Alexis Dill, Sports Editor
October 5, 2018
Filed under SPORTS, Sports Editorials & Features
Shamar Graves sat in the home bleachers of the Woodbridge High School football stadium with a wistful expression on his face, overlooking the field he sprinted up and down over a decade ago as a star wide receiver.
The sky was the limit back then. Graves was offered more athletic scholarships than he could keep track of, and making it to the NFL seemed like a feasible dream.
After playing four seasons as tight end for the Scarlet Knights, Graves got his degree from Rutgers University. But his post-graduation options were limited. A shoulder injury derailed his chances of trying out for an NFL team, and he didn’t have a plan B.
Graves woke every morning at 4 a.m. for his shift at Old Navy. Then he taught at a ...
October 5, 2018
Phil Brua, head baseball coach of the Hiram College Terriers, interacts with the Oberlin dugout during the teams’ exhibition doubleheader Sunday, Sept. 30. Brua, who was a star pitcher for the Yeomen from 2008–11, holds the program record for pitching appearances (65) and ranks second in career wins (15). His No. 6 jersey was retired after he graduated. In 2013, Brua returned to Oberlin to serve as the pitching coach, recruiting coordinator, and associate head coach over three years...
Alexis Dill, Sports Editor
September 28, 2018
Filed under SPORTS, Sports Editorials & Features
When Sports Illustrated published senior writer Chris Ballard’s remarkable feature on former New Orleans Pelicans Head Coach Monty Williams a year and a half ago, I was a first-year sitting in the very back of my Intro to Psychology class.
The article was titled “‘You Can’t Give In’: Monty Williams On Life After Tragedy.” I read it from beginning to end without lifting my eyes from my laptop screen a single time. I couldn’t.
Then I read it again. I’ve never really been one to pay attention during lectures.
While other students charted the differences between classical and operant conditioning in their notebooks, I sank down in my chair, awestruck.
Susannah Donaldson was under the in...
September 21, 2018
Three years ago, two guys with a little too much free time and a passion for golf had an idea.
In fall 2016, Jay Messina — College senior and varsity men’s lacrosse player — and John Sutherland, OC ’18, started Oberlin’s co-ed club golf team. Many of the founding members were teammates from the men’s lacrosse team, but as word spread throughout campus, others joined as well. What began with two students is now at over 20, with six new players coming in this year.
While the te...
September 21, 2018
After nearly two years of construction, the newly-renovated Carr Pool opened Wednesday, Sept. 19. The new space covers 15,315 square feet and offers 10 swimming lanes, a pair of one-meter and three-meter springboards, a giant television screen/scoreboard, a wet classroom, a meet-management area, and a hot tub. The Oberlin College swimming and diving team — which practiced at the Splash Zone Aquatic Center during the 2017-2018 season — is relieved to have the familiarity and convenienc...
Ify Ezimora, Sports Editor
September 14, 2018
Filed under SPORTS, Sports Editorials & Features
Nike’s close-up image of Colin Kaepernick’s face reads: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” At the bottom: the classic swoosh followed by Nike’s slogan, “Just do it.”
The ad, which first surfaced in tandem with the opening game of the 2018 National Football League regular season, references Kaepernick’s now-infamous decision to sit and then kneel during the National Anthem at an NFL preseason game.
Kaepernick, who has not played a game since that moment two years ago, originally sat to peacefully protest racial injustices in the United States, but then decided kneeling would show more respect for veterans.
Nike’s ad, similar to Kaepernick’s original act...
September 14, 2018
It was four months ago that Lilah Drafts-Johnson, OC ’18, clutched her first-place trophy while being mobbed by teammates and coaches. She had just run the 10th fastest 400-meter hurdle time in the event’s history at the NCAA Division III Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and could finally call herself a national champion — a promise she made to herself three years earlier.
Two days later, it was her Oberlin College diploma that she held with pride. After four year...
September 14, 2018
College senior Olivia Shin brought a friend to a cardio boxing class taught by Head Softball Coach and Wellness Coordinator Sara Schoenhoft Thursday evening. Shortly after the Pat ’63 and Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center opened in late August, an initiative called YeoFit kicked off. YeoFit offers an assortment of free drop-in classes to students, faculty, and staff. In the first two weeks of the academic year, the center has been bustling with eager students looking to...
Ify Ezimora, Sports Editor
September 7, 2018
Filed under SPORTS, Sports Editorials & Features
Competing as a track athlete for the past eight years has heavily shaped both the way I navigate the space around me and way others regard me.
Coming from a public California high school of more than 2,700 students, participating in athletics as either a competitor or spectator was a communal activity. People showed up at games and community members made the drive to support their classmates, friends, and loved ones in competition.
Athletes on campus were not only committed to being students and high academic achievers, but also to their teams, winning accolades for their high school, and sacrificing more than 15 hours a week for their team.
Several-hour car rides to meets, long and difficult practices...
September 7, 2018
Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos beamed with pride last Tuesday as students and coaches gathered to celebrate the opening of the Pat ’63 & Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center.
Perhaps she could hear the turning of wheels and Men’s Basketball Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco’s music blasting through the speakers in the new spinning room, or maybe it was the thought of Associate Director of Leadership Annual Giving Lisa Thuer recitin...
September 7, 2018
The Wheelmen, a national group that focuses on the preservation and celebration of antique bicycles made before 1932, visited Oberlin July 25-29 for their 51st annual National Wheelmen Meet. Many cyclists rode upwards of 100 miles during the meet in total. Others took part in 75-, 50-, or 25-mile routes. The event included four days of festivities, featuring many riders wearing historically accurate clothing to match their bikes, a flash mob of cyclists, a series of workshops o...
Alexis Dill, Sports Editor
May 11, 2018
Filed under SPORTS, Sports Editorials & Features
As a girl who grew up playing sports and dreaming of one day becoming a sports journalist, I have always been supported and encouraged by the men in my life. However, many of the women I look up to have been victims of sexism at one point or another throughout their careers. Fox NFL Sportscaster Erin Andrews was labeled “Sideline Barbie” by sports blogs. Serena Williams, one of the best tennis players ever, was told by former tennis star John McEnroe that if she played the men’s circuit, she’d be “ranked 700th in the world.”
When the Oberlin College Athletic Department brought Justine Siegal to campus in November 2016, I made sure I was there. Siegal became the first female coach in Major League Baseball ...
