Varsity Athletics

Nate Bowen

BEREA, OHIO – Five Baldwin-Wallace College student-athletes were named to the 2008-2009 Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference team for cross country and track & field. Senior Nate Bowen (Fremont/Ross) earned Academic All-OAC honors for the men and four Yellow Jacket women were named to the Honorable Mention team.

In addition to Bowen, senior Rebekah Paul (Gibsonburg), juniors D’Arcy Hlavin (Berea) and Brittany Giesken (Ottawa/ Ottawa-Glandorf) and sophomore Katie White (Berea) earned honorable mention status for the women.

Bowen is a broadcasting and public relations double-major with a 3.32 grade-point average. In cross country, he earned NCAA Great Lakes All-Region honors with a 23^rd-place finish and was named B-W’s co-most valuable runner. During the indoor track season, he won the 1,000-meter run at the Greater Cleveland Colleges Championship and placed third in the one-mile run and with the 4x800-meter relay team at the OAC Championships. During the outdoor season, Bowen posted team-bests in the 800m  and 1,500m runs. He finished his career as a 12-time letterwinner and was awarded the 2007-08 Paul “Sparky” Adams Memorial Scholarship and the Edith A. White Speech Scholarship.

Rebekah Paul

D'Arcy Hlavin

Brittany Giesken

Katie White

Paul is an English adolescent education major with a 3.288 GPA. She earned indoor All-OAC honors with a second-place finish in the 400m dash and ran a leg on the champion distance medley relay team. During the outdoor season, she placed third in the 400m dash and was a member of the third-place 4x100m relay team at the OAC Championships. Paul finished her career with eight varsity letters and was a member of two school-record holding relay teams. She earned Academic All-OAC honors in each of her final three seasons and was named B-W’s Most Outstanding Sprinter as a sophomore. 

Hlavin is a sports medicine/pre-physical therapy major who carries a 3.64 GPA. During the cross country season, she placed first at the OAC Championship meet and was named women’s Runner of the Year. Hlavin also earned NCAA Great Lakes All-Region honors with a 17^th place finish at the Division III regional meet and qualified for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. In indoor track, she earned All-OAC honors in the one-mile run and the 800m run and was a member of the champion 4x800m and distance medley relay teams. During the outdoor season, Hlavin captured first place in the 1,500m run and with the 4x800m relay team at the OAC Championship meet. She is a Dean’s List student and a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society.

Giesken is a biology major with a 3.70 GPA. She placed 30^th at the OAC Cross Country Championship and qualified for NCAA Regionals. During the indoor season, she ran a leg on the OAC champion distance medley relay team. In the outdoor season, she placed seventh in the 1,500m run and 12^th in the 800m run at the OAC Championship. Giesken was an honorable mention Academic All-OAC pick last season. She is a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Societies. Giesken is also a Jacket scholar, a Dean’s List student and was awarded the John F. and Ida E. Gilber Scholarship for academic achievement and an interest in medicine.  

White is an exercise science and pre-physical therapy major with a B-W sophomore athlete-best 3.833 GPA. She turned in a cross country season-best finish of 36^th place at the Calvin (Mich.) College Meet. During the indoor season, she placed first in the 3,000m run at the Joe Banks Invitational and took fifth in the 5,000m run at the Greater Cleveland Colleges Championship. White earned outdoor All-OAC honors with a third-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase and placed 10^th in the 5,000m run. She is a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact B-W Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu.  To contact Head Coach Bill Taraschke, please call him at 440-826-3322 or e-mail him at wtarasch@bw.edu.