Some People like to stay busy. Then there’s Jacques Bowe ’10. It’s hard to find an organization in which this 2010 graduate was not involved in during his time at Wesley. A captain on the men’s basketball team, Bowe was the president of the Wesley College Student Athlete Advisory Council, the vice president of the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a resident assistant in Malmberg Hall, a student ambassador for the Admissions Office, a member of the College’s Gospel Choir, an employee in the Office of Student Activities, vice president of the campus Legal Society and a member of the Advisory Committee for Legal Studies. And that’s just on-campus involvement.

Outside of school, Bowe has been active in his church, the Pentecostal Church of God (PCOG) in Lincoln, Delaware; a drummer in both the Pentecostal Highlights and the Future Generation; a member of the National Youth Department Planning Committee for the PCOG; and he volunteers at the Old Manor Nursing Home in Milford, Delaware.

When he first came to Wesley, Bowe had plans to play both football and basketball. After two years of both sports, he gave up football to focus on basketball. “When I became an RA, playing two sports was too much,” he said. “That’s when I became dedicated to improving on the court.”

Head Coach Jerry Kobasa also noticed the hard work. “When Jacques came into our program, he was an outstanding athlete who happened to play basketball,” he recalled. Over the years, he just worked harder and harder to become a better player.”

The move paid off. After averaging only 8.4 minutes per game and just 1.5 points and an equal number of rebounds as a freshman and sophomore, Bowe hit the gym. As a junior, he added the threepoint shot to his arsenal and set career highs in nearly every category as a key reserve on the Wolverines’ run to the CAC Championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance.

But Mr. Everything wasn’t done yet. After another summer of hard work, Bowe was named one of two team captains for his senior year. He also emerged as a scoring threat, and his numbers in almost every category across the board surpassed those of his first three seasons combined. When injuries among teammates struck and he was given his first career start, he did not disappoint. He hit five threes on his way to a career high 17 points. Bowe remained in the starting lineup for six more games and averaged 10.9 points per game over that time.

“Before this year, Coach [Kobasa] told me I’d be a captain,” he said. “We went over how I would need to take on a leadership role with the team and developed a plan with coaches. Come early, stay late.”

The decision to make Bowe a captain was an easy one for the coaching staff. “Jacques has always put the team first,” Kobasa observed. “There was never a time that it was Jacques first, team second. And that’s what makes him a successful leader. The team knew that when he said something, it had meaning and substance.”

“Jacques is the kind of player that if you had a son, that’s who you’d want him to be like,” Kobasa continued. “He always best represented the program and the school.”

In part because of Bowe’s play, the Wolverines kept rolling through the regular season and into the CAC Tournament, earning a trip to the finals for the second straight year. Wesley’s win in the CAC Semifinals was the team’s 19th—a school record at the Division III level. The Wolverines fell in the conference title game, but still earned their second straight NCAA berth.

Among his off-campus activities, Bowe takes great pride in his volunteerism, knowing it makes a difference to others. This is particularly true in his role at the Old Manor Nursing Home. “We minister to the residents and also just spend time with them, talking,” he noted. “Basically we just try to brighten someone’s day while we’re there.”

Now that Bowe has graduated from Wesley, he plans to attend law school and his past endeavors have prepared him for that path. As president of the Legal Society, he organized different events for students in the program, including workshops to prepare for the LSATs. In addition, as a student representative on the Advisory Committee for Legal Studies, a group made up largely of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, he has gained exposure to a professional network in the field. In preparation for his future plans, Bowe also is doing an internship with the law firm of Donovan & Hopkins. He assists in trial preparation, conducts research for cases, and aids in formulating trial strategies. He will spend this summer studying for the LSATs and getting ready for law school.

“Jacques is the kind of worker that is always successful,” Kobasa observed. “He is not afraid of challenges or putting in the effort to reach any goal he sets for himself. That’s what will make him successful in the real world.”

Head Football Coach Mike Drass, Jane Richter, Hattye Mae Biddle and President Johnston outside the new Athletics House.

The Wesley College Athletics Department recently found a new home, as several offices were relocated to what was formerly the Little School on North Queen Street in Dover. When the Little School moved in 2009 from its old location to a new building on Mont Blanc Boulevard in Dover, Wesley was able to acquire the former site, conveniently located adjacent to Wesley West Fieldhouse and one block away from Scott D. Miller Stadium.

The acquisition of much-needed office space has been an exciting development for the College and the Athletics Department specifically. It has precipitated repositioning of many team and coaches’ offices to consolidate the Department in one central area, making operations more efficient as well as more convenient for prospective students and families.

