Category: Sports

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A Strong Start for the Men’s Basketball Team

Coming off a strong 10-point victory against Chatham University, the Grove City Men’s Basketball Team moves to 6-3 on the year. After a heartbreaking 1-point loss last season to Geneva in the semi-finals of the PAC tournament, the Wolverines look to bounce back this season and have already started to show their true potential. Here’s a rundown of how the team is constructed this year.

Having no graduating seniors last year, the Wolverines returned almost every individual on last year’s team roster. Led by team captains Chase Yarberough and Mike Christenson along with 9 other upperclassmen, the 2024-25 roster is one of the most experienced the program has ever seen. As head coach Steve Lamie enters his 26th year for the Wolverines, he looks to partner with associate head coach Sean Severson and lead the Wolverines to another PAC championship. 

The Wolverines started the year off slow, losing their first 2 out of 3 games to non-conference opponents, Pitt-Greensburg and Pitt-Bradford. However, they have won 5 out of their last 6 games, holding an impressive 4-1 record in the PAC. This makes Grove City tied for second place in the current PAC men’s basketball standings. Although it is early in the season, the Wolverines’ recent play proves how high their ceiling is and the potential for them to be very successful this year. 

The Grove City College Men’s Basketball team and athletic program as a whole place a strong emphasis on the entire college experience. The players within the program are true epitomes of student-athletes. Each team, especially the men’s basketball team, works with their players to make sure athletics are not interfering with academics, allowing each to receive a strong education that will hopefully translate into a successful career. The Grove City Basketball team has countless alumni scattered across the nation that always find ways to come back and contribute to the program. Even if it is just a motivational speech before and after a game, the impact that the program’s alumni have over the current players is unmatched. This is a testament to the strong team culture that Coach Lamie and Coach Severson have built for the program. 

The Wolverines play their next game on Wednesday, December 18th, against Alma College, looking to add another one to the win column. As the season nears the half-way point, so comes Christmas break for Grove City College. However, after the conclusion of winter break, the Wolverines will be nearing the playoffs, and it is then more than ever that the support of every Grove City College student would be greatly appreciated. Notable home games following the conclusion of winter break are on January 18th against Saint Vincent, January 22nd against Westminster, February 1st against Chatham, February 12th against Thiel, and most importantly, senior night on February 15th against Bethany. The Grove City Men’s Basketball team would greatly appreciate your support as they look toward bringing home another PAC championship. 

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A Look into Your ’24-’25 GCC Baseball Team

Baseabll Team

Offseason

The Grove City College baseball team is preparing to get into the swing of the spring season after returning from winter break. Over the fall semester, the coaching staff began to prepare their squad for the ensuing season.

A mix of outdoor practices and intrasquad games took up most of the offseason. The fall was capped off with a doubleheader scrimmage against D2 Gannon University who made the trek up from Erie, PA. The matchup featured many great outings by multiple pitchers on each side and amazing batting performances by players at the plate. The series was split by the two teams. The games provided valuable playing time, and it was a good starting point to allow the coaches to determine where their team is at.

The GCC Baseball team continues to have team lifts and sprinting/agility practices to ensure they are healthy and strong heading into the long season. Players also have access to the IM gyms where they use the batting cages and portable mounds.

The Squad

The team looks to get back into the PAC championship again this year and rewrite the ending. A lot of returning starters know what it takes to have a winning season and make a deep playoff push. Growing the team chemistry has been a big focal point this year. Outside of the diamond, the team gets together a couple times a month to hang out as friends and just have a good time.

The Senior class features the three team captains: Sam Distefano, Evan Umland, and Josh Minnich. Many other seniors will play a big role for this team in the field. Umland and Dave Leslie highlight the pitching staff this year and have a big task on their hands as they come together with the younger classes to help build a rotation of starters and relievers.

The Junior class is smaller in depth compared to others but makes a big impact in the field and at the plate. A couple returning starters have gained great experience in the years past and look to have another great season. A mix of outfielders and infielders will have an opportunity to come in this season and be impact players on the field.

