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Scholarship Created to Remember Student

Mackenzie McDermott

Family and friends established the Mackenzie Kathleen McDermott Memorial Scholarship Fund in loving memory of the Truman student who passed away in October 2014. Mackenzie was a junior from Springfield, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo., majoring in both English and sociology/anthropology.

Mackenzie’s parents, Stacy Pratt McDermott and Kevin McDermott, chose to create a scholarship fund at Truman to honor their daughter’s memory and to provide financial support for future generations of Truman students who, like Mackenzie, possess a passion for creative writing. The fund will provide annual scholarship support for a Truman student majoring or minoring in creative writing. It is the first Foundation scholarship for creative writing students.

A number of benefits organized by her friends and family have helped the fund reach the endowment level. One benefit, “Music for Mac,” was held in St. Louis and was organized by co-workers of Mackenzie’s father Kevin at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This benefit provided an opportunity for friends and family to share one of Mackenzie’s great loves–music–while also supporting her scholarship with more than $2,500 in gifts.

The Mackenzie Kathleen McDermott Memorial Scholarship will make its inaugural award in the fall. The scholarship has already received more than $18,000 from nearly 150 gifts since its creation.

Estate Gift Salutes Family Doctor

The Dr. Samuel Lloyd Simpson Scholarship Fund was established in 2014 by members of his family and a bequest from the estate of his daughter, Betty Jo Simpson Oswald (’69, ’72).

Simpson was a well-known country doctor who practiced in the Leonard, Novelty, Bethel and Shelbina areas for many years, providing health care to rural and community residents. During his 30 years in practice, Simpson, who passed away in 1950, officiated the births of more than 2,500 babies, having never lost a mother.

The Simpson family has a deep history with the University. Betty Jo received Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Arts degrees. Her son and daughter, Sam Duncan (’70) and Deborah Coco (’72), are also graduates.

The scholarship will support full-time Truman students who are natives of Shelby County, Mo. The scholarship will be fortified with additional gifts from Sam Duncan and matching gifts from his former employer, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Bell Family Foundation Honors Kirksville Roots with Scholarship Gift

Lola Gordon Bell

Truman has received a $50,000 grant from the Bell Family Foundation of San Francisco, Calif., to establish an endowed scholarship program for students studying computer science.

The gift was made to honor the late Lola Gordon Bell, a 1923 graduate of Northeast Missouri State Teachers College, and Sharon Bell Smith, a 1961 graduate, respectively the mother and sister of the foundation’s founder, C. Gordon Bell of San Francisco. The Lola Bell and Sharon Bell Smith Computer Science Scholarship will be awarded to computer science students with financial need, leadership abilities and graduate school potential.

Lola Bell taught fourth grade at the Kirksville Normal School (Greenwood) and later, until the age of 90, to homebound students. Sharon Bell Smith is a retired teacher living in Bethany, Mo.

Gordon Bell was raised in Kirksville and became interested in electrical engineering by repairing appliances and wiring homes while working with the family business, Bell Electric. He earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering from MIT and was an early employee of the Digital Equipment Corporation, eventually serving as the vice president of research and development.

Sharon Bell Smith

An entrepreneur and investor, some of Bell’s career activities have included serving on the faculty of Carnegie-Mellon University as well as being the first National Science Foundation assistant director of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate. He was also a public policy advisor and researcher at Microsoft Research. George H.W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology in 1991.

Bell co-founded the Computer Museum in Boston, Mass., and is a founding board member of its successor, the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.

In the fall of 2013, Bell returned to Kirksville to meet with Truman computer science students and faculty.

Cross Country

Brad Hart

The Bulldog men were led by senior Brad Hart who earned all-conference honors with a sixth-place finish at the GLVC Championships in November. Hart was the first Bulldog runner to cross the finish line in all seven races in the fall and was the first overall runner in both the Haskell Indian Nations Invite and the St. Louis Fall Cross Country Classic. He was second in Truman’s home triangular meet with Lindenwood (Mo.) and Missouri S&T and earned all-Midwest region honors, finishing 23rd at the NCAA Regional. Freshman Jordan Wheeler was the second Bulldog runner in all seven events.

