May 10, 2019
In the bottom of the fifth inning in game two of Oberlin College’s Senior Day match-up with the Hiram College Terriers last Sunday, College senior and baseball captain Brendan Mapes stepped up to the plate with two outs and two runners on. With a 1–2 count, he drove an outside pitch just out of the second baseman’s reach and into right field for an RBI single. As he stood on first base, the home team dugout erupted, Oberlin fans got on their feet, and Hiram’s first baseman congrat...
May 3, 2019
The hammer throw might be the most dangerous event in the sport of track and field. It injures, and occasionally kills, more athletes and spectators per year than any other track and field event. Because of its inherent danger, it has been banned from most high school programs across the country. Ironically enough, for many Oberlin field athletes who participate in the hammer throw along with shot put, javelin, and weight throw, the hammer remains their favorite event.
“Yeah, there’s...
Alexis Dill, Sports Editor
April 26, 2019
Filed under SPORTS, Track and Field, Varsity Sports, Varsity Spring
At the Case Western Reserve University Invitational last Saturday, first-year pole vaulter Sarah Voit cleared 11’-03.75” to win the event — something she has done at seven of the 11 meets she has competed at during her collegiate career. With two school records and one North Coast Athletic Conference Championship already under her belt, Voit is favored to win the Outdoor NCAC Championship next weekend at Kenyon College.
However, Voit’s sights are set even higher. With just four weekends of competition left, she is hoping to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will take place May 23–25 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
According to Voit, qualifying for nationals would be the icin...
Alexis Dill, Sports Editor
April 26, 2019
Filed under SPORTS, Varsity Sports, Varsity Spring
Balancing academics, athletics, and other extracurriculars at an elite institution like Oberlin is a challenge that very few student-athletes manage to tackle for all four years. Last weekend, four different varsity teams at Oberlin honored their seniors and celebrated the contributions they have made in the classroom, in the community, and on their respective field or court over the past four years.
Softball
The softball team honored its trio of seniors — Kat Ladouceur, Hannah Rasmussen, and Emma Downing — on Saturday with a celebratory lunch in the Knowlton Athletics Complex and at Culhane Field before their doubleheader with the Kenyon College Ladies Wednesday. The Yeowomen earned a split, ru...
April 12, 2019
In the second semester of her senior year at Oberlin, Millie Cavicchio is getting a fresh start. After three rocky years of attempting to manage her softball career amidst injuries, surgeries, and other setbacks, Cavicchio has found an unexpected home for herself on the Oberlin track and field team as one of two javelin throwers on the women’s side.
“I’ve been so happy this season,” Cavicchio said, “because I finally have a chance to compete — something I haven’t been able to do...
March 15, 2019
As small puddles accumulated on Dill Field's bleachers from a brief rainstorm Saturday, the Oberlin College baseball team began its season with a double-header against the Capital University Crusaders. Despite the overcast weather, the stands were occupied with students and fans from both sides.
The baseball program’s roster has seen its ups and downs throughout the years, with its most dramatic lineup change taking place this year. The team hasn’t had this many first-year starters ...
March 1, 2019
Head women’s lacrosse coach Kim Russell has a unique motto for her players whenever they’re feeling stressed, scattered, or overwhelmed: Eat a Cheeto.
“As a coach, I really prioritize wellness,” said Russell, who just kicked off her first official season in Oberlin after serving as the first women’s lacrosse coach at Baldwin Wallace University and subsequently holding a brief tenure as director of girl’s lacrosse at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. “Now, Cheetos might not make y...
February 8, 2019
The routine of the average high school student is simple: Go to school, attend classes and other extracurricular activities, and then return home to do homework for the following school day.
For Vianca Dagnino, a first-year catcher on Oberlin’s varsity softball team, high school was a bit different. While her peers were at school in her home state of California, Dagnino was getting hits off softball legends like Monica Abbott.
Since the age of 13, Dagnino has been an active membe...
Alexis Dill, Sports Editor
November 9, 2018
Filed under Baseball, Basketball, Softball, SPORTS, Sports Editorials & Features
At the conclusion of her junior year, College senior and softball player Emma Downing was unsure if she should apply to the Honors Program in History. She didn’t think she would get in — only seven students were accepted this year — and even if she did, she didn’t know if her schedule would allow for it. Nevertheless, she decided to take the plunge.
“There weren’t any other classes I wanted to take, and I wanted to push myself academically and see what I could accomplish,” Downing said. “I knew that coming up with a question and researching it all year to write a 60-page paper would be the hardest thing I’ve ever done academically.”
The History and Russian & East European Studies double-major ...
October 5, 2018
Oberlin Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach Topher Grossman has always believed in the importance of giving back. Most collegiate athletic teams, at Oberlin and elsewhere, may partner with a local non-profit throughout their season, or maybe play an “awareness game” or two, where baked goods are sold for medical research. The men’s lacrosse team, however, has taken its philanthropic goals a step further and partnered with University Hospital Rainbow Babies, a local branch of the Pediatric Bra...
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...
Luke Sprecher
September 14, 2018
Filed under Baseball, SPORTS, Sports Column, Varsity Sports, Varsity Spring
Most Oberlin students arrive on campus at age 17 or 18, but Ian Ashby — first-year Conservatory student — familiarized himself with the College when he was 12 years old. He played baseball competitively in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA until he was in seventh grade, when his father accepted a position as a Jazz arranging professor in the Conservatory and his family moved to Oberlin.
Every Wednesday, 12-year-old Ashby would practice his pitch on the red dirt of the old Dill Field while his dad, Jay Ashby, would teach a class. Dill Field has since been renovated — the classic dirt was switched out for a sleek turf diamond — but nowadays when he steps on the mound, he does so as an Oberlin varsity at...
