Jake Rinehart from Highmore SD

Eastern Wyoming College and The Lancer Rodeo Team would like to congratulate former student-athlete Jake Rinehart from Highmore, SD.
Jake has just qualified for his first PRCA National Finals Rodeo which will be December 6-15 in Las Vegas, NV. Jake will be competing in the steer wrestling. Best of luck Jake, we are proud of your accomplishments.

Welding Class goes to N. Antelope Coal Mine

Pictures from the Welding Department’s – North Antelope Coal Mine Tour outside of Wright,WY. Grant lined up the tour on a PM (Preventative Maintenance) day for the dragline so we got to get up close and personal with this multi-story monster. The largest percentage of time and money from mining goes into land reclamation which places every detail (elevation, trees, and large rocks) back into their prospective places every few years as the mine pit shifts and moves onward.

Call to visit our welding department. 1.866.327.8996 and ask for Jami Christensen or Mell Cooper at EWC

EWC Adds Women’s Basketball Program and Coach

The Eastern Wyoming College Board of Trustees recently voted to add a women’s basketball program and have hired Tom Andersen to Coach the new Lady Lancer program.

Coach Andersen has 20 years of college coaching experience, the last 13 years at Chadron State College in Chadron, NE. During his tenure at CSC, seven of his thirteen teams qualified for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs, with 3 teams reaching the RMAC Final Four. The 1994-95 team won the conference championship with a record of 22-8. His 1994-1995 team is the only CSC women’s basketball team to reach the NCAA National Playoffs.

Andersen was named RMAC Coach of the Year in 1995. He coached the only two 20 win seasons in CSC women’s basketball history, including a school record 22 wins. Andersen holds the record for the most wins in CSC women’s basketball history.

“We are very excited to have Tom Andersen to revive our women’s basketball program. His experience and ability speaks for itself,” indicates EWC Athletic Director Verl Petsch.

Andersen looks forward to the challenge of putting together a competitive team. “I am very excited to get this program going again. It is an honor and a privilege to have been selected. It will be exciting and challenging to get team on the floor this fall,” said Anderson.

“I could sense the excitement on campus about the women’s basketball program. I am also very impressed with the level of support and commitment from the EWC administration for this program.”

Persons interested in more information about the EWC women’s basketball program should contact EWC Athletic Director Verl Petsch at 307.532.8248.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tom Anderson, EWC women’s basketball coach

EWC Livestock Judging team participates in Cow Palace Competition

The Eastern Wyoming College livestock judging team recently returned from a judging competition in San Francisco, California. The team competed in The Grand National Cow Palace Collegiate Judging Competition.

Team members include Shannon Brophy, Yuma, CO; Justin Bivens, Wellington, CO; Ashlee Anderson, Glenn, MT; and Mike Flores, LaPorte, CO.

The team finished 6th high team in sheep and 8th high team in cattle.

Brophy finished in the top fifteen and Bivens finished in the top twenty-five. Flores dropped 4 points in the sheep competition and finished 9th high individual.

Livestock Judging Coach JD Sexton had the following to say about his team, “I am very proud of the team and the work they have put into this season. We competed at the Iowa Beef Expo in February and the team improved tremendously at San Francisco. The team and I are really looking forward to next fall working hard to excel at future contests.”

For more information about the EWC Livestock Judging program contact Coach JD Sexton at 307.532.8374.

Photo Caption: EWC Livestock Judging Team (l to r) Shannon Brophy, Ashlee Anderson, Justin Bivens, and Mike Flores at the Cow Palace Judging Competition in San Francisco, California.