Laura Tarantino

The women won three team titles and sophomore Laura Tarantino was the first Truman runner in each fall race with an individual title at the Haskell Indian Invite. The Bulldogs won the season-opening home triangular meet with Lindenwood and Missouri S&T and then finished first at Haskell and the St. Louis Fall Classic. Truman was sixth at the GLVC Championships with Tarantino just missing all-conference honors with a 16th place overall finish. Senior Emma Trenhaile and freshmen Jesse Dinkins, Michaela Hylen and Victoria Soncasie were among the top runners on the team in 2015.

Golf

A trio of top-three finishes highlighted a strong fall season for the Bulldog women’s golf team, as Truman got strong play across the board in four tournaments this September and October.

After opening the season with a sixth-place finish at the William Jewell Fall Tune-Up, the Bulldogs went for third at both Millikin (Ill.) and Nebraska Wesleyan before capping the season with a second-place finish at the Illinois Springfield Salisbury Challenge. Led by a pair of Barmettlers, (Nicolle, freshman; Kim, junior), the Bulldogs recorded 11 total top-15 finishes as Riley Keltner and Courtney Cisler completed a quartet that competed in all seven rounds.

The Bulldogs, under the direction of head coach Clint Fitzpatrick, will pick back up with action this spring, which includes the first Sam Lesseig Invitational–to be held April 19-20 at the Kirksville Country Club.

Soccer

Alexis Heffernan and Caitlyn Stephan

The Bulldog women’s soccer team captured its 20th straight season of double-figure victories in 2014, making a run to the Great Lakes Valley Conference semifinals and finishing with an overall record of 13-5-2.

Truman was led this season by a trio of all-GLVC performers in junior forward Alexis Heffernan, senior defender Lauren Seawright and junior defender Jessica Hanson. Heffernan was the team leader in goals (10), points (23) and shots (80), raising her career total to 19 goals in 54 matches. Meanwhile, Seawright and Hanson helped anchor a young Bulldog defense behind 11 shutouts in 20 matches this year. The tandem started every match this season and helped Truman’s two freshman goalkeepers face just 175 shots (9.2 per match) and 82 shots on goal (4.3 per match).

Both Heffernan and Seawright also earned NSCAA all-region honors, with each picking up the awards for the second straight season. Heffernan also garnered first-team all-region honors from Daktronics.

The Bulldogs, under the direction of head coach Mike Cannon, will return eight starters for the 2015 season that will begin at home on Sept. 4-6.

Zach Hollstrom

The Bulldog men’s soccer team got out to a fast start in 2014 but came out on the wrong side of a handful of tight contests down the stretch, as Truman went 5-11-1 this fall on the pitch.

Truman jumped out to a 3-0-1 start, posting four shutouts and earning seven quick points in conference play. However, as mid-October hit, the Bulldogs struggled to score and dropped their final six games of the regular season to just miss out on the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament.

Junior Corey Nolte led the Bulldogs out the midfield with four goals, while senior Brandon Visonnavong added two goals on just six shots. Nine other Bulldogs found the scoring column, while senior Drew Garrone posted a 1.51 goals-against average in net with 17 starts.

The Bulldogs, under the guidance of head coach Duke Cochran, will return six starters for the 2015 campaign, which will begin on the road on Sept. 4-6.

Tennis

Jake Olhausen

The Bulldog men’s tennis team competed in four duals and a pair of tournaments during the fall portion of their schedule. The team was 1-3 in the duals with an 8-1 victory over Westminster (Mo.) College on Sept. 30. Returning all-conference player Jake Ohlhausen and fellow senior Griffin Smith led the team in singles wins during the fall and the duo was 5-2 playing in the top doubles position.

