On Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February 22, marathoners will attempt 204 laps on the indoor track in the Roman Gingerich Recreation and Fitness Center. This seventh annual certified marathon will be a test of endurance and speed for the benefit of local charities.   “This is a nationally recognized marathon that has built a reputation among marathoners,” Doug Yoder, coach of both cross country and track and field teams, said. “There are runners that come from all over the US to run in our marathons.”   This marathon, a grueling 26.2 miles, is different than the half marathon held...

By Hayley Mann • February 19, 2015 • News

After many months of transition, Goshen College now has a new athletic director: Josh Gleason. When Tim Demant resigned as athletic director last summer, an interim model was put in place and has been followed until now. Because the job was not opened externally, “the interim model that was put in place went through an extensive review process led by Lee Snyder, the provost, which is who the athletic department reports to now,” said Josh Keister, director of the Recreation and Fitness Center here at GC. “It was then decided to take the interim model and continue it full time...

By Maddie Birky • February 12, 2015 • News

As the intramural basketball regular is drawing close to its end, the playoff scenarios are getting interesting. On Sunday night in the men’s league, Chuggz ran their record to 3-0 by defeating Dunkin’ Go Nuts 54-38, Maple Jordan got by Team Faculty-Staff 63-55, and Hoosier Daddy grabbed their first win of the season, holding off Blazers 48-43. The league leader entering the night, Pippin’ Ain’t Easy, had the night off. On Wednesday night, co-league leader Pippin Ain’t Easy saw their unbeaten streak come to an end at the hands of Maple Jordan, 48-39. Chuggz would go on to assume the...

By Seth Wesman • January 29, 2015 • Sports

The intramural basketball season is off and running with three nights of games being played as of Wednesday. Those nights have produced a wide spectrum of results from blowouts to nail-biters. On Sunday night, Maple Jordan secured their first victory with a 74-41 triumph over Blazers. Pippin Ain’t Easy scored an impressive victory over Dunkin Go Nuts in an 87-33 effort, and Chuggz defeated Team Faculty-Staff by way of forfeit. After Tuesday’s round of games, two teams remain unbeaten in regular season play. Pippin Ain’t Easy ran their record to a perfect 3-0 with another lopsided victory, this time a...

By Seth Wesman • January 22, 2015 • Sports

The spring semester (the word spring is used loosely) has started up again, and we all know what that means. It is time for the always-entertaining season of intramural basketball. With only a handful of teams, 7 men’s teams and 2 women’s teams, the road to the tournament is expected to be hotly contested. The men’s teams will each play each other once. The team sitting last in the standings at the end of the season will be eliminated from tournament play while the top two teams will play in the championship and the four remaining teams will battle for...

By Seth Wesman • January 15, 2015 • Sports

Goshen College has long prided itself in being a strong academic school and the college’s athletic department has added to that. This past fall, 30 Maple Leaf student-athletes were named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes. This is the most ever in the fall season for Goshen College athletics. In order to qualify to be a Scholar-Athlete, an athlete must be a junior or senior who has earned at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA and completed at least one year for Goshen prior to the season according to acting Athletic Director Josh Gleason. For a total of 30, five members of the men’s cross...

By Michael Walker • January 15, 2015 • Sports

The first-ever “Turkey Bowl” came to Goshen College’s campus Nov. 21. The four-on-four, single elimination, touch football tournament was a success, with nine co-ed teams competing. For several years, people have been asking for a football tournament on campus. Unfortunately, there were obstacles to overcome, such as fall sports inhibiting participation, intramural outdoor soccer, budget and the amount of daylight the sport needed. For Chad Coleman, director of intramural sports and of residence life, the biggest structural decision was to make the tournament touch instead of flag. “Making it touch instead flag simplified the tournament, which I felt was important...

By Maggie Weaver • December 3, 2014 • Features

As Goshen’s men’s soccer team suited up at Taylor University on Nov. 8 for the semifinal conference game, the atmosphere certainly didn’t feel like an away game. “Our fans made it feel like we were playing at home—we were louder and more enthusiastic,” Caleb Longenecker, a senior starter, said. “It definitely made it more exciting, and we wanted to make it a great game for all the people that showed up and believed in us.” The amount of support from students was due in large part to the Residence Life team for organizing charter bus transportation for students. Katie Dwyer-Zeman,...

