2015 was a year full of highlights and disappointments for Central sports. Many teams thrived under the pressure, as their year of competition seemed to never get easier.

Baseball

Ending their season with a 14-8 win over Lewis and Clark State College, Central got the opportunity to celebrate both the last game of the season and the last game of six Wildcat seniors.

It was a season full of highlights and great players for the Wildcats. The baseball team had Kasey Bielec, who led the GNAC in hitting with a .409 batting average. Central also supported three players hitting above .300.

This is an incredible feat considering their long season, full of ups and downs.

Perhaps the best moment of this season was when Bielec, Darren Honeysett and Zach Johnson were all selected for the 2015 All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference First Team, with Honeysett picking up the honor of GNAC Newcomer of the Year.

This is a recognition that gives the Wildcats respect across the board.

When it comes to recognizing talent, all schools and competitors have noticed Bielec’s batting average of .409 and Honeysett’s average of .350.

Bielec’s is graduating this year, but his talent will be greatly missed by the team.

At the end of the year, the Wildcats finished one game below .500, with a record of 24-25 overall and a record of 14-18 in the conference.

This was a disappointment for the team. At the beginning of the year, the Wildcats were picked to finish first in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, according to the preseason coaches’ poll.

Softball

The Central softball team ended their competitive season with the ugly statistic of 20-23. Only winning three of their last 14 games since March 28, it’s no wonder they didn’t make the playoffs.

Although the end of their season was not ideal, it began totally different. Earlier in the season they stood at 12-10 and were shaping up to have a pretty good season above .500.

But when March 28 came around, the batting average for the team took a plunge and, as a result, so did their overall record of wins.

The team won their last two games of the season against Simon Frasier University, who also struggled this season. In that game, Central proved that they could get their batting average back to what it was at the beginning of the season.

Although the team didn’t reach the playoffs this year, they were able to end their season with great honors.

Seven players on the team made the GNAC Academic All-Conference Team, which lead the conference.

On top of that, first baseman Kailyn Campbell was selected for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-West Region second team for her contribution to the softball team this year.

Campbell led the Wildcats with a .395 batting average and led the conference with 1.23 RBI per game (53 in total). She was best in the West and 10th best in the nation.

Men’s rugby

Another dominating season by the men’s rugby team comes to a close with their loss against Bringham Young University in the Varsity Cup Semi-Finals in Provo, Utah.

This loss is just one of three this season, with the other two coming from the Seattle Saracens, Seattle’s pro rugby team, in early March.

The year went well for them, as standout players like Josh Bower and Alladin Schirmer lead the team to victory with big plays all season.

Bower, who led the league with 85 points this season, was looked to by the team to get points on the board. With 35 conversions and 85 points total, Bower helped Central outscore their opponents 736-157.

Schirmir lead the team with long runs on the field, which set them up for scoring opportunities and great advantages when it came to field position.

Since Bower and Schirmir are both seniors, the team will be in need of big play-makers next season.

Out of 12 matches this season, the Wildcats finished 9-3 and completely dominated when it came to blowing out their opponents.

Although the season is over, the team will continue onto the USA Rugby Collegiate 7’s National Tournament in Denver, Colo. on May 23.

Women’s rugby

The women’s rugby team also dominated their season, finishing with a 16-1 record.

With their success, the Wildcats earned themselves a trip to the USA Spring National Championship.

At the Pacific Mountain Conference tournament, the Wildcats defeated four teams by a combined score of 256-24. However, when Central got to the National Championship, they lost 61-7 in the biggest game of the season.

Despite the loss, they hold their heads high, knowing it was their first loss in the 15 matches of the season.

Katerina Long and Cassidy Meyers were big play-makers who, on a game-to-game basis, made a huge impact in each game.

Long, a junior, has another season left to achieve her goals. Meyers, a sophomore, has a couple more seasons to lead the team and show others that she is as a competitive athlete.

This season, the Wildcats honored 10 players who earned a spot on the Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference All-Conference player list.

For 10 players from one team to make the list, you can see why Central was so dominant this season.

Although the season has ended, the Wildcats will suit up once again on May 23 for the USA Rugby Collegiate 7’s National Championship Tournament in Denver, Colo.

Track and field

The Wildcats’ track and field team shined this year, as the season was full of records, honors and first-place finishers.

As the season ended at the GNAC championships, both the men’s and women’s teams finished in third place.

The tournament standouts on the men’s team were Keven Stanley and Luke Plummer. Stanley earned his second 2015 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships individual title, winning the hammer throw after winning the shot put.

Plummer also won the tournament, taking home the individual title in the triple jump with his jump of 14.69 meters (48-feet 2.5 inches), a jaw dropping three-feet further than the next closest competitor.

For the women, it is no surprise that the biggest standouts of the season are Dani Eggleston and Meagan Rodgers.

Eggleston, who is the reigning school record holder in the 5000 meter run, finished in second place with a time of 17:07.24, which was good enough to break her own record by four seconds.

Rogers finished right behind Eggleston with a time of 17:08.50, while at the same time, setting a personal record in the event and earning NCAA Division II provisional standing.

Representing the women’s team at nationals will be Erin Chinchar, Eggleston and McKenna Emmert.

Eggleston and Chinchar will be competing in the steeplechase, their times of 10:31.65 and 10:42.69 qualifying them for 12th and 20th place, respectively. Emmert will compete in the pole vault and is going into the national meet ranked 12th in GNAC standings.

Although it was a great season for the Wildcats, Kevin Stanley will be the only male athlete to go on to nationals this year to compete in the hammer throw, ranked 17th.

Out of all the honors of the season, the most impressive award goes to the six Wildcats who were recognized by the U.S Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and selected to the All-Region team.

All-Region honors

Eggleston (steeplechase) and Emmert (pole vault) have been selected, along with Justin Peterson (high jump), Plummer (triple Jump), Stanley (shot put and hammer throw) and Armando Tafoya (shot put).

The Wildcats finished this sports’ season with 27 academic all-conference selections, third-most in the GNAC.