Yellowjacket of the Week 2005-2006

• 2003-2004
• 2004-2005

Yellowjacket Baseball Team, May 8, 2006
.....The Montana State University-Billings baseball team wrapped up its inaugural season of NCAA play with a 15-35 overall record.  In the team's final weekend, the Yellowjackets won one of four games, upsetting Heartland Conference Champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier Incarnate Word.

Cameron Munoz, Buddy Windy Boy, Michelle Lieber, Ally Stroup, May 1, 2006
.....These four student-athletes were selected as the Montana State University-Billings Athletes of the Year.  Men's basketball players Munoz and Windy Boy shared the Male Athlete of the Year award, while women's basketball player Lieber and women's soccer player Stroup shared top female honors.

Kyle McBride, Baseball, April 24, 2006
.....McBride, a junior pitcher from Billings, threw a complete-game two-hitter in the Yellowjackets' 3-1 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State.  In seven innings of work, McBride allowed one earned run and one walk while striking out 11.  The 11 Ks were a season high.  At this point of the season, McBride is the only Yellowjacket pitcher with a .500 record (4-4).  He is second on the team for ERA (4.62), and he has gone deep enough into the game to earn a decision in all eight of his starts.

Terina Stacks, Softball, April 17, 2006
.....Stacks, a freshman pitcher from Washougal, Wash., was 2-0 in two starts against league leader St. Edward's University.  Stacks's two victories helped the Yellowjackets to a four-game sweep of the Hilltoppers, knocking them out of first place in the Heartland Conference.  In a series highlighted by numerous home runs, Stacks posted one of the Jackets' best pitching performances of the season in a 1-0 win on Friday.  She threw a four-hit complete game shutout without an extra base hit.  Of the 21 outs she recorded, 12 were by groundout.  For the weekend Stacks posted a 3.32 ERA in 12 2/3 innings. 

Rachel Quarnburg, Softball, April 10, 2006
.....Quarnburg, a junior first baseman/DH from Billings, batted .458 with a dozen RBI in eight conference games that spanned from Texas to Montana.  She went 4-for-12 in the Jackets’ final four games of a grueling 12-game conference road trip on Monday and Tuesday in San Antonio.  Quarnburg then picked up a struggling Yellowjacket offense by going 7-for-12 in a four-game sweep of Oklahoma Panhandle State in Billings on Friday and Saturday.  In Friday’s second game, Quarnburg hit two home runs and drove in seven runs to break her own school record for single game RBI.  For the week she was 11-for-24 at the plate with three home runs, five runs scored, and 12 RBI.  For the season Quarnburg is batting .351 with six home runs and 21 RBI.

Nick Larson, Men's Golf, April 3, 2006
.....Larsen, a sophomore from Riverton, WY, shot a 2-under par 280 at the Central Oklahoma Kickingbird Invitational to finish in a tie for fourth place.  He shot even-par 70 in each of the first two rounds before finishing the tourney with a 2-under 68.  Larson's performance was just the fourth time a Yellowjacket golfer has shot under par for a three-round tourney; it was only the second time at an NCAA tournament.

Luke Sansaver, Baseball, Mar. 27, 2006
.....Sansaver, a junior from Wolf Point, MT, was 7-for-12 at the plate to lead the Yellowjacket baseball team to three wins at Oklahoma Panhandle State.  In the four-game set, Sansaver also scored four runs and drove in three RBI.  He has now hit safely in five of the last six games.

David Ducharme, Baseball, Mar. 20, 2006
.....Ducharme, a senior right handed pitcher from Hamilton, MT, pitched a complete game four-hitter to earn the first victory in the Yellowjacket baseball program's modern era.  Ducharme scattered four hits over nine innings in the 11-2 victory against Northwest Nazarene. 

Jake Samuelson, Baseball, Mar. 20, 2006
.....Samuelson, a junior catcher from Helena, MT, was the offensive star in the Yellowjacket baseball team's first victory in the modern era.  Samuelson went 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring two runs and driving in five RBI in the Jackets' 11-2 win over Northwest Nazarene.  The five RBI established a lofty new school single game record.

