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Metro Sports Report

Allante Pickens of Kirkwood drives to the basket against Nicholas Fleming of Marshalltown during Wednesday night's 84-71 victory at Johnson Hall. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion).

Pickens finds new home at Kirkwood

Thu - 15 Nov Written by Jim Ecker

Allante Pickens never planned to become a scientist when he enrolled at Missouri University of Science and Technology last year, but he's obviously a smart guy.

"That was the only scholarship offer I had," he said Wednesday night. "I took the opportunity and I took advantage of it."

Now Pickens is taking advantage of a new opportunity at Kirkwood Community College.

Pickens scored 18 points and steered the fifth-ranked Eagles to an 84-71 victory over Marshalltown Community College in a non-conference game at Johnson Hall.

Pickens averaged 11.1 points at Missouri Science and Technology as a freshman, but the Miners struggled through a 3-23 campaign and he decided to transfer.

Kirkwood recruited him in high school in Chicago, so he contacted KCC Coach Bryan Petersen about the possibility of joining the Eagles. Kirkwood needed a new point guard and Pickens needed a new school.

"This is a great program," said Pickens, who plays a lot bigger than his listed size of 5-foot-8. "I'm having fun. It's the most fun I've had in a long time. It's going to be a great year."

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Clarke bounces Mount Mercy men

Thu - 15 Nov Written by Metro Sports Report

DUBUQUE - The Mount Mercy men's basketball team fell behind by 22 points at halftime Wednesday night and lost to Clarke, 87-73, in the Heart of America Conference opener in Dubuque.

Antwain Strong led the Mustangs (2-2, 0-1) with 22 points. Bailey Basala scored 12 points and Mike Evans added 10.

Clarke (2-2, 1-0) saw five players reach double figures, with Darius Lasley leading the way with 17 points. Staci Richardson had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Clarke won the battle of the boards, 38-28.

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Mustang women fall at Clarke

Thu - 15 Nov Written by Metro Sports Report

DUBUQUE - The Mount Mercy women's basketball team lost to Clarke, 80-63, Wednesday night in the Heart of America Conference opener in Dubuque.

Brianna Thomas led the Mustangs (3-1, 0-1) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Sharice Kawakami scored 16 points.

Clarke (5-0, 1-0) had a balanced attack with five players in double figures. Faith Begin led the way with 14 points. Tina Ubl and Makenna Haase had double-doubles for the winners. Ubl finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Haase had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Clarke crushed Mount Mercy on the backboards, 52-32.

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Lindstrom, Cortes excited about NAIA races

Wed - 14 Nov Written by Jim Ecker

James Lindstrom and Vanessa Cortes could have run all the way to Cedar Rapids from their homes in California with all the miles they've registered with the Mount Mercy cross country teams during their careers.

Now Lindstrom and Cortes will be running the most significant miles of their lives - actually, kilometers - when they compete in the 63rd annual NAIA national cross country meets at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids on Friday.

The women's 5K race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., with the men's 8K race to follow at 11:30.

Lindstrom, a senior from Apple Valley, Calif., finished third at the Heart of America Conference meet two weeks ago and is aiming for All-American honors at the NAIA meet. Cortes, a junior from Bakersfield, Calif., placed fourth at the conference meet and is hoping for a solid performance as well.

There will be 36 full teams in each race, along with 93 at-large individuals in the women's contest and 83 at-large runners in the men's competition. That makes for approximately 700 runners all told.

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700 runners coming to C.R. for NAIA races

Tue - 13 Nov Written by Jim Ecker

Nearly 700 runners from 30 states will be descending upon Cedar Rapids this week for the NAIA national cross country meets at Seminole Valley Park.

The women's 5-kilometer race is set for Friday at 10:30 a.m., with the men's 8-kilometer event scheduled for 11:30.

Mount Mercy University is the host school and has received automatic berths in the championships, which feature 36 women's teams and 36 men's teams in each race along with nearly 200 individuals who qualified as at-large contestants.

Mount Mercy has been working with city officials and more than 100 community volunteers to stage the event. It's the first time the 63rd annual NAIA national meet has been held in Cedar Rapids and will bring an estimated $500,000 economic boost to the local economy.

"It's quite an enterprise," said Jamie Jimison, the director of cross country and track at Mount Mercy. "There have been a lot of cogs in the machine that have helped this thing go."

Mount Mercy has a solid cross country program, among the best in the Heart of America Conference, and Jimison is confident the national meet will boost their program in terms of exposure, recruitment and a commitment to compete on a national level.

"Mount Mercy is a small school, but we have aspirations to do big things," he said. "I think this is a sign of what our goals are.

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