To fill what is now being called the Wesley Athletics House, the Department’s administrative office, the sports information office and track & field offices were moved from the ground floor of the DuPont College Center. The football offices were repositioned from the Football House on Governors Avenue and the men’s soccer office, formerly located in the International House on State Street, also shifted to the newly acquired space. The women’s lacrosse office also found a new home in the Athletics House, freeing up space for the baseball office to move from the ground floor of the DuPont College Center to Wesley West. The office space vacated by Athletics has been reassigned to the Nursing Department, another campus program happy to have some extra room.

The Little School is one of the oldest preschools in Delaware, having served over four generations of children in the building on North Queen Street. It was founded in 1954 by Hattye Mae Biddle, who then passed the reins to her handpicked successor, Jane Richter, in 1975.When it came time for owner and operator Richter to consider the future of the Dover preschool, she decided to join with two local Little School alumni and parents, along with the owners of the popular Kids Cottage in Lewes, Delaware, to form a new partnership and build a beautiful new facility in town— The Little School at Kids Cottage. The Little School’s administration was glad to see their former home put to good use. The Wesley administration certainly shares the sentiment.

“The Little School has been an icon in the community for generations and Wesley College is very pleased to be the next generation of caretakers of this property,” President Bill Johnston expressed. “The reputation for care and interest in our youth, which began with Mrs. Biddle and Mrs. Richter, will continue through the college students served on this site.”

When Michele Mules ’10 came to Wesley College, she came with a mental checklist. She wanted a small school, Division III athletics and professors with heart. She also is a young woman with her eyes set on the prize. After just graduating from Wesley in May, she feels satisfied that her undergraduate goals have been met and she is prepared for her next step in life. This August, she will head to University of Chicago in Illinois with a passion to follow corporate law. Mules came to Wesley to play basketball, and found that the school had a lot more to offer. Shortly after arriving, she found her niche at Wesley and prospered from her involvement on campus. As a dual-sport athlete in basketball and softball, she learned how difficult it can be to manage being a part of a team while keeping up with academics. However, sports became her saving grace and taught her valuable life lessons. “Sports have kept me on track and taught me time management,” she explained. “I have also learned teamwork, and that it is always okay to ask for help.”

After finding her way on and off the court, Mules began contemplating her future aspirations. She pursued a double major in English and legal studies, hoping to settle on her career path. Mules expressed, “The small classroom sizes and the oneon– ones I have had with my professors have been very important to my education.” She gives credit to the faculty for providing an intellectual and personal college education. “Our professors care,” she stated. Through the efforts of faculty members such as Dr. Linda De Roche, a provider of guidance, and Dr. Flora Hessling, Mules’ inspiration, she found her passion and chose to pursue it.

In addition to allowing her the opportunity to shine in the classroom and among the campus community, the small school environment at Wesley also afforded Mules a chance to shine on the playing field. A three-year starter for both the women’s basketball and softball teams, she improved each season. On the basketball court, she established herself as a strong defender and her 122 career three-point field goals rank her among the school’s all-time leaders. On the softball diamond, she emerged to lead the team with a .370 batting average as a junior.

Residence life at Wesley was one of the most meaningful ingredients in Mules’ college experience. It offered her a sense of community of which she will forever feel a part, knowing that many individuals she met will become lifelong friends. In the College’s future, she hopes that residence life programs will continue to reinforce the Wesley community bond and thus help keep more students on campus, active and out of trouble.

“Residence life has taught me about the importance of professionalism,” Mules said. This lesson will serve her well as she moves on to law school and her future career. She may be traveling across the country to pursue her next educational goal, but she will always have a home back at Wesley.

Michele Mules ’10

Every season for every team has a key moment. For Wesley College’s women’s basketball team, that moment came in the Wolverines’ own holiday tournament. Injuries were derailing what looked to be a promising season and the team had lost six of its past seven games entering the second day of the tournament.

Wesley was facing an always tough Widener team and needed a win. The Wolverines came out and never trailed in that game to get momentum going in the right direction. Another win over Rowan kept it going and after six straight conference wins, Wesley was right back in the thick of the playoff hunt in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC). Overall, Wesley won 15 of its last 18 regular season games and finished third in the CAC.

During the impressive finish, Wesley got healthy and the newcomers improved as the year went on, in part due to extra time gained when other players were injured earlier in the year. Junior forward Angie Owens stepped up and earned three Conference Player of the Week awards and a D3hoops.com National Team of the Week accolade during the second half of the season. Classmate Cory Boyd again was ranked among the national leaders and paced the CAC in assists. Freshman Jazmine Miller scored 17 or more points in a game on three occasions.

