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HILLSDALECHARGERS.COM

A N A THLETICS U P DA T E FOR A LU M NI A ND F R I E NDS

Charge On J EFF L A N T I S , ’ 86

Out of South Africa

A N É DA N N H A U S E R, ’ 27

Big League Designer

S A R AH K LO P F E R, ’ 1 6

Hillsdale On Ice H O CKE Y T E A M

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Hillsdale College Athletics Mission Hillsdale College was founded in 1844 with a purpose to “develop the minds and hearts of its students,” a reference to the moral and intellectual virtues. The driving purpose of athletics at Hillsdale College is to cultivate these virtues. Their practice on the field of competition inspires and elevates the minds of those who compete and those who watch.

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Inside this update: Chargers Comment......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Alumni Feature: Sarah Klopfer, ’16......................................................................................................................6-9 Alumni Feature: Hillsdale Hockey...................................................................................................................10-15 Athletic Fundraising Priority............................................................................................................................16-17 Student Feature: Ané Dannhauser, ’27.........................................................................................................18-21 Department Feature: History of the Kimball Medal................................................................................22-27 Hall of Fame Inductees........................................................................................................................................28-29 Alumni Feature: Colleen Curcio App, ’93......................................................................................................30-35 Alumni Feature: Jeff Lantis, ’86.......................................................................................................................36-43 Chargers Clips and Chargers Champions....................................................................................................44-46 Athletic Staff Directory.............................................................................................................................................. 47

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HILLSDALECHARGERS.COM Aretê, a Greek word meaning “excellence,” is used frequently in Chargers Athletics. It encompasses what the Hillsdale College community—including our student-athletes—seeks in every way.

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Chargers Comment The summer months are usually a chance for our coaches and staff to take a breath and attend to areas like recruiting, camps, and facility maintenance. This summer, we had the opportunity to tackle a project that was long overdue: a refresh of the Sports Complex. Completed in 1988, this facility has been the main hub for Hillsdale Athletics, and there are thousands of people who visit us each year. Over the years, we have attempted to dress up the building, displaying the Hall of Fame plaques as well as the All-American photos that line the hallways of our first floor. However, as our “front door,” we decided we wanted this space to better tell the story of Chargers Athletics—past, present and future. Hillsdale College has an amazing athletic legacy, and after the work we have done this summer, you will hopefully notice our welcoming, bold new front entrance. The lobby announces our Athletic Hall of Fame, and the lounge area has been transformed into a space that proudly displays our most recent Chargers Champions. As you move through the building, you will notice we have new displays that showcase our individual and team Hall of Fame inductees and a reimagined exhibit for our past All-Americans. Make sure you check out the center display case just outside the entrance to Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena, where we’ve honored some of the legendary figures of our past. There is still more work to do, and by the time Homecoming Weekend arrives (October 9-10 this year), we hope to officially unveil the complete scope of the project. It really does have a museum look and feel. My wish is when you enter through our doors, you will spend some time wandering our hallways and discovering the amazing history of Hillsdale College Athletics. Many of you are part of that history, and we hope you can share this experience with your family and friends. We are ONE team, ONE program, and ONE family, after all. And now we have a nice new “family album” that we can show to all of our Sports Complex visitors. This is just one more reason to come back and support Chargers Athletics. I hope to see you back on campus this fall!

John Tharp Director of Athletics

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DESIGNING WOMAN Sarah Klopfer Supervises Creative Design at BY DOUG GOODNOUGH, ’90

In 10 years, Sarah Klopfer, ’16, has gone from designing media guide graphics for Hillsdale College Athletics to working for the top sports media company in the world.

then-Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations and Event Management Brad Monastiere, she was introduced to the world of graphic design.

Less than two months into her new role as design supervisor for ESPN, Klopfer said those Hillsdale experiences led to some amazing post-graduation career opportunities, including her current one.

“Working with Brad in the Athletic Department, I really gravitated toward graphic design,” Klopfer said. “I remember asking Brad, ‘How do I get better at this?’ And he immediately said, ‘Take a photography class and take a graphic design class.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and I was in there the next semester. From there, I just fell in love with it.”

