Many sons hope to fill their father’s shoes.
William Jewell baseball player Ben Blanton has not
only filled his father’s cleats, he’s blazing
a new trail that could lead to post-college play. The
Heart of America Athletic Conference Player of the
Year, Ben continues a rich family tradition on the
Hill. His father, Wes ’75, a pitcher, and mother
Debbie Timmerburg ’76, have sent two of their
children to their alma mater. Brooke ’01, a noted
scholar-athlete, competed in tennis.
Last season, Blanton’s powerhouse hitting helped
lead the Cardinals to a regional conference victory;
the team lost in the super-regional tournament to Okalahoma
City University, a team which saw seven of its players
drafted by major league teams. A 6’1” shortstop
from Liberty, Ben boasted a .470 batting average with
16 homeruns and 85 runs batted in. “We really
came full circle from when I was a freshman,” Blanton
says. His first two years on the team, the Cardinals
won 20 games each year; last year alone, they notched
47 victories, setting a William Jewell record for all-time
wins. Blanton credits the team’s success to Coach
Mike Stockton’s regimented schedule. “The
guys who survive emerge stronger and ready to compete,” he
says.
Blanton’s path to Jewell came via a semester
at the University of Kansas. Disappointed with the
Division I program, he transferred to Jewell, knowing
the team had a rough road ahead. “At KU, I felt
expendable,” he recalls. “At Jewell, coach
Stockton really made me believe I would play a crucial
role in restoring this team’s respect in the
conference.” Blanton’s hard work earned
him individual recognition as a second team All-American.
 Although baseball is a spring sport, Blanton says
he and his teammates train year-round running sprints,
lifting weights and playing summer ball. He spent last
summer playing in an amateur league in Alaska for Athletes
in Action, a division of Campus Crusade for Christ. “We
played against some of the top college players from
Wichita State, Cal-State Fullerton and Florida State
who were later drafted by major league teams,” Blanton
says. He also has played in Kansas City’s Ban
Johnson league.
Off the field, Ben ranks building one-on-one relationships
with his professors as his favorite facet of William
Jewell life. “Having the same professor for three
or four classes allows me to really get to know them
and what they expect from their students,” he
says. A business major with an emphasis in marketing,
along with a minor in art, will lay the foundation
for a future in sports marketing. “That is if
I don’t join the military or play baseball in
some capacity after college,” he adds.
 Blanton predicts another successful run for this year’s
team, as six position players return along with all
of the pitchers. The team will work for a return trip
to the super-regional tournament. Personally, Ben aims
to hit .500 with at least 20 home runs and to lead
the conference in doubles and batting average. If he
can do all of that and earn a 3.5 GPA, he’ll
make Academic All-American.
For athletes considering a career at Jewell, Ben advises
preparing to work hard, in the classroom and on the
field. “The expectations are high here from everyone--coaches
and teachers,” he says. “And everyone knows
your name, so you can’t lose yourself in the
crowd.” Now that the baseball team is a proven
winner, Ben hopes the program will attract and retain
quality players who can continue the level of competition
he worked so hard to achieve.
Jewell Soccer Player Sets
National Scoring Record
 By
Carolyn Chapman
 The all-time points leader in college soccer
history, for both men and women, doesn’t
attend Duke, Notre Dame, or any other college
sports powerhouse. She attends William Jewell
College. Kristin Neher, a senior forward from
Kansas City, Mo., had 362 points in 82 games
to lead the nation. In her career with the Cardinals,
she scored 139 goals, had 84 assists and was
a four-time NAIA All-American. Her accomplishments
caught the attention of Sports Illustrated,
which featured her in the Faces in the Crowd
section on December 13, 2004.
The college plans to retire her jersey in the
near future. What’s more, she will be the
first-ever soccer specific player inducted into
the William Jewell College Athletic Hall of Fame
ten years from now, the first year she is eligible.
The accolades humble Kristin, who credits her
teammates with helping her accomplish so much. “The
attention says something about my team,” she
says. “There’s no way I would have
been able to do what I did without them.”
This season, Kristin led the team to their second
appearance at Nationals in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Last year, the team made it to the Final Four;
this year they lost in the second round to a
No. 4 seed from Canada. The year began roughly
as the team lost its first two games. But the
girls rebounded, winning regionals for the first
time in college history.
“Kristin has been a pleasure to coach
and work with the last four years,” says
Jewell soccer coach Chris Cissell. “She
has tremendous talent, but her competitive spirit
and desire to be the best she can possibly be
is what makes her so great.” He credits
Kristin with helping turn the college’s
soccer program into a perennial national power.
 Kristin began playing soccer when she was four
years old. The neighborhood boys needed another
player, and they bribed her with candy. The sport
stuck, and soon she began playing in an all-boys
league. When she was 10 she switched to a girls’ league.
Playing with the boys taught her to focus on
the sport and to play tough, she recalls. “The
boys definitely tried harder at that age, and
they taught me a lot,” she says.
A standout in high school, Kristin began scouting
area colleges for both strong academics and a
quality soccer program. With its years of rebuilding,
Jewell wasn’t on her radar screen. But
her assistant high school coach, who also served
as an assistant soccer coach at Jewell, encouraged
her to give Jewell another look. She immediately
liked the campus atmosphere and soccer coach
Chris Cissell. She didn’t consider a NCAA
Division I school because she says she didn’t
want soccer to consume her life. “When
I came to Jewell, I just fit,” she remembers. “I
liked that it was a small Christian college.”
The faculty have made a difference in her life,
too. She says her communication professors have
been amazing. Yet she holds a special fondness
for her freshman math professor, Sherman Sherrick,
who attended virtually all of her games. “It’s
cool that the teachers will ask me how soccer
is going. I have friends at bigger schools who
say their teachers don’t even know their
names,” she says. “I’ve had
faculty members let class out early so students
could go watch my games.”
Anticipating graduation in May, Kristin recalls
her love of Jewell traditions: the Hanging of
the Green, Christmas lights on campus buildings
and, most of all, the walk around the quad that
begins and ends the student experience at Jewell. “I’m
excited to do that again,” she says with
a laugh. “It’s very special to feel
like I contributed something to the rich history
of William Jewell.”
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