The sophomore class is highlighted by the pitchers who make up a large percentage of the entire pitching staff. Many of those guys took the mound in their rookie seasons in starts, relief, and closing situations. These guys will play a big role for this team if they want to make it back to the championship. A few other sophomores made a real impact in their first season at the plate and in the field and look to do that again.

The freshman squad looked promising during the offseason. A few of them could have the opportunity to see playing time very early on and could cement their spot on the roster if they can compete and perform well during those moments. The freshman class has a lot of talent and athleticism which will complement this team very well.

Together these classes will make up the starting roster and rotation on the mound. So much talent is present on this team, and they have the potential to make headlines in D3 baseball as they have in the previous seasons.

What to Expect this Season

The Grove City College Baseball team will start practicing on the first day of the spring semester and won’t have much time until they play their first games that count towards their record. The coaches will have to make sure they keep the team focused and cover a lot of ground in less than a month.

From there, the team will travel to play a few games in Virginia during the middle of February. They will continue south down to Florida where they will play around 8 varsity games with a few JV games as well. They’ll look to get into a smooth rhythm before heading back north for conference games.

The baseball team will play a handful of non-conference games, before kicking off the doubleheader conference matchups. This part of the season tests many teams’ physical and mental capacities and is what separates the elite teams from the average. The squad will have to keep their spirits up, even during the low times, and work as a team to reach their goals.

PAC playoffs will ensue in early to mid-May. The GCC baseball team comes into this season with expectations of making playoffs and making a strong push to win the championship. Some guys further down the depth charts will need to step up and fill roles as the playoffs can mean a lot of games in a short span. Grove Baseball looks to get into the NCAA tourney and make a name for themselves at that next level if they are crowned PAC champs.

Final Thoughts

This 2025 season will be a time when these student-athletes make some of their best memories. The season will be action-packed and full of many intense games that will come down to the wire. The players continue to work hard so that when they are faced with those situations, they will rise to the challenge.

Make sure to come out to R. Jack Behringer field in the spring to support and cheer on the team!

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Tam O’ Shanter: A Golf Course Review

Welcome! - Picture of Tam O'Shanter of Pennsylvania Golf Course, Hermitage - Tripadvisor

As spring rolls around campus, the weather begins to improve the opportunities to be outside begin to become more present. While some students like to go hiking or hammocking, I have fallen in love with playing local golf courses in Western Pennsylvania. Playing golf for me provides stress relief and an amazing opportunity to connect with different people off campus. Western PA’s rolling hills and mild climate provides an optimal layout for nice affordable golf courses.

Last week, I played Tam O’Shanter in Hermitage. I had played this course multiple times before but had never taken the time to review the course in general. To begin, Tam O’Shanter is one of my favorite golf layouts around the College. The course is around 30 minutes from campus so its relatively accessible. Inspired by the rough and natural layouts of traditional links style courses, Tam O’Shanter plays around 6,500 yards from the back tees.

In my opinion, this course provides the most challenging golf experience when it comes to local golf courses. Greens are fast, fairways are tight, and par 3s are generally long and unforgiving. While it might be the toughest challenge, it is one of my favorite places to play. The pros in the pro shop are always kind and love college students, and the food at the turn is very well priced and tastes great.

One of my favorite aspects of Tam O’Shanter is the course layout. Tee to green, this course provides a very scenic and enjoyable golf experience featuring winding fairways and small undulating greens. Overall, I recommend any golfer to take a weekend and a couple of friends to enjoy the historic Tam O’Shanter–just remember to bring some extra golf balls. You are going to need them.

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Freshman Spotlight: Natalie Merrick

College is a time for students to step out of their comfort zone and explore. You have the freedom of living on your own and making your own decisions. Being at Grove City, this is the time where you find out more about yourself, find friends that will be with you throughout life, and where you can grow deeper in your faith, all while being surrounded by community.

Natalie Merrick is a freshman majoring in Exercise Science with a pre-physical therapy concentration, and minoring in Psychology. While her academics are time-consuming, she has learned to find a way to balance it while playing soccer at Grove City College. For Natalie, she grew up in the Cranberry Township area (about 30 minutes from campus) and knew of Grove City College from her sister going here and people in her high school. While she was looking at other colleges, she ultimately decided on Grove City because of the Christ-centered mission of the College and the soccer program.