Lancer Post Wins National Award

The Eastern Wyoming College Lancer Post strives to provide a quality publication for its student body, faculty, and community members. In the spring of 2006, the paper earned a second place award in the American Scholastic Press Association collegiate newspaper competition.
“That was the first time we entered the competition, which is actually a critiquing service,” Angie Babcock, newspaper advisor said. “We noticed that they placed us in the category of schools with enrollments over 2,500, which is probably not where we should have been; nonetheless, we felt good about how we fared. “
The comments and suggestions have paid off for the Lancer Post. Babcock entered issues of the 2006 Lancer Post to the Scholastic Press Association once again to be critiqued for awards issued in Spring, 2007.
“This year, our goal was to win a First Place award,” Babcock said. “However, we surpassed that goal, receiving First Place with Special Merit.”
According to Babcock, Lancer Post staff have won awards in every competition they have entered, most of which have been statewide or regional contests.
“This award carries the most prestige, both because it is a national award and because of the caliber and number of colleges entered,” Babcock said.
First Place with Special Merit is given to a publication that scores over 900 points and, in the opinion of the judge, is an outstanding overall example of a scholastic publication in format, content, and presentation. The Lancer Post received 975 points, achieving perfect scores in the areas of content coverage, editing and creativity, and 170 of 175 possible points in page design.
“You have an excellent school newspaper, which shows the talent of your editors, reporters, writers, photographers, layout designer and advisor,” wrote Dr. Robert Plass, contest director.
The students who can be given credit for this award are Angie Birch, Rosalee Burnitt, Andrew Davis, Tiekola Fortune, Matt Lehmitz, Tammie Lieurance, Tim McFarland, Chelsie Schaefer, Tim Naylor, Crystal Wells, and Contributing Writer Rachelle Aleman.
“These students can be very proud of their achievement,” Babcock said. “They worked hard in this class which carries only one credit hour. They are driven by their own initiative, interest, and enthusiasm. It has been my pleasure to work with them.”

Caption: Eastern Wyoming College journalism students, recipients of the American Scholastic Press Association First Place with Special Merit award for their publication The Lancer Post, were honored at the Board of Trustees meeting. Shown are, l-r, Angie Babcock, advisor, Angie Birch, Journalism Club president, Tim McFarland, Lancer Post editor, and cartoonist Tim Naylor.

EWC SkillsUSA Team

EWC SkillsUSA participated in the Wyoming SkillsUSA Championships April 23-25 in Casper with 14 students and 4 advisors attending. EWC was awarded High Scoring chapter for the fourth (4th) year in a row. All who participated represented EWC favorably by performing to their best ability, evidenced by the total medals received. Below is a list of each competition, student participant, and level of achievement (Places 1-3 received metals). The students who earned gold advance to the National SkillsUSA Championships in June and will travel to Kansas City, MO.

Carpentry
Aaron McCloud-3rd
Cody Wesch-5th

Computer Maintenance Technology
Cindy Barth-1st

Customer Service
Heather Kreiling-1st
Eva Carlton-2nd

Job Interview
Aaron McCloud-2nd
Eva Carlton-3rd
Tammie Lieurance-4th
Beth Jackson-6th
Heather Kreiling-7th
Cindy Barth-8th

Job Skills Demonstration A
Cody Wesch-2nd
Cindy Barth-3rd

Medical Math
Beth Jackson-1st

Opening and Closing Ceremonies
EWC team (Carlton, McCloud, Jackson, Kreiling, Hetland, Wesch, Barth)-1st

Precision Machine Technology
Cory Biggs-3rd

Prepared Speech
Morgan Hetland-3rd

Technical Computer Applications
Eva Carlton-1st
Morgan Hetland-2nd

Welding
Dan Yerke-1st
Travis Dunivent-4th
Kole Kidd-5th

The advisors for the team are Darci Duran, John Ely, Kristi McGuire, and Russell Pontarolo.

Mrs. Havely’s third grade class from Trail Elementary recently spent time on the EWC classroom for college enrichment activities. The students participated in a veterinary technology activity; science activities including chemistry and physics; a dorm tour; a machine shop demonstration; and a human anatomy activity where the students identified different bones. Pictured (L to R) are EWC Welding and Machine Tooling instructor Lelend Vetter, Skyler Miller and Jordan Brittan. Mr. Vetter is showing the students how to make a hammer on a lathe.

Chemistry Show at EWC

EWC chemistry instructor, Dr. Lorna Stickel, presented a chemistry show to Trail Elementary 5th graders on Tuesday, April 24th. Dr. Stickel presented a variety of experiments that enhanced science lessons the students had recently studied. This activity is designed to keep students interested in science and also to show the fun side of science. One of the many highlights of the show includes Dr. Stickel igniting a mixture of methane gas and soapy water for a quick blast. This experiment is one that receives many requests for an encore!