The Wolverines entered the playoffs facing off with Gallaudet and Conference Player of the Year Easter Faafiti. The Bison kept pace with Wesley in the first half, but the Wolverines opened the second half with a 22–2 run and never looked back to advance to the CAC semifinals for the second straight year. National power Marymount (Va.) halted Wesley, but the opening round win over Gallaudet was the squad’s 17th of the season. That total was enough to earn the Wolverines a trip to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Tournament, where Wesley’s season came to an end with a 17–11 record.

Owens and Boyd were named to the All-CAC team and Owens earned both ECAC All-Star and D3hoops.com All– Region honors. Boyd became Wesley’s all-time assist leader and ended the year with over 100 more than her nearest competitor. Owens scored her 1,000th point late in the season, becoming the eighth player in the Division III era to do so. She also grabbed 226 defensive rebounds to set Wesley’s single season record and climbed to be among the school’s all-time leaders in rebounds and blocked shots.

Owens also added the three-point field goal to her arsenal. After not hitting a three in her first two seasons, she shot 42 percent from behind the arc. The team’s lone senior, Michele Mules, finished her career fourth at Wesley with 122 career three-point field goals, and reserve Shavonda Cephas emerged as one of the top long distance shooters in the conference, hitting 40 percent of her attempts.

The year continued the rebuilding of the program under fourth-year Head Coach James Wearden. His two most recent teams have put together 34 total wins and two ECAC bids after his first two tallied just 19 wins. With four starters and nearly every key reserve returning next year, Wesley will look to carry this season’s strong finish into 2010-11.

For all the latest scores and highlights, click here.

Chris Douglas

Entering the 2009-10 Season, several questions faced the Wesley College men’s basketball team. Yes, the Wolverines were coming off a record setting season in which they won their first Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in school history, but the team lost All-American Rashawn Johnson and All-CAC pick Evan Martin, along with five other players from that team. Would Wesley build upon the success of the previous year? Or, were the Wolverines a one-year wonder?

While the team had lost key players from the previous year, Head Coach Jerry Kobasa’s cupboard was not bare. Returnees Alphonzo Wright, Rudy Thomas and Kevin Johnson had all started on last year’s team and Jacques Bowe joined Wright as a team captain. Also returning were steady players Chris Douglas and Sean McAndrew, and Kobasa restocked the roster with five newcomers. On paper, it looked like the Wolverines could be competitive, but how good was anyone’s guess.

Wesley opened the season with a rematch against a North Carolina Wesleyan program that had defeated the Wolverines the previous year. But after 29 points from Thomas, the Wolverines opened their season with a win. After the promising win, Wesley was just 4–4 over its next eight games and entered the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Holiday Festival just a single game above .500. The Wolverines defeated a Ramapo team that would win 18 games and then took out a nationally ranked UMass-Dartmouth squad to capture the Festival Championship.

But it was not until after two more losses that fans saw just how strong the team actually was. The Wolverines won the next eight contests over the span of a month to build momentum and finished the regular season by winning 10 of their last 11 contests. The hot finish tied Wesley for second place in the CAC regular season standings, but the Spartans of York (Pa.) held a tie breaker and received a first round bye in the conference tournament, along with St. Mary’s (Md.), the regular season champions.

Wesley, seeded third in the tournament, hosted sixth-seeded Salisbury in the first round and hit 17 of its first 21 shots to open the game and cruised past the Sea Gulls, 82–64. The win earned the Wolverines a trip to York in the semifinals, where they tied the 2008-09 team’s Division III school record with 18 wins. Wesley kept up the hot shooting, hitting 55 percent from the floor and won 94–81 to advance to the CAC Championship for the second straight year and set a new Division III school record with the squad’s 19th win.

In the championship, the Wolverines faced a nationally ranked St. Mary’s (Md.) squad. The Seahawks held a 14-point lead with 16 minutes left in the game, but Wesley used a 20–9 run to trim the lead and later took the lead before two buckets in the final minute lifted St. Mary’s to the win, 80–76.

Wesley then awaited word on a potential NCAA bid and when the brackets were announced, the Wolverines were going to the tournament for the second straight year. In the first round, Wesley was sent to Kings Point, New York to face the Merchant Marine Academy. Freshman Paul Reynolds exploded for 32 points and 11 rebounds in the game, but the defensive-minded Mariners limited the chances for the rest of the team and ended Wesley’s season, 67–61.

Reynolds, the former Gatorade High School Player of the Year in Delaware, was named CAC Rookie of the Year and joined Thomas on the All-Conference team. Reynolds  also was recognized as an ECAC Division III South All-Star and finished fifth in Division III with a .655 field goal percentage—a school record. Wright etched his name among the school’s all-time leading scorers and rebounders, and Johnson joined him on the all-time scoring list.

The season also capped a successful five year run for Wesley. The Wolverines .624 winning percentage is the highest among four-year institutions in the state of Delaware. Also, Wesley is the only school to make the NCAAs over that time period. With the return of nine players from this year’s team, including four starters, the Wolverines will look to continue to build the program into one of Division III’s elite.

