still need to be worked out.

"We need to learn to keep our lead and how to win," Widen said.

As the season pro-gresses, those kinks will be straightened out as Widen looks forward to helping put NIACC in the top seed of the conference.

Widen, whose favorite part of basketball is the competitive atmosphere of playing games, said she is superstitious about listening to the same music before every game.

Brant said Widen does a good job balancing school and basketball and is always prepared. Widen said she is undecided about her major and said she chose NIACC as a stepping-stone to play sports at the college level.

Richard Dedor
For the Logos

This May, one of the best tennis players to come out of Mason City will graduate from Luther College in Decorah.

It's too bad he never got to play for NIACC because the sport is not offered here.

However, Peter Tass, known by his friends as Pete, graduated from Mason City High School in 2000 and attended NIACC for two years.

"Tennis is a sport where the athlete can always improve," Tass said about his desire to continue to play the sport he loves.

Tass, now a student at Luther, enters his senior season and possibly be his last competitive season.

In his first two years of high school, Tass didn't play on the varsity team.

But Tass persevered and when a coaching change occurred in-between his sophomore and junior seasons, he was eager to impress.

Tass improved and went on to earn the "Top Gun" award from his teammates signifying the most valuable player on the squad.

However, glory was not to come to Tass his senior year.

On the eve of the district tournament, a tournament Tass was favored to win, he fell ill. "Unfortunately, Pete got sick right betore Districts; otherwise he would have qualified for State," John McKay, head boys tennis coach at Mason City, said.

His high school career ended and he arrived at NIACC eager to improve his skills.

But there was no team to play for and hardly any college competition to be found.

So Tass turned to a newly established North Iowa Tennis Club to improve his game.

"The NITC offers the only indoor tennis courts in north Iowa," Tass said.

There are leagues and tournaments held throughout the winter based on skill level, according to Tass.

After graduating from NIACC in the spring of 2002, Tass transferred to Luther College and joined the tennis team.

In his first season, the team finished second behind Coe College.

Between his junior and senior years of college, Tass also accepted the job of assistant coach of the Mason City High School boys tennis team. It's a job that suited him well and benefited the players on the team.

"His love of tennis was infectious to the rest of the team," McKay said.

With the help of Tass, the team advanced a player to State for the first time in well over 20 years, according to McKay.

It was a trip to State that could have been his.

This fall marks the beginning of the end for Tass. He is a senior and his collegiate career is coming up to match point.

Currently slated to play both singles and doubles this spring when the actual season begins, Tass is looking to finish his career with a bang.

College may not mark the end of tennis in Tass's life.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I do something tennis related for a career. If I could work that out. .. I'd be set," Tass said.

Both the men's and women's basketball squads will not play until January. The squads will travel to the Central Lakes Tournament in Brainerd, MN on January 9 and 10.

Both squads will be back on their home court when they host Iowa Lakes on Wednesday, January 14 with the women's game at 6 p.m. and the men's at 8 p.m.

On Sunday, January 18 both squads will host Southwestern with the women playing at 2 p.m. and the men at 4 p.m.

Jason Benson
Staff Reporter

North Iowa Area Community College might not have been the first choice for freshman point guard Jamaal Byers, but eventually, he found a home on the Trojan basketball court.

Byers, who said he got offers from a variety of schools, didn't decide on NIACC until he found Coach Steve Krafcisin.

A Chicago native, Byers said he attended a basketball camp where Krafcisin found his current point guard.

Byers joined the Trojans at the beginning of the second semester last year and although he could practice with the team, he had to wait until this year to play.

"It was a big advantage to Jamaal," Krafcisin said. "He got to see what the players and coaches are about."

Since coming to NIACC, Byers said he feels that it has been a perfect fit for him.

"Sitting out the second semester was mentally tough," Byers said. "It helped sitting out though because I was able to see what the team was like."

With Byers in the line-up, Krafcisin said he has many expectations for Byers on offense and on defense.

"He has a great deal of ball handling skills," Krafcisin said. "Jamaal understands that he can score, but I look for him to run the offense. On defense, he is a key defender and is quick with great anticipation skills."

Byers has proven he can score as he totaled 36 points and 9 assists over two games early in the season.

Byers said he hopes to improve the team's ability to push the ball up the court.

"Last year, I noticed we didn't push the ball up the court all that often," Byers said. "This year, I'm pushing the ball up the court and giving my teammates opportunities to score. Everyone on the team can score but I want assists."

During practice and games, Byers is known for his leadership, according to freshman teammate and center Adam Lehnertz.

"He does what a leader does," Lehnertz said. "He is the biggest leader we have. He keeps us motivated. During practice he gets upset and he motivates the whole team to improve." With all the hard work that Byers has been doing, he was recently recognized as the Athlete of the Week by the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference the week of November 10. Krafcisin said he feels that Byers is going to show every team his best and knows Byers is going to be a target after receiving the recent reward.

Krafcisin and Byers feel that if Byers continues to work hard, a lot of opportunities will come his way.

Byers said his goal after NIACC would be to continue playing basketball at a Division I school, but he said that winning is all that matters to him now.

"I want to help the team improve and win a national championship," Byers said. "Winning is all that matters."

The Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) has announced its All-Region football team, and four NIACC student-athletes received first team honors.

BJ Flowers, a sophomore from Cincinnati, Ohio and Groshawn Edwards, a sophomore from Cleveland, Ohio, were named to the first-team offense.

Clint Sellers, a freshman from Chariton, Iowa and Jermyah Graves, a sophomore from Canton, Ohio, were named to the first-team defense.

Flowers rushed for 1,155 yards and scored 11 touchdowns this season.

Over his career he massed over 2,000 yards rushing.

Edwards was a two-year starter at tackle for the Trojans, anchoring a powerful running attack during his career.

Sellers, a linebacker, had over 130 tackles, including 33 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks during a stellar freshman season.

Graves, a defensive tackle, had 65 tackles, 8 for loss, and 2.5 sacks.

Kelsey Christianson

Who says there has to be a winner?

Ernie Els and Tiger Woods had their names placed in envelopes before the final day of competition in the Presidents Cup and who would have guessed- the Presidents Cup came down to equal score-cards.

A provision states that a tie will be decided in sudden death by a one-on-one playoff. Els and Woods played an additional three holes, each making huge putts.

Els drove home a 12-footer on the second extra hole and Woods put in a 15-footer at the third. Woods calls that single shot one of his biggest ever.

It was getting dark so the players had to come back the next day to decide a winner. After four days of the competition, they were tired and wanted to start the long trip home from South Africa.

The exceptional play also deserved to be awarded, so it was.

The two captains of the squads, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, had disapproved of the playoff rule even before it came into play.

Nicklaus, perhaps the greatest player in golf history, suggested an appropriate end to the tight match.

They decided the incredible pressure was unfair for the two players; they should not have to decide the fate of the whole team and country. They ended it with a tie.

Both players and teams were happy with the decision of a draw and sharing the cup. It's not the first time Nicklaus has shown good will.

In 1969, Tony Jacklin of England needed to make a short par putt to tie Nicklaus for the Ryder Cup, which can end in a tie. The previous winner then keeps the cup.

Nicklaus gave Jacklin a "gimmie" on the hole because he knew he would make the putt but did not want him to suffer if he didn't.

Score one for sportsmanship in South Africa.