Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Spring 2013 | Page 13

Softball standout Lesley Guenard ’12 was among eight
Wheaton student-athletes who helped set a new standard for
the institution in the prestigious Capital One Academic
All-America program in 2011-12. Wheaton had a school record
of eight selections to the program in 2011-12. Joining Lesley as
Academic All-Americans were Renee Bettinger ’12 (women’s
track & field), J.J. Clark ’12 (football); Drew Golz ’12 (men’s
soccer & baseball); Tim McCrary ’12 (men’s basketball); Jaime
Orewiler ’12 (women’s soccer) and Scott Roche ’12 (football).

Thunder Recap
Football won

a share of the CCIW

Championship in 2012, marking Wheaton’s
first conference championship in football
since 2006. Wheaton was 8-2 for the year
with a 6-1 CCIW record, as 13 players earned

faith, but to really challenge his team.
“I have always felt called to coach to
make a difference in guys’ lives, and
I’m able to do that at a much greater
level now than ever before.”
In this first year, he’s been
impressed with the overall potential
of the program, but even more so
with the quality of the studentathletes and how coachable they
are. “The depth of character in our
student-athletes is different than at
many other schools. Their faith is
such a priority to them, and that has
been fun and gives us some common
ground,” he says.
One of his passions is to help his
players develop a mindset that will
carry them through life. “I want
them to grow, mature, and have
more of an outward focus than an
inward focus—to be involved in their
communities and churches when they
leave here.”

All-CCIW recognition. Wide receiver Mark
Hiben ’15 earned Second Team All-American
recognition and Brandon Dykstra ’14 earned
Fourth Team honors.

Women’s Soccer

earned a place

at the NCAA Division III Final Four for the
second consecutive year, falling to Emory
University in the National Semifinal. The
women’s soccer program went 21-4-2 as
Laura Karsten ’13 and Keri Shannon ’13 were
joined by Leah DeMoss ’14 as All-American
selections.

Men’s Soccer

posted an 18-4-3

record this fall, winning the program’s
second CCIW Championship in three years.
Wheaton advanced to the NCAA Division III
Sectional Final, its furthest advancement in
the postseason since 2006. Adam Blackman
’15 scored 12 goals with six assists, earning
CCIW Player of the Year and Division III AllAmerican honors.

Women’s Tennis

won its eighth

consecutive CCIW Championship, and head
coach Jane Nelson ’83 was honored as the
2012 CCIW Coach of the Year.

Men’s Cross Country competed
at the NCAA Division III Championships for

THUNDER BY THE NUMBERS

8

Capital One
Division III
Academic
All-Americans
from Wheaton in the 2011-12
school year. This number
represents the most ever for
Wheaton in the history of the
prestigious program and the
fourth-highest total for any
Division III school in 2011-12
behind only MIT (13), Johns
Hopkins (11), and Washington
University-St. Louis (9).

the second consecutive year, as Wheaton
finished ninth this fall. Jake Waterman ’14

118

2,582
fans

earned All-American recognition.

by the Wheaton women’s
basketball team in a 118-78
win versus North Central
College on January 28, 2013.
It marked a school record for
points in a single game for the
Thunder women’s basketball
program.

crowded into King Arena for
a men’s basketball game
on January 28, 2013, to
witness Wheaton win a 71-69
overtime victory against North
Central. At near capacity,
this was the second-largest
regular-season crowd since
King Arena became the home
of Wheaton basketball
in 2000-01.

Women’s Volleyball

points scored

was the top performer for the Thunder at
Nationals, finishing in 22nd place. His twin
brother, James ’14, finished 31st, and both

head coach

Jennifer King Soderquist ’77 announced her
retirement in February after 27 seasons at
the helm of the Wheaton volleyball program.
In her 30-year collegiate coaching career,
King Soderquist compiled a career record
of 641-568 and she is 14th all-time among
NCAA Division III head volleyball coaches in
career victories.

For more

on the Thunder, visit

athletics.wheaton.edu

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