For all the latest scores and highlights, click here.

BY GEOFF GOYNE

Aaron Jackson

Entering the 2009 season, only two programs in all of Division III football had won more playoff games since 2005 than Wesley College — perennial powers Mount Union and Wisconsin– Whitewater. The Wolverines kept pace as one of the nation’s elite programs in 2009, handling each of its first three postseason opponents with ease before the Purple Raiders of Mount Union ended Wesley’s run in the national semifinals.

The groundwork for the postseason run was set during a perfect regular season. The season opener looked to be a tough test for a defense that had lost some valuable parts from the previous year, with nationally ranked Christopher Newport led by preseason All-American running back Tunde Ogun. The new unit was up to the task, however, holding Ogun to just eight yards in the game and trouncing the Captains 34–0.

After a road win against scholarship Division II program North Greenville, Wesley traveled to Delaware Valley, who had handed Wesley its only loss of the 2008 regular season. The story was different in 2009, however, as the Wolverines routed the Aggies, 31–13. A lopsided win over a 2008 playoff team, LaGrange, sent Wesley into a Homecoming matchup with Frostburg State at 4–0. The Wolverines received six touchdown passes from Shane McSweeny against the Bobcats, including three to Ellis Krout, and dismantled their conference rivals 44– 19. It was back on the road to face another Atlantic Central Football Conference (ACFC) rival in Apprentice, but the Builders fell 39–0 as the Wesley defense pitched its second shutout of the year.

Wesley’s final four games were all scheduled home games at Scott D. Miller Stadium. Another game against a scholarship program opened the homestand as Webber International came to Dover. Aaron Jackson rushed for four touchdowns in the game and the defense held the Warriors to just one score in a 34–7 win. Arch rival Salisbury followed on Halloween. Two touchdown catches by All-American tight end Sean McAndrew and a 76-yard touchdown run by Jackson built Wesley a 21–6 halftime lead as the Wolverines cruised to a 30–12 victory to claim their fifth straight conference championship.

The regular season came to a close with perhaps the two best teams on the schedule, Lake Erie College and Ohio Dominican, both scholarship programs from Ohio. The Storm played well, but the Wolverines had two goal line stands inside the one yard line and went on to win 28–13. The Panthers entered Dover with a highpowered offense and for the first time all season, Wesley trailed heading into the fourth quarter. Wesley scored the game’s final two touchdowns, however, to erase a 15-point deficit and win 32–28.

The Wolverines’ 10–0 regular season earned them the top seed in their bracket and a home field advantage in the first three rounds of the NCAA playoffs. In the first round, Wesley turned a close game into a rout with 35 second half points in a 55–23 win over North Carolina Wesleyan. Nationally ranked Mississippi College brought one of Division III’s top offenses to face the Wolverines in the second round. McSweeny tossed three first half touchdown passes to Krout, however, and the defense shut down the Choctaws for a 43–9 victory.

Johns Hopkins, the Cinderella team of the postseason, had already won two playoff games on the road before traveling from Baltimore for the South Region Championship Game. After two weeks of great weather in the first two rounds of the postseason, Dover was slammed with low temperatures, wind, rain and sleet on game day. The weather made the field conditions less than desirable, but the Wolverines turned it into a game of keep away, holding the ball for over 40 minutes in a 12–0 win.

Wesley then made its third trip to the national semifinals since 2005, heading to top ranked Mount Union College. The Wolverines trailed just 10–7 in the fourth quarter before the Purple Raiders scored twice late in the game to end the Wolverines’ season.

When it was all said and done, Wesley had tied a school record with a 13–1 record and finished fourth in Division III in the final national rankings. They also won both the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Team of the Year Award and the distinguished Lambert– Meadowlands Trophy, the annual award given to the best teams in the East in college football Divisions I-AA, II and III.

“It is a great honor to be recognized with other programs, like Penn State and Villanova,” Wesley Head Coach Mike Drass noted. “We are humbled by the prestige of this award. To be recognized as the best team in the East is a step towards our goal of being the best team in the nation.”

Several Wesley players received accolades as well. Mike Ward, Aaron Benson, Chris Mayes and McAndrew each earned All-America honors. Mayes was named the D3football.com South Region Defensive Player of the Year and teamed with Ward for 23 sacks and 58 tackles for loss on a dominant defensive front. Benson intercepted seven passes and returned two for touchdowns. Nineteen Wolverines were named to the All-ACFC team, including McSweeny and Ward, who earned Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Drass joined them as the circuit’s Coach of the Year.

