{"id":2929,"date":"2021-06-03T14:24:13","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T14:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/?p=2929"},"modified":"2021-06-09T13:59:27","modified_gmt":"2021-06-09T13:59:27","slug":"milestones-broken-records-a-bittersweet-farewell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/2021\/06\/03\/milestones-broken-records-a-bittersweet-farewell\/","title":{"rendered":"Milestones, Broken Records, & a Bittersweet Farewell"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/Tom_Sawyer_Hero_Image.jpg” title_text=”Tom_Sawyer_Hero_Image” _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-4px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Tom Sawyer Retirement<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

After leading Winona State University’s football program<\/span>\u00a0for the last 25 years<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>WSU\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0renowned football coach\u00a0<\/span>Tom Sawyer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>will retire following the Fall 2021 season<\/span>. <\/span>Known as a well-respected, down-to-earth, approachable leader,\u00a0<\/span>Sawyer\u00a0<\/span>holds every Warrior football coaching record and has been named the NSIC Football Coach of the Year five times during his journey of leading one of the NCAA Division II football\u2019s most consistently successful programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has\u00a0<\/span>built something remarkable here at Winona State: a great, competitive football program where student-athletes succeed in the classroom and in the stadium,\u201d WSU President Scott Olson said.\u00a0<\/span>Keep reading all about\u00a0<\/span>Tom Sawyer\u2019s impact<\/span><\/a>\u00a0at Winona State.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_divider color=”rgba(229,229,229,0)” divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”8px” _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”2px||2px||false|false”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-4px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

A\u00a0<\/span><\/b>M<\/span><\/b>ilestone for Coach Eisner<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Earlier this year, WSU\u2019s Head Basketball Coach Todd\u00a0<\/span>Eisner\u00a0<\/span>hit a milestone worthy of recognition. Over the\u00a0<\/span>course of 23 seasons at five different locations, Eisner in February hit the marker of 500 wins<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 which in itself is a testament to Eisner\u2019s desire to succeed.\u00a0<\/span>Eisner\u2019s 500 wins consist of 79 at Viterbo, 225 at Bellevue, 16 at Benedictine College, 96 at Midland and 84 at Winona State. <\/span>Check out the\u00a0<\/span>recap of the game<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that marked down 500 in the history books.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/thumbnail_Image-5.jpg” title_text=”thumbnail_Image (5)” _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_divider color=”rgba(229,229,229,0)” divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”8px” _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”2px||2px||false|false”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/Pickrain-1000.jpg” title_text=”Pickrain 1,000″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-4px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Basketball Player Reaches\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Rare Landmark\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

With under a minute left in what was called one of the best women\u2019s basketball game<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0played in McCown Gymnasium, player Allie\u00a0<\/span>P<\/span>ickrain<\/span>\u00a0scored a long-range three-p<\/span>ointer that not only shifted the momentum of the game in the Warriors’ favor, but also put her in the 1,000 point club<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>riveting<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>February\u00a0<\/span>game<\/span><\/a>, in which\u00a0<\/span>Pickrain<\/span>\u00a0scored a total of 20 points in, ended in the Warriors beating the Mavericks\u00a0<\/span>95 to 91.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_divider color=”rgba(229,229,229,0)” divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”8px” _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”2px||2px||false|false”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-4px||||false|false”]<\/p>\n

All-Time Wins\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Softball Record<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Broken<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The record for pitcher with the most career wins in Winona State University softball history has been broken. <\/span>After holding the record for the last<\/span> 19 years, <\/span>current\u00a0<\/span>WSU\u00a0<\/span>A<\/span>ssistant\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>oach\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>Associate Nursing Professor <\/span>Cyndy Jones<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>has passed the baton to\u00a0<\/span>Jordyn Kleman, who in April surpassed Jones with her 86th win of her career in a victory over Southwest Minnesota State.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kleman has re-written the record books in her time at Winona State and currently has the second most victories among active players in all of DII softball.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> Read more about the\u00a0<\/span>career changing game<\/span><\/a> for Kleman.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_divider color=”rgba(229,229,229,0)” divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”8px” _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”2px||2px||false|false”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/IMG_0746.jpg” title_text=”IMG_0746″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-4px||||false|false”]<\/p>\n

