Jenna Jensen
Staff Reporter

After finishing his career in high school at Humboldt, Brett Miner has earned the starting fullback position for the NIACC football team.

It's a position that doesn't often get a lot of glory, but that's all right because Miner and his teammates have bought into the team concept this season.

Coach Dave Gillespie had praise for his fullback's work ethic.

"Brett always comes to practice ready to play and get things done," Gillespie said. "He always does what's asked."

Miner said he chose to play football at NIACC because of the great program and the facilities. "NIACC has a really good program and the facilities here let us do what we need to so we can succeed," Miner said.

Miner has enjoyed his career with the Trojans.

"Football is going really good this year," Miner said. "We have some big games coming up," Miner said at press time about the remainder of the season.

"This year the team is focusing on 'TEAM' above all else," Miner said.

"Brett symbolizes the team above all else," Gillespie said.

With a record of 2-2 in the conference and a 4-3 overall record after the North Dakota SCS game, it proves that the motto has been working.

"We work on team things more than individual and we have great dynamics as a team," Miner said. "We really mesh well."

This year Miner said he had set a few goals.

"I wanted to get a conference championship and attend a bowl game," he said. "It's all about team this year, so I didn't set anything personal and the team thing has been working."

Other than football, Miner said NIACC stood out because of the people and the campus location. Miner's major is business and he said he plans on transferring to Arizona State eventually if nothing else comes up.

"I like the location there, I have been there before and I really like it," Miner said.

For now, Miner and his teammates hope to continue to build on the team concept and finish the season strong.

Tim Cooper
Staff Reporter

As the NIACC women's cross-country team begins to pick up momentum in the program's first year, one of the bright spots on the team has been the success of Amy Furlong.

Furlong, whose best time in the 5k run is just over 22 minutes, recently placed eighth at the Mustang Gallop.

As the season winds down, Furlong said that she has her eye set on nationals, which takes place in El Paso Texas, on Saturday November 6.

"My goals are to make nationals and put up a strong time," Furlong said. "I'd like to get under 20 minutes."

Coach Curtis Vias explained that breaking the 20-minute mark is a possibility for Furlong because her dedication has paid off.

"She has fulfilled every expectation that we set for her this year," Vias said. "Her character is special."

Furlong, who is now 24 years old, also brings maturity to the team.

"She is a lot easier to coach than younger athletes because she has more life experiences than most of the other team members," Vias said. "In some ways, she is like a second coach." Since the beginning of the season, there were some doubts about the direction the program would head.

Furlong explained that while there was a slow start, things are turning around. "It's been a pretty stressful year, but we have a good coach," Furlong said. "The outlook is good."

Jenna Jensen
Staff Reporter

Height and strategy are the two things that pull Fredericksburg graduate Sam Schmidt to the volleyball court.

At 6'0" Schmidt is the tallest member on the NIACC team and it shows when she plays.

"Sam has a great swing in the front row and her height really lets her put the ball down," coach Rachael Woodley said.

Strategy seems to be a key in the NIACC volleyball program, having players that can read the court and see what needs to be done and thinking quickly enough to act on it brings in the wins.

As a goal for the season, Schmidt said she wanted to use strategy every time she hits instead of power.

"I don't just hit the ball anymore," Schmidt said. "I try to look for a good place to put it, even if that means I can't kill it every time."

At press time, Schmidt followed close behind NIACC's Emily Vold with 91 kills and 10 solo blocks.

Although Schmidt doesn't serve much and concentrates mostly on front row techniques, she adds to the team.

"She's a great athlete, but mostly, she has got an awesome attitude that keeps us all up as much as possible," teammate Amy Friedrich said.

Like most student athletes, the NIACC athletic program attracted Schmidt to attend college here.

"I wasn't done playing yet and it's a great opportunity to keep playing," Schmidt said. "I have had lots of fun and learned a lot of new things."

Mixing confidence, strategy and an upbeat personality, Schmidt adds to the team both on and off the court.

"She's got the right combination of relaxation, competitiveness and smarts to be the best player she can be, and she's definitely pulling through for the team," Woodley said.