Long time Offensive Coordinator Chip Knapp coached several offensive players to stellar seasons. McSweeny earned ECAC Player of the Year honors after passing for 29 touchdowns and over 2,900 yards and rushing for nearly 800 more and eight additional touchdowns. Krout set a school record with 20 touchdown receptions and Jackson overcame a midseason injury to rush for over 1,000 yards.

For all the latest scores and highlights, click here.

Brekke and Choice

IN THE FALL OF 2006, Wesley College fielded the first varsity volleyball program since moving into the Division III era. The Wolverines won nine games that season with a roster of mostly freshmen and the program looked to have a solid foundation. Freshman Lilia Brekke earned All-Pennsylvania Athletic Conference second team honors. One of her classmates, Nettie Choice, paced the conference in blocks. Then everything changed. And then it changed again.

In the program’s first three years, there were three different coaches. There was not a revolving door just on the coach’s office, but on the locker room as well. A total of 27 different players had suited up for the Wolverines. The only constants were Brekke and Choice.

“It was definitely hard,” Brekke remarked. “It put a lot of stress on Nettie and me.”

“We came into every season expecting a new coach,” Choice added. “It was very unstable. The two of us just got used to it.”

It took until their senior year to play for the same coach for two consecutive seasons. As one might expect, this brought the duo closer, on and off the court, especially since they were being looked to for primary leadership as early as their sophomore seasons.

“Playing with Nettie so much, we know each other inside and out, on and off the court,” Brekke said. “It made the two of us play together really well and that’s helped the team while the new players have learned to play together.”

If the bond could be made stronger, the two even line up next to each other with Choice playing middle hitter and Brekke on the outside. “I got used to looking to the left and always seeing her there,” Choice noted.

While it may seem obvious they would hold virtually every career record for the young program, it certainly has not been by default. The pair has racked up nearly every season record as well. Between them, they have racked up eight of the top 10 kill totals and five of the six best block totals. Brekke also has the season record for digs.

The career totals add up well too. Both players tallied over 550 career kills. Brekke added 222 aces and 934 digs while Choice patrolled the net for 449 blocks.

Despite playing their final match in the blue and white this October, the two young women see a bright future ahead for the program. Aside from the two senior captains, the rest of the roster has been made up of entirely freshmen and sophomores. The two agree that the recent consistency with Head Coach Gerry Szabo has been a welcome change. It also has been beneficial for the program in order to recruit the next genera­tion of volleyball players.

“We have players who came here to play volleyball,” Choice observed. “Before we just worked with whomever we had. Sometimes people were learning to play.”

“The group we have now is going to be able to grow and develop together,” added Brekke.

Something else they agree on is that more than the volleyball, the relationships they have built with each other and their team­mates are what they will remember most after they leave Wesley.

“There are girls on this team I’d call my sisters,” Choice said. “It’s like a family.”

For Choice and Brekke, their career paths on the court cer­tainly have had more twists and turns than those of their peers on Wesley’s more established athletic teams. Despite the turbu­lent beginnings for the program, however, the volleyball team has now reached a plateau. In addition, the two standouts have emerged stronger than ever, in their game and their friendship.

“Looking back,” Brekke said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Nicole Hill

FIELD HOCKEY
One of Wesley’s most decorated ath­letic programs, the field hockey team, set a school record with a 7–0 start that included a win over perennial confer­ence power Mary Washington. Also included in the streak were three of the Wolverines’ four shutout victories of the season. The fast start also propelled the team to its 12th straight season of at least 11 wins.

Junior Brooke Tadlock (Middletown, Del./Middletown) led the team and ranked among the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) leaders with 11 goals and 25 points. Over the course of the year, the nursing major moved into fourth place all-time at Wesley in both scoring categories. Sophomore Sheree Pleasanton (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) also entered the career top 20 in goals, ending the season with six to bring her career total to 15 and reaching 18th in the record book.

Sarah Johnson (Honeybrook, Pa./Twin Valley) turned in a strong season in goal, ranking among the con­ference leaders by stopping nearly 80 percent of the opponents’ shots on goal. During separate weeks this season, she and senior Erin Bailey (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) were named to the National Honor Roll by womensfieldhockey.com

In the CAC playoffs, the Wolverines had a dramatic 3–2 overtime win over St. Mary’s (Md.) in the first round, Wesley’s fifth overtime contest of the year. During the game, freshman Abigail Hill (Dover, Del./Lake Forest) tied the game with just 1:34 left with her second goal of the afternoon. Then in overtime, it was Pleasanton with the game-winner to lead Wesley to a semifinal matchup with a Salisbury squad ranked No. 2 in Division III. To find out details of the season ending, visit the athletics website at www.gowesleyathletics.com

MEN’S SOCCER

On the men’s soccer pitch, the Wolverines turned in another winning season — their seventh in the last eight years. Wesley’s season opening win at McDaniel was the 200th career victory for head coach Steve Clark. All of his victories have come coaching the blue and white.

