After having experienced mixed results at the season opener at Coe last weekend, the Loras College swim teams came together at the Monmouth Invitational.

Both men and women came in second, each team beating out five other teams. With a variety of swimmers ranging from seniors to freshman, the Duhawks will use whatever weapons they need to in order to realize success.

On the women’s side, the Duhawks had only one, first place winner with junior Alex Proctor who won the 50y and 100y freestyles. But with numerous second and third place performances, the women reaped enough points to capture 2^nd overall.

“The girls swam really well at the Monmouth invite, we scored 2nd place with a lot of impressive swims from Alex Proctor who placed first, as well as Gabby Gaulke, Desiree Tmez and Evayn Roper who all scored high in the mile too,” said junior Stephanie Czarobski.

In addition to the mile, the women placed 2^nd or 3^rd in a total of 7 events. As one of the core leaders on the team, Steph has high hopes for the rest of the season, “We have a very strong team this year with a lot of talented freshman who will help us break at least two relay records this season.  We have a dual meet against Simpson this Friday, and then Grinnell on Saturday.  Both meets will present a challenge for the team, but we are expecting a lot of fast swims!”

On the men’s side, the story is very similar. The Duhawks came together to place top three in a total of ten events, giving them more than enough points to snag 2^nd place at the meet. Senior Andy Pape had a standout day, grabbing 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd in the 50y, 200y, and 100y freestyles, respectively. With the Duhawks coming in top 3 in a majority of events, it is apparent that the roster is very deep this year, possessing a wealth of young and old talent.

The Duhawks have a busy schedule this upcoming weekend, and have high expectations once again.

What do healthy living and Dewey the Duhawk have in common? Both could be found in the Graber Center gym last Saturday at the Second Annual “Live Healthy Iowa” event co-sponsored by Loras and “Live Healthy Dubuque.”

Health organization and community members of all ages participated in “Live Healthy Iowa.” They were joined by Loras students who are involved in sports-science or physical-education courses and who set up displays around the room. They taught visitors about various health topics, like managing stress and preventing heat stroke.

Besides current Duhawks, some Loras alums, local health experts and wellness organizations also shared information.

Jordan Loy (’09) taught about changes in school lunches. He said that Iowa has recently changed its nutrition standards and state schools can no longer provide carbonated beverages and other foods that do not meet certain criteria. Loy praised this step towards healthier eating and mentioned a study that said when children are properly fed, they do better academically and have fewer behavioral problems. “The body and the mind work together,” Loy said. When the body is healthy, mental and emotional functions improve, too.

 

Got an unexplained health issue? Free, painless nervous system scans were provided by the Health From Within Chiropractic Wellness Center to help uncover the roots of potential health problems. When asked why she was at the “Live Healthy Iowa” event, Dr. Abby Tebbe simply said, “Well, a lot of people are sick.” She hopes that the information from the nervous system scans will help people live healthier lives.

The Dubuque Community Y, which houses both the YMCA and YWCA, was represented by Katie McFarland, who teaches a popular Zumba class there. She pointed out that the Y remains the only organization to offer TRX in the local area. Created by a former U.S. Navy Seal, TRX Suspension Training is an innovative approach to fitness and strength training. The Y tries to be at all the local wellness fairs to reach out to the community and introduce the public to their programs. The American Red Cross also raised awareness of their community service classes and wanted to make the public knowledgeable about the recent changes with the CPR offerings.

Are you getting all your colors? Jessica Hruska, who once worked as an adjunct at Loras, gave a presentation on nutrition. She said that new research has revealed that people should have two servings of every color each day. Hruska also promoted her running classes, boot camps, and hot yoga classes that she teaches. Other displays in the gym covered sports law or offered free fitness testing.

Besides the presentations, a free yoga session was offered upstairs in the wrestling room. Adult community members and students stood on colorful mats and were taught moves such as the “warrior pose.” Another feature of “Live Healthy Iowa Day” was that Loras held free giveaways and raffles every half hour, which included prizes such as a one-month membership to the gym in the AWC.

