The Goshen College athletic department has continued to expand this semester with the addition of two new administration staff, Mara Beck and Sarah Hart, along with the introduction of the U.S. Highway 20 Cup. Both Beck and Hart graduated from college this past spring. Beck graduated from Goshen College with a degree in social work, while Hart graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in sports management. Beck, who ran track all four year at GC and cross-country during her first year before switching to play soccer during her sophomore year, has taken on the position as coordinator of...

By Emily Cummings • November 13, 2019 • Sports

Ryan Smith crossed the finish line of the Hartford Marathon last month with a grin on his face. The Goshen College graduate had not only won the race, but qualified for the Olympic trials as well, becoming the first male Maple Leaf to do so. The race, which took place in Hartford, Connecticut, on Oct. 12, was Smith’s third attempt to qualify in the 26.2-mile distance.  His first attempt was at the Hartford Marathon last year where he finished in second and missed the 2-hour-19-minute cutoff by 3 minutes and 36 seconds. This year, Smith returned to change the books....

By Sierra Ross Richer • November 13, 2019 • News

Elena Meyer Reimer first encountered aerial silks while visiting her college-age cousin. “I was like, ‘That looks really fun’…so I started Googling and I found a place in South Bend that taught silks and I was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna do it.’ And then I went,” said Meyer Reimer. That was during her sophomore year of high school. Most of the people in her class at ESA Aerial Arts were significantly younger than her. “It was good to start so late in that I had a lot of motivation, but also bad in that I felt very behind, and a...

By Kristin Jantzen • November 6, 2019 • Arts

This summer, 16-year-old Pennsylvania native Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf became the first Fortnite World Cup Champion, earning the $3 million grand prize. The three-day tournament was the first of its kind for Fortnite and a sign of what’s to come in the esports world. This year, Goshen College has hopped on the esports train, as a newfound student-run club has gained the attention of students on campus. Last year, Hugh Birky, a junior, found himself spending countless hours with other GC students playing Rocket League, a growing game in esports. He saw the value in his time spent playing Rocket League...

By Nick Yutzy • November 6, 2019 • News

The managing editor for the biggest Tottenham Hotspurs sports blog in the U.S. sits at the front desk of the Goshen College Music Center.  Tottenham Hotspurs FC are a soccer club from Tottenham (pronounced “totnum”), in North London. The team is currently ranked sixth in England’s most competitive league, the English Premier League, and they have fans all over the world.  One of those fans is the office coordinator at the Music Center, Dustin George-Miller, who is also the managing editor for the Hotspurs blog.  At the college, George-Miller coordinates space-use, sends emails to students and helps the Music Center...

By Gabe Miller • October 9, 2019 • Features

If you have seen a student-athlete walking around on campus with an “All In for Goshen” purple T-shirt, you may have noticed that there is a schedule on the back of the shirt, including a game from each athletic team’s schedule.  While they may look like a random selection of games, these games have been designated as Maple Leaf Pride Nights, where everyone in attendance is encouraged to wear purple. New this year, Pride Nights look to grab the attention of students and fans to come out and support Maple Leaf athletics. Harold Watson, athletic director, gave all of the...

By Alyson Prigge • October 2, 2019 • Sports

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national office announced last week that Goshen College is one of the 180 NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Institutions for the 2018-19 academic year.  Goshen is one of only 14 schools to have achieved the award every year since its establishment in 2002. The only other Crossroads League institution to do so is Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. The program was introduced with the vision of changing the culture of sport and was formerly known as Champions of Character, until 2010 when the title of ‘Five-Star’ was added. It’s mission, according to the...

By Megan Bower • September 25, 2019 • Sports

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national office announced last week that Goshen College is one of the 180 NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Institutions for the 2018-19 academic year.  Goshen is one of only 14 schools to have achieved the award every year since its establishment in 2002. The only other Crossroads League institution to do so is Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. The program was introduced with the vision of changing the culture of sport and was formerly known as Champions of Character, until 2010 when the title of ‘Five-Star’ was added. It’s mission, according to the...

