Category: Sports

Delaware and athletes prepare for the NCAA D-3 National Track and Field Championships, which will be held at Selby Field from May 22 to May 24. City Manager Tom Homan said this is the second time the Championships have come to Delaware in the past few years.

Head Track and Field Coach Kris Boey said he has been preparing the team by continuing their training program and making adjustments to athletes’ needs.

Sophomore Sara Johnson said she and her team are very excited for the Championships.

“For Nationals, this is a huge event for us,” Johnson said. “Not only is it at home but we are all ready to run with the best and we each know we can.”

Junior Matt Hunter agreed with Johnson.

“This is a huge event for OWU,” Hunter said. “It is obviously significant as a track meet, and it is also a large event for the university and for Delaware.”

Both athletes said that they are personally working on their events. Johnson said she is preparing herself mentally for the Championships. While Hunter said he is focusing on his technique.

As a team, Hunter said that they are working on keeping focused and achieving goals.

“I am most excited for ‘home field advantage’,” Hunter said. “We have the advantage of having done all our preparation on the same track, on the same runways, in the same circles, that we will be competing in.”

Boey said that getting the field ready for the Championships has been on-going.

“Our staff, along with the B&G staff, has been working very hard to make sure we shine when the competition begins,” Boey said. “Preparation for an event of this scale is a long and tedious process.  It is the largest of the NCAA championships event in terms of total participants.”

Additionally, Boey said that there will be around 800 athletes from 200 schools and about 15,000 fans are expected to show for the three day event.

Homan said that Delaware is very excited to host the Championships again. He said that the city will “roll out the red carpet” for the athletes and families that come. He said he wants everyone visiting to feel at home in the community.

Homan said that he hopes those who have never seen the city or campus will appreciate its beauty and embrace the local businesses. The only problems that Homan said the city might face are traffic and parking issues, but he said the city is prepared.

Homan said he hopes the Championships will come back again in the future.

By Nicolas Palandjian
Transcript Correspondent

Ohio Wesleyan University received a donation from alumni in order to build a new turf field at Selby Stadium.

Selby Stadium, home to the Battling Bishops and the Ohio Machine, a Major League Lacrosse Team, was built in 1929.

The current turf has been a problem for many athletes at OWU, causing injuries in the past few years, according to Todd Miller, head athletic trainer.

“I tore my ACL in my knee twice, both in the same spot on the field,” said Edwin Foster, junior lacrosse player.

“It’s the random wrinkles and divots that are causing all the athletes to tear ligaments and pull hamstrings.”

The football team has also had several problems with the current turf surface, according to several players.

“There have been multiple injuries on the football team this year, including myself when I tore my meniscus,” said Mason Tomblin, freshman football player.

“New turf was supposed to have been installed over the Christmas break, but the harsh conditions kept construction from going on,” said Kyle Yberg, defensive coach of the lacrosse team.

It is known within the sports world that turf becomes less playable with harsh weather conditions and age, according to the New York Department of Health.

“The alumni who are donating have decided that it is a necessity that the school has new turf and they have made sure their money is going toward a new turf surface,” Yberg said.

The design of the field shows black end zones with the word “Bishops” in red letters.  Men’s lacrosse lines will be yellow and women’s lacrosse lines will be orange, according to pictures on the OWU athletics website.

“All the athletes, including myself, are excited about the new turf for safety reasons, but also for the design,” Yberg said.

The field will be installed before the beginning of next year, giving every team full use of it, said the athletics website.

Photos by Jane Suttmeier

Bishop softball is in full swing and ready to take on the NCAC tournament.

Sophomore Lilly Gresh said the team plans to make it to the tournament, and win.

“We most definitely have the talent and passion to go into the tournament and dominate against anyone that we play,” she said.

Junior Brooke Warner agreed with Gresh, and said you can’t overlook anyone in conference tournament play.

“It’s always anyone’s game no matter what the records are going into the match up, or the history of the programs,” Warner said. “So, taking every game one pitch at a time allows us to celebrate the small victories that get us where we want to be. We just strive to get better every inning.”