Injuries seemed to plague the squad to some extent all season, but the team still came through to register 10 wins due to the contributions of several newcomers. While the defense was led by senior Ryan Fisher (Eastampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) and juniors Nick Talarico (Little Egg Harbor, N.J./ Pinelands) and Dan Canova (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City), the offense was paced by several newcomers. Kyle Long (Delaware, Ohio/Buckeye) scored seven goals, the most for a Wolverine since 2006. The next three leading scorers, Frank Buffa (Pheonixville, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), Luis Rivera (Rockville, Md./Rockville) and Josh Chellah (Columbia, Md./Long Reach), were freshmen.

Frank Buffa

WOMEN’S SOCCER

The women’s soccer team featured a roster with 16 freshmen and a schedule with seven games against regionally ranked opponents, yet still managed to salvage a seven win season and the team’s first berth in the CAC playoffs since 2007. The team played well late in the year and nearly knocked off three regionally ranked foes, falling in each match by just a single goal.

Samantha Hannibal (Baltimore, Md./Loch Raven) led four freshmen who topped the team in scoring with seven goals, three assists and 17 points. Sammi Nevin (East Greenville, Pa./Upper Perkiomen), Kaitlin Barry (Chester, N.J./Immaculata) and Lindsey Campbell (Bear, Del./Padua Academy), also freshmen, each scored at least five goals.
Wesley also broke in a freshman goalkeeper, Sydney Kahan (Cranston, R.I./Cranston), who stopped 79 percent of the shots taken at her. She also post­ed six shutouts on the year while mak­ing 124 saves and playing every minute in net for the Wolverines.

VOLLEYBALL

The Wesley volleyball team stepped up its scheduling in the program’s fourth year. While the team took a step back in the win column from 2008, the experience should help a youthful team in the future.

Seniors Lilia Brekke (Prescott, Ariz./Caesar Rodney (Del.)) and Nettie Choice (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) paced the team in hitting and blocking once again as they finished their careers as the school’s first four-year players in volleyball. Sophomores Sophie Reed (Dover, Del./Dover) and Kristen Roberts (Loveland, Colo./Middletown (Del.)) and freshman Carle Ax (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) also turned in strong performances hitting, setting and serving to provide hope for 2010.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Kristine Bailey

The women’s cross country team featured one student-athlete pulling double-duty on the field hockey team in Tristin Burris (Camden, Del./ Polytech). Twice this season, she played field hockey on Friday and Sunday with a cross country meet on Saturday. She earned a CAC Runner of the Week honor on October 6 after fin­ishing fourth overall at the Wilmington Invitational, the day after scoring her first career field hockey goal and the day before helping the field hockey team to another victory.

One of Wesley’s 10 fastest women at both 5,000 and 6,000 meters, Burris was joined by another strong newcom­er in the record books. Junior Kristine Bailey (Vancouver, Wash./Evergreen) formed a strong one-two punch with Burris for Wesley, pacing the Wolverines at three different meets in her first season with the team.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

On the men’s side, senior John Clarke (Middletown, Del./Middletown) paced the squad at three meets, while freshman Terry Harens-Walgreen (Shadyside, Md./Southern) led the way at two more races.

To see how the Wolverines fared at the CAC Championships, click here.

By Geoff Goyne

When fans look at the roster for the Carolina Panthers, the column for the players’ colleges reads like a list of who’s who in Division I college football. Players from perennial powers like Penn State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Georgia and Florida State litter the page. But there is one player whose school jumps off the page more than others as it is not one with which many Panthers fans are familiar: Wesley College. That player is a rookie free agent wide receiver, Larry Beavers.

Trying to figure out just who Beavers is, the local media and fans have perhaps talked more about the speedster from Division III than any of the Panthers’ high paid draft picks. While Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler on ESPN’s “College Gameday” were discussing the alma maters of many of the other rookies trying to make the team last fall, Beavers was doing what he does best — outrunning opposing defenses on kick and punt returns as well as playing wide receiver.

Stats that look like they are straight out of a video game brought scouts from 28 NFL teams to Dover to look at the Wesley standout. Beavers averaged 39.5 yards per kick return and 29.2 yards per punt return. He brought back five kicks for touchdowns and added three more on punt returns. For good measure, he averaged 19.9 yards per catch and scored six times as a wide receiver. He ended his career with 13 combined kick and punt return touchdowns, more than any player in NCAA history — regardless of division.

