Marshall University Athletics
Stafford Captures 2009 Baseball Herd Challenge Title
8/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 31, 2009
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall University sophomore Rhett Stafford of the baseball team totaled 63 points during the four-day Herd Challenge to earn top honors.
Junior Ian Kadish finished the event in second place with 58 points. Junior Arik Sikula, who finished fifth in last year's challenge, placed third this season with 50 points. Sophomore Joe Church and senior Ryan Kiel rounded out the top-five finishers, with 46 and 45 points respectively.
The competition consisted of four days of events that the players competed in as individuals and in small groups. The events tested the student-athletes overall physical fitness, endurance and strength, with points awarded for top scores in each assessment.
The first day featured a team water relay, medicine ball toss, timed mile, pro-agility test and the Jacob's Ladder endurance test. Stafford took top honors in the medicine ball throw and Jacob's Ladder test, while finishing second in the pro-agility event to tally 15 points and be tie Sikula for first place at the end of the day. Sikula was the top medalist in the mile, with a time of 5:42.
Day two of the challenge featured impressive performances from junior Ben Jurevicius and Stafford. Jurevicius scored 18 points on the afternoon, including a top finish in sit-ups and taking second place in plate holds.
Stafford tacked on 15 more points to hold a two-point cushion, 30-28, over Jurevicius. He ended the day taking top honors in the 60-yard dash (6.66 seconds) and plates hold test, while finishing second in the sled pushing event.
In the third day of the competition, Stafford notched first place honors in the bat velocity/broad jump event and his team also captured the tug-of-war title. Other drills that day included the star drill and a timed sprint from home to first base.
Heading into the final day of the competition, Stafford held a seven point advantage over eventual second place finisher, Kadish. On the last day of the Herd Challenge, the ever-challenging individual gauntlet was performed. Mike Mason finished the event with the best time of 4:35, while Stafford ended tied for fourth place at 4:45.
Individual Standings
Stafford 63
Kadish 58
Sikula 50
Church 46
Kiel 45
Mason 38
Socorro 38
Ballou 33
Jurevicius 32
Blank 31
Cavalli 27
White 26
Ramos 25
Norton 21
Henderson 20
Lavinskas 20
Valle 17
Collazo 16
Hecktor 15
Brito 13
Coan 9
Lipton 7
Williams 7
Vecchi 5