With a 9-1 home record, Warner said the team’s confidence level is high.

“I just think it’s easier to bring that mentality when we are playing at our house, with our fans, and all the other familiarities that allow us to relax and just play,” she said. “We are working on transitioning this mentality to road games too, and we are making true progress. “

According to Warner, all of the struggles the team faces during away games are mental, and the fact that most away games fields are quieter than they are used to.

“We don’t have a very secluded field, so at home we are constantly fighting the noise of the traffic, but that’s what keeps our dugout loud and our heads in the game on the field,” Warner said. “Sometimes when we are away, we allow the atmospheres of other fields dictate our intensity level and therefore we tend to lose focus or play a little timid.”

Gresh agreed and said the team gets excited to play at home for several reasons.

“You are playing in your comfort zone on your own turf, and most importantly, you have home-field support from your family, friends, and fans,” she said. “When playing at home, you want to defend what is yours and not let other teams defeat you on your own ground, so in turn, your adrenaline starts pumping and you play harder.”

When thinking of spring sports, bright sunny days and lush green fields usually come to mind.  But this year, unpredictible weather has spoiled that image.

From the polar vortex to severe rain, the Bishops sports teams have had their fair share of hardships this year.

According to the National Weather Service, wind chills were the coldest Central Ohio has seen since 1994.

“Our first game of the season against Otterbein was the coldest I’ve ever coached in,” women’s lacrosse coach, Chelsea Huguenard, said.

However the weather woes didn’t end there.  According to Athletic Director Roger Ingles, the men’s lacrosse team borrowed sideline heaters from Ohio State for their game against Aurora.

“Though Otterbein was rough, in ten years of coaching, our game this year against Wittenberg is the worst I’ve ever been a part of,” Huguenard continued.

“When I’m hurting due to hail hitting me in the face, I know our athletes are having trouble.  Without a doubt the craziest weather I’ve seen.”

Ingles pointed out that less-than-ideal conditions are not abnormal to Ohio.  The athletic department tries to prepare ahead of time and plans to reduce its impact.

However, according to Ingles, this year has been worse than normal, making the support of Bishops athletics a bit harder.

“The spring season is the shortest already, so we try to reduce cancellations to give our players consistency,” he said. “This is especially important for our baseball and softball players.

Both are sports that are meant to be played more than practiced. Pitchers need to throw and it can be tough for hitters to stay sharp with a lot of time off.”

While it is most important for baseball and softball to have consistency, they also are the spring sports that get impacted the most.

Baseball thus far has had to postpone or cancel six of the 24 games on their schedule, while softball has pushed back five of their 27 scheduled games.

“Lacrosse plays on an all weather field, while tennis and track have the ability to move inside if need be,” Ingles said.

“Slick base paths and pitching mounds however can cause serious injury concerns, especially if a pitcher is throwing hard and slips.”

According to Ingles, Littick Field and Margaret Sagan field drain incredibly well, and he said if any fields in Ohio are playable, it’s likely to be ours. But head athletic trainer Todd Miller has a set of safety standards that must be met in order for teams to be allowed to play.

Huguenard stressed that while weather has been crazy, it is important to not blame anything on it or allow it to get team moral down.

“Your opponent is going through the same thing and we play in everything except lightening.  We have to practice in everything in order to be mentally prepared to face bad conditions in a game,” she said.

“Last year we started to practice outside only a week before our first game.  This year we went out four to five weeks before our first game, when it was still five out. That preparation gives us an edge.”

Northwestern University football players will vote April 25 whether to unionize after the National Labor Relations Board ruled in March that players are employees of the school and have the right to form unions.

Northwestern is appealing the decision.

The Northwestern players are represented by the College Athletes Players Association, which is pushing for collective bargaining to enable the athletes to receive long-term medical coverage, increase scholarships, allow them to profit for use of their likeness, provide due process rights in disciplinary situations and allow them to get paid by their school as employees.

