Countless hours of hard work and dedication finally paid off for a group of Ferris State University students.

In preparation for its summer competition, the FSU Baja Team participated in the annual winter Baja event.

The event is hosted by Michigan Tech and took place in Houghton, Mich. Twelve students and two advisors came together to bring home the teams’ first trophy. It was a moment that none of them will soon forget.

Professors Gary Gage and Ben Upham were very proud of the team and the days’ accomplishments. “It was great to see them working together and so focused on the day,” Gage said, “they know that this event is in preparation for the summer competition and it really gets them excited to see how the car will handle.”

Teams from all over the country competed. Both South Dakota and West Virginia University traveled over 1,000 miles to be part of the event.

Major engineering schools, such as Michigan State University and The University of Michigan were also represented. It was easy to see the excitement and feel the adrenaline as the day unfolded.

Senior engineering student and team member Matt Borton said, “The key is being mentally prepared for anything to happen. You have to anticipate any problem and have a plan in place to fix whatever the problem may be,” Borton said.

The majority of the day consists of endurance races. Each team has an hour and a half to complete as many laps as possible around the quarter mile track.

“The conditions of the track are perfect because it is rough and bumpy and it really tests the build of our car,” Borton said.

The big problem for the team that day was too much torque. “The drive shaft kept breaking causing us to have to weld parts we didn’t think we would need to” Borton explained.

Closing the competition was the “big air” contest and the FSU Baja Team struck gold winning its first ever trophy. The award was for the longest and craziest jump. After driving down a closed street and very steep hill, the FSU Baja vehicle launched over ten feet in the air and longer than thirty five feet. Touching back on the ground, the car barrel rolled and came to a stop on its top. As the crowd erupted with applause and enthusiasm it was clear that this was the winning jump. The trophy and a team photo may be seen in the showcase in the automotive building.

The Baja vehicle is designed and built by the students and members of the team. The basics of the car are that of a dune buggy or go cart. This years’ car weighs around 500 pounds and has a fully working drive shaft, transmission and chassis.

The students are responsible for the design and production of the car and there is a lot of planning that is involved. They are given $5,000 for the year and must budget everything from vehicle parts to lodging and travel expenses.

This year's summer competition will be held in Madison, Wisconsin over the week of June 7. The team will travel to the Madison area and do it all over again. This time however, they will have the knowledge and understanding of the problem they faced in Houghton. They are confident and looking forward to the summer event.

The Ferris State softball team traveled to Kissimmee, Fla. with a target on its back as they entered the Florida Rebel Spring Games Tournament ranked sixth in the nation.

“It’s lonely at the top of the polls, but it’s not about the beginning of the season rather the end,” Ferris State head coach Keri Becker said. “We’d rather be the underdog rather than the targeted but we are handling it well.”

The Bulldogs finished the Rebel Tournament with a 12-2 record to start off their season.

The team’s strong pitching core had a lot to do with it as Ferris has shuffled through five arms. Sarah Mueller, Holly Bruntjens, Rhea Flores, Shannon Roney and Kayle Stevenson have all contributed to hold the team’s earned run average to .94 runs per game as they have only given up five earned runs all season.

Also contributing to the Bulldogs pitching success are their walks to strike outs ratio. Currently Ferris State has only walked 17 batters while fanning 87.

“It’s an honor to find somewhere like this to play,” Roney said after transferring to Ferris State as a fifth year senior. “The team has accepted me on and off the field and we’re always picking each other up.”

The Ferris State bats haven’t quieted down since last years Great Lakes Regional Championship as they have outscored its opponents 50-24. Leading the way for the Bulldogs offense are Flores, Mueller, second baseman Amanda Harrington and catcher Krystle Bailey. After the 14 game Fla. trip, Bailey is leading the team with 10 runs batted in. She has also contributed with 11 hits and one home run. Harrington has tallied up 10 hits, three stolen bases and has drawn eight walks.

Leading off, Mueller has stolen six bases, scored 11 runs and reached on 15 hits, half of which were doubles. Flores, also with one home run has contributed 14 hits and five runs scored. The Bulldogs defense has also been stout through the start of the season. As a team, Ferris State has recorded a .948 fielding percentage.

Ferris State is currently idol this week as it looks to gear up for the cooler weather a head as they make their way down to Grand Rapids to face Cornerstone University at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday March 26. With cooperating weather, the Bulldogs will open their home schedule on Sunday, March 29 at 12 p.m. with a double header against GLIAC rival Grand Valley State University.

Ferris was represented by the best and the fastest this weekend as three runners made it to the NCAA finals in the the 2009 NCAA-II Indoor Championships, held in conjunction with the NCAA Division II Winter National Championships Festival in Houston, Texas.

Senior Mikinzie Stuart placed fifth in the first heat of the women’s one mile run prelims with a time of 4:56. She finished eighth overall in the prelims, and took seventh in the final race to claim All-American accolades.

Senior Matt Jozwiak represented the men’s side as he took sixth place in the second heat of the men’s 800 meters to advance to the final. Jozwiak finished seventh in the nation with a time of 1:54.