EWC Abstract Expressionism

Students in Karl Brake’s General Art Studio class created a large scale abstract painting as a collaborative project, in the style of Jackson Pollock. Using acrylics on a 4’x21’ swath of muslin, they worked together to weave a painted tapestry of color, texture, form, and movement.

EWC Criminal Justice Club Places at National Competition

Eastern Wyoming College’s Criminal Justice Club, Beta Upsilon Delta, traveled to Wilmington Delaware in March to compete in the American Criminal Justice Association’s 2007 National Convention. EWC Criminal Justice faculty members Rick Patterson and Larry Curtis along with eight students participated in the six-day competition.

Events included firearms, physical agility, crime scene investigation, and academic competitions. There were over 400 individuals involved in the competition, representing 98 two and four year colleges.

After the competition, EWC also found out that they were the second place chapter at the competition. EWC’s Jackie Mehrens Top Academic Award is a very prestigious award. This award is based on total points earned in academic areas.

Dr. Patterson stated, “We were very pleased with the chapter’s performance. Our students did an outstanding job of competing with students from much larger schools and represented EWC’s Criminal Justice Program very well. Ms. Mehren’s awards were especially significant. This is the second consecutive year for her to take the Top Academic Award. It is believed that she is the first to do so in the 70 year history of the organization.”

Photo Caption: EWC Criminal Justice Club students are pleased to show the trophies won at the recent national competition. Shown are back row, l-r, Matt Gutierrez, Ann Thomas, Robert Mosbacher, KC Rayburn, and Lawrence Curtis, Criminal Justice Instructor. Front row, l-r include: Dane Pearson, Pam Ellis, Mark Munoz, Jackie Mehrens, and Dr. Richard Patterson, Criminal Justice Instructor.

EWC Distinguished Alumni Award

The Eastern Wyoming College Foundation has announced that the 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient is Deborah L. Vosler from Eyota, Minnesota
(Torrington, Wyoming, April 20, 2007). . .Vosler, a graduate of Cheyenne East High School, earned an Associate of Arts degree from Eastern Wyoming College in 1977. After her two years at EWC, she transferred to Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in education. She then went on to obtain a Master of Education at South Western Oklahoma State University. Deb has been a secondary science teacher for 28 years, the first 21 at Cheyenne East High School, and since 2000, at Dover-Eyota High School in Eyota, Minnesota. She has also been the head volleyball coach for the past six years.

EWC’s Verl Petsch, Vosler’s volleyball coach while at Eastern Wyoming College nominated her for the EWC Distinguished Alumni Award, and had this to say about her accomplishments. “Deb is an over achiever! If you were evaluating her based on physical appearance, one would never believe her athletic ability. Hard work, dedication to detail, and efficiency has always been her trademark. This type of attitude has allowed Deb to take advantage of every possible opportunity. Deb was a Dean’s Honor Roll student while playing volleyball and being a manager for EWC’s women’s basketball team. During her two seasons as a member of our varsity volleyball team we posted a record of 56 wins and 15 losses.”

Following her years at EWC, Vosler continued her college volleyball career at Cameron University for two more years. During her tenure at Cameron, Vosler suffered debilitating and long-lasting knee injuries that finally resulted in the amputation of her right leg. This tragedy, however, opened a door for Deb that was completely unexpected—an invitation to play on the 2004 U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team. The team won the Para Pan American games qualifying them for the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece where they won the bronze medal.

In addition to her Paralympics bronze medal, Vosler’s tenacity and dedication to education have earned her many other awards. Induction into the Cheyenne East High School Hall of Fame, Cheyenne East High Distinguished Alumni Award, All Conference Volleyball team while at EWC, Distinguished Young Leadership Award, Community Young Leaders in America Award, National Science Foundation Presidential Award for Excellence in Secondary Science Education, Wyoming Teachers Association Outstanding Secondary Science Teacher, Who’s Who Among American Teachers in 1993, 1996, 2000, 2001 and 2004, are just some of the honors resulting from Vosler’s long list of accomplishments. She is also a member of several professional associations and is active in her church and community.