Jay Martin, OWU head coach of soccer said the decision on the Northwestern union case could affect college sports across all three divisions once the precedent is set.

“I think it’s good for student athletes to have a voice at the table,” Martin said.

“My concern is that and subsequent things will harm programs more than help them.”

He said Division I schools could probably afford to pay student athletes as employees but then programs might have to be cut.

“What you could see is top student athletes from Division I programs start to consider Division II or III schools where less time is committed to athletics,” Martin said.

“On the other hand, if programs are deleted, you could see the same result.”

Martin also said there is an “unintended consequences joke” in sports that every time Division I messes up, it passes the role to Division III.

“Nothing happens that doesn’t have some sort of effect on us,” Martin said.

“This could lead to a change in the dynamics of college sports. In Europe, for example, sports operate as local clubs. Depending on how this goes, ten years down the road, in some sports that could be a possibility.”

Tom Watts, head football coach, said student athletes should have a voice but the idea to unionize is unnecessary.

He also said OWU sports teams could not be affected no matter the outcome because it is a Division III college.

“I do not think this will affect D3 sports, because we are not creating revenue that D1 sports do,” Watts said.

Martin also said he understands why the Northwestern players are pushing for a union.

He said athletics are time consuming, with Division I athletes putting up to 60 hours into sports on-season and Division III putting at least 12 hours in a week in order to receive credit.

“Ten years ago student athletes weren’t allowed to get jobs. So they had virtually zero spending money and couldn’t go out like the other kids,” he said.

However, he does not think OWU’s student athletes give up more time than any other programs on campus.

“In that respect, I look at athletics as being no different from other disciplines.

“Our theatre department spends just as much if not more hours outside of the classroom than us,” Martin said.

Martin said there is also no difference at Division III schools with potential scholarship money awarded for non-academic related programs.

“We’re not allowed to have athletic experience as part of the financial aid package here,”  Martin said.

“Athletic coaches aren’t even supposed to walk into financial aid offices, so to speak.”

With the spring golf season reaching its final stretch, the women’s golf team hopes to make good on one of their biggest goals this year: winning the conference championship.

In order to do so they will need to win their last two matches, concluding with the NCAC Invitational, May 2-3.

“The team is much better from my freshman year and we have improved greatly this season as well,” junior Ally Lichwa said.

Sophomore Ashley Saylor added that everyone has been working hard and is striving to improve with each match.

“We’ve worked on becoming confident in ourselves and while statistically none of the matches count more than any others,” she said.

“We are even more excited for our upcoming home tournament and conferences.”

Though snow caused the cancellation of the March 30 Swing Fore The Cure event, there are still three invitationals left in the season.

From April 12-13 the team will host its home tournament, the Lauren Bump Invitational, and April 26-27 they will travel to Indiana for the DePauw Invitational, which serves as the first weekend of conference play.

While Saylor expressed a strong team desire to represent well as tournament hosts, their main focus is on trying to win the NCAC.

Their final opportunity to do so comes at the NCAC Invitational, where the winners will be crowned as conference champions.

Conference play is split into two weekends, with all four counting towards crowning a champion.

The overall first place team and first place individual qualify for the national tournament.

According to Saylor, though they have never won the conference championship, they won a tournament in the fall which was their first ever number one finish.

“All in all, I’m happy to see that our program is growing and I can’t wait to see how it is when I’m a senior and after I graduate,” said sophomore Amy Greenwood.

Lichwa said winning at conference is something that she takes pride in trying to achieve.

She added she wants to show the campus that the team can do it, and pointed to their yearlong improvement as a positive step.

Greenwood elaborated further, saying “I feel like our team has a lot of potential this year and I feel like we’re going to surprise a lot of people with how we finish.”

Greenwood said the NCAC is very competitive, and winning would be a big deal to everyone on the team.

Saylor added that this year’s team has already become a part of OWU history, and that she hopes the hard work put in will put them in the school records again.