Beavers drew more attention after he ran a 4.37 in the 40-yard dash at the University of Delaware’s Pro Day, but there is a video on YouTube of him racing to a 4.28 during a workout at Miller Stadium on Wesley’s campus. The native of Annapolis, Maryland put his speed on display with the Wolverines’ track & field team too. He posted school records in the 100-meter (10.74 seconds), 110-meter hurdles (15.33) and 200-meter (21.62). His times in both the 100 and 200 qualified him for the Division III NCAA Championships. One question scouts asked, however, was why the senior’s receiving yards and receptions went down from his junior year. But Wesley Head Coach Mike Drass had a simple explanation. “He had eight return touchdowns, so we had less offensive possessions. Plus, when he didn’t score, he shortened the field on the possessions we did have. There were just less yards for the offensive to cover because of what he did on special teams,” said Drass.

Throughout the spring, the Carolina Panthers showed particular interest in Beavers. They went as far as to send Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman to spend a day with him on campus. The interest was mutual, as Carolina was particularly attractive to Beavers for one important reason. The team’s return man from 2008, Mark Jones, had signed a free agent deal with the Tennessee Titans, leaving the job up for grabs.

While Beavers’s name didn’t get called during the draft, several teams dialed his number afterwards with interest in bringing him to camp. “Kansas City, Cincinnati — they all wanted to [sign me],” Beavers told Mike Cranston of the Associated Press earlier this summer. “But I wanted to be here [at Carolina] from day one. There wasn’t a choice to go anywhere else.”

So Beavers was off to Carolina to chase every football player’s dream, a spot on an NFL roster. He was also in exclusive company among Division III players. Only he and Wheaton’s Pete Ittersagen were signed immediately after the draft. Beavers caught the eye of the Panthers’ established receiving duo almost immediately. Muhsin Muhammad got right to the point, telling Cranston, “He’s definitely fast.” All-Pro Steve Smith was quoted by Cranston as saying, “I think if you’re here and you have a uniform, it doesn’t matter what school you went to. Some of the best first-round draft picks generally have flaked out.”

Because the Panthers and Beavers identified his biggest weakness to be his game as a wide receiver, the rookie is working hard to improve. Members of the Wesley Athletics staff went to Charlotte to watch a day of mini-camp when Beavers made a diving catch, drawing cheers from the coaches on the sidelines. A week later, Beavers proved Muhammad right when he ran the team’s fastest 40-yard dash time. Aiming for a spot on the roster, he returned to the Panthers for training camp on August 3.

Beavers is just one of three former Wesley student athletes on professional teams. Norman Bauer is currently playing on the offensive line for the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League 2. Defensive end Bryan Robinson, who was in training camp with the Arizona Cardinals last summer, is currently playing in AFL2 with the Manchester Wolves. W

By Geoff Goyne

The 2009 spring season was an exciting time for nine Wesley sports. Three teams — baseball, men’s lacrosse and men’s track & field — advanced to the postseason, and several more set significant school records.

Tiara Brooks

Track & Field
The Wolverines’ track & field program produced its first NCAA Division III All-American when Chris Donisi finished eighth at the NCAA Division III Championships. Donisi leapt 22 feet, 8 inches on his third attempt of the day to earn the honor. Earlier in the year, the sophomore had hit 23 feet, 30 inches at the Mason Dixon Conference Championships to set a new school record. That mark  earned him his second conference title of the spring after winning the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) crown.

Donisi was not the only standout on the men’s track & field team. Senior Larry Beavers qualified for the NCAAs in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, but was unable to compete after signing a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League.

In all, a dozen Wesley records fell in the program’s second year as a varsity member of Division III, and the team finished fourth at the CAC Outdoor Championships for the second consecutive year. Beavers led the way there, setting a CAC record in the 200-meter dash and breaking Wesley marks in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 110-meter hurdles. The Wolverines also took sixth at the Mason Dixon Conference Championships.

At the same time, the women’s track & field team had some record setting performances. Sophomore Sontia Biggus broke her own Wesley mark in the shot put and Tiara Brooks set standards in the 200, 400 and 800 meters. The duo led the Wolverines to a sixth place finish at the CACs and eighth at the Mason Dixon Conference Championships. Brooks also became the third women’s track competitor at Wesley to earn CAC Women’s Track & Field Athlete of the Week honors when she won the award on April 14.

Kevin Murphy

Baseball
The Wesley baseball team advanced all the way to the ECAC South Championship game after claiming third in the CAC Baseball Tournament. The Wolverines won 26 games in the year, posting at least that many for the third straight season. Freshman D.J. Keckler was named the CAC Rookie of the Year after a stellar season in which he shut out top ranked Salisbury early in the year and finished among the conference leaders in wins and earned run average. Keckler’s early season two-hitter was one of three wins Wesley posted over nationally ranked opponents in 2009. The Wolverines took down a ranked York (Pa.) team in the regular season before a second win over the Sea Gulls in the CAC playoffs.

