Sandburg Wins Arrowhead Conference All-Sports Award for 1st Time

  Aaron Frey
  Wednesday, May 10, 2017 5:10 PM
  Athletics, Campus News

Galesburg, IL

For the first time in program history, Carl Sandburg College has won the Arrowhead Conference All-Sports Award, which is given to the college that has the highest overall standing throughout the league’s six sports (volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, softball and men’s golf).

The All-Sports Award is determined by calculating the percentage of teams a school finished ahead of in the final Arrowhead standings for each sport. Sandburg finished ahead of 71 percent of conference opponents during the 2016-17 season, putting it well ahead of second-place Highland’s 60 percent. Illinois Valley (57 percent) was fourth, followed by Sauk Valley (50 percent), Black Hawk (43 percent) and Kishwaukee (14 percent).

Sandburg placed third or better in five of the six sports, including a first-place finish in women’s basketball — the team’s second straight conference championship — and second-place finishes in volleyball, baseball and men’s golf.

“When we met with all our athletes at the start of the school year, we set a goal of winning this award because it involved every one of them,” Chargers athletic director, women’s basketball and women’s golf coach Mike Bailey said. “Our athletes and coaches deserve a ton of credit because they put in the work on the courts, fields and courses, but we also get an incredible amount of support from our administration, advisers and other staff members who help make our program successful. For everyone in this group to be a part of Sandburg history is something special.”

The Chargers also saw plenty of success this season outside of Arrowhead action. Both basketball teams played for the Region IV tournament championship (joining 1985 as the only other time they’ve done that in the same season), and volleyball also played for the Region IV tournament title.

Sandburg also had four individuals qualify for national championships — Ryan Hansen in men’s golf as well as Anastasia Beetler, Andrea Gordon and Shayla Kozak in women’s cross country. Beetler’s runner-up finish at the Region IV championship matched the best showing by a Chargers runner ever, and the men’s soccer team’s seven wins more than doubled its total from the previous season.

Carl Sandburg College athletes, coaches, administrators and support staff gather for a department-wide photo after winning the 2016-17 Arrowhead Conference All-Sports Award. It’s the first time Sandburg has won the award in its history.

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