Sports
November 30, 2023
Men and women race together at nationals
The cross country teams ended their 2023 season in Vancouver, Washington, at the NAIA National Championships. The women finished 15th in the nation, and the men finished 16th. This was the first time the women’s team made it to the championships, and the men’s fifth straight visit. For both teams, it was their best overall performance in school history. Mercy Chebet was named an All-American for her 34th-place finish out of 331 runners. Chebet was in 128th place at the one-mile mark of the 6K (3.73-mile) race, but moved into the top 40 — the cutoff to qualify as an...
November 9, 2023
Softball and baseball on the horizon
With only three months until their first games, the Goshen College softball and baseball seasons are fast approaching. The baseball team is coming off a 2023 season with an overall record of 10-38. The softball team finished the 2023 season with a 24-26 record. Baseball has added 13 new players to their program this year, while softball has added only two. Currently, the teams are holding unofficial workouts and will begin official practices after Christmas break. Mckenzie Richardson, a senior, said the softball team practices bonding by holding a team activity at least once a month. Richardson talked about “captain-led...
November 9, 2023
A new season begins for women’s basketball
On Oct. 27, the women’s basketball team kicked off the season at the Cougar Classic hosted by the University of Saint Francis. They played Concordia and Cornerstone, with both games ending in losses. The next weekend, the Leafs’ first home game against Judson University resulted in a commanding win. Led by Syanne Mohamed’s 19-point and 12-rebound double-double, the Leafs bested the Eagles 82-56. They followed up with a 63-60 thriller win against Trinity Christian College on Monday. Zion Neat, a senior guard, hit a crucial three-pointer late in the game to bring the Maple Leafs within one point. Soon after,...
November 9, 2023
Representing your ethnicity
The Black and African-American population only represents 11% of Goshen College’s student-athletes, and yet, 68% of traditional students who are Black and African-American are student-athletes, according to Justin DeWeese, assistant athletic director of communications. Brielle Agnew is one of the Black athletes on campus, and the only Black woman on the volleyball team. Agnew, a senior majoring in biology, said that her background in volleyball has been much the same her whole life: mostly “white, skinny, blonde girls with long hair. That’s what it started as, and that is what it was when I first started playing. It’s probably more...
November 2, 2023
New faces on men’s basketball
The men’s basketball team opened their season in Winona Lake, Indiana, at the Lancer Tipoff Classic against Madonna University. They fell to the Crusaders 81-61, with sophomore Karson Jenkins leading the team with 22 points and 6 rebounds. The following day they played Kentucky Christian University, where they lost 77-76. The team was marshaled by Judah Simfukwe, a returning sophomore, who scored a career-high 27 points. Jenkins picked up 14 points and 4 rebounds, and freshman Kevin Cota led with 7 boards. The Maple Leafs were ahead of KCU 37-33 going to the half. In the second half, the Leafs...
November 2, 2023
Volleyball highlights from 2023 season
The Goshen College volleyball team ended their season on Saturday with a 3-0 loss to No. 17 Bethel University. After the Pilots won the first set 25-13, the Leafs almost captured a win in the second set — but lost 25-23. They then lost 25-11 in the third set. Goshen ended the season 8-24, with more wins than the past three seasons combined and its most wins in a season since 2017. The Leafs won 31.3% of the sets they played this season; in 2022, they won 14.4% of their sets. Season leaders for the Leafs include junior Sadie Brenneman...
November 2, 2023
ASA brings the community together
This past weekend, the Association of Student-Athletes presented a “trunk or treat” event open to the Goshen community. The RFC was transformed into a family-friendly Halloween party full of balloons, glow sticks, music and laughter. As the kids walked in through the main entrance, they were greeted by athletes and given glow sticks. They then made their way through a tunnel of balloons and faux spiderwebs as they entered the gym. Inside the gym, teams set up booths that portrayed their sport. Kids were able to shoot baskets, pitch, hit a baseball, hit targets with a soccer ball, high jump...