“It’s an opportunity for me to continually learn and elevate my understanding of the sports industry,” Klopfer said of her position at ESPN, which began in December 2025. “In this role, I am overseeing about seven show designers. They are the people who put together the graphics you see on Sportscenter and all the studio shows. It’s an incredible operation. I’m still learning.” Arriving on the Hillsdale campus as a softball recruit from the Columbus, Ohio, area, Klopfer majored in English with an eye to becoming a sports journalist. However, when she started working part time in the Athletic Department for

Photo by Jason Potterton, ESPN

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She credited her classes with then-Hillsdale graphic design professor Bryan Springer, ’94, and the continued work in the Athletic Department to prepare her well for her future career. After graduating from Hillsdale, she returned to campus to complete another internship with Monastiere, eventually accepting a full-time position with a graphic design firm in the Columbus area. But a career in college athletics was her goal, and she got that opportunity in 2018 when she joined Kent State University’s athletic program as an assistant director of social media and athletic communications.

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“You name it, I did it there,” Klopfer said. “That was where I really got to spread my wings and immerse myself in a D1 athletic department for the first time.”

About a year later, Klopfer was hired as a graphic designer for the University of Oklahoma’s Athletic Department, which she said was the “big leagues” of college athletics.

She was handling media relations for several sports as well as overseeing the department’s social media channels and serving as the department’s lone graphic designer.

“I was working with some major teams—the softball team, the football teams, women’s basketball,” she said. “I ended up touching pretty much every sport, everything from marketing to social media and media guides. If you can name it, we designed it, and it was incredible.”

“I was doing a lot, but I loved every second of it,” she said. “I was finding myself wanting to just do the graphics. I was trying to rush through all my other work just to get to graphic design and spend more time learning that craft. I decided that if I was going to leave, it would be for something just to focus on graphic design, because I loved it so much.”

Klopfer had a chance for a leadership role when she accepted a position as the assistant athletic director for Creative Strategy at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2021.

“Something that matters to me the most is telling athletes’ stories and reaching fan bases and giving that experience at a high level.”

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There she helped build a creative team from scratch. That experience led to another opportunity at Mississippi State University, where she served as senior director of Creative Design. When her supervisor took a position at Oklahoma, Klopfer was asked to join her, so she returned to OU as the managing director of Creative Strategy in 2023. She spent nearly three years helping to build out OU Athletics’ photography and graphic design teams as they supported a program that competed in the Southeastern Conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics. Although she enjoyed her work at OU, Klopfer said an opportunity to work at ESPN was too hard to pass up. “Something that matters to me the most is telling athletes’ stories and reaching fan bases and giving that experience at a high level,” said Klopfer, who recently moved near ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. “And while this is a different world, it is also an opportunity for me to continually learn and elevate my understanding of the sports industry.” She said she was surprised by just how large the organization was and is enjoying the community aspect of the job. Though Hillsdale was a smaller community, Klopfer remembers her Hillsdale experience fondly, both on the softball field and in the classroom. “The on-field experience was incredible,” said Klopfer, a pitcher who was recruited by former head coach Joe Abraham. “I got to play softball at the highest level while also being a student at the highest level.” Although her competitive softball days are over, she said, “my glove is always in the trunk of my car, ready to go. It’s almost like a security blanket.” She enjoys hiking the trails with her dog and looks forward to seeing where her career path takes her. “I’ve built my career on continually learning and keeping a sense of naivety,” Klopfer said. “Really, my ultimate goal is to be the best version of myself that I can be. This position opens up a whole new set of paths for me, and I’m still exploring those. I’m excited to see where that might be.”

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Hillsdale hockey coach Jim Drawbridge, ’66, graciously donated his skates to the College.

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Frozen in Time:

The Legends and Lore of Hockey at Hillsdale BY MONICA VANDERWEIDE, ’95

Like a puck shooting across the ice into the net for the winning goal, the tenure of hockey as a varsity sport at Hillsdale was quick, exciting, and spectacular—a brief adrenaline rush in the grand scheme of Chargers Athletics. Yet 50 years later, the memories, relationships, and love for the sport continue to burn brightly for those fortunate few who called themselves the Hillsdale Norsemen. Their story endures, in large part, because of two incredible coaches who left a lasting impact on their players—Jim Drawbridge and Ted Lindsay.

Drawbridge’s Goal Jim Drawbridge arrived at Hillsdale in 1962, an ambitious, athletic freshman from Massachusetts who loved to play hockey. He had started a hockey team at his high school and quickly got to work trying to do the same at Hillsdale. “I put up posters around campus to see if there was interest in forming a hockey club,” he said in a 2017 interview. “I got about a dozen players, and we played our first game in 1963.” There was one small problem, though—Hillsdale had no ice arena. The hockey club practiced on frozen Baw Beese Lake or the Arboretum pond, and, when schedules and finances allowed, drove an hour-and-a-half to use the ice rinks at the University of Michigan or Michigan State University. Despite the logistical challenges, the team persevered and began to flourish, even beating Ohio State 17-0 in the last game of the first season.

