Larks basketball teams kick off season with “Midnight Madness” event

Joey Atkinson
Sophomore guard/forward Joey Atkinson, a captain for the upcoming season, gave the crowd at "Midnight Madness" plenty to cheer about.

The Hesston College men’s and women’s basketball programs kicked off the 2008-2009 season with their annual “Midnight Madness” event on Friday night, October 3.

After the doors of Yost Center were opened, the majority of the Hesston College student body poured inside while the Screamin’ Larks, the college’s pep band, filled the gymnasium with rowdy music.

Emceed by Hesston College admissions counselor Charles Hostetler, the program started with a bang, as an all-star faculty team took on the Bills and Normas, a group of students who entertain the college throughout the year with improv skits, antics, etc., in a short scrimmage. Five hilarious minutes later, the scrimmage was pronounced a 2-2 tie, as neither team could muster more than a bucket.

Following player introductions, freshman forward Hannah Frank-Jones (Arvada, Colo.) teamed with sophomore point guard Kevin Blackmon (Edmond, Okla.) to outshoot freshman guard Jessica Coffman (LaGrange, Ind.) and sophomore forward Kirl Williams (Oklahoma City, Okla.) during a three point shootout.

“This was a great way to begin building excitement for the upcoming season,” said women’s coach Dan Harrison. “It was wonderful for the players to be introduced to their fellow students and have such a warm response.”

Two student contests came next, with B.J. Coblentz, a freshman from Mount Eaton, Ohio, winning the hot shot drill, while freshmen Abby Erb (Hesston, Kan.) and sophomore Katrina Zerger (Moundridge, Kan.) took home prizes for the quick dribble contest.

The night ended with the fan-favorite dunk contest, featuring freshman Ricky Vick (Edmond, Okla.), and sophomores Joey Atkinson (Edmond, Okla.), Carlton Dean (Oklahoma City, Okla.), and Kirl Williams. After the dust had cleared, Williams was pronounced the winner.

The best dunk of the night undoubtedly belonged to Atkinson, who put the crowd into a tizzy with an emphatic two handed slam off his own pass. Starting from the three-point line, Atkinson threw the ball off the east wall of Yost Center and paused while the ball bounced just behind the baseline on its way up towards the basket. As the 6’5″ forward leaped toward the goal, the ball rose just under the backboard and to the left of the rim where an airborne Atkinson slammed it home.

“I thought ‘Midnight Madness’ was a huge success, a fun night to get a quick preview of some of our student-athletes,” commented men’s coach Dustin Galyon. “We had four intense practices leading up to the event and are dealing with some injuries, so I was really pleased that we could still come out and give our fans and community a preview of things to come.”

To close the night, coaches Harrison and Galyon thanked the crowd for coming, and encouraged everyone to support the Larks during the upcoming season.

“Basketball games are such an important part of Hesston College student life,” added Harrison. “Having support from our fan base can make a difference for our teams during a close game.”

The Hesston College women tip off their season with the Kansas City Kansas Community College Classic, October 31 through November 1. The men open with a home date against Southwestern College (Winfield, Kan.) JV at 7 p.m., Saturday, November 1.