Category: Sports

By Aleksei Pavloff, Sports Editor 

The Ohio Wesleyan University coaching staff adds one more to the family, with the hiring of experienced head wrestling coach Paul Reid.

Reid’s first day on the job was Nov. 1 and the administration is excited to see wrestling back after being absent from OWU athletics since the mid-80s.

“I am pleased that OWU will once again offer men’s wrestling as one of our varsity athletics programs,” said OWU President Rock Jones. “Many alumni who competed on the wrestling team in previous decades now are leaders in business, industry, medicine and academic life.”

Jones also said this will help attract more students to the university and is also confident that Reid is a good fit for the new program with his wealth of experience as a coach and a recruiter.

“Coach Reid is ideally suited to lead the program as it returns to OWU,” Jones said. “He has good experience, will be an effective recruiter and will quickly build a competitive program that attracts student athletes who reflect OWU’s values.”

Reid said one of the reasons he came to OWU was “the opportunity to reinstate” the new program.

“It is a very rewarding experience,” said Reid.

This is not the first time Reid has helped a program get on its feet. Before coming to the university, Reid helped build a wrestling program at Alfred State College where he served as the head coach.

Reid’s experience with wrestling extends way back to his childhood days. From wrestling at a young age through high school, Reid competed at Coe College, which is a division III private school located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Reid went to the University of North Carolina Pembroke, a division II program, where he studied his master’s as a graduate assistant.

He then was an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and was the head recruiting coordinator for two years.

After his time at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Reid took the position as head assistant coach at Iowa Western Community College for three years. There, he helped start a new wrestling program. The program is now in the top 10 for junior colleges according to theopenmat.com.

His most recent job was at Alfred State College where he was the head wrestling coach for three years and help the program through an “extensive rebuild.”

Reid was first contacted by OWU in late September and said that the mix of academics and athletics was something that he admires about the university.

“That is what division III is all about,” Reid said. “You want a good, well-rounded education but you want a well-rounded experience also.”

Now, Reid is the head wrestling coach at OWU and said he is ready to get to start recruiting and build the program from the ground up.

Reid is planning to “get after it” with recruiting for the 2018-19 wrestling season. He said that Ohio has a “rich talent pool,” but hopes that OWU national reputation will assist him in going to tournaments outside of the state of Ohio.

By Aleksei Pavloff, Sports Editor 

Two Ohio Wesleyan students have taken what they have learned in class and turned it into their own business and passion while still keeping up with school work.

Junior Ben Mudzinganyama and sophomore Connor King have created their own company called Xnox Fitness.

The company focuses on personal training, dieting and sports performance.

King is a finance major with a minor in exercise science and is currently trying to get certified to train clients. Mudzinganyama is certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine and works directly with clients on a daily basis. He is also majoring in exercise science and minoring in business administration.

It didn’t take long for both students to relate to one another.

“We met last semester and just talked about what we wanted to do one day in the future,” King said. “Then we just started talking about ideas and what we were passionate about.”

Both students played sports here at OWU. But they found the stress of playing a sport while going to class wasn’t as rewarding as creating something that would “last a lifetime,” according to Mudzinganyama.

King and Mudzinganyama met last semester and talked about what interested them. Mudzinganyama said he originally wanted to be a physical therapist but eventually decided that wasn’t his passion. He also added that the injuries were taking a toll on his physical capability.

“To be in this business, you have to have an able body,” Mudzinganyama said.

Both students said they have been interested in health and fitness for some time now. It wasn’t until the summer they thought that it would be a good idea to work together.

“We both have the same passions and bring different ideas and experiences to the table,” King said.

With sports no longer being a factor in their daily lives, they still have a very busy schedule to keep up with.

“Running your own business is a grind,” King said. “It’s not for everybody,” Mudzinganyama said. “You have to put in odd hours.”

Xnox Fitness is working out of the Delaware Fit Factory, a crossfit gym that is located on South Sandusky Street. They are currently working with the owner Eric Sutliff and Mudzinganyama said their partnership has been “fantastic.”

The company is looking to expand its brand with an informational video on their Facebook page that currently has more than 1,500 views. They have also been in contact with local high schools in the Delaware area.

“We want to dominate the sports industry and the fitness world,” Mudzinganyama said.

Some other students on campus have noticed how dedicated they are in their business. “I think that it’s awesome that they are doing this,” said junior Lauren Carpenter. “[Mudzinganyama] is an insightful guy and loves to work with people.”

By Aleksei Pavloff, Sports Editor 

It’s the start of a new semester and the Ohio Wesleyan athletics department appointed Doug Zipp as the new athletics director in August.

“He is absolutely the right person to serve as OWU’s director of athletics at this time,” President Rock Jones said. “I look forward to working closely with him.”

Last semester, OWU’s athletics department said goodbye to Roger Ingles who served as the previous athletics director. Since then, the school tried to find a suitable replacement. For a while, Mike DeWitt was the interim athletics director while also being the head coach for the men’s basketball team.

Zipp was appointed to the position Aug. 15.

“The great work of … [DeWitt] in the transition has been ideal,” said Zipp. “The work he and the staff were able to accomplish over the summer was incredible and how they quickly were able to get me up to speed was a huge help. I cannot thank them enough for all of their good work.“

Jones said, “Doug has hit the ground running and is quickly engaging in every aspect of oversight of the athletic program at Ohio Wesleyan.” He also said Zipp has been learning a lot for being here a short while and that he has made time to get to know the coaches and staff.

Before coming to OWU, Zipp was the director of athletics of Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia for five years.

But this is not the first time Zipp has been a part of the NCAC. Prior to his time at Shenandoah, Zipp worked various jobs at Kenyon College, from dean of Residential Life, special assistant to the president, project manager for the Kenyon Athletic Center to interim athletics director.

Zipp became aware of the opening for athletics director at OWU after his colleagues and friends told him about it.

“They encouraged me to take a serious look at the position and to consider applying,” Zipp said. Jones said the process of finding a new athletics director was primarily about finding someone who valued athletic and academic excellence.

“There was tremendous interest in this position, reflected in the fact that all four finalists who visited campus have experience as Division III athletics directors,” Jones said. “OWU’s athletics program is highly regarded, as is the [NCAC].”

Zipp already has high standards for OWU and its athletics program. He said he wants to instill a winning attitude in every team and build relationships with alumni and the Delaware community.

“It is our goal to provide each student the opportunity to compete for a NCAC championship at least once every four years,” Zipp said.

Before Zipp joined OWU, the athletics department added women’s rowing and men’s wrestling. Zipp ensured that the process for finding coaches and new staff is underway.

“We have search committees for each position and we are now on the fast track to find the best candidates [who] will buy into and support our academic and athletic mission and be able to build solid programs in wrestling and women’s rowing,” said Zipp. “We will be engaging in the interview process in the next two weeks with the goal of having coaches named and starting by early October.”

The Battling Bishops welcome Zipp and plan on improving the athletics department and its teams in the future.