campus news
Joel Laube golf event benefits students By Lance Schwartz Director of Marketing and Public Relations
H
is college friends will tell you that while Joel Laube came to Bethany Lutheran College to play soccer, it wasn’t his athletic prowess that attracted people to him. More so, it was Joel’s love for others that earned him the reputation as one of the “nice guys” on the Bethany campus. Shortly after graduating from Bethany, Joel was called Home as the result of a diving accident. Years had passed since Joel’s death and it was one of his soccer teammates that had an idea—a way to remember Joel. The idea came to Jeff Rohrman in the spring of 2003. So Rohrman contacted Chief Advancement Officer Art Westphal and the two of them, together with a host of Joel’s college and high school friends, established the Joel Laube Memorial Golf Tournament. The tournament is held in June in the Twin Cities and since its inception, the event has raised over $90,000 for the Joel Laube Memorial
Photo by Sarah Harstad
From left: Jim Laube, Emily (Tews) Anderson, Kyle Damiano, Judy Laube. Emily and Kyle have both received the Joel Laube Memorial scholarship.
Scholarship Fund. Westphal says the event is, “A wonderful example of lots of people coming together for a special cause.” The money raised at the tournament has been placed in an endowed scholarship fund where a portion of the fund’s proceeds are given
to Bethany students who embody some of the same leadership qualities that Joel possessed. Many of the recipients have been able to be present at the tournament and the accompanying dinner. The meetings have been special and emotional for both the students and the Laube family.
Willitz hired to lead varsity cross country team
T
hey run in packs, over the hills and through the woods. After a brief hiatus from sanctioned competition, they are back again on the Bethany campus. Yes, the cross country program at Bethany is off and running once again. Cross country has been a part of the Bethany athletic scene for a number of years; from it’s beginnings as an official junior college sport during the 2000-01 school year to it’s existence as a club sport in recent years and now an official varsity sport in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. Bethany cross country athletes will be competing in seven races during the fall 2009 season. Coaching both the
education that lasts beyond a lifetime
men’s and women’s teams is first year head coach Mike Willitz. Willitz is a 2008 graduate of Bethany. He was instrumental in Mike Willitz keeping Bethany on the cross country map during its absence from formal team competition as he started the Norsemen Running Club (Bethany’s cross country club) and provided leadership for the club over a two-year period as an undergraduate. Willitz has been a runner ever since joining the cross country team in
the ninth grade. His team’s successes culminated in a fifth place finish in the 2004 Florida Class 3A state finals. Willitz served as co-captain on the team. Willitz returned to the Mankato area after serving a year in Wenling, China, as an English teacher during 2008. In addition to his coaching, Willitz is currently a student at Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary. Willitz is assisted by Thomas Datwyler. Datwyler is a 2009 Bethany graduate who has been running since his sophomore year in high school and continued to run through college with the Norsemen Running Club at Bethany.
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VIKINGS VIKINGS VIKINGS VIKINGS
athletic news