Graduate Assistants Stepped Up during Challenging Times<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Between navigating sports during a pandemic, staffing changes and the absence of\u00a0<\/span>two important positions \u2013 the latter be<\/span>ing for v<\/span>ery good reas<\/span>ons \u2013 WSU’s Athletic Department has had a uniquely challenging year. <\/span>But when adversity hits, true Warriors step up in a big way, and for the Athletics Department that was three Graduate Assistants Malissa <\/span>LeClaire<\/span>, Hannah McGlone, and Joel Krenz.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.8.1″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody grabbed an oar to row the boat,\u201d Director of Athletic Communications Pete Watkins<\/span>\u00a0sai<\/span>d<\/span>.<\/span> I<\/span>n between taking classes for the<\/span>ir\u00a0<\/span>graduate degrees, the three absorbed larger\u00a0responsibilities<\/span>\u00a0that helped carry the load during a time when a new staff member was transitioning\u00a0<\/span>in,<\/span>\u00a0and other<\/span>\u00a0positions had<\/span>\u00a0either<\/span>\u00a0been temporarily absent or cut for budget reasons<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>LeClaire<\/span>\u00a0and McGlone, who were assistants to the Women\u2019s Basketball team and the Volleyball team, helped take over responsibilities when an associate head coach a<\/span>nd an assistant coach were\u00a0<\/span>both\u00a0<\/span>taking well deserved time off for maternity leave.\u00a0<\/span>The two did everything from\u00a0<\/span>develop travel itineraries<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>ma<\/span>king<\/span>\u00a0sure players were at bus<\/span>ses<\/span>\u00a0at the right time,\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>ensuring players had food\u00a0<\/span>prepared<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>at the\u00a0<\/span>right times.<\/span> And all that\u2019s not to include helping the team follow COVID protocols, like regular testing and monitoring results. <\/span>“<\/span>For them in particular to pull that into their duties is really amazing,\u201d <\/span>Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator Melanie Brunsdon said<\/span>, adding that traveling during COVID was a task of its own<\/span>. \u201c<\/span>That can\u2019t be overstated.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Krenz, who was a Sports Info Graduate Assistant, helped in an entirely different, but just as impactful way. While\u00a0<\/span>Watkins was getting settled\u00a0<\/span>into his new position\u00a0<\/span>during the beginning of the\u00a0<\/span>pandemic<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Krenz stepped in to help with\u00a0<\/span>the transition and to take on responsibilities of positions that were no longer there<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Krenz had been helping with the Athletic Department since Fall of 2019 and\u00a0<\/span>with the experience of\u00a0<\/span>two seasons prior to the pandemic<\/span>, h<\/span>e used that knowledge and skill to help him adapt on the\u00a0<\/span>spot and\u00a0<\/span>be solutions-oriented<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHe\u2019s very much a bridge between positions that are no longer here,\u201d Watkins said. \u201cHe\u2019s really done a great job of rolling with the punches when he had to and having a good attitude.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>The help all three graduate assistants gave was essential to the department\u2019s ability to make it through a challenging time.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThey knocked it out of the park,\u201d Watkins said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tom Sawyer Retirement\u00a0 After leading Winona State University’s football program\u00a0for the last 25 years,\u00a0WSU\u2019s\u00a0renowned football coach\u00a0Tom Sawyer\u00a0will retire following the Fall 2021 season. Known as a well-respected, down-to-earth, approachable leader,\u00a0Sawyer\u00a0holds every Warrior football coaching record and has been named the NSIC Football Coach of the Year five times during his journey of leading one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":2933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[966,66,967,968,880,56,938,881,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-achievements","category-athletic-news","category-campus-news","category-community","category-featured-post","category-features","category-hp-recent-post-2","category-news","category-wsu-magazine"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/Tom_Sawyer_Hero_Image.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PQMT-Lf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2929"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3365,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2929\/revisions\/3365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}