Along with her major and being on the women’s soccer team, she is also a part of Homecoming Committee and the Gamma Sigma Phi sorority. Her best piece of advice when it comes to rushing different sororities is to check your heart constantly and form relationships with people to be their friend, not to be in the sorority. When it comes to sororities or fraternities, you want to make sure that you “vibe” with the people in the group as your true self, not having a persona.

When asked about the impact that Grove City College has had on her faith, Natalie said her faith has grown tremendously because of the people that she surrounds herself with at college. She was intentional when getting to know the seniors in her sorority and on her soccer team. She said “watching them walk with the Lord has encouraged me to do the same and I’ve found people who prioritize their relationship with Him and encourage me in my walk of faith.” She has found that her friendships here are ones that will stay throughout her life. When asked about the community at Grove City College, she said it is welcoming and inviting to everyone and encourages growth spiritually, academically, and socially.

The best piece of advice Natalie has for future underclassmen or prospective students is to “go into everything with open hands and find chances to grow and be challenged in your academics and faith.” Keep your eyes open to new things, people, and opportunities God places right in front of you. Whatever you decide to do in college or whatever happens, God is always with you to help guide you and provide for you. College can be the best time of your lives, so get involved with activities, groups, and get to know people who can help push you to be a better person overall.

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Sophomore Spotlight: Lucca Baccari

Whether you are a prospective student looking at Grove City College or you have decided to attend Grove City in the fall, college is a time for people to learn and grow. You may not know what the “college experience” looks like, but that is okay! The best advice you can get is hearing from current students who found ways to adapt to the college environment and succeed socially and academically.

Lucca Baccari, a sophomore mechanical engineer, decided on Grove City College not only because of the baseball team but because of the reputation of having strong academics and a small, tight-knit community surrounding the campus. When asked about adjusting to “college life” he said to schedule out your weeks so you know when assignments are due but also what events or activities are happening so you can go to them. This method works best for Lucca as he is very busy juggling his workload, baseball, and being in the Beta Sigma fraternity. Finding a balance between a sport and academics in college is difficult but he makes it work by planning ahead on the weekends and working ahead on assignments, especially when he is in season. His best piece of advice for student athletes is to “have good time management and not procrastinate on assignments. You don’t want to fall behind in academics or your sport because it can be hard to recover.”

When asked about the impact that Grove City College has had on his faith, Lucca said “It’s grown to a whole new level. You’re surround by people who have come from completely different walks of life who teach you different things to help you in your walk of faith.” Faith is important to campus life, but also to the community that surrounds the college. The community of Grove City focuses on “building each other up and creating a positive experience on campus, whether it be academically or socially.”

The best piece of advice Lucca has for prospective or incoming students is to “participate in campus life as much as possible. Not only does it benefit you by helping you meet people but continues to build the campus community.” Do not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone to meet people. The community at Grove City College creates many opportunities and experiences for people!

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Inside Wolverine Athletics Podcast: Coach Jordyn Cole

In this week’s episode of Inside The Wolverine Den, we are joined by coach Jordyn Cole! Jordyn is a Grove City College grad who helps with recruiting, event coordinating, and assists coaching Grove City College Women’s Soccer. She dives deeper into the special qualities of Grove City College Athletics and what the recruiting process is like for prospective students. If you are looking for schools, you will not want to miss this one!

Inside the Wolverine Den: Jordyn Cole

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Inside Wolverine Athletics Podcast: Grant Evans

Lacrosse, Wolverine Athletics, GCC , Grove City

In this week’s episode of Inside the Wolverine Den, Grant Evans joins in on the podcast! Grant is a senior on the Varsity Men’s Lacrosse here at Grove City College. During this episode, he describes his decision-making process when being recruited for lacrosse. Grant is a nationally recognized faceoff specialist for NCAA Division III and has other claims to fame, as well. While NCAA Division I athletics seems like the golden ticket, Grant would say otherwise in his experience. He explains how his decision has shaped him into the person he is today and how he loves the family atmosphere created by his coaches. If you are an athlete in the recruiting process, you will not want to miss this one.

