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GCCC athletes looking to top last year's banner seasons
Published 9/12/2009 in GCCC Anniversary
By MIKE KESSINGER
Three top 10 finishes in national events. Three Region 6 championships. Three conference titles.
The 2008-09 year in athletics was one for the books at Garden City Community College. It was a year unlike any other in the school's history. As the college celebrates it's 90th birthday, the athletic programs will be out to progress even more.
"With the success we had last year in our athletic department, expectations have kind of gotten bigger around here," Broncbusters' head men's basketball coach Kris Baumann said. "I think it's created a lot more excitement."
It would come as no surprise with the success of athletics that expectations are high, but could the new school year bring as much success as it did a year ago?
"I think everybody was happy with the athletic department as a whole last year," men's soccer coach Stephen Gorton said. "I guess it's the same way we feel (in soccer), there's expectations, so hopefully everyone can do well again and carry the tradition of the Broncbuster athletic program."
Along with men's soccer and basketball teams, the GCCC men's cross country team went to a national event, and each program had success. The cross country team placed third in the nation, while the soccer team finished fourth and the basketball team sixth. Added to the success of those three programs is the baseball team that won it's first outright Jayhawk Conference Western Division title in 21 years.
"Garden City -- it's a national name. Anywhere you go in the country, people know about Garden City athletics," Baumann said. "Football, basketball, soccer, cross country, baseball, I mean anywhere you go, Garden City's made a pretty good name for itself just because of the athletes and coaches it's had through the years."
At least through its recent history, GCCC athletics may be known the best by its football program that has finished runner-up in the NJCAA national title game twice. In 2003, the Lady Busters basketball team placed fourth at the national tournament. The only sport the Busters have a national title in is wrestling, which is no longer a program at GCCC.
As much success as GCCC enjoyed with the three national places and conference title by the baseball program, there was more success reached. The women's soccer program, in its fourth year of existence like the men's team, had its first winning season. The women's cross country team placed 12th in the nation. In the spring, the Lady Busters softball team reached the championship game of the Region 6 tournament, falling a win short of being the fourth program to advance to nationals. And in track and field, the Busters picked up a couple of All-Americans at the national meet in Hutchinson.
In this new school year, GCCC athletics will hope to keep its momentum. GCCC has just one new coach as Alaura Sharp took over women's basketball in late March.
"It's a new year," Baumann said. "The great thing about junior college is about at the time when you get kids in the right frame of mind and have them playing the way you want them, sometimes you have to let them go, and you have to bring in a new group and teach them everything."
What lies ahead for GCCC is unknown, but the athletic programs are excited about it, and the pressure for the same kind of success isn't something coaches dwell on.
"Not really pressure, but you just put yourself with high expectations," Gorton said. "Not that you get high expectations from other people or feel pressure from other people, but just yourself. Yeah, when you do get that far, you want more."
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