One thing the Indiana Wesleyan University Athletic Department encourages for all sports teams is community outreach. This spring, the softball team has set the bar high for all the other teams to clear. The team is dedicating every home game to a certain cause.

So far players have only had two games because of unpredictable weather. Last week, the team dedicated its game to IWU student and staff appreciation and two weeks ago, the home opener to Autism Awareness.

At the game, which took place April 4, autistic children from the Marion community were greeted with gift bags and opportunities to get their faces painted and create noise makers to cheer on the Wildcats. The game was originally scheduled to take place on April 2 (Autism Awareness Day); however, due to rainy conditions, the game was rescheduled.

Second baseman Lauren Benda (fr) said the results were still “awesome” despite the rescheduling. “We had a lot more people come than we thought,” she said. There was a total of close to 30 autistic children who came to cheer on the women that day.

“We were very surprised and ecstatic at the same time about the number of kids that showed up,” said IWU alum Aubrey Lohser. Lohser is a close friend of the assistant softball coach and was asked to help out with the game.

“Coach Babinski calls me his ‘honorary’ assistant coach because I am helping him with these events. He sometimes has difficulty implementing his great ideas,” she said, “so that’s how I became involved.”

The team sold puzzle pieces to attendees to raise money for the cause. They were asked to put either their name on the paper or someone they know with autism. All proceeds went to American Autism Association.

“We requested that the funds that we raised go to the children in Marion and the surrounding areas, Logansport counties,” Lohser said. The money will be distributed from the association to the families to help pay for groceries and therapy sessions to help the children.

“Anything to get them better and moving forward and progressing, that is what the money is going towards,” she said.

Gabby McIntire (jr) said the team raised more than $300 for their cause. “It wasn’t so much about the money, though,” McIntire said. “Our main goal was to spread awareness about how much autism is growing.”

According to Lohser, today , one in every 88 children is affected by autism. “And it is becoming more and more prevalent,” she said.

At the game, two autistic children threw out the first pitch and one boy ran the bases after the game and met all the players. Lohser, Benda and McIntire all said that was their favorite part of the event.

“He is such a great kid and the smile he had on his face the whole time was unbelievable,” Benda said about the 3-year-old boy.

“It’s something we will all remember forever, watching him run the bases so full of life,” McIntire said.

“We hope to continue doing this event and more in the seasons to come because it was such a joy to see these kids participating, and I know the girls enjoyed every bit of it as well,” Lohser said.

On Wednesday, April 24, the team’s home game will be dedicated to cancer research. Each player (on both teams) will wear a ribbon in her hair with the name of someone she knows who has been affected by cancer. Other events for the season include a community night when IWU will honor those involved in the Marion schools and community and a public health workers’ night to honor Marion police officers and firefighters.

Everyone has to say goodbye.

People who say that goodbyes aren’t hard are liars. Goodbyes are hard. They always will be hard.

I’m no different. I’m not fond of goodbyes. You’re saying goodbye to the comfortable, the stable and what you know.

But goodbyes seem to be inevitable. All the greats have said goodbyes at one point or another in their life.

Michael Jordan said goodbye to basketball in 1993. Then hello to it again … and finally goodbye for the final time as a player in 1999.

Bob Barker said goodbye to “The Price is Right” in 2007.

Andy said goodbye to Woody and the gang in 2010.

And now, I am saying goodbye to you, my faithful readers of this column.

I have had the privilege of writing for The Sojourn as your sports editor for the past year and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons and scheduling conflicts, I will not be writing for The Sojourn anymore.

But fear not, I am leaving this section in incredibly capable hands.

I have been blessed with many opportunities this year. I was able to watch the women’s basketball team become the 2013 NAIA Division II National Champions, watch the first-ever women’s golf team start their season and I will be traveling to New Zealand with the athletic department later in the year.

While this decision has not come easily, I promise next year’s sports editor is going to rock your socks off.

This whole process of working with you, my fellow classmates and sports lovers, has been one of the best. I was able to hear your opinions on certain pieces as well as cover stories that you found relevant and interesting.

But I do have one final request of you. Sports editors are allowed to make final requests, right?

In light of the tragedy that has befallen Boston, will you do something for me?

Ignore the media. Don’t give in to the sensationalism that has seemed to plague the society we live in.

I’m not saying being informed is bad. It’s quite the opposite, but there comes a point where we are glorifying the suspects and their heinous acts over the victims who have suffered.

Honor the victims, not the suspects.

Pray for Boston; truly pray for those that have been affected by this tragedy. Don’t let this act of terror consume you. Instead let it strengthen you.

The things that we here at Indiana Wesleyan University can do for those involved may sound cheesy, and you may think it’s a Sunday school answer, but the fact of the matter is it is what we need right now.

Prayer.