In 1968, the city of Jackson completed construction on an ice arena, giving Hillsdale’s club a “home” ice that was only 40 minutes away. Drawbridge, who had since graduated but was teaching at a local school, continued to coach the club team on a volunteer basis. He urged the student body to petition the College to make hockey a varsity sport following a standing-room-only game in Jackson in which the Norsemen beat Purdue University 14-2. In December 1968, that goal became reality as the College granted varsity status to the hockey team.

The Norsemen Charge Forward The players on those early varsity teams brought mixed experiences. Some came from hockey towns—Boston, Detroit, Port Huron, or even Canada—and had formal playing experience, while others had learned to skate on neighborhood ponds. Scott McDowell, ’73, spent a lot of time on local ponds with his older brothers but also played in a teen hockey program in Lansing. After serving in the Army, McDowell and a former teammate visited Hillsdale, thinking they would play football under the legendary Frank “Muddy” Waters. “I thought I wanted to coach football, and what better tutelage than Muddy,” McDowell said. But a few weeks into the season, McDowell realized he didn’t have what it takes to play football. “I told Muddy I wanted to play hockey instead.” Drawbridge, who was now a full-time staff member in the College’s Development Office in addition to the hockey coach, took McDowell under his wing. As a member of the Midwest College Hockey Association, Hillsdale played against teams such as Central Michigan University, Oberlin College, Miami

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University of Ohio, and Toledo University, but, as schedules allowed, the Norsemen also took on independent teams or JV teams from much larger schools like Western Michigan University, Purdue University, Michigan State University, and the University of Notre Dame. “We were competitive,” McDowell recalled. “But it was hard to compete for players when Hillsdale couldn’t offer hockey scholarships.” Nonetheless, Drawbridge himself was incentive enough to bring many players to Hillsdale. Dave Randall, ’75, happened upon Hillsdale by accident when he missed a turn for Adrian College. Continuing down US-12, Randall decided to visit Hillsdale College and stopped at the fieldhouse first. Within minutes, he found himself meeting with Drawbridge about Hillsdale’s hockey program. “I was hooked and impressed that Jim was interested in me,” he said. “I never visited Adrian College. I told my parents I wanted to go to Hillsdale.” Bob Bildner, ’78, grew up in Hillsdale and played on a travel team out of Jackson. When Drawbridge saw him play in Jackson, he asked Bildner if he wanted to play hockey at Hillsdale. “My grades weren’t good, so I didn’t think I could make it at Hillsdale,” Bildner recalled. “But Jim said, ‘Let’s get you in summer school.’ I owe an amazing debt of gratitude to Jim. I’m so grateful that he gave me the opportunity to come to Hillsdale, play hockey, and get a good education.”

Starstruck by Hockeytown’s Hero To say that Hillsdale’s players were starstruck having a four-time Stanley Cup winner as their coach would be an understatement. Lindsay, known as Terrible Ted during his long career with the Red Wings because of his aggressive style of play, brought an NHL-style mindset to the game, along with a new set of rules.

Change is Coming The Norsemen faced logistical challenges without a home ice. Several days a week, they drove up to the Jackson ice arena in the afternoon for practice, using the College’s fleet of red station wagons. “We learned stunt-driving skills on the way to and from Jackson!” Dave Bell, ’78, recalled. “We didn’t take very good care of those station wagons,” Bob Barss, ’77, admitted. “We had to race back to campus after practice to get to the cafeteria before it closed.” In the fall of 1974, Jim Drawbridge announced that he would be leaving Hillsdale to return to his native Massachusetts. The players were disappointed to lose their beloved coach. But then Blake Lindsay, ’77, offered a temporary solution: He would ask his dad, former Detroit Red Wing and Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay, if he would coach for a few weeks until the school found a permanent head coach.

