Tag: alfred state

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Campus News Sports

Sports Update // Highlander Basketball Season Off To Strong Start

Photo courtesy of Jason Mucher

The Highlanders women’s basketball team came out strong in their first game against Alfred State. Led by captains Elle Reed ‘17 and Hannah Manwaring ‘17, the Highlanders beat the Pioneers 76-56. “We focused on details, especially on defense, which is great to see in the first game of the season,” said Reed.

Defense seemed to be a point of emphasis for the Highlanders who tallied 11 steals, and controlled the glass with 43 total rebounds. “Defense has always been top priority, as coach always says ‘defense feeds our offense.’ We have to be able to get stops in order to get the ball back to score and run our offense,” said Manwaring. Manwaring contributed 12 rebounds of her own to the winning effort.

After defeating Alfred State, he Highlanders then traveled to Buffalo State to take on the Bengals. It was a tightly contested game which featured seven lead changes, but unfortunately the Highlanders were beaten by a score of 64-59. “We need to limit our turnovers,especially ones that are unforced,” said Manwaring.  “If we can cut the number of turnovers in half, we should put ourselves in a much better position to win.”

One of the most encouraging aspects the Highlanders took away from the defeat was the emergence of freshman guard, Cori Beck. In her first collegiate start, Beck put up 12 points, two assists, and six steals in her 36 minutes of play. Beck took a total of seven shots, all from three-point range, and managed to hit four of them. “I just felt like I fit into the team as soon as I got here…I was a little nervous before the game but that’s usual for me,” she said.“[I] felt a little pressure before the game because I was scared to mess up, but when I started playing I just zoned into what I needed to do, and didn’t worry about anything else.”.

According to Reed, this is not the end for them. She said, “We know that we work harder in practice than any team we play, which gives us confidence no matter what the outcome of the games are.” The Highlanders will look to bounce back against Pitt-Brad at home on Tuesday, November 29.

Additionally, Coach Corky McMullen made his coaching debut for the Houghton College Men’s Basketball team, at home against Alfred State; winning by a score of 85-74, and then going on to beat Wells College by a score of 85-75. McMullen has earned nothing but praise from his captains. Captain Jonathan Stowe ‘17 said “Coach’s motivation” was key to the men’s 2-0 start. Strowe continued, “We started both games bad for the first 10 minutes, but Coach reminded us to play defense and to relax and let us run our offense smoothly”.

Fellow captain Phil Pellegrino ‘17 agreed, “He is a positive vibe to have around all the time.”He stated, “He not only impacts our lives on the basketball court but also in the classroom and in life in general…he brings a lot of experience and I am enjoying learning from him every day at practice.”

Unfortunately, Hilbert College proved too much, and  the Highlanders,  fell to the Hawks 84-69. “Rebounding and turnovers are the keys to success for us. If we can control the glass and not turn the ball over, we will be successful,” guard Jordan Scott ‘17 said.. The Highlanders accumulated  18 turnovers  in the loss.

The women will play at home on Saturday, December 3 to play the State University of New York (SUNY) Canton at 2 p.m. The men will resume home play on Tuesday, December 6 against Grove City College at 7 p.m.

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Campus News

Students Celebrate Make-A-Difference-Day

Houghton College, Alfred State College, and Alfred University served the residents of Allegany County by participating in the fifth annual Make a Difference Day (MADD).

Photo courtesy of: Phyllis Gaerte
Photo courtesy of: Phyllis Gaerte

On the nationwide day of service, which happened on October 22, students and faculty from all three schools came together and assisted those in the community with tasks such as making goodie bags, organizing donations, visiting nursing homes, and cleaning.

Among the three schools, Houghton College as has historically had the highest turn-out rate, according to statistics on the Houghton College website. Of the two thousand students that have participated in MADD over the last four years, one thousand of them have been Houghton students.  This year, about seventy Houghton students signed up.  While some sign up as individuals, other groups, such as the Houghton baseball team and the Jet Group signed up collectively.

Melissa Maclean ‘17, Student Government Association’s(SGA) Executive Officer of Spiritual Life, sees the day “as an opportunity for Houghton to employ what we stand for and give back to the community.”  Maclean, along with SGA cabinet member Sergio Mata, ’19, were responsible for coordinating with Phyllis Gaerte in encouraging students to sign up, delegating tasks, and organizing finances.  

