Sports
February 1, 2024
Distance sets records amidst ‘track hack’
The Goshen College men’s and women’s track teams competed this past Friday at Grand Valley State University and Saturday at Taylor University, with numerous team members setting school records and topping ‘A’ standards to qualify for nationals. Mathew Keitany, a junior, ran a time of 8:25.85 in the 3000-meter at Grand Valley State, breaking Nelson Kemboi’s previous indoor record of 8:26.43. The next day at Taylor, Kemboi, a senior, qualified for nationals with a time of 8:35.76; the time, when adjusted for the disadvantage of Taylor’s 200-meter track, also came in under the 8:30.00 national standard. Drew Hogan, a sophomore,...
February 1, 2024
Tennis begins spring season
The Goshen College men’s and women’s tennis teams kick off their spring season this weekend. Both will travel to Bethel University and Christian Brothers University in Tennessee before heading to South Haven, Mississippi for a match at Blue Mountain University. Carmen Aliaga, a sophomore on the women’s tennis team, said, “I think it’s exciting, especially since when I played in high school, it was always in the fall, never in the spring. We get to play more, which is what we as a team want.” Goshen’s tennis teams don’t typically have a full spring season, only playing a game or...
January 25, 2024
Volleyball preseason preview
This Saturday, the Goshen College men’s volleyball team will open their season with a game against Lakeland University at home. They will debut their season with new leadership and new faces. Last season, the Leafs managed an overall record of 9-12 and a conference record of 7-11; they are currently ranked No. 7 in the WHAC preseason poll. Jeff Phillips is new at the helm, taking on the positions of head coach and director of volleyball this year. Accompanying him is Wyatt Bollinger ’23, a former setter who has stepped up to take on a role as associate head coach....
January 25, 2024
Track and field at ‘a high level’
On Saturday, January 20, the Goshen College men’s and women’s track teams traveled to Purdue University Fort Wayne to compete in a meet with Trine University, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Indiana Wesleyan University and Wright State University. Goshen performed well in a variety of events on both the men’s and women’s teams, and a few individuals excelled in their particular events. In women’s weight throw, Willow Kenneda finished fifth, while Kaitlyn Johnson and Theresa Rodriguez placed 16th and 17th, respectively. Kassidy Faler placed fifth in the women’s pole vault with a height of 2.50 meters. Evan O’Toole placed second in...
January 18, 2024
Women’s basketball fights but falls to Taylor
This past Saturday, women’s basketball lost to Taylor 79-72, falling to 8-10 overall, and 3-5 in conference play. Kyla Foster led the team with 15 points, filling the box score with 11 rebounds and 5 assists as well. Her 5 offensive rebounds helped Goshen to outscore Taylor 11-8 on second chance opportunities. “I felt good about it,” she said. “I wish we could’ve come out with a W, of course, but it felt good being the motor of it while we were down and just trying to keep us together.” Taylor started the game on an 8-0 run; however, Goshen...
January 18, 2024
Men’s basketball faces a difficult Crossroads
The Goshen men’s basketball team lost to Taylor 79-71 this past Saturday, falling to 0-17 this season. Karson Jenkins led the Maple Leafs with 27 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, also dishing out a team-leading 4 assists. Isaac Miller, Judah Simfukwe and Marcus Northern contributed 10 points each, with Kevin Cota adding 8 points and 8 rebounds. Despite the loss, Jenkins felt positive about the team’s effort. “We fought hard; we played together,” he said. “We played one of our better games of the season, and… we have a young team. As we get more experienced… we’ll be...
November 30, 2023
Fall athletes on the end of a career
As the semester comes to an end, so too does a collegiate athletic career for many Maple Leafs. Being an athlete at Goshen College means different things to different people, so I talked to seniors who finished their final season to hear their thoughts. Mathurin Allawai began playing soccer when he was growing up in Chad. He said, “I didn’t want to play soccer at first; I was more of a student … [but when] I was 4 years old my friends would tell me ‘Come, let’s play soccer’ since I was always in my room studying. They brought me...
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...