October 30, 2023
PIN, CAC and athletics team up
This past weekend, the Prevention Intervention Network and the Campus Activities Council collaborated on an interpersonal violence awareness event at the volleyball and soccer games. A table with flyers, statistics and posters was set up at the entrance of each game. Signs saying “Enough is enough,” “We stand against domestic violence” and “I’m _____ and I am a game changer” (the blank for a name) were laid out for people to pose with and snap pictures. They were also encouraged to post these photos with PIN’s Instagram handle as a way to spread awareness, which is PIN’s main objective. PIN...
October 26, 2023
Women’s XC places 2nd, men take 4th
With just one meet to go before the NAIA National Championships, the men’s and women’s cross country teams are peaking at just the right time. Last Saturday, both teams traveled to the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge meet, which took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With nearly 30 schools present, the Leafs rose to the challenge. The women’s team placed second out of 22 competitors and the men’s team took home fourth place out of 27 competitors. To head coach Rustin Nyce, the achievements set the team up well for the coming Crossroads League Championships at Taylor University on Nov. 3. ...
October 26, 2023
Men’s soccer looks to the future
The Goshen College men’s soccer season is nearing its end. After last night’s game, they have a record of 1-14-2 with one game left on Saturday at 7 p.m. Despite how it looks from the outside, there is optimism both within the team and from the coach, Dan Sullivan, who was named head coach this spring. When asked about the season and the future of the program, Sullivan said, “We have weeks where the attitude is good, but when the results don’t come it is an added layer of stress while trying to stay on top of things. When you...
October 12, 2023
Community and opportunity
Of the 88 international students at Goshen College, 65 of them are student-athletes. For international athletes who are searching for a spot on a college roster in the U.S., the application process varied greatly. According to Matija Margetic, a sophomore from Croatia on the tennis team, his most important step in being recognized was getting into contact with an international sports agent. “I ended up hiring an agent because I had already seen an agent work with some of my friends, which was really, really helpful,” he said. “Okay, I cannot get any responses [alone], let me do that. …...
October 12, 2023
Volleyball wins no. 8
The women’s volleyball team earned their eighth win on Saturday during homecoming weekend, which gave the Leafs their most wins since 2017. Goshen defeated Indiana University South Bend in four sets. GC won the first set 25-17 and continued their strong performance with 16 kills in a second-set win over the Titans, 25-15. The Titans came back in the third set with a 25-15 victory over the Leafs, but GC responded quickly with a 25-11 victory in the fourth set to close the match out. Emily Lynch, a junior, picked up 16 kills in the game — the most she...
October 12, 2023
How bowling came to GC
Goshen College is beginning to recruit for a new intercollegiate sport: men’s and women’s bowling. Competition is set to begin next fall against seven teams that already have bowling programs in the Crossroads League. The players will form the 15th and 16th intercollegiate teams at GC, with their home games played at Maple City Bowl, a bowling alley on West Pike Street in Goshen. The last team GC established was the men’s volleyball team in 2018. Scott Curtis will serve as the first ever bowling head coach, directing both the men’s and women’s teams. Curtis, who started on Aug. 1,...
October 5, 2023
Passion fuels cross country
The Goshen College cross country teams traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, where they competed in the “Live in Lou Cross Country Classic.” The men placed seventh of 46 teams in the 8K blue race. GC’s men’s team is currently ranked No. 13 nationally, and they beat multiple ranked teams: No. 11 Grace, No. 13 Taylor, No. 14 St. Francis, No. 15 Aquinas, No. 17 Lewis-Clark St. and No. 22 Olivet Nazarene. The women placed 30th of 41 in the 5K blue race and are currently ranked No. 24. The women beat all teams receiving votes in the NAIA coaches...
October 5, 2023
Tennis changes its home court
A lot can change in a year, and the Goshen College tennis teams have gotten used to staying on their toes both on and off the court. For starters, less than a week before the season began, Jon Bemisderfer began his role as director of tennis, taking on the coaching of both teams. In addition to having a new coach, the teams had to travel for their games — even the home matches. Due to the poor condition of the GC tennis courts, the teams moved their home games to Goshen Junior High School, for at least this year. The...