Sports – Page 8 – The Transcript

Homecoming hails hurrahs

By Matt Maier, Transcript Reporter

The Ohio Wesleyan campus was electric as alumni and families were welcomed to Homecoming weekend.

Filled with festivities and plenty of things to do on campus, the main events of Homecoming weekend were the tailgate on Saturday and the men’s football game against Kenyon College.

Set up in the parking lot of Selby Stadium was a tailgate welcomed to families, friends and alumni. From noon – 2 p.m., OWU offered activities such as the “selfie station” for people to mix and mingle, as well as a food station and beer truck.

“The tailgate was something that has never really been done in all my four years at OWU,” said senior Katie Worland. “I really like how they made it a senior event as well so the seniors were able to be together and really have a good time.”

Once the tailgate ended, the Battling Bishops hosted Kenyon College at Selby Stadium, with the men’s football team looking to avenge its previous loss against Denison University.

In what amounted to a 25-17 win in front of alumni and students, the Bishops extended their record to 2-3 overall.

“The atmosphere for the game was great with so many people back,” said Tom Watts, head coach. “The home side was filled up and there was so much going on in the parking lot prior to the game that really helped us out.”

The past three years have proved to be successful for the Bishops against Kenyon as they have won each time. Solidifying this streak was this year’s win against the Lords.

“Kenyon always gives us a tough game, so it was a great opponent to play this week,” said senior Dominick Orsini. “I think both teams gave their fans a great game to watch,.”

Watts said, “The goal for the rest of the season is to build off the last game and keep improving to take that next step. We have a great team who has fought through some adversity, but the sky is the limit for this team.”

Team OWU wins big at fundraising

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Team OWU has raised $167,000 more than last year.

The total amount of donations received for Team OWU for the 2014-15 school year was $348,682. This raised the 2015-16 goal to $320,000, compared to the $200,000 goal set five years ago, according to Colleen Garland, the vice president for university advancement.

This was exceeded by a surplus of donations and the fund received $516,000 total in donations, according to the 2015-16 Annual Giving Summary.

“The University is funding about 65 percent of our operating costs in athletics, and the rest is coming from fundraising,” said Roger Ingles, the director of athletics.

Team OWU is the largest source for fundraising for athletics, along with restricted gifts, which is a one-time gift, such as the new tarp given to women’s softball or the new baseball outfield fence. Many coaches run summer camps to raise money and team members participate as well.

“We feel like we’re staffed at the level we need to be staffed … When I first took over, I asked [the coaches] if we want to invest in staffing or the budget … we can fundraise the budget, you can’t hire a coach that easy,” Ingles said.

Team OWU also has two different types of gifts: designated and undesignated. The designated funds go to whichever team or project the donor desires. Undesignated funds are just as important, raising money that may not have access to the alumni connections that longer established teams have, said Ingles.

Athletes work to raise funds as well, such as holding a raffle each year. Each player was required to sell roughly 15 tickets for $10 each to help pay for the football gear, and in turn, that ticket would enter the buyer in a chance to win a prize for each home game of the season, said Evan Guein, a former wide receiver and Jermaine Frazer-Phillips, a current defensive end.

“There’s a high chance you could win,” Guein said.

There is also a 48-hour city challenge held in the spring, an online giving challenge that had alumni from different cities competing to see which city could raise the most money for the Ohio Wesleyan Fund, the overall donation funds for operating the university, said Garland.

Men’s golf wins Gatorade Collegiate

By Julia Snyder, Transcript Reporter

Ohio Wesleyan University’s men’s golf team competed in the Gatorade Collegiate in Dover, Ohio at Zoar Golf Club Sept. 3 and 4 and came in first of 10 teams.

The team shot scores of 282 and 297 respectively, earning a total team score of 579, three strokes above par, beating out Allegheny by 16 strokes.

Sophomore Adam Armstrong contributed to the total team score by shooting a combined score of 137, placing second in the tournament by one stroke.

The other three contributors were freshmen Will Efkeman, Aunders Erickson and Shane Hoben, shooting combined scores of 147, 147 and 150 respectively.

Coach Ian Miller said the team was well prepared and he is looking forward to seeing the growth of the team while working together and pushing each other to improve.

“[We] executed our plans for attacking the course and responded well to holding the lead after round one,” Miller said.

Armstrong said he feels pretty confident that the team can finish top three of every tournament.

“There should be no reason why we shouldn’t. We did really well, it’s the first tournament we’ve won since 2014,” Armstrong said.

Junior Zach Shahrokhi said he was excited about having beat Allegheny.

“We beat Allegheny, which is good because they were runners-up in the conference last year and we were happy to beat them because that shows that we’re competitive within the conference and we are capable of beating [Allegheny] in conference this year,” Shahrokhi said.