Inside the Wolverine Den: Grant Evans

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The New Team on Campus

The Women’s Lacrosse team has been a club team for years here at Grove City College, but now they are finally an NCAA varsity sport. There are now 23 varsity sports at GCC between the men’s and the women’s programs. With their first recruiting class this season, the Wolverines are 11-2 and 5-0 in the Presidents Athletic Conference. I interviewed senior captain Grace Dymski about the team and the vision for the program.

What is your favorite part about the team?

Grace said that she loves the intensity of the team, meaning that the whole team is invested in the culture and they are really all in. She said, “We all know how to get things done, but we have a lot of fun doing it.” The team is very tight-knit, especially for only being a first-year program.

What is your team’s vision?

The vision is “for our presence to illuminate the places and people we touch with Christ’s light.” This is a great representation of the team since we all try to glorify God through our play and through our actions on the field and on the sidelines. Though it may seem challenging when not every school has the same core values and vision, that does not mean we cannot show Christ’s love through sport.

How has it been transitioning from club to NCAA varsity?

Grace was a freshman on the club women’s lacrosse team, and due to COVID her time got cut short. However, she had the opportunity to play for the varsity team for her senior year which has turned out to be a huge blessing. She says that it is definitely a bigger time commitment, but it is worth it to see the team grow and have success as a unit. If you invest in the team and the program then you will see great results, and that is what is happening here this year.

The lacrosse team has had great success this far in the season, and hopefully, they will continue to compete strongly in the PAC. The team culture is great and will continue to grow under Coach Jackowski.

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Sports Management at Grove City

A new and popular major at other colleges is Sports Management, and we are now lucky to have this as a concentration under the Business Management major. My freshman year I started out as an education major but then decided that it was not for me, so after freshman year I changed my major to Business Management with a concentration in Sports Management joining the first Sports Management class in Grove City history.

I switched to Sports Management because I knew I loved sports, and I wanted to do something in sports later in life. The sports industry is growing so much, and there are now a wide array of jobs that you can get when you work in sports. The classes here at Grove City prepare you for a career in sports with the diversity of classes. The first Sports Management class that I took was Principles of Sport Management and Marketing with coach Gibson, the athletic director at GCC. In this class, I learned the ins and outs of sports management both in the professional world and in college athletics.

I was able to attain an internship with the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, which is the conference that Grove City plays in for every sport (except for Women’s Water Polo who plays in the Collegiate Water Polo’s Association). I learned so much, and it was because of the Sports Management class that I got my internship. The other classes at Grove City help you, challenge you in your faith, and help you connect your faith with your athletics. Finally, my favorite experience was in Sports Management and Event Practicum. This course is essentially an internship style class where you go and work for the Grove City College athletic department and help in any way that you can. You have a big project during the semester where you run and operate a sports management project. For my project, my partner and I ran the press booth at the Grove City track meet. During this project, I learned a lot and my knowledge grew even more in athletics.

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Athletics at Grove City College

There are so many ways to find community at GCC, and one of those is by participating in varsity sports on campus. I played on the baseball team here at GCC, and that was a great way for me to find an instant community and friends on campus. A couple of the questions that I would get were if I had time for other things on campus, and what the commitment level is for sports at the Grove. I am going to try my best to give you some perspective on what it is like to be an athlete on campus and what else you can do while at Grove City.

Do you have time for anything else on campus?

As an athlete, there are many opportunities to get involved on campus, both within the athletic department and outside of it as well. While playing baseball, I participated in Greek life, Orientation Board, Homecoming committee, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. You have a lot of time throughout the season and the offseason to participate in many things on campus, that way you are not just subject to one activity during your time at college.

What is the commitment level like?

The majority of athletes on campus have a practice every day and then will have a time set to go to the gym and lift with your team. However, there are activities that each team will do for team building, which can help with gaining a great community early in your college career. As for the commitment level of collegiate athletes, I am a firm believer that you will get what you put into it. No matter what you invest in on-campus you can gain a great community and get a lot out of it. If you decide to put all of your time into your team and sport then you will get a lot out of it, but if you want to prioritize other things while playing sports that is definitely possible as well. Grove City athletics are great, and when you participate in them then you will have a community that you will cherish for a long time.