A Week at NCURAMS

ESPORTS

What seemed to be an ordinary Chapel service turned into an announcement that would have North Central University’s (NCU) campus buzzing with excitement. On Monday January 24th, Micahel Knipe, NCU’s athletic director, released that in the fall of 2022, NCURams would be adding another sport to it’s collection, Esports. Simply put, Esports is an organization environment to play video games competitively, either as an individual or a team. The players will receive coaching, scholarships, and a state of the art facility to be built before the fall. With the growing popularity within high schools, NCU saw plenty of opportunities for outreach and innovation. “Innovation is a core value of our department, and I cannot emphasize enough the magnitude of this decision as it relates to allowing current and future NCU E-Sport athletes to continue to grow in their unique skills and passions while striving to provide an environment that fosters holistic growth in all areas of a student-athlete’s life,” said Knipe. NCU Esports’ also are partnering with a Minneapolis based non-profit to aid in after school programs.

Be on the lookout for our next article that will go more in depth into what Esports will look like at NCU.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

It was a great weekend for Rams basketball, but particularly the women’s team as they notched their 20th win on the season, the most regular season wins in program history. NCU beat both the University of Wisconsin Superior and Northland College moving to 20-3 and 9-3 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), sitting comfortably at the #3 seed, three games ahead of #4. This upcoming weekend the Rams face off against Martin Luther College (MLC) on Friday and Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) on Saturday for senior night. NCU beat MLC previously in the season, but lost to BLC in a close match with the number one UMAC seed. Despite the outcome of any of these games, the Rams will host a UMAC playoff game Tuesday the 22nd against a to-be-determined opponent.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The NCU men’s basketball team took care of business on the road this weekend with wins over the University of Wisconsin Superior and Northland College. These two wins helped the Rams secure the #4 seed in the UMAC as they sit at 13-10 overall and 7-5 in conference. Depending on how the weekend turns out, NCU could move up in seeding, but at three games ahead of the #5 seed, they will not drop any lower. The Rams host Martin Luther College on Friday, who they beat previously, and Bethany Lutheran College (BLC), who they beat in overtime earlier in the season. Saturday’s game against BLC is slated to be senior night for NCU. And similar to the women’s basketball team, the men have also clinched a first round home UMAC playoff game on Tuesday the 22nd.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

This past weekend the Men’s and Women’s indoor track and field teams traveled to the University of Wisconsin Superior (UWS) for a meet with the hosts, UWS, the University of Northwestern, the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and the College of St. Scholastica. Some highlights of the meet included Elizabeth Loftstad placing second in both the mile run (5:42.32) and the triple jump (9.34m). For the men, Isaac Weiers tied for first in the high jump with a jump of 1.90m. Jackson Omeja finished third in the 60m run with a time of 7.39 seconds. In the 4x200m relay, NCU men’s team composed of Nehemiah Juaire, Carson Kleiber, Omeja, Derek Burgin, finished second with a time of 1:39.75.

Click here to see the full results of the meet.

The Rams will compete in the conference meet on February 25th and 26th for the final competition of the indoor season.

Go to NCURams.com for all your #DOWNTOWNU information.