Graduates Shine After Final Seasons

Photo Courtesy of Sower Staff

By Olivia Proctor

Recent Concordia grads Jason Mumsch, Philly Lammers and Grace Barry  received notable honors this summer in their athletic fields.

Left-handed pitcher Jason Munsch signed a contract as an undrafted free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball. He announced his contract with the Brewers in June, saying that while a celebration was in order, the workload ahead would keep it a short one.

“I was really excited. It was something that had never occurred to me as being a possibility until maybe middle of junior year,” Munsch said. “Now there’s another mountain that I’ve got to start working on, so it was exciting, but then it’s just get right back into work.”

Munsch also received support from coaches and teammates, including his coach, Ryan Dupic.

“For Coach Dupic, [he] was probably my favorite one, just saying, ‘I knew you could do it,’”  Munsch said. “He started believing in me a little bit before I think I did. Just having him there backing me was a huge, huge thing.”

Munsch will start off playing for the Arizona League Gold team, a minor league team affiliated with the Brewers.

Lammers, who played forward on the CUNE women’s basketball team, was named co-Midlands Female Athlete of the Year by the Omaha World-Herald, giving her a share of the award for the second year in a row. She also was named State College Women’s Athlete of the Year by the Lincoln Journal Star.

Lammers credited her success in part to her team. “I was happy for what that meant my team was able to accomplish, because without my team, I wasn’t able to even be considered for some of those awards, so I was just…all around happy for that,” she said.

Lammers also received encouragement from teammates and coaches.

“I remember getting some texts from my coach and from some of my teammates and they were just saying how they were proud of me and that I deserve the recognition, and it was just nice to have that camaraderie with some of the team again,” Lammers said.

Barry, MVP of the 2019 NAIA Division II National Tournament, was named the Academic All-American of the Year for the NAIA. She is the first ever Concordia athlete to be recognized for the award after boasting a 3.99 GPA and an average of 13.9 points per game. (Do you need to spell out GPA on 1st reference? Check AP stylebook. Also, you should say they won the tournament)

Munsch encouraged students and faculty to support one another in all of their endeavors.

“A lot of the time you may not realize how much it can mean to them,” Munsch said. “Whatever endeavors your teammates, your family, your friends are going through, don’t forget to support them and motivate them to keep doing what they love.”