By Megan Bower • September 25, 2019 • News

Students were lined up along the fence of the Eigsti track and field complex last Friday to witness something they may not see again for a while: President Rebecca Stoltzfus running alongside members of her Cabinet. Rustin Nyce, head track and field coach, said the intrasquad track meet was unintentionally created last spring when the track and field team’s early season meet was cancelled. “We threw the meet together quickly,” Nyce said. “The team really enjoyed it and suggested we promote it more to campus.” This year, the team hung flyers around campus and made announcements in club meetings to...

By Nick Yutzy • April 4, 2019 • Sports

A professor of Bible and religion, fluent in upwards of 15 languages and with a Ph.D. from Harvard University, Paul Keim knows just about everything.   A pudgy, balding man in his 60s with a beard few can claim outside of the Amish tradition, Keim looks the part of a biblical scholar, but at first glance, “basketball star” doesn’t seem like a fitting tagline. However, a heavy influence from sports beginning as a child sparked lifelong relationships and intercultural experiences.   Volleyball, football, tennis, softball, basketball—you name it, Keim played it as a kid. He also pushed himself academically as...

By Nick Yutzy • March 21, 2019 • Features

Kourtney Crawford, a University of Indianapolis alum, has been named the new head coach for Goshen College women’s volleyball, following the retirement of Jim Routhier, head coach of 32 years.   Most recently, Crawford was an assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team at the University of Indianapolis. Crawford also has held assistant and head coaching positions in numerous locations in the Indianapolis area, including at Warren Central High School and Bishop Chatard High School.   Crawford is from Indianapolis and has no connection to Goshen, but she was quickly drawn to the athletic program and the small and close-knit...

By Cecilia Garcia • March 7, 2019 • News

While many students are heading somewhere warm for Goshen College’s mid-term break, four Goshen College track and field athletes will instead travel to frigid Brookings, South Dakota to represent the program at the NAIA indoor track and field national meet. Junior Siana Emery, sophomore Suzette Rodriguez, and first-years Hayley Bickford and Simon Graber Miller will leave early in the morning of Feb. 27. All athletes will compete on Friday, March 1. Head coach Rustin Nyce, throws coach Nick Banke and jumps coach Kyle Mischler will join the four athletes on the trek to South Dakota. While Goshen College racewalkers have...

By Brandon Roe • February 22, 2019 • Features

“Dribble-dribble. Cross-cross. Between the legs. Hit the three!” said Roderick Wilmont, an assistant coach. This is how afternoon basketball practice begins for the Goshen College Men’s Basketball Team. “Get hot, Ryan!” Wilmont yelled to a first-year during a shooting drill. This may sound typical of a college basketball practice, but the man yelling it is not your average coach. Wilmont grew up in the Miami area playing basketball, where he did not start playing the game until he was 7 or 8 years old. “My mom played basketball at Baylor University and my dad was all about football,” Wilmont said....

By William Troyer • November 28, 2018 • Features

While millions of people walk up stairs, a select few are compelled to race up them. Bob Toews, assistant director of institutional research and academic database manager at Goshen College, races up flights of stairs competitively in a sport known as “tower running.” According to Toews, his colleagues always say, “tower running is the hardest sport you’ve never heard of.” In tower running, racers are able to walk or run, often doing both to save energy throughout the race. Some competitions have elite divisions, where the race’s fastest competitors are given the title of “elite” if they meet time requirements...

By Alyson Prigge • November 7, 2018 • Features

Any given day, one might see 35-year-old Justin Gillette, a Goshen College alumnus, running on the Millrace Trail, pushing a stroller as he chips away at his mileage for the week, which averages near 80. Chances are, he’ll wave as he passes, perhaps briefly stop to talk before he continuing down the trail. For many people, to run a marathon would be an accomplishment of a lifetime. For a select handful, the goal is to win a marathon. Gillette takes it one step further; he is well on his way to winning 100 marathons, a feat that would into the...

By Siana Emery • October 31, 2018 • Features