While the SGA is concerned with serving locals, they also place an emphasis creating connections with people and businesses in Allegany county, especially those who have not heard of Houghton College.  What is important, Maclean said, is “making ourselves known but not in the tyrannical, ‘let us show you how great we are’ way, but in a, ‘let us humble ourselves and serve you,’ way.”  Mata agreed, “I think Make a Difference Day is another way Houghton reaches out to the county.  Small businesses are really appreciative of us coming out and getting done the tasks they need.”

Laura Cunningham, resident director of Gillette Hall and assistant director of service opportunities, also had a significant role in coordinating the day.  While Cunningham has participated in MADD personally, her role these past couple years have been more logistical, including working with SGA, putting people into service crews, taking pictures, and generally managing.

However, Cunningham has confronted “unique challenges” in organizing and promoting MADD amidst the tumultuous time of the year that the day falls on.  With midterms, events such as Homecoming Weekend, Purple and Gold Week, and October break, it has proved a challenge to generate interest and enthusiasm while students may “not be thinking ahead.”  In previous years, MADD has been required of Transitions 101 students, affecting success and turn-out of the event.

“Overall, people find that Make a Difference Day is a positive experience,” Cunningham says.  “People experience having a one-time, low-commitment way of helping in the community, and visiting places in the community they don’t normally get to go to.”  Despite midterm exams and projects, a few hours of service proves very valuable to both Allegany locals as well as to those who participate.  With the variety of ways to serve, Cunningham cites several students who grew and learned from their MADD experience.  She said she hopes students realize that serving in small ways is very helpful, impactful, and fulfilling.

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Campus News Sports

Cross Country Teams Finish Strong

The Houghton cross country team had great success on their home course at the Field of Dreams on Saturday, October 8. The Highlanders competed against six teams, with both the men and women taking second place.

Photo by: Nate Moore
Photo by: Nate Moore

According to head coach, Patrick Hager, almost everyone on the women’s side ran a lifetime personal record, and both teams beat Allegany County rival Alfred State. “Alfred’s beat us the past couple of years, so it’s nice to see us get a win over them,” said Hager.

The Highlanders of Houghton competed against Roberts Wesleyan, Penn State Behrend, Alfred State, Keuka, Finger Lakes Community College, and Elmira. Penn State Behrend took first place in both the men’s and women’s races.

The men and women had several athletes finish in the top 10, and both teams ran faster than they have in the past three years.

Reflecting on the team’s success, Rachel Hummel ‘16 said, “It was really rewarding for all of us to have months of training visibly pay off, especially at the last home meet of the season.”

Hummel finished sixth in her race, right behind teammate Ella Hotchkiss ‘18 who placed fifth. Gwen Stokes ‘20, finished close behind finishing eighth. All three competitors finished within 15 seconds of each other.

“Running alongside some of my closest friends is a huge motivator. We’ve been through alot together in training and I think we would all say that we couldn’t and wouldn’t do it alone,” said Hummel.

Stokes attributed their success to their committed mindset of racing as a team and not just as individuals. “Running together as a pack is really nice and motivational because it really makes you remember that you aren’t doing this for yourself, you are running for your teammates,” she said.

On the men’s side, Tyler Deuschle ‘20 was the first finisher for the Highlanders, placing sixth. Not far behind was Matthew Gostomski ‘19 placing tenth, Daniel Burdo ‘20 placing eleventh, and Cory McCarty ‘17 placing thirteenth.

“We have some very strong underclassmen guys who have really brought a lot of success to our team. I’m excited to see them led the team and keep improving over the next several years,” said captain Aaron Eisenhardt ‘17.

Hager commented, “This is the closest team I’ve had the pleasure of coaching. The freshmen really adjusted quickly and mix well with the upperclassmen personality. I think everyone will look back on this season with a big smile because of how close the team got.”

According to Hager, the meet resulted in the best overall races for the cross country teams in his three years as a coach. The meet was also the biggest home invitational they’ve hosted.

“We got confidence at this meet, and our athletes know that they’re fit and capable of running even faster in a few weeks. We pride ourselves on having a pretty consistent team, and peaking well at the end of our season. After competing so well, it’s fun that we still have a couple of championship races ahead,” said Hager.

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Campus News

Spring Sports Fight for Postseason Play

Spring sports are entering their last week of regular season play. Every team faces an Empire 8 opponent, which gives them an opportunity to improve their record and a chance to squeeze into a conference playoff spot.

