The Bethel Threshers are the athletic teams that represent
Bethel College, located in
North Newton, Kansas
North Newton is a city in Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,814. It is located between the north side of the city of Newton (separate entity) and the south side of Interstate I-1 ...
, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...
(NAIA), primarily competing in the
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second-oldest in the United St ...
(KCAC) since the 1939–40 academic year and in which they were a member on a previous stint from 1902–03 to December 1928 (of the 1928–29 school year).
Nickname
Bethel's athletic teams were known at the "Graymaroons" from the 1920s until 1960, when the Threshers fight name was adopted.
Varsity sports
Bethel competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports:
Basketball
Bethel's
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
program is led by head coach Jayson Artaz. Since taking over in 2018 and as of completion of the 2024 season, Artaz's teams have compiled a record of 157 wins and 72 losses. One of Bethle's most notable players is
Jaylon Scott
Jaylon Scott (born July 28, 2000) is an American professional basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the pri ...
Football
Bethel College began its
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
program in 1914 under head coach William E. Schroeder. As of completion of the 2022 season, the teams have produced a cumulative record of 328 wins, 529 losses, and 13 ties.
From 2018 through 2021, Terry Harrison led the Threshers to back-to-back conference titles in 2020 and 2021 before resigning to accept the head coaching position at
Friends University
Friends University is a Private university, private Nondenominational Christianity, nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield Uni ...
. Harrison replaced Morris Lolar
and finished his tenure at Bethel with 37 wins and 14 losses.
The current head coach is A.B. Stokes. Stokes led the Threshers to their third consecutive conference title in 2022. His current record at Bethel is 9 wins and 1 loss.
Track & field
Bethel's
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
team has found success on the national level. In 2008, Jeff Buller won his second consecutive national championship in the
javelin
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...
with a throw of 214 feet 8 inches.
The Newton Kansan
"Buller claims javelin title" May 23, 2008
Facilities
References
External links
*
{{Kansas Sports