Sophomore Tina Muir did not have a qualifying heat for the 5,000 meters. She was the ninth fastest in the 16 member field entering the event with a time of 16:57.

Muir came up short of earning All-America kudos on Saturday in the women’s 5,000 meters as she placed 12th overall, 17:28 in the field, and needed to finish in the top eight to get the nod.

J.J. Vandenburg didn’t know he was going to make the men’s track team at Ferris State, but walked on the field to try-out.

As a college freshman in the radiography program and living in the honors dorms, he became a walk-on serving Ferris State’s track team as its shot putter.

Vandenburg joined his high school track team at Lakeview as somewhat of a walk-on as well. He was just looking for a sport to fit in between football and wrestling. There he won All-Area in shot put.

“I guess I started because I wanted to do another sport in high school and I wasn’t fast,” said Vandenburg detailing how he became interested in the sport of shot putting.

Vandenburg chose Ferris State not for any of its sports programs, but for its educational programs.

“I chose Ferris because it had the programs I wanted, and I ended up on the track team,” said Vandenburg.

On the track team this year Vandenburg threw as far as 12.15 meters, approximately 40 feet in the indoor track and field meet at the Grand Valley State Division II Challenge.

“I hope next year I will be able to throw 50 feet. In high school I was good, but in college I realized how good everyone was. Seeing everyone throw fifty feet was kind of overwhelming for me,” said Vandenburg.

The men’s indoor track and field team suffered an off season this year, placing ninth out of nine at the GLIAC Indoor Championships.

“It is a work in progress, we have an interim coach who is also the cross country coach, and he is working on getting the head coach title. He is a really good coach, and he is really nice,” said Vandenburg, “I hope that we [the men’s track and field team] can move up next year, I doubt we will get first, but I just hope to have a better team.”

Vandenburg will be competing in the upcoming outdoor track and field season beginning on March 27 in North Carolina where he will once again walk-on in hopes to reach his goal of throwing 50 feet.

The Ferris State hockey team concluded its season as the University of Nebraska-Omaha defeated the Bulldogs in the first round of the CCHA playoffs.

The Bulldogs traveled west to Omaha where they found themselves in a 3-0 and a 5-2 defeat inside the Qwest Center. Ferris State was forced off of home ice as its ending schedule damaged their CCHA rank.

Ferris State will look to rebound next season as they lose only four skaters; center Brendan Connolly, right winger Justin Lewandowski, defenseman Evan Case and right winger Corey Couturier. Three of the top six point’s scorers for the Bulldogs were Connolly, Lewandowski and Couturier as they tallied a combined 25 goals and 35 assists with nine of those goals coming on the power play.

Looking to lead the Bulldogs into next season will be captain right winger Cody Chupp, alternate captain defenseman Zach Redmond, center Aaron Lewicki and goaltenders Pat Nagle and Taylor Nelson. Nelson finished the season with a 5-8-4 record and a 2.50 goals against average and Nagle tallied a 7-11-3 record with a 2.84 goals against average.

Redmond, second on the team in points tallied three goals, 21 assists and 62 blocks. Lewicki ended the season with a .550 faceoff win percentage as he took just under half of the team’s draws. He also was the co-team leader in goals with 10. Chupp contributed six goals and 10 assists to the Bulldogs attack as well as his leadership.

First year club lacrosse team president and midfielder Devon Roe is excited to start the new season.

A former high school football player, Roe did not play lacrosse at all until he came to Ferris. He graduated from Fruitport High School, near Muskegon, and is a junior in the surveying engineering program here at Ferris. This is his third year on the lacrosse team.

Roe said that his high school did not offer lacrosse and he never had an opportunity to play until he got here.

“I’ve always had an interest in the sport and they never had it in my high school,” said Roe. To him, lacrosse is a fun sport in which many people can play, given the opportunity. “One thing I like about it is that pretty much anybody that has some type of athletic ability can play,” said Roe.

This is his first season as the team’s president. Roe said that last year he served as the secretary/ vice president for the team. Taking over as the president has presented him with some challenges. Roe said that it has been an “eye-opener” to how many requirements club sports have and how much is involved with being the president.

Many things have changed this year for the lacrosse team, including the coach and the administration.

“For me, this is a big rebuilding year. It is a rebuilding year administration wise, for me at least, because we lost our President and then I stepped up,” said Roe. Mitch Kopczyk has taken over as the full time coach this season. Last season, the team did not have a full time coach. Some of Roe’s responsibilities have been relieved now that the coaching position is set.

“I don’t have to worry about practices at all. I know it is taken care of,” said Roe.

His responsibilities as president include getting refs for the games, making sure the field is ready and coordinating trips.

“I have to set up all the games and plan out trips,” said Roe, “This year we are going to go to St. Louis.”

In the past the lacrosse team has played on the football field, but because of the new turf, it is unable to paint the proper lines in order to play. “We are scheduled to play on the intramural fields, which is kind of a big blow for us because it is always nice to play on the football field,” said Roe

The club lacrosse team plays in the Division II – North of the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association, which includes Grand Valley State, Saginaw Valley State, Davenport, and Northern Michigan. Roe is confident that his team will be up for the challenge.