I am a firm believer in prayer and I am beyond convinced that Boston needs our prayers more than ever.

I am Erin Alberding, your sports editor. Lover of the Chicago Bears and Butler Bulldogs, but today I am a lover of Boston.

It’s been a pleasure to share what’s on my mind for these 20 issues and I hope that you have giggled, learned or been forced to think at least once.

And I know I speak for the whole Sojourn staff when I say:

The Sojourn stands with Boston.

By Jessica Landes

Indiana Wesleyan University’s men and women’s track and field season is well under way. After competing in the Huntington Invitational, three members were given Crossroads League honors.

James Allen (sr) was named Men’s Field Athlete of the Week, and Casey Gauss (so) named Men’s Field and Track Athlete of the Week.

“I am very thankful and beyond blessed to receive it, especially as a sophomore,” Gauss said. “I just want to thank Jesus, my coaches and my team.”

Gauss added that although he struggled with vaulting at the beginning of the year, and breaking a pole last season, he has worked hard to muster up the patience to perform at his highest level.

“During my second meet back, I tied the school record and was out-heighted by only one other guy at NCCAA nationals,” Gauss said. “A lot of my teammates were watching, which made it a lot more fun and helped me to perform at my best.”

Allison Trevithick (fr) was the recipient of the Women’s Field Athlete Award at the meet. She won the high-jump event.

“I am honored to have received this title because I have worked hard in my short time with the track team,” Trevithick said.

“The track team is an amazing group of Christ-focused athletes that compete with a purpose,” Trevithick said about her teammates. “Each day I get to know someone a little better and see how awesome they are.”

Coach John Foss also attested to the character of the team.

“Every team is unique, but like teams in the past, this team is very focused on honoring God through our competition and our attitude and serving those around us,” Foss said. “We have a very deep and balanced men’s team with a lot of experience. Our women’s team is also deep and balanced but younger and currently in a rebuilding season.”

Foss said he loves having the opportunity to work with young people who work to be their best and use their gifts.

“Having several of the athletes win Crossroads League honors was exciting, but we are more focused on what we can accomplish together as a complete track and field team,” Foss said.

With several upcoming meets close to Marion, IWU students can go and cheer on the track and field teams.

The weekend of graduation includes a League meet at Huntington, followed by the NCCAA meet and at the end of May, the NAIA, which is hosted at IWU.

Foss hopes to see IWU students support the teams.

“We would love to see our student body make the trip to Huntington for the League meet or the NCCAA meet,” Foss said. “Some of the IWU track team members are among the best in the nation and they are a lot of fun to watch.”

For the inaugural Indiana Wesleyan University women’s golf team, this year has been a pleasant surprise.

Head coach Julie Wagner started the season last fall with a team of all freshmen. Despite her team’s lack of experience, the Wildcats went on to win two tournaments and placed second in two others. Wagner said the team exceeded her expectations.

“I am just overwhelmed that we won two tournaments, and one of them had a fair number of teams,” Wagner said. “To have an all-freshmen team do that, to me, is unimaginable.”

Now that spring season has started, the Wildcats face new obstacles. First, the team did not score in one of the tournaments due to not having enough golfers. Secondly, according to Wagner, the team has “barely even touched grass” due to Indiana’s late start to spring this year. The team tries to practice every weekday at Shady Hills Golf Course, but weather has hindered that from happening.

These challenges, however, haven’t fazed the Wildcats. The team added basketball star Taylor Goshert (jr) after her return from a NAIA Division II National Championship, bringing the roster to five members, Goshert the only non-freshman. The move has paid dividends. Goshert has been IWU’s lowest-scoring golfer in the two tournaments she has participated in.

Jessica Meloche (fr) thinks her team, with the addition of Goshert, should be able to do well in the Crossroads League this season, despite the obstacles golfers have faced.

“We want to place second at our Crossroads League Championship, because Bethel is really, really good, but we and Marian are kind of similar [in talent], so we want to beat them,” said Meloche.

Haley Elenbaas (fr), whose broken arm kept her out most of the fall season, echoed her teammate’s goal, emphasizing how impressive it would be to place second in the six-team Crossroads League in just the first year of the women’s golf program.

“It sounds bad that we’re aiming for second,” Elenbaas laughed. “But that would be a big accomplishment for us, because Bethel is so good and there are other good teams, too. If we are able to beat the other teams, that would be really exciting.”

While the team is focused on doing well this year, Wagner and the Wildcats think the future of the team is not just bright, but blinding. With the freshmen continuing to develop and strong recruits coming in, Wagner thinks Bethel may finally have some competition in a couple of years.

“My goal is that by the time the current freshmen are juniors, I will have a team that is a force to be reckoned with in the [league],” Wagner said. “I want to be a shark, not a guppie.”