The team has six freshmen and Shahrokhi said this is the most competitive team he has played with.

“The freshman have added a lot of talent and depth to the team which has helped us to improve our consistency,” Shahrokhi said.

Miller said, “The assimilation of the freshmen into the team has been very good. We started that process last spring—getting the incoming freshmen talking and keeping up with each other throughout the summer. That has helped the returners become familiar with them and their abilities and that led to an immediate acceptance and respect.”

The team is more competitive now and they are looking forward to winning some more tournaments and playing better in conference this coming spring.

“We’re looking forward to one of our home tournaments this coming weekend and feel confident we can beat the other teams at Plum Brook Country Club in Sandusky, Ohio,” Armstrong said.

Football team takes Texas

By Matt Maier, Transcript Reporter

The Ohio Wesleyan University men’s football team lost 0-56 in their game against University of Mary-Hardin Baylor (UMHB).

The Battling Bishops traveled to Belton, Texas to play against the Crusaders of UMHB.

“We [went] into this game exactly like we do for any other game,” Tom Watts, head coach, said. “We have a great group of players who have worked extremely hard to this point.”

Senior Mason Tomblin, captain of the football team, said the team’s coaches advised them not to let the defeat discourage them.

“[The team has to] practice harder than before … and stick together to make this thing pan out how we want,” Tomblin said.

A large group of seniors returned this year to lead the team during their first game.

“We [had] a lot of returning players, and along with that we have 24 seniors, which is a huge class for a school our size,” Watt said. “With so many returning players, it allows us to be more advanced at this point in the season.”

Returning player and senior Richard Poutier said, “The first game’s always really exciting for us. Whether we’re playing home or away, we’re just excited to finally line up against someone other than ourselves, and it’s always nice to play that first game against a top-ranked opponent in a great environment.”

The Bishops received funding to travel to Texas from university administrators and alumni.

“Tom Watts, our athletic and university administrators, former CFO Dan Hitchell and a large number of alumni led by Bob Morrill, Steve Dutton, Pat Huber and others helped put this together,” said Roger Ingles, athletic director at OWU. “Without our alumni support, we could not have made this happen.”

The Bishops’ next game will be against Wittenberg University at 7 p.m. on Sept. 17 in Selby Stadium.

Playing for Luke

Photos from the OWU Men’s Soccer team’s first home game of the 2016 season against Hope College in honor of Luke Gabbert.

Photos by Courtney Dunne, Leah Miza and Izzy Sommerdorf

Missler’s mark on OWU baseball

Ryan Missler. Photo courtesy of owu.edu.

Ross Hickenbottom, Sports Editor

Anyone strolling along the Ohio Wesleyan campus over the past few years has probably noticed the new and more recognizable red hats the baseball teams wear, but not everyone knows the story behind them.

OWU’s baseball program is well-known among baseball fans in the U.S. because of alumni like Branch Rickey, who helped his agent, Jackie Robinson, break the color barrier of professional baseball in 1945.

Additionally, Tim Corbin, current Vanderbilt baseball head coach, created an elite program at the Division I college in Tennessee by winning multiple SEC Championships and a National Championship.

But among the OWU baseball program, one name is constantly being thought of and commemorated: Ryan Missler.

Missler, who died in August 2014, left a legacy behind at OWU when he graduated in 1998, going down as one of the best baseball players to ever step foot onto the diamond, according to his former coaches.

The former standout third baseman was 38 when he was involved in the crash that served as a loss to not only the OWU community, but to a wife, kids and numerous loved ones.

After hearing the news before the start of the 2014 season, the baseball team, led by the efforts of head coach Tyler Mott, decided that Missler deserved proper recognition and memorial, so they changed their caps to resemble those that Missler and his teammates wore during his career here.

The hat was red and included a black capital “W” as well as the number “7,” Missler’s number, which was retired for the remainder of OWU baseball history.

Missler, with a career batting average of .400, falls into fifth place in the OWU record books, as well as holding the record for most home runs in a season.

Though elite, his baseball skills aren’t entirely what compose the many memories he left behind. Missler was an exceptional person, as well as student, as told by his former coaches, including Fody Frentsos, current assistant coach.

Frentsos recalled a specific story, in which Missler brought humor and positivity to a situation involving quite the opposite feelings felt by a teammate and left-hand man, his shortstop. He shined in his leadership skills, by not only his words, but through his actions and never-ending thirst to succeed.

Roger Ingles, current OWU director of athletics, used to be heavily involved in the OWU baseball team, serving as a coach for multiple years. He said Missler always showed up ready to play hard.