_DSC5742-2In the third year of their program, the men’s tennis team could ensure an Empire 8 tournament berth if they finish among the top four teams in the conference. “If we can beat Alfred and Nazareth than we have a chance of going to the conference playoffs,” said Head Coach, Charlie Ellis. Currently the team’s overall record is 9-6 and their conference record is 4-2. Last weekend, the team pulled out two stellar wins against the Hartwick Hawks and the St. John Fisher Cardinals. It was their first win over St. John Fisher since joining the Empire 8 conference three years ago. “This supporting cast daily has pushed every top player in practice and supported them in the matches,” said Ellis. “They have been sweating and fighting daily to get the entire team ready to play.” Earlier this month, Chase Rangel ’16 was named the Empire 8 Men’s Tennis Play of the Week for his victories in singles matches and double matches, with the help of his partners, ending the week of April 10. “They all get along very well and they are enjoyable to coach which is part of the reason for their success this season,” added Ellis.

The men’s baseball team’s record, unfortunately, does not reflect the hard work and small wins that they have had this season. Currently the team is 13-20 overall and 3-10 in the Empire 8 conference. However, having a fairly new team comprised of mostly freshman and transfers, incoming players have had to step up and fill big roles on the team. “We lost a lot of pitchers last year and some guys who played a big part as leaders on the team,” commented Michael Knapp ’16. Head Coach, Brian Reitnour added, “[We] are a fairly young team and my ultimate goal is to see us develop an identity that reflects our core values.” During the middle of the season, the team had a six game winning streak where they rallied from deficits to win games, but it was snapped due to a split with the Penn State-Beave Nittany Lions. On April 7, the Highlanders played for over six hours and nineteen innings against the Alfred State Pioneers. The game resulted in a split where the Pioneers won the first game 5-4 in 11 innings, and the Highlanders scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the second game 4-3. “This season has been better than we expected it to be” said Ethan Duryea ’18. “Collectively we have played more as a team this year than we did last year.”

Both teams have games this week and possibly next week, depending on how well they play.  The Highlanders will take on the the Stevens Ducks on their home field at 6 p.m. Friday, April 29, and at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 30. The men’s tennis team will take on the Alfred Saxons on their home  court at 4 p.m. Friday, April 29.

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News

Second Annual “Make a Difference Day” Promotes Student Volunteerism

Over four-hundred Houghton College students participated in Saturday’s Make a Difference Day, serving at sites across Allegany County. It was a day of sweaty hard work, team collaboration, laughter, conversations about life and service, and working with the heart to make a difference in Houghton’s community.

Courtesy of Collin Belt
Courtesy of Collin Belt

This marks Houghton’s second annual Make a Difference Day. Phyllis Gaerte, director of community relations, said the initiative started with the vision of Allegany County’s higher education institutes uniting to practically serve the county. Gaerte said, “It thrills me to see our students going out and working alongside our neighbors and meeting some real tangible needs in the community.”

Students from Alfred State College, Alfred University, and Houghton College worked in teams of five to twenty-five people. They scrubbed floors, painted walls, picked up trash, raked fall leaves, ripped up carpets, landscaped, and forged trails through dense forests.

Ben Hardy, SGA president, described the number of non-profit and community organizations lacking staffing to complete basic jobs. He said, “They maybe have staffing for day to day activities, but if they need to do some massive cleaning, redecorating, organizing, or a larger project, they may not have the staffing for that. There are ministries, towns, libraries, churches that just need extra hands. It’s service students can get involved in.”

As students served, community members responded. Describing the community response to last year’s Make a Difference Day, Gaerte said, “I have a folder of thank you notes, e-mails, and press from local newspapers that were part of the days following the event.” This year, students saw this same gratefulness as community organizations thanked them for their diligent work, positive attitudes, speed, and genuine desires to serve.

Hardy said, “The fact that so many students are doing it together also means it builds community.” This community was built as students formed a giant snake of people to clear a path through a forest in Letchworth, jumped in the piles of leaves they raked for the Oakwood Cemetery, and shared conversation by the path they forged to the Genesee River.

Junior Collin Belt described this sense of community at the multiple sites he visited, and said, “There was such a spirit of joy. Students took tedious jobs and turned them into games, and as a result they got a lot done. It was a trend throughout the day: people planned what they thought was an exorbitant amount of work, but when a huge team of Houghton students getting together and just having fun would do the work, they would get it done faster than anyone ever expected.”

Students served in midst of the mere glimpses of sun that shone through the grey sky and the strong wind that blew, whipping leaves and burning faces. The weather did not hinder students’ service.

Hardy believes that this Make a Difference Day lies at the heart of Houghton’s Christian faith. He said, “I believe we are called to service. Jesus came to serve and as his disciples, we ought to be serving as well. This was a great opportunity for us to be hands for our community.”