Wabash Seniors Reach Peak

Wabash football players traditionally plan a bonding experience for themselves right before they start their final season. This year 17 Little Giant seniors climbed Pikes Peak in a record time of 8 hours, 31 minutes.

The Crawfordsville Journal Review reports that the group also went skydiving and whitewater rafting on their three-day excursion.

For me the best part of the story is how the athletes banded together to help one of their own make it to the top. Mark Ellis has back problems, which might have prevented him from joining his teammates at the peak, but this group had a goal and nothing was going to stop them ALL from reaching it:

Ellis began having troubles because of a herniated disc in his lower back, so the group devised a plan to help him along. Knowing Ellis needed help, the seniors broke into foursomes and configured a 2-1-2 formation. There were two guys in front of Ellis and he was hanging on to their backpacks. There were then two guys behind helping push Ellis up the mountain.

“They sacrificed their energy to help get me up the mountain,” Ellis said. “That just shows me the type of senior class we have and no matter the obstacle, we are going to reach our goal.”

Howard and Linda Payne, of RV-Dreams Journal meet up with the Little Giants at the Peak, and gave two of the players a ride back down the mountain. They came away impressed with Wabash football.

So Wes and Richard from the Wabash College (northwest Indiana) football team came with us.

They had gotten up at 2:00 am to start their hike at 4:00 am, so they were pretty tired. But these nice young men were a joy to talk to.

Wabash College is one of the few remaining men's liberal arts colleges in the country and has an excellent academic and character-building reputation.

Seventeen seniors from the football team came to Colorado to sky-dive, climb Pike's Peak, and whitewater raft. Last year they went to Panama and worked in the fields of poor farmers.

They said their coach, Chris Creighton, wants them to experience things that make an impact on their lives. Football at Wabash is about a whole lot more than just football.

Mr. Creighton sounds like a guy we'd like to meet. :)

Read the full Journal Review story here

New Beginnings

This could be the best time of the whole school year - everything is shiny and new, people are full of hope and promise. The whole school year stretches in front of us like an empty road. I can't wait to see what's around the next corner! I'm not the only one talking about the new season:

The latest issue of Connect2 OWU features a couple of stories about the Battling Bishops. The first features a video interview with Roger Ingles, OWU athletic director, talking about the excitement of the new year, the support of loyal fans and the community, and all of the new things athletes, families, fans and coaches can expect to see this year. The Bishops are about six weeks away from the completion of their first on-campus softball field!

The second article features two of the returning football players, Dean Boylan and Steve Hymes as they begin preseason practices. The two discuss how they came to football in the past as well as what their futures might hold. They also describe what a typical day is like as an OWU student-athlete.

Finally, yesterday's Crawfordsville Journal Review visits with a "Super Sophomore" - Wabash President Patrick White - who is beginning his second year as a Little Giant. White left St. Mary's in Indiana, an all-women's college, to join Wabash last fall. As he settles into his sophomore season, he has found that his experience with the women translates quite well to the men.

As it turns out, the experience at a woman’s college really maps out to the experience here because of fierce loyalty from the students and alumni and a great deal of pride in being special and unusual and distinctive in American higher education.

Good luck to all NCAC coaches and athletes as we begin yet another season!

Quakers Set to Break in New Stadium

Earlham football players are returning to campus, with more than their usual excitement this fall. When the Quakers stepped on campus, they found almost completely new digs as Darrell Beane Stadium underwent a $2 million renovation which began earlier this year.

The new 6,500-square foot facility will serve as the football team's locker room. Earlham also added a new scoreboard, grandstand, fully-wired press box and a gathering plaza for fans, players and family, amongst other additions.

The Richmond Palladium-Item reports the locker room, air-conditioned and carpeted, was an especially big hit with returning players.

The stadium is named for the late Darrell Beane, a 1955 graduate of Earlham and a generous supporter of all of the Quaker athletic programs, especially football. There will be a dedication for the upgrade during the Oct. 20 homecoming game against Kenyon.

NCAC International

While most of us are desperately scurrying around trying to make sure everything is ready for the beginning of the new school year, two NCAC teams are headed on the adventures of a lifetime.

The Kenyon men's basketball team heads to Italy on Wednesday. The Lords will tour Rome, Tuscany and Milan, and will also play three exhibition games along the way. The players will share their experiences here beginning Friday.

Meanwhile, the Wittenberg men's soccer team is in the middle of an 11-day trip to England. The team departed Aug. 6 and had a built-in tour guide, as head coach Steve Dawson, a 1978 graduate of Loughborough University in Leicestershire, is a London native. The Tigers' packed schedule includes unique opportunities to experience British culture and see many famous sites, play games against top local club teams and attend games played by some of the greatest professional soccer players in the world.