 

Last week in my sociology class, we discussed football and its relationship with society. Specifically, we used football as an example, but really any sport would be a good example. We compiled positive aspects of sports and society, such as jobs being available and entertainment. But we also spoke of the negatives, which seemed to far outweigh the positives. We came up with many: sports are too big a spectacle (yes, I know the Super Bowl is a pathetic display, but that’s not really what sports are about); they overpay undeserving athletes; and, the main negativity was the rivalries that fester between cities and people.

I just sat back and took it all in. It was obvious many in my class did not understand sports. Which is okay, not everyone does. The sports landscape isn’t for everyone, but many of the points said in the class were not true. They didn’t understand what sports can do to a city, to a state and to a country. But for those who understand sports, well, for them it’s a whole new ballgame.

For some, sports take up too much room and cost too much money. The people who think that have never been to New Orleans, a city torn apart by destruction. Those people didn’t watch Monday Night Football on ESPN the night the New Orleans Saints defeated not only the Atlanta Falcons, but the despair of the city. In one night, the team shed its perennial nickname the “’aint’s,” and brought a city together. The Saints were a catalyst of change in New Orleans. They weren’t the only form of inspiration in New Orleans, but for a city looking for a leader, the Saints came marching.

Change is possible; the Saints showed that. But was it the Saints, or was it the sport they play? To answer that question, one needn’t look any further than Parkersburg, Iowa. We all know the story. A devastating F5 tornado (the strongest type) tore apart the southern part of the town, killing six citizens and injuring 70. But a hero emerged: the old coach, Ed Thomas.  The football coach. Known around town as simply, “Coach,” in less than a year he took the city on his back, promising to rebuild the city he proudly called home. One of Coach’s creeds was, “Remember where you came from.” Former football players came from miles around to help re-build the city, the place where they played football for years; the place where they came from. Then, Coach was tragically shot, and once again the town deepened into a lull. However, less than a month later, the Aplington-Parkersburg football team was on national TV, playing their first high football game of the year on ESPN. The whole town showed up at Ed Thomas Field to see the game, which was in honor of their coach, their town and last but not least, their football team.  But it doesn’t stop there.

Without sports, we would not know of a young man named Jackie Robinson, who overcame scrutiny, race, death threats and fastballs to become an award winning, championship baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Without sports, we would not have witnessed a team of high school kids defeat a hockey powerhouse, and in doing so, shedding a bit of warmth on a war gone Cold and showing the world that sometimes, the underdog can win.

Without sports, no one would have witnessed Dale Earnhardt’s son win at the place where his daddy lost, while pulling his teammate right behind him. (Want to see a truly amazing video? YouTube the finish of the 2001 Pepsi 400).

So before we decide sports are insignificant to the world, or that they are a waste of time, we need to think about what sports bring to us. Without sports, we would not sing the national anthem. Without sports, kids would have far fewer heroes.

Without sports, there’d be less to cheer for, and sometimes, that’s all we need.

The Division of Physical Education and Sport Studies has introduced a new annual scholarship this year.

For two decades, the Al Schramm Award has been awarded annually to the most outstanding sport management majors. For the first time, the faculty presented another award, the John “Doc” Kammer Award.

The criterion for the Schramm award is as follows: the student must demonstrate a high level of academic performance, leadership in the field, in community activities, dedication for the development of physical skills, sportsmanship, healthful practices and emotional and moral growth.

The 2011 recipients of the Al Schramm Award were seniors Scott Johann, who is majoring in sport management; Eric Rife, who is majoring in physical education; and Kristy Demmer, a sport science major. Other students who were recognized were juniors Tim Kelly, Kathleen Loftus, Kelsey Smith and Kevin Zack, all of whom are majoring in sport management.

The first recipient of the John “Doc” Kammer Award was senior Michala Lensing, who is majoring in athletic training.

