Northwest Missouri State Athletics

Led by coaches Vicki Wooten, Bud Williams and Ron DeShon, this group of athletes were part of a string of seasons that are unmatched at Northwest and have seldom been accomplished in the MIAA.  In fact, aside from the Bearcats, only two other MIAA schools- Southeast Missouri State in the mid-1980s and Central Missouri in the mid-2000s, have accomplished the “double triple” – back-to-back years with conference titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. 
 
Included in the three years of cross country success are two top 10 NCAA team finishes, the two years of indoor success resulted in a combined 9 MIAA individual titles and 7 All-American performances and the two outdoor teams featured a combined 8 MIAA individual titles and 8 All-American performances.
 
Still today, the record books remain filled with the accomplishments of these teams.  Five of the top 10 all-time best marks in the 6000M came from the members of the cross country teams, including the top two marks set by Kathy Kearns and Heidi Metz.  These times were recorded in the same meet at Rim Rock Farms in Lawrence, Kansas with Kathy edging out Heidi by one second.
 
Brandy Haan holds the top spot in the 55M, 60M, and 200M dashes and Jaschelle Sasser’s mark of 39 feet, 6 inches is the best mark in the triple jump. In addition, Leslie Dickherber, Julie Humphreys and Jill Eppenbaugh own 3 of the top 6 marks in the shot put and the 4x400M relay team of Yolanda Alexander, Angela Howard, Kim Spriggs and Renata Eustice own the second best time in school history.
 
The outdoor list is just as impressive.  Haan is tied for the #1 spot in 100M dash, Heidi Metz owns the top time in the 3000M run, Kathy Kearns and Lindsey Borgstadt possess the best two marks in the 10,000M run, Jaschelle Sasser is the record holder in the high jump and triple jump.  In addition, numerous other athletes hold positions within the top 5 of events like the 200M dash, shot put, hammer and discus throws.
 
To say what these teams accomplished at Northwest is rare would be an understatement. The three straight cross country titles and the two outdoor championships are the only ones in school history and the back-to-back indoor titles represent two of the three captured by the Bearcats in their history.