pioneer newsWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE COLLEGE

news@wosc.eduWednesday, March 5, 2014 Volume 15, Issue 25

by Emily Smith

WESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE COLLEGE Music Department PRESENTS:

The WOSC Rodeo Team was on the road last week-end, traveling to Garden City, Kansas for a three day rodeo. It was a successful trip for many WOSC ath-letes. In fact, despite the snow and subfreezing con-ditions, the WOSC Men’s Team prevailed to earn the Reserve Men’s Team Title for the Garden City Com-munity College Rodeo.

Leading the men’s team in points earned was Iowa freshman, Luke Madsen, who brought home the tie down roping championship title. He was a model of consistency, tying both his first round calf and his short round calf in 9.4 seconds. For his efforts, Madsen placed second in each of the two rounds, and his combined time of 18.8 seconds topped the field by half a second.

Trever Nelson and Douglas Rich also finished in the top ten of the first round of the tie down roping with their respective times of 9.9 and 10.6 in the first round. How-ever, neither Nelson or Rich caught their calves in the short round.

The men’s team also gathered valuable team points in the team roping. Partners, Hunter Munsell and Braden Harmon roped their first steer in a quick 5.8 seconds.

This fast time tied for first place in the first round. Florida sophomore Ben Whiddon and WOSC Alumnus, Dalton Richards placed third in the first round with their fast time of 5.9 seconds. However, neither team stopped the clock in the short-round.

Also earning points for the men’s team in the first round, was Iowa steer wrestler, Jacob Edler. Edler wrestled his first steer in 4.1 seconds to earn his way into the top-ten short round. However, he missed his second steer.

Four WOSC women athletes qualified for the short round. Whitney Hall and Cheyenne Budvarson each fin-ished in the top-ten of the breakaway roping. Hall roped her first calf in 3.5 seconds, and Budvarson roped her calf in 3.4 seconds. However, only Hall caught her calf in the short round, but she also broke the barrier, so her time of 2.8 carried a ten second penalty.

Dana Spitzke and Sarah Schneider earned a place in the short round with their first round times of 6.9 and 6.7 sec-onds respectively. Spitzke tied her second goat in the exact same time and earned points for fourth in the round and sixth in the average. Though Schneider placed fourth in the short round, her short round time of 7.4 seconds was too long to earn her anymore points for the weekend.

With the completion of the Garden City rodeo, the college rodeo season has reached its halfway mark. The WOSC Rodeo Team’s next stop will be Ft. Scott Commu-nity College in Ft. Scott, Kansas March 7, 8, and 9.

WOSC Men’s Rodeo Team Wins Reserve Title

Two Sophomore Pioneer basketball players have earned All -Region and All- Conference honors. Stirling Thomas of Elgin, OK and Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan of Plainfield, NJ distinguished themselves during the 2013 -2014 fall and spring seasons. Thomas averaged 19.1 points per game (ppg) in conference play and was voted First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Region and was Western’s leading scorer. Allen- Jordan averaged 16.9 ppg in con-ference play and earned Second Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Region. He was also Western’s second leading scorer and rebounder. Head basketball coach, Ro-lando De La Barrera said, “I am happy for both of these young men, who have meant so much to our program for the last two years.”

Pioneer Basketball Team Members Receive All-Region and All-Conference Honors

Western Oklahoma State College’s WINDS Program and TRIO are sponsoring a distracted and drunken driv-ing education program for students. The Arrive Alive Tour from UNITE will visit Western March 7, 2014 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm and will be located on the south side of cam-pus during the simulations.

UNITE’s Arrive Alive program uses a high-tech simu-lator, impact video, and a number of other resources to educate students about the dangers of drunk driving and texting while driving. The simulator allows students to ex-perience, in a controlled environment, the potential conse-quences of drunk and distracted driving.

One of the most commonly recognized driving distrac-tions is cell phone use. About 89 percent of all Americans have a cell phone, according to CTIA – The Wireless As-sociation. Drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Their lack of driving experience can contribute to critical misjudgments if they become distracted. Not surprisingly, they text more than any other age group and the numbers of young drivers who text is only increasing.

UNITE brings health and wellness programs to high school and college campuses across the nation. Their pro-grams are designed to heighten awareness to the dangers and consequences of drunk driving and distracted driv-ing. Their follow-up programs have a powerful impact on students to reinforce the subjects that schools and parents teach them daily.

If you have any questions, or for more information, please call Patrick DeGrasse at 888.436.3394.

Arrive Alive Tour Teaches Dangers of Distracted Driving

Alumni Association Welcomes WOSC Staff to Alumni Association

Kelly Fisher, Alumni Secretary; Lana Scott, Registar; Janet Newton; Assistant Director of Financila Aid and Jeff Bour-geois, Help Desk Spc.are the newest Lifetime Members to place a leaf on the Alumni Association trees at Western.

Student evaluations of instructors for the 1st 8 week course session are March 6-12. Students are invited to complete evaluations located in the Moodle shell of their courses. The evaluations are completely anonymous. Ev-ery student completing an evaluation will be eligible to win a $50 gift card. Two winners will be selected.

The Navy Band is a Diverse OrganizationWestern Oklahoma State College presents the U.S. Navy

Band Sea Chanters in a free concert, Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. in the Herschal H. Crow Fine Arts Arts Center. Tickets are still available at the WOSC Business Office and the Altus Chamber of Commerce at 300 West Commerce. The event is free and open to the public but tickets are required with no more than 6 tickets per pa-tron distributed. The venue doors will open at 6:30 p.m. the evening of the concert. Ticket holders are asked to be seated no later than 6:45 p.m. Non-ticket holders will be admitted at 6:50 p.m. for seating.

The United States Navy Band, the Navy’s premier musi-cal organization, features five distinct ensembles that pres-ent free concerts to thousands of people throughout the country. These ensembles reflect the diversity of American music, offering everything from big band jazz and country to bluegrass, choral and band literature.

Since 1925, the Concert Band has presented concerts throughout the United States in addition to performances at White House and Pentagon ceremonies in Washington. Concerts offer patriotic, classical, martial and pops musi-cal selections.

The Sea Chanters chorus offers patriotic, jazz, nautical, classical, popular and country music. They also feature smaller ensembles such as a women’s trio. The 20-member group has appeared with the National Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

The Commodores jazz ensemble is one of the finest big bands in the country and has performed at the Montreux/Detroit, Elkhart and Newport jazz festivals. Commo-dores programs feature exciting jazz soloists and include

everything from the authentic sounds of the swing era and bebop to contemporary high-energy music.

The seven-member Country Current country-blue-grass group has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, TNN’s “Nashville Now,” the Wheeling Jamboree and the Academy of Country Music Awards show. Their repertoire includes everything from country classics to bluegrass favorites. They also feature a bluegrass quintet.

The Navy Band’s newest group, the Cruisers popular music group, takes its name from the Navy’s versatile, flex-ible, multi-missioned ship, the cruiser, and is ready to live up to its namesake by performing a variety of music rang-ing from classic rock, rhythm and blues, and today’s top 40 hits.

In addition, Navy Band chamber ensembles present re-cital programs at local libraries and concert halls.

Photo courtesy of arrivealivetour.com/unite/