Abbey Excellence

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer Haleigh Evans

The Belmont Abbey wrestling team has seen a few coaching changes in the past year. The previous head coach, Kenn Caudell, left the program in Spring of 2023 to pursue other avenues. Following Coach Caudell’s departure, the assistant coach at the time, Randy Deangelo, was promoted to head coach. Deangelo is only the second head coach in program history.

The team also hired a familiar face as the new assistant coach, Scott Bosak. While new to the group of athletes on the team, Bosak is no stranger to Belmont Abbey. Bosak competed on the wrestling team for two seasons after transferring to the Abbey from Cornell. He graduated from Belmont Abbey in 2016 and was among the first All-Americans for the Belmont Abbey Wrestling team.

Under the direction of Deangelo and Bosak, the Crusaders had 19 athletes named to the Fall 2023 Conference Carolina’s Presidential Honor Roll, 5 athletes received Academic All-Conference honors, and the team ended the regular season with a record of 7-7. During the postseason, 10 athletes competed at the Super Region 2 tournament to qualify for the National Tournament. At the regional tournament, the team had two athletes qualify for the national tournament.

Check out the wrestling team next season in the Wheeler Center!

This article was originally posted in the Spring 2024, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue here.

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer Kendra Kerr

The Belmont Abbey Cheerleading team’s season recently came to an end. As part of the cheerleading team, I decided to interview my teammate Zoe Espinoza. Zoe is a sophomore, and this year has been her first year on the cheerleading team.

 

What made you want to join the cheerleading team?

My friend Lacey Felton was on the Cheer team, and she told me about how fun and exciting it was and how I could start off as the Cheer Manager and then become a cheerleader and learn throughout the way. However, I ended up becoming a cheerleader while still learning along the way.

What’s been your most difficult challenge?

The hardest challenge has been learning to keep going no matter what. Being a base has its challenges, especially when your teammate/friend is a flyer, and you have to be careful when they are up in the air because if you are not careful to catch the flyer, they are in potential danger. I hate having to see any of my friends in pain or get injured over something I could have prevented as their base.

What’s something you would tell someone that’s interested in joining the team?

Honestly, it is definitely a fun thing to do, and I enjoyed every part of being a part of the cheer team. We are a tight group of friends, and we all have our ups and downs, but we always come together at the end.

What’s been your favorite memory?

Going to competition has to be my favorite memory, and being supported by my teammates through a very nerve-racking time. Especially since it was my first cheer competition ever! I didn’t know what I was expecting, but being supported and uplifted by my team really helped push me through my fears and excel. I believe we also bonded throughout our time at the competition and cheering for the women’s basketball team who made it to the conference.

 

Come and support the cheerleading team next year at the women’s and men’s basketball games!

This article was originally posted in the Spring 2024, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue here.

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer Olivia Ivey

There is no question that Belmont Abbey Women’s Soccer had a historic year during their 2023 Fall season. Their 11-3-4 record (8-1-3 conference) was impressive, to say the least. They were regular season Conference Carolina’s champions, advanced to the conference tournament final and some might even say robbed of an NCAA tournament bid.

The Crusaders only allowed 27 goals throughout the entire season, 14 being within conference play. A big role in allowing very few goals in this season was the Crusader’s strong defense. A key player in this defensive back line was junior center-back Mia Muckenthaler.

Muckenthaler is undeniably a stand-out player for the Crusaders. Her ability to read the game helps her play the right balls into her offense, read the pass and next move of the opposing offense. Having tallied 4,983 minutes for the Crusaders in her career, Muckenthaler is an intimidator for any offense she faces. When asked about her feelings going into the season, Muckenthaler said, “I think going into the season, I definitely had a goal of getting an All-Conference award since I didn’t get any last year. I wanted to work really hard to prove something to myself and to the team.”

This article was originally posted in the Spring 2024, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue here.