For those of you who do not know who “Doc” Kammer or Al Schramm are, here is a brief history lesson.

Schramm was a professor at Loras College from 1939-1981. During his stay at Loras, Schramm was a professor, as well as the chair, of the physical education department. He was also the intramural director and a coach. Schramm’s leadership catapulted Loras’ intramural program into one of the strongest in the U.S.

Kammer also very involved in Loras’ sports scene. He was the head athletic trainer from 1929-1971. It has been said that Kammer seemed to never miss a Loras athletic event — home or away. In 1983, Kammer was inducted into the Loras Hall of Fame.

The best thing about college sports is the fact that there are always new players coming into a program ready to challenge upperclassmen and rejuvenate the program.
Last year’s men’s golf team was mostly upperclassmen with sophomore Sam Herrmann leading the group. This year the team comes in with a young team behind senior Andrew Schroeder and Herrmann and hope to put a good team together on the course.
“The more tournament golf you play, the more comfortable you are when you step onto the tee. Having played on the team last year, I know what every course we play this year looks like and how to attack it,” said Herrmann.
During this fall season the team has four invitationals that it will play in to give the Duhawks a glimpse of what is to come in the spring under second-year coach Jeremy Hawkins.
The three players that are on the verge of filling out the varsity roster alongside Herrmann and Schroeder are sophomore Jason Raftis, first-year Joe Leibfried and either senior Kyle Domeyer or first-year Bubba Carter, who have been bouncing around the fifth and final spot.
Experience is not something the team can heavily rely on, as only Herrman and Schroeder have had more than 10 rounds of play.
Herrman posted a plus-8 total in 14 rounds last season and Schroeder posted a plus-10 in 13 rounds.
Herrmann agrees that the team being “less experienced” will have to be something they overcome.
“We acquired a couple good freshmen this year and some of the guys from last year are showing some improvement, so that should help fill the gap those seniors left. We are definitely a less-experienced team than last year,” Herrman said.
The team played in their first tournament on Tuesday, hosted by Loras at the Meadows Golf Course. The Duhawks placed fourth, tying with Clarke in the 12-team tournament, with a collective score of plus 49.
Even though the team only has four tournaments in the fall, the rounds still have significance because they count, along with the spring results, towards the season-ending average.
The team will have to focus in practice as if it were a tournament so that the players will know what to do when a shot they have in practice presents itself in a game atmosphere.
The team’s next tournament, which will be hosted by Clarke, is Sept. 19 at Thunder Hills Country Club. Loras will continue to hone their skills and look up to the other players who have the experience to lead them on the course.

Being in the same class room with your parents can seem embarrassing if not downright weird, especially if it is a class where fighting is encouraged. However, members at the Dubuque YMCA are taking a karate class that involves both parents and children.

Instructor Kyle Cox, father of six, first started teaching his own children the art of karate at home. Word spread across the neighborhood as other children wanted to learn. This all lead Cox to approach the Dubuque Y and ask if he could start teaching karate using their facilities.

“The first session we didn’t have a lot of turn out and it was difficult with having just all kids or all adults,” said Cox. “My wife wanted to get back into so we decided why not try a family thing, try a family karate class.”

One of the advertisement strategies used by the Dubuque Y was to host a Girls’ Scout Night to bring in the local area Girls’ Scouts. That is how Alyssa Honey first found out about the event and persuaded her father, Gary, that it was something that they should try together.

“She came home and she was really excited about and wanted to take the class,” said Gary Honey. “We felt that it would be a great thing to do together.”

The class has help out children that may be shyer as they can go along with somebody that they know such as parent or an older sibling. The main challenge of the class is trying to find something that is simple for the children to do but not simple not for the parents to get bored.

“What is really good about it is that parents can go home with the kids and work with the kids, too,” said Cox. “They can practice at home together and the adults pick it up a little quicker than the kids do and they can help the kids at home.”