Jeremy Koenigs
Staff Reporter

Men's basketball coach Steve Krafcisin said he hopes to use a mixture of freshmen with his returning sophomores to build his men's basketball team into a competitor this season. Krafcisin returns a great group of sophomores for his eighth season on the bench as head coach of the Trojans since beginning his duties on August 1, 1997.

"The returning players and their exceptional basketball skills are our biggest strengths," Krafcisin said. "How well our freshmen develop during the course of the season will go a long way in determining where we are at the end of the season."

Mike Havens, David Reese, Adam Lehnertz and Mike Stensrud represent just a few of those heading the list of returning players.

While Krafcisin is pleased with his returning numbers, he said he hopes every member of his team takes the role of a leader this season.

"I would like to think that every member of our team will look like a leader out there on the court this year," Krafcisin said.

Krafcisin said developing chemistry will play an important factor in a conference that is very strong once again this season.

"Kirkwood and Des Moines Area Community College once again look strong," Krafcisin said. "Every conference game will be tough and we can never overlook teams like Ellsworth and Iowa Central, so we have to be on our game every night."

Krafcisin said he has very high expectations this season.

The Trojan men's basketball team opens its season on November 5 in the Ellsworth Classic in Iowa Falls against Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Jeremy Koenigs
Staff Reporter

Coming into the season, the NIACC women's Trojan basketball team is looking to build an identity through preseason practices.

Equipped with a group of 11 fundamentally sound players, head coach John Oertel said he will look for his group of returning players to be leaders on the court and help the group of freshmen adapt to the collegiate game.

Three of the returning players to Oertel's squad include Katie Meyer, Brittney Dickey and Kelli Terrell.

Oertel said that he feels that this group of sophomores needs to be the leaders on this year's team, which will run an up-tempo, wide-open offense and a man-to-man defense.

"Katie, Brittney and Kelli are all returnees," Oertel said. "Hopefully they will lead us by displaying hard work so we can improve from last season."

Oertel's NIACC team that does not return an all-region performer, but gets Meyer, a second team all-region performer two years ago, back from an ACL injury, will be tested early and often.

According to Oertel, Kirkwood and Des Moines Area Community College look strong in the conference.

Oertel said he feels the Trojan schedule, prior to conference games, will prepare them for conference play.

"We have a tough non-conference schedule that includes Rochester Community and Technical College and both the Wartburg and Simpson junior varsity," Oertel said.

The team opens play in the Ellsworth Classic in Iowa Falls on November 5.

Jason Benson
Sports Editor

This fall semester NIACC sports fans have seen a number of accomplishments by the various sports programs at NIACC.

All of the teams have worked hard with hopes of making it further into the post season. But no team has accomplished any more than both the men and women's cross-country teams in their inaugural seasons.

In the first issue of Logos, we said that both teams had a goal of making it to nationals and they have accomplished that goal.

If you're around campus in the afternoon about 4 p.m. you can see both squads running across the landscape as they train.

I'm not taking anything away from the other sports departments but they have accomplished a lot in only a few months of existence.

Coach Curtis Vias has done an excellent job during the team's first season.

He sat them down in the preseason and had them write down a goal. A majority of them wanted to go to nationals, so Vias told the men they needed five runners under 30 minutes and four women under 22 minutes and 30 seconds.

All but two runners are coming back from this year's squad. The recruiting will become easier for Vias because of this year's accomplishments.

Andy Kasper, Andrew Flugum, Matt Crooks, Brian Haeflinger (who are in the top ten in the conference), along with Tyson Roberts and Sean Lunde, look to carry the team at the nationals in El Paso, Texas on November 6 while the women's team is led by Stacy Allen, Amy Furlong, Hitomi Abe and Trudy Stensland who have been running great for the team this year.

This is a great accomplishment not only for the program but also for the school.

With the success of this season, the programs should have a boost in numbers next season as other cross-country athletes from across North Iowa look at NIACC as an option for continuing their athletic careers after high school.