“I think a lot of our guys are going to step up,” said Roe. Grand Valley and Davenport were in the top 10 in the nation last year, with GVSU finishing as the nation’s runner-up.

The team is responding to the difficult task by mentally and physically preparing for the season. Roe said that the team will be ready for their home opener, which is on March 21 against Oakland University.

Ferris State didn’t go home champions, but were able to capture a fifth place finish after losing to Grand Valley State 49-67 in first round play at the GLIAC tournament.

The GLIAC tournament started off poorly with the shooting percentages in the first half for both field goals and three-point shots in the teens.

Grand Valley State was able to shoot around a 30 percent average for both. The second half improved for Ferris State, with the field goal shots increasing their accuracy to 31.8 percent, but they still weren’t able to catch up to Grand Valley State.

Center/forward, Justin Keenan once again led the team by scoring an overall 19 points, having nine rebounds, and one assist. Junior guard Josh Young scored the second most points for the men’s basketball team, with eight. Young also had seven rebounds and a steal. The loss to Grand Valley meant the end of the season for the men’s basketball team.

This year’s season for the men’s basketball team ended up with an overall record of 14-14 and a GLIAC record of 12-10.

The men’s basketball team greatly improved their record from the previous overall record of 10-19, 5-13 GLIAC. Keenan led the team in total points as well as in rebounds.

His personal high for the season was 33 against Olivet in November and his high in rebounds was 12, which he reached twice, once against Northwood and once against Grand Valley State.

Guard Dontae Molden led the team in assists with a high of 11 against Tiffin and guard Darien Gay led the team in steals with a total of six against Kuyper.

Both forward Jason Holder and guard/forward Lou Williams tied for total blocks. They also tied for the most blocks in one game. Holder blocked four shots against Northern Michigan and Williams against Lake Superior State.

The basketball team is continuing to look forward to next season with more experience, and hope to once again improve its record.

The American Collegiate Intramural Sports (ACIS) is holding the 2009 Campus Challenge event in the University Recreation Center to promote fitness at Ferris.

Senior Justin Ruwersma is doing an internship through ACIS to gain field experience and is coordinating the event here at Ferris. He is in the recreation program, with a concentration in sports management.

The Campus Challenge will consist of two person teams competing in four fitness events. The four events include sit-ups for one minute, pushups for one minute, a flexibility test (sit and reach), and an agility run, according to Ruwersma.

Both members of the team will compete in the events and the team with the best score over the two days wins. Each team must participate in the event both days to be eligible to win. Ruwersma said the Campus Challenge will be held from 3-5 p.m. on April 18 and from 1-3 p.m. on April 19.

Each two person team must be either two men or two women Ruwersma said. There are rewards for all participants, not just the winners. “Everyone gets a shirt that does it. The guy’s team that wins and the girl’s team that wins get a championship shirt,” said Ruwersma. “Those two teams get put into the drawing for ACIS and they have a chance to go to fitness nationals,” he said. The national competition is at the U.S. Air force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Ruwersma said his goal is to promote the campus challenge to people involved in the event.

“The hardest part is letting people know about the Campus Challenge and getting it out there,” said Ruwersma. He said that he will also be sending out a campus wide, informational email regarding the event.

Currently, the UREC is also hosting the Fitness Rewards program, also coordinated by ACIS. Ruwersma said that after a person works out for 30 minutes, a member of the staff has to initial their ACIS card, which can be attained at the display table near the entrance.

The more times a person works out, the more he or she can win. “After four workouts, you have a chance to win a bike. After eight, you win a water bottle,” said Ruwersma.

The Fitness Rewards program will continue until the end of the semester. These events are a way to get people on campus more involved in fitness activities.

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times, and the season ended during a low time.

The Bulldogs made their 10th consecutive and 11th overall appearance in the GLIAC Tournament.

The women’s basketball team defeated Northwood in the first round of the GLIAC tournament, 73-68. It was the second round that the Lady Bulldogs struggled in as they took on nationally ranked Michigan Tech Huskies and were pounced, 71-53, ending the late season run, the Lady Bulldogs were putting together.

The loss marked the second- straight year the Lady Bulldogs season ended with a loss in the tournament semifinals inside Michigan Tech’s Student Development Complex Gymnasium.

Ferris won seven of its last nine games as it finished the year with a 13-15 overall record. Assistant coach Crystal Harris led the helm for the final five games of the season, including the GLIAC Tournament, after head coach Tracey Dorow gave birth to her daughter, Lainie Joy.

The quartet of seniors Ashley Fleming, Jenna Guay, Caitlin Hutchison and Teghan Thelen led Ferris State to a four-year record of 71-46, combining for more than 2,600 points and nearly 1,400 rebounds.

Fleming was the lone Bulldog to reach double digits, with 16 points.

The Bulldogs were 7-of -24 from the floor in the second half, and the Huskies capitalized on nearly every possession, shooting 46.6 percent, 27-58, for the game and made 8-of-20 shots from beyond the arch.