Anna Henderson, Softball, Mar. 13, 2006
.....Henderson, a senior outfielder from Frenchtown, MT, went 4-for-7 at the plate in a doubleheader sweep of Dickinson State in the Yellowjackets' home opener.  In the first game Henderson was a perfect 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles.  She also scored twice.  In the second game she went 1-for-4 with another double.  The two doubles in the first game set a single-game career high for Henderson.

Christy Wankel, Softball, Mar. 6, 2006
.....Wankel, a senior outfielder from Great Falls, MT, batted .391 in eight games at the Red Lion Inn/Central Washington Invitational, one of the largest annual NCAA Division II tournaments on the West Coast.  Wankel was 9-for-23 at the plate in eight games and also had a pair of doubles for a .478 slugging percentage.  She scored two runs and drove in two RBI.  In the outfield Wankel had nine putouts with just one error.  For the season she is batting .339 in 19 games with six runs and nine RBI.

Mike Wardell, Baseball, Feb. 27, 2006
.....Wardell, a sophomore designated hitter from Billings, batted .462 with three runs and a triple in the Yellowjackets’ first weekend of baseball in over 30 years.  MSU Billings, which added baseball this year after dropping the sport in 1975, had its opening weekend series in Denver snowed out a week ago.  The Jackets opened play with four losses at Northwest Nazarene this past weekend.  Wardell was a bright spot in a Yellowjacket lineup that hit .207 for the weekend.  He was 6-of-13 at the plate and scored half of the Jackets’ six runs.  Wardell also drew three walks for a .563 on base percentage.

Michelle Lieber, Women's Basketball, Feb. 20, 2006
.....Lieber, a junior from Gillette, WY, Posted three double-doubles in three Yellowjacket wins this week.  She scored 20 points with 11 rebounds in Wednesday's win over Incarnate Word.  On Friday she had 13 points and 13 boards against St. Mary's.  Lieber wrapped up the week with 10 points and 12 rebounds against the Rattlers.  For the week she shot 61.5 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the free throw line.

Amy McClain, Women's Tennis, Feb. 13, 2006
.....McClain, a freshman from Havre, Mont., led the Yellowjacket women in their first action of the spring season.  McClain was a combined 3-3 in singles and doubles matches at a tournament hosted by Lewis-Clark State.  She was 2-1 in her singles matches and 1-2 in doubles matches with partner Heidi Lehman.

Jonathan Wiley, Men's Basketball, Feb. 6, 2006
.....Wiley, a junior from Westlake Village, CA, came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points in Friday's Heartland Conference win against Lincoln.  He was 4-of-5 from the field, 3-of-3 from 3-point range, and 16-of-18 from the free throw line.  Wiley also had two rebounds, two steals, and two assists in the game.

Carlin Hughes, Men's Basketball, Jan. 30, 2006
.....Hughes, a sophomore from Perth, Australia, scored a career-high 45 points to lead the Jackets to a 136-101 win over St. Edward's on Saturday.  He became just the tenth player in school history to score at least 45 points in a game, and his outburst led to the fourth-highest team scoring output in school history.  The Yellowjacket point guard also dished out 10 assists for his eighth double-double of the season.

Shannon Harvey, Women's Basketball, Jan. 24, 2006
.....Harvey, a junior from Billings, made three 3-pointers in Saturday's win to move up to seventh all-time in school history for career 3-pointers.  Harvey has made 104 3-pointers in her career at MSU Billings.  Only eight players in school history have made over 100 threes in their careers. 

Cameron Munoz, Men's Basketball, Jan. 16, 2006
.....Munoz, a senior from Chino, CA, became the all-time school record holder for career 3-pointers last week, passing Markus Halgrimson's 371.  Munoz made 12 threes in three Yellowjacket road wins to take over the all-time record.  Munoz has made 74 three-pointers at the midpoint of the regular season.