As has been the theme in recent seasons, the Wesley offense was built on speed. The Wolverines posted a conference record with 148 stolen bases, annihilating a seven-year-old mark by over 20 steals. Four players finished among the conference’s top 10 in steals, led by conference leader Stu Madden, a senior.

Keckler’s Rookie of the Year Award headlined a group of four players named to the All-CAC team. Junior Grant Morlock and Geoff Kimmel were named to the All-CAC first team, and Keckler and sophomore Kevin Murphy claimed spots on the second team. Morlock did a little of everything in 2009, finishing in the top 10 in the CAC in seven different categories. Kimmel led the team in batting average, hits and runs batted in, and tied Morlock for the team lead in home runs. Meanwhile, Murphy tied the Wesley single season record with 14 doubles and was in the top 10 in the conference in 10 different categories.

Men’s Lacrosse
An already strong Wesley College men’s lacrosse program showed improvement under new Head Coach Bill Gorrow. The Wolverines won 11 games to tie a school record and were one of the five most improved teams in the LaxPower computer rankings in Division III.

Justin Thompson on the offensive against Whittier as the rest of his team looks on.

Defenseman Kirk Waldie earned numerous honors. The senior captain was named a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Scholar All-American and played in the USILA North/South All-Star Game. He was joined by teammate Jim Mc Cleaft, a USILA All-America Honorable Mention. The duo, along with junior attack Brad Smith, gave Wesley three first team All-CAC selections. Two more student athletes — senior Justin Thompson and junior Nick Pisaca no — were named to the second team. Smith became just the third person in program history to score at least 70 points in a season with 36 goals and 34 assists in the year. Waldie set the Wolverines’ career record for ground balls and caused turnovers, while McCleaft wrote his name all over the goalkeeping record book.

All the honors came on the heels of a trip to the ECAC Division III Metro/South Championship Tournament. Wesley also advanced to the CAC Semifinals before running into topranked Stevenson University.

Women’s Lacrosse
The women’s lacrosse team continued to make strides in a season full of record setting performances. In all, the Wolverines set or tied 14 school records in 2009.

The offense racked up 183 goals scored and 247 points to set season scoring records. Seniors Jade Martin and Leslie Cervenka led the way at that end of the field with record setting efforts of their own. Martin ended her career with 167 career points, more than any other Wolverine, and Cervenka’s 56 career assists are also a new Wesley standard. Cervenka also tied her own record with a five assist game in 2009.

Wesley scored 22 goals in one game to set a new school record against Savannah College of Art & Design. In addition, the offense set new marks with 32 free position goals and six in one game. The Wolverines’ 187 draw controls were the most in a season for a Wesley team.

Not to be outdone, the defense tied a school record with a pair of shutout victories. All-CAC pick Brooke Bennett was again a defensive standout. The junior tied single game Wesley records with 11 ground balls and eight caused turnovers. The team’s seven wins also tied for the second most in a single season in the program’s short history.

Golf
Golf went through growing pains after finishing seventh at the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships. Wesley’s run of 11 consecutive conference titles came to an end this spring as the team tried to recover from the tragic death of senior Andrew Geyer in February. Junior Chris Osberg, who tied Geyer for the CAC scoring lead in 2008-09, was named All-Region after the season and earned All-CAC honors after claiming fifth at the CAC Championships. Jeff Owsik turned in his best performance of the season at the CACs, claiming second place and a spot on the All-Conference team, but it was not enough, as the Wolverines finished second in the circuit. Rob Zimmerer played his way

Megan Street pitches and Nikki Barton plays first base.

onto the All-CAC second team after finishing tied for sixth at the CAC Championships.

Softball
The softball team matched its win total from the previous season in fewer games and managed to increase its offensive output across the board. The season started well with a 20–0 win over Rosemont in the team’s third game. Senior Megan Street had a phenomenal game, driving in seven runs, hitting a home run and tossing a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts. After a rough patch in midseason, the Wolverines rebounded to win three of the final four regular season games to clinch a spot in the CAC playoffs for the second straight year.

Tennis
The men’s and women’s tennis teams continued to rebuild under first year coach Ron Amatucci. Senior Andrew Smyth led the men’s team with three singles wins and earned a CAC Co-Player of the Week honor after picking up a win against Division I opponent Maryland-Eastern Shore. On the women’s side, sophomore Kori Isken won four times and the top doubles tandem of Rebecca Pennington and Marina Palma won three times in conference play. The future should be bright for both teams. The men will lose just two players to graduation and the women’s team will remain steady, as they did not have a single senior on this year’s roster.  To get more information on Wesley athletics visit www.gowesleyathletics.com W