“Everybody else kind of followed suit, because you had a guy that plays like that every day,” he said. “It just rubs off on everyone else.”

A player like Missler still serves as a mold for current OWU baseball players.

Justin Dages, senior shortstop, said Coach Mott views the hat as something that needs to be worked for and earned.

“The hat is the one thing that coaches hold back until we pass our fitness test, because of what it represents, which is those we have lost in our program: Ryan [Missler], and now [Brandon] Sega as well,” Dages said. “It also represents everyone who wore the uniform before us in this program and every time we put it on we play not only for each other, but for all of those who came before us.”

The players understand that the game of baseball goes past the diamond or batting cage by wearing these caps.

Spring Spotlight: Ahmed Abdel Halim

Ahmed Abdel Halim. Photo courtesy of battlingbishops.com.

Ross Hickenbottom, Sports Editor

Olivia Lease, Online Editor

Track athlete Ahmed Abdel Halim starts off his senior season on a high, being named athlete of the week twice already and taking home gold in the three competitions he has participated in.

Halim is in his fourth year of competing in the triple jump for the Bishops. He has increased his personal best every track season.

In high school, Halim played six sports. Yes, six of them, but triple jump wasn’t a part of his athletic arsenal back then, just high jump. He had participated in track first when he lived in England, and since then stayed with it.

He said, “I really wanted to focus on track to see what my potential could be if I put absolutely everything into it.”

Halim is currently the top-ranked triple jumper in the state of Ohio and third in the United States for Division III schools. He said, “It’s just a huge honor to be in the position I’m in at this point and I want to capitalize on this opportunity I have in front of me.”

He said he hopes to ultimately qualify in the long jump and triple, and go on to win in the triple jump on the national stage.

So far, Halim is reaching that goal seeing as he broke a school record on March 26 at the Cedarville Yellow Jacket Collegiate Outdoor Open. On his first triple jump of the day, he turned in a 47-9¾, which helped win the event and break the school record of 47-7¼ set by Craig Neeley in 2000.

Coach Kris Boey is in his 14th season as head track coach at Ohio Wesleyan, where he has witnessed plenty of successful track athletes and says that Halim is ” definitely a team player. He personifies what we would want from any of our athletes. He cares as much, if not more about others success, compared to his.”

Assistant Coach Seth McGuffin said he has seen Halim grow as an athlete since his freshman year.

OWU track and field just won the indoor conference title for the first time since 2010 and McGuffin said, “Ahmed was a huge part in that and it will carry over for us this outdoor season as we look to win the outdoor title.” He said he is proud of Halim for earning the title of All-American honors indoors since that has been a goal his whole career.

Words used to describe Halim from his coaches, whom are around Halim more than most, are, “persistent, hard-working and passionate.”

The same sort of compliments on behalf of Halim were given by his teammate and friend, Aaron Port, a fellow senior track athlete, who said, “the guy is just day in and day out with taking care of his body so that he can perform to his full potential and being one of the hardest workers as well.”

Port added, “Not only does he worry about himself though, he is always reaching out to help other people on the team. The record and NCAA championship aren’t out of the picture.”

Along with the team’s success, Halim looks to continue his own, as the indoor season progresses and the outdoor season approaches.

The men’s track and field team will compete next at the All-Ohio Division III Championship on April 16, in Selby Stadium on the George Gauthier Track.

Halim is majoring in international studies and minoring in religion. His hometown is Cairo, Egypt but he grew up in England until moving to Toledo, Ohio. His parents now reside in Sparks, Nevada.

Reflecting on a record-breaking season

Ross Hickenbottom, Sports Editor

“Fun.” “Immaculate.” “Unforgettable.”

Those were some of the words Ohio Wesleyan men’s basketball team used to describe the record-breaking season that, just as every other season without an NCAA Championship, ended too soon.

The team traveled to Lisle, Illinois on March 11 for their game against Benedictine, who handed them their fifth and final loss of the season.

“I have never enjoyed the game so much in my life,” said senior Matt Jeske. “All of that is attributed to my exceptional teammates, coaches and the chemistry between all of us.”

Along with Jeske, the underclassmen will say goodbye to three other seniors, as well as key players: Claude Grey, Zak Davis and Joey Kinsley.

Jeske has “no doubt that the work ethic and desire for success will remain constant, and these guys can have an even better season next year.”

Sophomore Seth Clark, junior Ben Simpson and Nate Axelrod, who was recently named Division II All-American, said they are ready to continue the winning tradition they have experienced for the past two years.

Simpson, who finished the season averaging a double-double and shooting .567 from the field, said, “This team this past year was probably one of the teams we’ve had here at OWU, and we will play with a chip on our shoulder next year.”