Kayla McPherson, Women's Basketball, Jan. 9, 2006
.....McPherson, a freshman from Glendive, MT, averaged 10.3 points and shot 75 percent from 3-point range in three Lady Yellowjacket wins last week.  On Wednesday she scored a career-high 18 points and made 6-of-7 attempts from behind the arc, missing the single game school record by one.  On Friday she was 2-of-2 from 3-point and scored eight points.  Saturday she made 1-of-3 from 3-point and scored five points.

Lucas Walker, Men's Basketball, Jan. 2, 2006
.....Walker averaged 15 points and eight rebounds a game in two road games after missing the previous week due to illness.  In his comeback game on Thursday against East Central (OK), Walker had a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes.  On Friday against Texas A&M Kingsville he scored 11 points with four rebounds.  Walker currently ranks in the top 10 in the conference for scoring (7th), field goal percentage (4th), rebounding (5th), blocks (3rd), offensive rebounds (5th) and defensive rebounds (5th).

Moritz Wohlers, Men's Basketball, Dec. 26, 2005
.....Wohlers scored a career-high 33 points to lead MSU Billings to a 118-110 win over Emporia State (KS) on Monday.  For the Yellowjackets it was their first-ever South Central Region game since joining the Heartland Conference.  Emporia State, ranked in the national top 20 all season until this week, had no answer for Wohlers in the paint.  He was 8-of-13 from the field and 17-of-20 from the free throw line.  He also grabbed 14 rebounds to post a double-double.  Wohlers’s previous season-highs were 16 points and 11 rebounds.  He now ranks fourth in the Heartland for scoring (18.0) and leads the league in rebounding (10.0).  Wohlers was named the Heartland Conference player of the week.  He also ranks in the conference’s top 10 for field goal percentage (8^th), steals (6^th), and free throw percentage (10^th).

Alira Carpenter, Women's Basketball, Dec. 19, 2005
.....Carpenter, a true freshman making her fifth collegiate start, erupted for 21 points in just 19 minutes of play in the Yellowjackets’ 99-56 win over St. Martin’s, one of last year’s West Region semifinalists.  Carpenter was 8-of-13 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.  She also pulled down five rebounds and handed out two assists.  Carpenter entered the week averaging 8.3 ppg, but boosted her average to 9.9 ppg with Friday’s performance.  She currently ranks third in the Heartland Conference for 3-point percentage and seventh for 3-pointers per game.  For her performance, Carpenter was named the Heartland Conference player of the week.

Cameron Munoz, Men's Basketball, Dec. 12, 2005
.....Munoz, a senior guard from Chino, Calif., averaged 31.5 points per game in two wins against cross-town rival Rocky Mountain College.  In the Yellowjackets’ 102-92 home win on Thursday, he dropped in 27 points hitting 7-of-14 from 3-point range.  In Saturday’s 100-76 road win, Munoz scored 36 and made 6-of-13 from behind the arc.  For the week he was 20-of-41 from the field and 13-of-27 from long range.  He was also named the Heartland Conference player of the week.  Through four games this season Munoz leads the Heartland Conference in scoring at 27.5 ppg.  He also leads the conference in 3-point shooting, averaging 6.0 made 3-pointers per game.  Munoz needs just 10 points to climb to eighth on the school’s all-time scoring list.  He has 1,378 career points and is second on the school record list for 3-pointers with 328.

Jenny Langford, Women's Basketball, Dec. 5, 2005
.....Langford, a senior from Reedpoint, Mont., sparked Montana State-Billings to a pair of huge road wins over the weekend.  After missing the previous three Yellowjacket road games--all losses--Langford returned to the court to lead MSU Billings to victories at Metro State and Regis.  On Friday Langford scored 15 points and handed out six assists in an 87-62 blowout of Metro State, which received votes in the WBCA preseason national poll.  She was 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range.  Langford also played a key role in holding Roadrunners sharpshooter Paige Powers to just 10 points.  On Sunday Langford scored 17 points in an 82-74 upset of 25th-ranked Regis.  She was 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc.  She was also 4-of-4 from the line during the final three minutes of the game.  Langford was assigned to defend Rangers scoring machine Diana Lopez, who entered the game averaging 24 points a game.  Langford held Lopez to 16 points and 1-for-5 shooting from 3-point range.

