Editor's Note:  This is the most recent piece in a series of stories shared by Gorillas to Gorillas as we all embark upon this new "season" in our lives. These certainly are unprecedented times, for young and old alike. Our hope is for Gorilla student-athletes, past and present, coaches and members of Gorilla Nation to read these pieces, awaken their Gorilla memories and then compose their own story to share with us. There is strength in numbers.
 
Late summer 1992, I received a letter in the mail with a return address from Pittsburg State University.  Growing up in Kearney, MO, a town 30 miles north of Kansas City, MO, I personally had never heard of Pittsburg State.

I opened the letter, as I did with other letters that had been sent to me from various colleges, however this one stood out. Coach Steve High had taken the time to sit down and hand-write this letter to me. I showed it to my parents and remember saying, "this Coach must really know who I am if he took the time to actually write this!" I remember the excitement from my dad.

Little did I know that my dad had grown up in Pittsburg, KS from birth to 13 years old. When I scheduled my visit, he was too excited to show me the old Jones Motel, Harry's Café, and the pharmacy that was downtown on Broadway.

When I stepped on the campus at PSU, I knew immediately that I was "home" by walking through campus being greeted by Heather Lundien, who was my recruit host, and walking into admissions to speak with Ange Peterson.  I was "home". I committed early and signed during the early signing period in November.

I remember watching games several times throughout that year and fell in love with the style of play I saw from Angie Peters, Dani Fronabarger, Peggy Goeckner and Shelley Tanking. 

I arrived at PSU the fall of 1993. I had never been away from home and it was a huge adjustment for me. I was extremely homesick and preseason conditioning was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life! We ran a three-mile grass course, had early morning on-court conditioning, and I was not sure I was cut out for all this! I actually had my car packed and was ready to head home when our Grad Assistants, Dani and Peggy, sat me down. They said, "just wait, give it until season, wait until you put on that uniform and run out on that court". I waited, and boy am I glad I did!

What was the hardest thing I had done in my life turned out to be the most rewarding. Our first game was at home and I remember lining up in the hallway of the Weede getting ready to take the court and then the prelude to Welcome to the Jungle started playing. To this day that song still gives me an adrenaline rush! 

My sophomore season we headed to Wichita Falls, Texas for a tournament. We attended a banquet and Coach High expected us to dress up. We arrived to find all other teams in their sweats. We were mocked and made fun of during that banquet, but it was on the court where we took care of business. We had outstanding post play from Amber Sanborn, Jenny Pracht, Heather Lundien and Jessica Abele. Our point guard, Stacy Randolph, was one of the best floor generals around. The endless energy of Lisa Cropper was unmatched by anyone else on the court. We walked away the champions of the tournament, and we knew this team was going to do great things. We made the NCAA national tournament and shared the MIAA regular season title.

My senior season was like no other. We started with 12 players and ended with seven due to injury. Even though we were low on numbers, we made up for that with heart and desire. We had one of the best undersized post duos with Amy Bartelsmeyer and Tiffany Beshore. We had a freshman phenom point guard Leslie Dudley. Megan Reid, Jamie Osborn, Kari Stuart and myself rounded out the guard play. That year, we defeated Washburn three times and made it again to the NCAA tournament. 

Being a part of Gorilla Nation does not end when you graduate from Pitt State. The bonds developed while being there are unbreakable. These girls were not only my teammates, but they are my lifelong friends. I want to say thank you to everyone who welcomes the Gorilla athletes with open arms. It's the people of PSU, and the people of Pittsburg, KS that make being a Gorilla so special.

Thank you to Coach Steve High for taking a chance on a slow-footed girl who could shoot and to Coach Amy Townsend for being the positive encouragement we needed on a daily basis. Thank you to Dani Fronabarger and Peggy Goeckner for talking me into staying. And thank you to all my teammates, OAGAAG!

Jenni (Miller) Croy
 
Jenni (Miller) Croy completed a decorated four-year basketball career with 364 3-point field goals – the second-highest total in the history of the NCAA women's game. She garnered NCAA-II All-America honors as a senior in 1997 and finished her collegiate career as a four-time All-MIAA performer. Croy was inducted into the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2007. She is the head women's basketball coach at North Central Missouri College in Trenton, Mo. Jenni and her husband, Wes, have a son, Lathan, and two daughters, Salem and Kaegen.
 
Please share your own personal stories/thoughts via email to dwilkes@pittstate.edu. We want to share them! (PSU Athletics reserves the right to edit content for space and appropriateness. We cannot promise to publish every submission, but we will do our best.) Thanks Gorilla Nation!
 
Through the Eyes of a Gorilla Archives
Vol. I - Dan Wilkes, Associate AD/Communications (Apr. 3)
Vol. II - Levi Wyrick, Football/Track & Field Athlete (Apr. 7)
Vol. III - Amanda Davied, Women's Basketball Coach (Apr. 10)
Vol. IV - Chris Hanna, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (Apr. 13)
Vol. V - Jeff Moreland, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (Apr. 15)
Vol. VI - Emily Hanenberg, Volleyball Athlete (Apr. 17)
Vol. VII - Ashley Balazs, Softball Coach (Apr. 20)
Vol. VIII - Peter Euler, PSU Alum/CC T&F Athlete (Apr. 22)
Vol. IX - Caitlin Demarest, PSU Alum/WBB Athlete (Apr. 24)
Vol. X - Tyson Cushman, Baseball Athlete (Apr. 27)
Vol. XI - Oscar Gonzalez, PSU Alum/Men's Basketball Athlete (Apr. 29)
Vol. XII - Russ Jewett, Cross Country/Track & Field Coach (May 1)
Vol. XIII - Ronald Moore, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (May 4)
Vol. XIV - Emily Regier, Volleyball Athlete (May 6)
Vol. XV - Wendi (Rickson) Horak, PSU Alum/Softball Athlete (May 8)
Vol. XVI - Josh Lattimer, PSU Alum/Football Coach (May 11)
Vol. XVII - Brad Buckley, PSU Alum/Baseball Coach (May 13)
Vol. XVIII - Piper Misse, Cross Country/Track & Field Athlete (May 15)
Vol. XVIV - Alexa (Bordewick) Dreiling, PSU Alum/WBB Athlete (May 18)
Vol. XX - Jen Gomez, Volleyball Coach (May 20)
Vol. XXI - Harlan Hess, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (May 22)
Vol. XXII - Kaity Kukowski, Softball Athlete (May 25)
Vol. XXIII - Eddie Lomshek, PSU Alum/Play-By-Play Broadcaster (May 27)