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athletics today Hicks and Brown Face Senior Year Challenge Last year, Michael Hicks and Corey Brown were a big part of one of the most successful Mules basketball teams in recent memory. Now as seniors, they are looking for even more success. The challenge for them is to become leaders of this year’s team. When the Mules coaching staff recruited Hicks and Brown from Tennessee, they saw specific qualities that they liked in each player and some similarities. Both were athletic, had good quickness and shot the ball well. “In Corey’s case, we were looking for a point guard. Mike was more a scorer,” said Mules head coach Kim Anderson. Mules assistant coach Brad Loos spotted the two first, when they were playing in a junior college all-star game. He convinced them to visit campus. Hicks and Brown liked what they saw and signed with the Mules. Their impact was immediate. The pair helped the Mules to a 24-7 record, a conference tournament title and an appearance in the regional tournament. Hicks received firstteam All-MIAA honors and was named MIAA Tournament MVP. He was a second-team Daktronics All-Region selection. Brown was second-team All-MIAA and an All-MIAA Tournament Team selection. This summer, the two worked out to become more well-rounded players. Hicks worked on all aspects of his game while Brown focused on his jump shot, aided by daily sessions with Loos. Even with their success last season, Hicks and Brown are determined to help lead the Mules to even greater things this season. They want to win more games and go further in the Mules Basketball heads into the holidays ranked #10 in the first regular season NCAA-Division II poll, led by seniors Michael Hicks, above, a preseason All-America selection, and Corey Brown, stronger and quicker than ever this year. NCAA tournament. They realize that will take both skills and leadership. “I have to be a leader this year on and off the court,” Brown said. “The guys kind of look up to me, and when I tell them to do something, they listen.” Hicks and Brown gained valuable experience last year as juniors. Hicks will need that experience to help the younger players get used to playing at this level. Anderson expects to see both seniors step up and lead the team this year. “I think they both have gotten a lot of attention,” he said. “I think it is justified in many respects but what they have to understand now is that the bull’s eye is on their backs. They may not score as many points, but they can play as good a defense. They can get as many or more rebounds, make fewer mistakes and lead this basketball team. “That is what I look for from them,” Anderson said. “I think if they do that, they will have a very successful year.” Anderson notes Hicks and Brown are two great guys with different personalities. “Corey is a quiet young man,” he said. “He works extremely hard, is very tough; an excellent basketball player, just an excellent person. Mike is more outgoing, but plays with every bit of the passion that Corey does. Mike tends to have more ups and downs.” Along with their expanded leadership roles, Hicks and Brown will each play a different position on the floor. Hicks will play some small forward, and Brown will sometimes play off guard. Even though Brown sees this as a challenge, he believes he can adapt. He played off guard in high school but moved to the point guard when he played at Volunteer State Community College. Hicks and Brown are both happy with the choice they made to come to CMSU. Hicks is a mass communication major and Brown is majoring in recreation. Brown, who came here because of the coaches and the good educational opportunity, said he wouldn’t change a thing. “I love the experience here; it’s great,” Hicks said. Anderson thinks their personalities complement each other well on and off the court, and he hopes that will help make the Mules successful this season. “Corey plays hard all of the time; he’s very tough. He has been through a lot of adversity and he has overcome it,” Anderson said. “I think Mike is a young man who loves to play the game and is very competitive. He has a desire to win that I think is very special. In his case, he is a guy who hates to lose, and he seems to rise when times get tough. “They are both very special individuals,” he said. “I’m happy that we’ve had the chance to coach them here.” — David Rohrbach page 10 central today winter 2005
World Record Belongs to CMSU Grad As a student at Central Missouri in the 1980s, Mark Curp found opportunity and ran with it, literally. Coming from a farming community and a high school without cross country, Curp became a four-time All-America runner at Central Missouri. He achieved even greater running success, however, after graduating from CMSU with a bachelor’s degree in 1981 and a master’s in 1982. Exactly 20 years ago, Curp won the Philadelphia Distance Run half-marathon and set a world record for the distance. Curp’s record of 1 hour and 55 seconds has been surpassed 10 times by athletes from other countries. However, his Philadelphia run is still the fastest ever by an American athlete on a record quality course. In fact, Curp is the only American to crack the 61-minute barrier, something which has been done 249 times