Buddy Windy Boy, Men's Basketball, Nov. 28, 2005
.....Windy Boy, a senior guard from Lodge Grass, MT, totaled 47 points in a pair of Yellowjacket victories to start the season.  He netted 14 points in Monday's season-opening win over Johnson & Wales.  On Saturday Windy Boy poured in a career-high 33 points against Minot State.  He was 9-of-13 from 3-point range against the Beavers and made 12 threes for the week to climb to fifth in the Yellowjacket career record book for 3-pointers made with 228.  Windy Boys was named the Heartland Conference player of the week.

Tanya Petersen, Women's Basketball, Nov. 21, 2005
.....Petersen, a senior forward from Billings West HS, posted two double-doubles for the Lady Jackets at their Holiday Inn/Chinook Wireless Yellowjacket Classic.  She scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Friday's win over Fort Lewis.  On Saturday against Hillsdale, Petersen netted a game-high 22 points and pulled down 13 boards.  She was named to the all-tournament team and was also the Heartland Conference player of the week.

Yellowjacket Volleyball Team, Nov. 14, 2005
.....The MSU Billings volleyball team advanced all the way to the conference championship match in its first season as a member of the Heartland Conference.  The gang of eight posted the best single season record in school history at 20-8.  The 2005 Lady Yellowjackets became the first MSU Billings team to play for a Heartland Conference title.

Jessica Bratton, Volleyball, Nov. 7, 2005
.....Bratton, a junior outside hitter from Casper, WY, totaled 33 kills in the Jackets' final two regular season matches.  She knocked down a season-high 21 kills on a .326 attack percentage on Friday night.  Saturday afternoon Bratton added a dozen kills.  For the season she averaged 3.04 kills per game and added 292 kills to her career total.  With 949 career kills, Bratton needs just two kills at the Heartland Conference Tournament to tie Jody Newberry for third all-time in school history.

Megan Plank, Women's Soccer, Oct. 31, 2005
.....Plank, a junior goalkeeper from Phoenix, AZ, made 10 saves in two Yellowjacket road victories this week.  She stopped eight shots on Tuesday as MSU Billings defeated Angelo State in San Antonio.  On Saturday Plank made two saves in a 2-0 win at Rocky Mountain College, her fifth shutout of the season.  Plank also made three big saves in the shootout that won the 2005 Rimrock Cup.

Susan Kocab, Women's Cross-Country, Oct. 24, 2005
.....Kocab, a freshman from Billings, placed seventh at the Heartland Conference Championships.  She finished the 5K race in 20:53.  By placing in the top 10, Kocab was named to the Heartland Conference All-Conference Team.

Sam Hartpence, Men's Cross-Country, Oct. 24, 2005
.....Hartpence, a junior from Custer, SD, placed seventh at the Heartland Conference Championships, leading the Yellowjackets to a second place team finish.  He finished the 8K race in 29:18.  By placing in the top 10, Hartpence was named to the Heartland Conference All-Conference Team.

Melissa Carlson, Women's Soccer, Oct. 17, 2005
.....Carlson, a freshman midfielder from Renton, WA, assisted on both goals in the Lady Jackets' 2-1 win over Carroll College on Saturday.  Carlson played four different positions throughout the game, helping the Yellowjackets improve to 9-3-1 overall.  She has started all 13 games as a true freshman and has three assists on the year.

Jess Feldtman, Men's Soccer, Oct. 10, 2005
.....Feldtman, a senior goalkeeper from Lander, Wyo., made 10 saves in the Jackets' three games this week.  With the ten saves he became the all-time school record holder with 168 career saves.  For the season Feldtman has played every minute in goal for the Yellowjackets, making 83 saves with a 2.03 goals against average.