By Hayley Mann • November 19, 2014 • Features

The Maple Leafs cross    country team could not be more exited. After being just points away from making it to the NAIA National Cross Country Championship for the past three years, the team has finally made their dream a reality. This season’s cross country team is the first in the history of Goshen College to make it to Nationals. “We’re flying in practice, hitting really fast times,” Jordan Smeltzer, a senior, said. “We’re peaking at the right time; we’re pumped, and we’re energized.” For most of the team, this will be their first national meet experience, so spirits are high....

By Kolton Nay • November 19, 2014 • Features Maddie Birky • November 19, 2014 • Features

The Goshen College men’s cross country team qualified for nationals for the first time in the program’s history. Previously, only individuals have qualified and one of the men’s teams’ goals, at the beginning of the season, was to qualify for nationals. “This year we finally had enough momentum to make it through,” Lucas Harnish, a junior, said. The cross country team belongs to the Crossroads League Conference and is part of the larger NAIA organization, made of up 23 conferences and 200 schools in the nation. Based on the Crossroads League meet, Indiana Wesleyan University received an automatic bid for...

By Drea Mast • November 19, 2014 • News

The pool space in the Recreation-Fitness Center will now be designated as an area for athletes. The current plan for renovating the pool space involves putting in turf, batting cages and workout machines that are more specific to the needs of athletes. When the batting cages fell in the gym and injured several people at a high school volleyball league this summer, the RFC explored alternative options for the location of the batting cages. Josh Keister, recreation-fitness center director, stated that in addition to the accident, the wear and tear on the gym floor from baseballs and softballs prompted the RFC...

By Briana Schrock • October 1, 2014 • News

On Sept. 4, Tony Miller was named sports information director for the Goshen College athletic department, taking on some of Josh Gleason’s previous responsibilities. As the sports information director, Miller will be keeping goleafs.net updated, relaying information to the media with press releases and recording the statistics of all athletic events. For the majority of his four years at Goshen, Miller’s major was broadcasting, but during the latter part of his education, he switched to general communications. “My goal is to promote Goshen athletics in a new and positive light, as well as endorse something that would normally fly under...

By Bri Taylor • September 10, 2014 • Sports

The second-longest-tenured coach in the Goshen College athletic program is gone. After 13 seasons at the helm of the Maple Leafs, men’s soccer coach Tavi Mounsithiraj informed his team last week that he had been asked to resign. According to athletic director Tim Demant, the coach opted not to take that offer, and the separation proceeded accordingly. Demant said, “I have nothing but respect for Tavi, who has been the face of Goshen soccer for many years, but I have to keep in mind the best interests of the soccer program moving forward.” In the release announcing the coaching change,...

By Tony Miller • April 9, 2014 • News

Placido Rodríguez begins his work day at Patrick Industries, a recreational vehicle company in Bremen, well before sunrise. He drives from his home in Elkhart to stack drywall and wood panels, hour after hour, working to give his family a better life. “I work a 10-hour shift with one 15-minute break and a half-hour lunch break,” Placido Rodríguez said, “I have to wake up at 3:30 a.m., start at 5 a.m. and end at 3:45 p.m.” Meanwhile, his son, Alejandro, is sitting in a Climate Change class at Goshen College by 9 a.m., three mornings a week. Alejandro Rodríguez, a...

By Luis Pérez Lerchundi • April 2, 2014 • Features

Gunden Gymnasium namesake shares her passion for women’s athletics Before Title IX, a comprehensive regulation that encouraged the inclusion of all genders and gender orientation in sports, women were not accepted or integrated into the sporting world.  Sports for women both lacked an initiative and craved a pioneer that could lead females down the court. Ruth Gunden, an alumna, saw this opportunity and used her vision and love of athletics to carry it through. “If it is okay for the men, then why would it not be okay for the women? That was my question,” said Gunden. In 1953, Gunden...

By Lexi Kantz • March 5, 2014 • Features