Seth Clark is one of the younger guys on the team and has scored 15.5 points per game and 30 out of 30 games played.

He said he also believes that the underclassmen on the team learned positive habits and consistency through this season’s seniors. “We have some young guys [who] have learned from the seniors and are ready to take on a bigger role,” Clark said.

Coach Mike DeWitt said he credits his strong winning tradition to the “quality of players I’ve had the opportunity to coach here.”

Jeske said DeWitt taught him “a lot throughout the years, but most importantly, he has shown me how to expect success, yet be humble when it comes.”

Along with some new faces, the All-NCAC trio of Simpson, Clark and Axelrod said they are looking forward to picking up where they left off next season.

Bishops experience wins, losses and new places

Freshman Kelsey Bowling rushes to defend a Capital attacker in a recent loss to the Crusaders. Photo by Leia Mizas.

Olivia Lease, Online Editor

A bittersweet feeling was left on the field on March 19 as Ohio Wesleyan’s women’s lacrosse team rallied against Capital, but was ultimately defeated in the last quarter. At Oberlin, the men’s lacrosse team took home another win.

Both teams had the opportunity to travel over spring break: the women’s team to San Juan, Puerto Rico, while the men’s team went to Maryland.

Clouds blocked out the sun and a chilly wind kept spectators at Selby Stadium alert as the women’s game played.

Capital, ahead by 4 points at the start of the third quarter, made it a difficult match.

“The game against Capital was a tough loss since the score was so close, but everyone on the team gave it their all which is all that matters,” said freshman Sofia Corrao. She contributed 2 assists and scored 2 goals by the end of the game.

Sophomore Cory Anna Kinder Kinder led the Bishops with 3 goals.

Head Coach Chelsea Huguenard said, “Our goalkeeping from both Natalie [Reddy] and Kelly [Coffyn] kept us in the game. Our second half we played much better on the offensive end, but it was just not enough.” The final score was 13-11.

Meanwhile, at Oberlin, the men’s lacrosse team won their game with a final score of 19-9.

The Bishops had an 11-0 run to start the game. Within the first minute of the game, freshman Jack Harvey scored a goal, giving the Bishops a nice lead.

Freshman Max Tennant led the Bishops with 4 goals and an assist. Junior Ben Rigger was credited with 8 saves.

Both teams had the opportunity to compete as well as grow closer as a team as they travelled to new places during spring break.

The women’s team traveled to Puerto Rico together which brought new challenges, Coach Huguenard said.

Huguenard said the area was beautiful but, “The heat was a new obstacle we have not dealt with this season, and also the competition was fierce.”

The team played two games, one against Oneonta State and one against Roanoke. The Bishops lost both games.

Senior Patricia Ryan said she was proud of how her team performed. “You only get better when you go up against competition like that.”

Coming back to OWU, the team had no time to relax. They played two games and finally got a break this past Sunday.

“It’s been very exhausting, but this team is motivated,” Huguenard said.

In Maryland, the men’s team played two games as well, one against Salisbury which was a close loss of 12-13 and another against Messiah, which the Bishops won 17-3.

The women’s lacrosse team played next at Muskingum on March 23 at 7 p.m. The men’s lacrosse team plays next on March 26 at 1 p.m. against Kenyon in Selby Stadium.

Men’s basketball shaping to be ‘one of the best in OWU history’

Areena Arora, Managing Editor

On Tuesday, Ohio Wesleyan hosted the quarter final match-up for the North Coast Atlantic Conference tournament at the Branch Rickey Arena, and defeated visiting Wabash College.

With a minute and half remaining, amidst a crowd of over 300 in attendance, the score was 97- 75 in favor of OWU, ultimately ending with a 100-80 win for the Bishops.

Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Dewitt said, “It’s a really good win for us…it’s nice to be able to still play this weekend.”

Wabash began with a 11-4 lead but toward the end of first half, OWU had a lead of 57-42.

“It’s one of the best seasons in school history and we just hope we can continue that as long as we can,” Dewitt said.

Kyle Brumett, head basketball coach at Wabash said, “(OWU) is really good. We’ve had success at times against them because they haven’t shot it as well as they have shot tonight. (OWU’s) game plan is out of the window, definitely and that’s why they are 1^st place and we’re 8^th.”

Sophomore Shooting Guard William Orr said, “This is the best group of players I’ve played with. We know the rules, we know what we need to know to win and that’s what we did tonight.”

According to the Battling Bishops website, the NCAC tournament semifinals and championship game will be held at OWU on Friday and Saturday. In the first semifinal, Hiram College will play against College of Wooster, followed by the second semifinal between Denison University and OWU.