Ally Stroup, Women's Soccer, Oct. 3, 2005
.....Stroup, a junior midfielder from Ojai, Calif., had a hand in all three goals Sunday in the Lady Jackets' 3-2 overtime victory at University of Mary.  She assisted on the first goal of the game for her school-record 19th assist of her career.  With the Jackets trailing 2-1, Stroup scored in the 85th minute to tie the game and force overtime.  She then rebounded her own shot and scored the game winner at 4:27 of the overtime period.

Alicia Cazemier, Volleyball, Sept. 26, 2005
.....Cazemier, a sophomore middle blocker from Vauxhall, Alberta, Canada, had a big weekend at the net for the Yellowjackets as they earned a series split with Western New Mexico.  She recorded a career-high 13 blocks in Friday's 3-2 win, adding 13 kills.  In Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Mustangs Cazemier had a team-high 14 kills to go with four blocks.  For the season Cazemier is averaging 1.28 blocks per game, and she has moved into the top 10 in school history for total blocks.

Tiffany Piplica, Women's Cross-Country, Sept. 19, 2005
.....Piplica, a junior from Riverton, WY, led the Lady Yellowjackets at the Montana State-Bozeman Invitational on Saturday.  She ran a 20:26 three mile to place 46th in the individual race.  Last week Piplica was just the fourth-fastest runner for the Lady Jackets, but this week she outpaced the next Yellowjacket by 20 seconds.

Ally Stroup, Women's Soccer, Sept. 12, 2005
.....Stroup, a junior midfielder from Ojai, CA, had three goals, one assist, and seven points to lead the Yellowjackets to a 3-0 record last week and earn Heartland Conference offensive player of the week honors.  In the Yellowjackets’ 1-0 upset of regionally ranked St. Mary’s on Monday she had an assist.  She scored both goals in Saturday’s 2-0 win over University of Mary.  On Sunday Stroup had a goal while playing just a half in the Jackets’ 4-0 blanking of University of Great Falls.  For the Season Stroup has five goals, three assists and 13 points in seven games.  Her 13 points leads all scorers in the conference and her five goals and three assists tie her for first.

Abby Bennett, Women's Soccer, Sept. 12, 2005
.....After moving to the defensive midfield because of injuries, Bennett anchored the Yellowjacket defense in three shutout wins to earn Heartland Conference defensive player of the week honors.  The sophomore from Livingston, MT, played a key role in the Jackets’ upset of St. Mary’s, the Midwest Region’s fifth-ranked team.  In the three shutouts last week, Yellowjacket goalkeepers needed to make just five total saves thanks to the play of Bennett and the Yellowjacket defenders.  MSU Billings defenders lead the Heartland Conference with four shutouts and a 0.55 goals against average.

Dustin Kono, Men's Soccer, Sept. 5, 2005
.....Kono, a senior forward from Aberdeen, SD, scored four goals in five games at the Westminster College tournament.  He found the net twice in Friday's game against Cal State-Monterey Bay.  On Saturday he scored once against Colorado-Colorado Springs, and on Sunday he scored once in a win over Westminster College.  Kono's three consecutive games with at least one goal ties the school record for consecutive games with a goal.

Ali Watson, Women's Volleyball, Aug. 29, 2005
.....Watson, a junior outside hitter from Calgary, Alberta, led the Yellowjackets to the Arkansas Tech Invitational title.  MSU Billings was unbeaten in four matches at the tournament and Watson was named tournament Most Valuable Player.  In four matches she averaged 4.12 kills and 4.06 digs per game.  Watson had at least 20 kills in two of the four matches and posted double-doubles for kills and digs in all four matches.  Watson was named Heartland Conference Hitter of the Week for her performance.

Alyssa Wolfer, Women's Soccer, Aug. 22, 2005
.....Wolfer, a junior forward from Longmont, CO, scored a hat trick in the Lady Jackets' 5-0 exhibition win over North Idaho College on Saturday.  Wolfer scored the first three goals off the game, giving the Yellowjackets a 3-0 lead just 15:25 into the contest.

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