“It is indeed a great honor and privilege to be selected for the “Distinguished EWC Alumna” for 2007, especially from the esteemed institution that helped form my thinking and that I highly respect. I am grateful and feel especially humble to be selected after looking at the 17 year history of the award. Little did I know in 1977 that I would convert wholeheartedly to the life of a public school teacher completely embracing “the learning life.” My thanks go to all those who taught me, inspired me, debated me, and listened to me while I attended EWC. I am who I am today, because of the values you helped instill some thirty years ago,” says Vosler.

For more information about the Eastern Wyoming College Foundation, please contact Lynnea Bartlett at 307.532.8304.

EWC rodeo team wins at Casper College

EWC Lancer Rodeo Team brings home six championships and team title

The Eastern Wyoming College Men’s Rodeo Team dominated the Casper College rodeo held this past weekend in Casper. The men’s team won five event championships and the all-around cowboy award en route to winning the team championship for the weekend. The championship buckles were awarded to EWC for the steer wrestling, team roping, tie down roping, bull riding and all-around cowboy.
“The team did exactly what they needed to get closer to a national finals qualification,” EWC Rodeo Coach Jake Clark said. “The points earned this weekend put them in a solid second place team position.” The top two teams in each region earn a spot at the College National Finals Rodeo.
“I am incredibly proud of these student athletes,” Clark continued. “Currently we are winning first in six events. It is great to see these guys in the top of the standings at this point in the season. I know they will keep working hard and do their best to finish well.”
Junior Brad Johnson, from Reva, S.D., was a triple winner. He won the all-around cowboy title, the steer wrestling and the team roping. Johnson won the first round of the steer wrestling with a 3.8 second run. He then placed second in the short round and won the average.
“Brad is a hard worker and a good hand,” Clark said. “I’m real pleased with Brad’s performance. He is an outstanding student athlete. The competition in this region is extremely tough and to win two events in one rodeo is a great accomplishment.”
Johnson and team roping partner Jared Bilby, of Bridgeport, Neb., roped smooth to win the championship team roping title. “Jared and Brad just started roping together this spring. They seem to be a great match and have had a lot of success,” Clark said.
Sophomore Jayce Johnson, of Hemingford, Neb., won the tie down roping with two solid runs. He placed second in both rounds with a 10.3 and 11.1; quick enough to earn him the championship buckle.
“Jayce continues to lead the tie down regional standings,” Clark said. “Jayce is as solid as they get. I look forward to seeing him finish out the season.”
Jack Leiseth, of Wall, S.D., won the bull riding title. Leiseth was the only bull rider of the weekend to cover both bulls. He won the first round with 71 points and won the second round with 75 points. “I’m real proud of Jack and his accomplishment,” Clark said. “He has been working hard in the practice arena and it paid off with a championship buckle and a jump to fifth place in the regional standings.”
In addition to the championship buckles, many other student athletes placed well at the rodeo. Freshman Ty Kenner, of Woodlake, Neb., won the first round of the bareback riding with an 80 point ride. He placed second in the average, just one point away from winning the event. “Ty is an excellent bareback rider,” Clark said. “His first round ride was phenomenal.”
In the steer wrestling, Johnson’s teammates placed well right behind him. Gary Gilbert, of New Underwood, S.D., won the short round with a 3.8 second run and placed second in the average. “Gary came from the bottom of the pack this spring and is now winning the region,” Clark said.
Logan McDonald, of Hemingford, Neb., qualified for the short round in the steer wrestling.
In the team roping, Joe Dilks, of Belle Fourche, S.D., and Cord Haythorn, of Arthur, Neb., qualified for the short round.
Freshman Wylie Johnson, of North Platte, Neb., qualified for the short round in the saddle bronc riding.
In the tie down roping, Shawn White, of Oelrichs, S.D., won the first round and finished second in the average. Haythorn placed fourth in the first round of the tie down roping. Kyle McLean, of Miles City, Mont., qualified for the short round.
Freshman Spring Moore, of Farson, qualified for the short round in both the breakaway roping and the barrel racing. In the barrel racing, she placed second in the first round and second in the average.
“Spring was only two one-hundredths of a second out of the first place position,” Clark said. “She has been working with her horse really hard and it paid off for her this weekend.”
“The Lancer Rodeo Team is very dedicated and extremely eager to finish off the season,” Clark concluded.
The EWC Rodeo Team will be in Sterling, Colo. April 20-22 for the Northeastern Junior College Rodeo.
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