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| Whitworth athletics photo |
Student-athletes know it takes discipline to balance school work and excel in sports. But few college students juggle as many obligations as Taylor Farnsworth.
In addition to starring on the men’s basketball team, the Whitworth senior has done well in his academic pursuits and finds time to work in order to support his wife and young son.
“It’s been a work in progress over the last couple years. Mainly, it’s learning a lot of time management,” the 22-year-old Farnsworth said.
He and his wife Ashley – who were in the same kindergarten class in Montana and attended the same high school in Spokane before beginning to date at the University of Montana – work together to raise their son, Colton, who will turn 2 years old soon.
Having a small child is hard work, let alone trying to stand out in anything else in life, but Taylor Farnsworth manages.
“Probably the most obvious thing you notice when you watch Taylor play is just how hard he competes and how hard he plays,” Whitworth coach Matt Logie said. “That’s what you see off the court, in his life, he’s just a very hard worker. He’s committed to doing his best in everything that he partakes in.”
Ashley takes online college courses and stays home with Colton while Taylor works at the international admissions office at Whitworth, goes to class and attends basketball practice.
“That’s probably the hardest part for me and Ashley,” Farnsworth said. “During the week on non-game days, I usually leave the house at 5 or 6 in the morning to go to work. During that point in the semester, I’m usually gone to 5 or 6 at night.
“When I do get home, then there’s only a couple hours left before Colton goes to bed,” he added. “Once he goes to bed, we both kind of have time to do some homework and hang out with each other a little bit.”
Despite working approximately 20 hours per week and having obligations at home, Farnsworth still carries a 3.46 cumulative GPA.
“Taylor has matured a lot through his college experience here at Whitworth,” Logie said. “He’s a very bright kid and has always done very well in the classroom. I think having that stability, academically, allows him to spread his time across so many different platforms.”
His coach said his ability to handle multiple duties at home, in school and in the gym makes him a good example for younger athletes.
“He’s an experienced player in our program, so his voice carries clout in the locker room just based on that alone. Additionally, his role as a leader has really impacted the other student-athlete in our program, especially younger underclassmen,” Logie said. “It really takes the old excuses out of the vernacular for a lot of the other guys because they have someone they can look to who has a lot more on his plate and does it so well.”
Farnsworth, who transferred to Whitworth after attempting to walk on at Montana, said his wife deserves a lot of the credit for what he is able to do.
“She’s the main reason I’m really able to do all this and still focus on school and basketball,” Farnsworth said. “She’s definitely a big part of the success that I’ve had.”
“I think the support he has gotten from his family and the Whitworth community as really allowed him to do this as successfully as he has and set such a great example for the other guys in our program,” Logie said.
Farnsworth, who is among the team’s leading scorers (8.6 points per game) and rebounders (5.1 per game), has started all 17 games for Whitworth and has helped the Pirates go 15-2 overall.
Whitworth is a perfect 8-0 in Northwest Conference play and moved into the Top 25 poll as the No. 21 ranked team.
“I’m really happy with how we’ve been doing so far this year,” Farnsworth said.
Logie credited Farnsworth, fellow senior Adam Wilks and co-captain George Valle for their leadership with a young group. Whitworth graduated two first team All-NWC athletes a year ago in Dustin McConnell and Colton McCargar, so underclassmen and new players have had to step up.
The Pirates started the season with an aggressive schedule and faced some adversity early. Whitworth lost an exhibition game at Montana, dropped an overtime decision with Rutgers-Newark and lost to St. Thomas in November.
Since then, the Pirates have won 15 games in a row.
“I think we’ve really grown from that as a group,” Logie said of the early-season setbacks. “In a lot of ways, I think a lot of our guys were humbled quickly in terms of what it takes to be successful at the level we aspire to. We’ve just been chipping away at that rock since then and getting better and better as the season progressed.”
Whitworth, who has a two-game lead over Whitman and Lewis and Clark in the conference standings, is in search of its sixth regular season conference title.
The Pirates would like to also win the conference tournament with the hopes of making a deep tournament run after reaching the Sweet 16 twice in the last three years.
“I think we’re really excited about this team’s potential and opportunity to compete at a national level,” Logie said. “But we’ve got a lot of small steps in front of us to take place first.”
If Whitworth is able to accomplish its goals, and Farnsworth plays in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in his career, he will be glad to have the opportunity.
“There’s plenty of situations that could have happened where I might not have been able to continue playing,” Farnsworth said. “It’s made me really thankful for how everything has worked out, and I’ve been able to continue to do what I love.”
Crashing the boards
Hannah McGinnis had a huge game, helping Illinois College defeat Knox, 89-62, Jan. 21. She scored 35 points and pulled down a Midwest Conference record 27 rebounds in the Lady Blues’ victory.
Illinois College also set a team-record with 76 rebounds on the night. Ashley Hoegger (12 and 12) and Maddy Keith (10 and 10) had double-doubles for the Lady Blues as well.
1,000 points
Luke Chafin became the 21st North Central (Minn.) men’s basketball player to score 1,000 points. Chafin eclipsed the scoring mark with his first basket on Jan. 17. He finished with 18 points to help the Rams beat St. Scholastica 69-61. The junior now has 1,054 points.
Meghan Novak scored her 1,000th point for Benedictine in a 52-48 win over Aurora, Jan. 20. She is just the seventh player in the Benedictine women’s basketball program to hit the mark. She now has 1,023 points during her time as an Eagle.
Coaching milestones
Brothers Paul and Tim Grove both earned their 100th UMAC victories – just six days apart.
Paul Grove won his 100th on Jan. 17 when he led the Minnesota-Morris men’s basketball team to a 79-70 win over Martin Luther. Then on Jan. 23, Tim Grove guided the Minnesota-Morris women’s basketball team to a 79-37 win over Northland for his 100th conference victory.
Where they rank
UW-Whitewater received 16 first place votes and moved into the No. 1 spot while St. Thomas was awarded seven first place votes and the No. 2 two spot. Augustana, last week’s No. 1, is now No. 4.
No. 14 St. Norbert, No. 15 Chapman and No. 16 Elmhurst rose two, three and six places, respectively. UW-Stevens Point dropped four spots to No. 19, Whitworth joined the Top 25 at No. 21, and St. Olaf slid five spots to No. 19.
North Central (Ill.) fell out of the Top 25. However the Cardinals (47), Illinois Wesleyan (24), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (2) and Aurora (1) all received votes.
St. Thomas is the highest ranked women’s team in the Region at No. 3. George Fox is No. 5. Both teams are one position higher than a week ago.
Transylvania, Wheaton (Ill.) and Whitworth are ranked Nos. 15, 16 and 17, respectively, while North Central (Ill.), Puget Sound and UW-Oshkosh are Nos. 21, 22 and 23, respectively.
Luther fell out of the Top 25. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (3) and Bethel (2) received votes.
Check in
Do you have a story idea for the Around the Region column? Contact me about approaching milestones, broken records, breakout players or any other storylines in the area’s conferences. Or just drop me a note and let me know what you like or don’t like about the column. All ideas and feedback are welcome. Email me at josh.smith@d3sports.com or follow me on Twitter @DU_Josh_Smith.