Holly Cantalupo

Sophomore Marisa Thome led the women in their fall season with a 6-2 record in singles matches. In doubles, the Bulldog tandem of junior Holly Cantalupo and freshman Lindsey Schlichting led the squad with a 4-2 record. The team dropped both dual matches in the fall.

Volleyball

The Truman volleyball team capped its strongest season in head coach Ben Briney’s tenure on the sideline, as the Bulldogs finished the 2014 fall season at 29-4 overall, reached the NCAA tournament for the 15th time in school history and captured the program’s first Great Lakes Valley Conference title in just its second season in the league.

The Bulldogs earned a host of accolades at both the team and individual levels with the program winning both the GLVC tournament and regular season titles along with earning the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Div. II Midwest regional. The squad was the only team in the Midwest region to post a perfect 3-0 record at the regional crossover event in mid-October, and the team’s 21-match win streak that spanned from Sept. 10 through Nov. 1 was one of the longest in school history.

On an individual level, senior Allie Brak was named the GLVC’s Player of the Year, while fellow senior Abby Moser earned the league’s Libero of the Year honors. The duo was joined on all-GLVC teams by senior Meghan Zimmerman, junior Ali Patterson and sophomore Kayla Bastian, with Briney picking up the GLVC Coach of the Year award. All five picked up some sort of all-region honors as well between either the American Volleyball Coaches Association or Daktronics.

The Bulldogs will return four starters and nine letter-winners for the 2015 campaign that will begin in August.

Trio of Football Players Leave Mark on Program

Jacob Lamp

Nic Abbate, Jacob Lamp and Garrett White concluded their Bulldog football playing careers with some outstanding accomplishments.

Abbate and the Bulldogs set a new single-season high with 76 tackles for loss this past season and for a career. Abbate topped the career charts with 41 during his four seasons. He finished eighth in career quarterback sacks with 18 and was a two-time all-conference selection.

Lamp set the Truman career punting average record with 40.6 yards per punt that was previously held by Robert Fletcher in 1979. Lamp was second in the GLVC in punting average in 2014 at 40.5 yards per punt in 54 attempts with 17 inside the opponents’ 20. He had 11 punts over 50 yards and had a season-long 70-yard boot against Langston (Okla.) on Sept. 13. Both of his single-season averages as punter rank in the top six in Truman single-season history. Lamp earned his second straight first-team all-conference honor.

Jarrett Anderson (left) with Garrett White (right)

White’s 1,166 rushing yards in 2014 were the most by a Bulldog back since Jarrett Anderson’s school record total of 2,140 set back in 1996. He set a new GLVC record with 229 yards on the ground in a victory against Southwest Baptist on Nov. 1 and led the conference in yards per game at 116.6. For his career, White finished fifth on the all-time rushing charts with 2,829 yards and was fourth all-time in both rushing touchdowns (33) and total touchdowns (38) joining Anderson (1993-96), Dale “Paley” Mills (1957-60) and Chad Guthrie (1989-92).

Volleyball All-Americans

Ali Patterson

For the second straight season, volleyball student-athletes Allie Brak and Ali Patterson were named all-Americans by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, as Brak catapulted to the Div. II second-team, while Patterson was a repeat selection to the honorable mention squad.

Already down as the 13th and 14th all-Americans in program history, the duo becomes just the seventh and eighth all-time at Truman to merit repeat selections on the national award list. The Truman program continues to be one of the nation’s leaders in all-America recognition, ranking in the top-15 of all Div. II programs behind a combined 22 all-America awards from 14 different student-athletes.

Brak capped her four-year career with 1,549 kills—seventh-most all-time at Truman—and 1,263 digs, becoming just the seventh player all-time to surpass 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs at Truman. She is a combined five-time all-region pick from both Daktronics and the AVCA, having recorded 85 matches with double-figure kills throughout her career.

In addition, the duo joined seniors Abby Moser and Meghan Zimmerman as first-team all-Midwest region earners, also from the AVCA. Both Moser and Zimmerman were recognized as all-region for the first time.

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