globally since he became the first in 1985. “That the record still holds is somewhat surprising especially with the number of big runners out there,” said Curp, who was featured in the Sept. 15 issue of Race Results Weekly. Curp didn’t have any secret strategy for the race. Earlier that Mules fans saw a new look this fall, thanks to a summer project to install new turf on Vernon Kennedy field. During halftime of the homecoming game, Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, far left, and CMSU President Aaron Podolefsky, far right, thanked three of the donors who helped finance the $800,000 turf project. They are Chuck Simmons, center left, and Margaret and Adrian Harmon, center right. With the state-ofthe-art synthetic Sprinturf, refinished track and newly painted Mules logos, Walton Stadium never looked better. Mark Curp’s half-marathon time set a world record 20 years ago that still stands today. summer he had won the Big 7 Mile in Iowa and he wanted another victory, especially over Michael Musyoki of Kenya, the 15-K world record holder. Curp got to the finish line two seconds ahead of Musyoki. His world record held for five years until Dionicio Ceron of Mexico broke it on the same course in Philadelphia in 1990, running 1:00:46. In 1993, American Todd Williams broke Curp’s time with a run of 1:00.11 at the Tokyo City Half-Marathon, but statisticians ruled the course didn’t have sufficient elevation loss for record-setting purposes. So, Curp’s record continues to stand. “I have to say it was my top performance,” said Curp, who also owns several CMSU track records — for the two-mile and 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Curp lives in Lee’s Summit with his wife of 10 years, Terri. He works for American Century Investments as manager of a customer service team. He is the father of five children, ranging in age from 20 years to 9 months. Both Curp and his younger sister, Darla Curp Moberly, have been inducted into the CMSU Athletic Hall of Fame. Darla ran for the Jennies from 1982-1986 and won the 3,000-meter run national title in 1986. Curp never won a national title at CMSU but earned nine All-America awards. Curp said he never intended to set a world record. He said he was with the leaders in the first part but started to fall back less than halfway through. “At the 10-K point, I almost fell off the pack. They got three seconds on me.” Knowing he didn’t have a strong kick to finish the race, he made his move in the last mile. “It ended up that my last mile was my best of the race.” Turf Donors Thanked at Homecoming athletics today Mules Wrestling The Mules wrestling squad and head coach Robin Ersland are looking for a breakout year this season. “Our biggest strong point is also our biggest weakness,” he said. “We are a young team, with only about three to four seniors who will be starting.” The Mules hope their youth will help obtain their annual goals and achieve something never done in CMSU history. “We want to go out and win the region this season,” Ersland said. “We want to have at least three to five All-Americans, win a regional title and go to the national tournament. We want to win the entire thing. That has never been done before with this program.” Mules Basketball Mules basketball is coming into the season ranked #10 in Street & Smith’s College Basketball Preview and #16 by Division II Bulletin. With five returning seniors, head coach Kim Anderson expects to see a tight race. “Several of the teams that finished a little lower last year have reloaded and gotten better. The top teams are always going to be there. The MIAA remains one of the best conferences in Division II,” he said. Jennies Basketball After tasting post-season play last year, the Jennies are returning for the full meal deal. With a solid nucleus of players returning and a new extensive, off-season weight conditioning program, the Jennies hope to claim the conference title. Head coach Dave Slifer plans to use a similar style of play, building on the team’s ability to press with a few new wrinkles. “We established the press last year and now we should have some quicker, stronger kids that will allow us to swarm the ball even better,” he said. Slifer believes the MIAA will be tough this year. He expects Washburn, Emporia, Missouri Western and CMSU to compete for the top spots. winter 2005 central today page 11
Page 1 and 2: winter 2005, vol. 5 no. 3 a publica
Page 3 and 4: campus today campus today IN THIS S
Page 5 and 6: campus today Archives Named for McC
Page 7 and 8: campus today Today’s Gen. Y about
Page 9: athletics today Immortal Moments (c
Page 13 and 14: development today IN THIS SECTION:
Page 15 and 16: development today Presidents Societ
Page 17 and 18: homecoming 2005 Thousands of CMSU a
Page 19 and 20: her doctoral adviser at the Univers
Page 21 and 22: Now Is a Very Exciting Time for CMS
Page 23 and 24: alumni today Sanders Hits the Blues
Page 25 and 26: alumni today What a great day to be
Page 27 and 28: alumni today Arizona Alumni Reconne
Page 29 and 30: Patrick Sehorn ’70, ’74 and his
Page 31 and 32: class notes Midwestern Theological
Page 33 and 34: Seongnsm City, Kyounggi-Do, Korea,
Page 35 and 36: alumni today CMSU’s alumni trip t

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