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“He told us, ‘You represent the school, you represent me, and you represent yourselves,’” Barss recalled. “He wanted us to wear a jacket and tie when we traveled to games, and he insisted that everyone get a haircut.” With longer hairstyles in vogue in the mid-1970s, that rule didn’t sit well with some of the players. But Lindsay was firm: Cut your hair if you want to play for me. With Ted Lindsay at the helm of Hillsdale’s Norsemen, other teams took notice and upped their game, according to Randall. “We had to get more aggressive and up our game, too,” he said. “Fans came out in bigger numbers. Ted would always sign autographs after the games.” A few weeks turned into a few years as Lindsay drove from his Metro Detroit home to Jackson (about an hour-and-a-half drive one way) twice a week for practices and for weekend games, all while holding down a full-time job at Lindsay &

Jim Drawbridge

1971-72 Team

1968-69 Season 1968-69 Team

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Pavelich Manufacturing Co., a plastics manufacturer that he ran with his former Red Wings teammate, Marty Pavelich. He never accepted any pay for coaching at Hillsdale. I think he enjoyed it a lot more than he initially thought he would,” said Lynn Lindsay LaPaugh, ’77, of her father’s commitment. “He loved those guys so much. He took care of them and mentored them.” In an interview with the Jackson Citizen Patriot, Ted said, “When you like something enough, you will find a way…It’s fun. My kids like that school and I do, too.”

“ Both Jim and Ted left Hillsdale and the world a better place.” –DAVE RANDALL, ’75

Momentum Building Ted Lindsay was determined to build the Norsemen into the best college hockey team in the country. He recruited players out of the Little Caesars hockey program in Metro Detroit, according to Lynn LaPaugh. And on the ice, “he did not let anyone slack off on anything,” Lew LaPaugh, ’77, a student trainer for the hockey team, said of his future father-in-law. That went for referees as well as players. “I remember one game that got out of control with a lot of fighting,” Lynn said. “My dad was hollering at the referees to control the game. It got so bad that we had to call the police.” While Lindsay was relentless in his drive to build a winning team, he was also fiercely protective of his players. “I remember getting a penalty at a game,” Randall recalled. “As I was sitting in the penalty box, two other players jumped on me. Then Ted came over and jumped into the penalty box to protect me.” Lindsay also gave his players the unforgettable experience of playing against the Detroit Red Wings Old Timers (a team of retired players) several times, both in Jackson and at the Red Wings’ home ice at Olympia Stadium in Detroit. “It was a real thrill to play against those players I had watched on TV as a kid,” Randall recalled. The Lindsay years brought winning records and strong student support. “The stands were full at every game in Jackson,” Lew LaPaugh said. The 1976-77 season brought a 27-6 record for the Norsemen—the best record of any athletic program at the College that year, according to a September 1977 Collegian article. As momentum built

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for Hillsdale hockey, so did the cost of running the sport due to the travel to and from Jackson. So Lindsay had a goal—secure funding to build an ice arena on campus. But the winning records and the popularity of the sport couldn’t erase the budgetary woes, and the College had no intention of building an ice arena on campus. On March 14, 1977, Athletic Director Jack McAvoy shared the sad news with Lindsay and the team that hockey would be cut as a varsity sport at Hillsdale.

Off the Ice Many players felt they had been left high and dry with the sudden termination of the program. Emotions ran high in the weeks and months ahead. Two days after the disbanding of the varsity team, Ted Lindsay was hired as the general manager of the Red Wings. But while hockey was no longer a varsity sport, the hockey team—and their beloved coaches—remained together for decades, bound by the unshakable bonds they formed at Hillsdale. Through the years, the 1970s players have held several reunions at Jackson’s ice arena, and Drawbridge and Lindsay attended every one. “It was fun playing on the team in college, but I think I actually had more fun at the alumni games,” said Bell. McDowell added, “I sure enjoyed the heck out of playing at the 2016 alumni game, even though I could hardly walk to my car afterward!” For all the success on the ice during the Lindsay years, his players remember the example Lindsay set as a gentleman first. “He was trying to teach us how to be honorable young men off the ice,” Barss said. “Ted had such a kind heart,” Bildner added. “He taught us that it was

important to be tough on the ice, but it was more important to be responsible and polite off the ice.” Drawbridge and Lindsay passed away within two months of each other in 2019. But their legacies remain strong. When Drawbridge, who was inducted into Hillsdale’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017, passed away, many of his former players established a scholarship in his name, which is awarded to Hillsdale student-athletes. Lynn and Lew LaPaugh run the Ted Lindsay Foundation, which Ted and his wife Joanne established in 2001. Over the course of 26 years, the foundation has raised more than $5 million for autism support. “Both Jim and Ted left Hillsdale and the world a better place,” Randall said.

Fifty Years Later Friendship among Hillsdale’s 1970s hockey players flourishes a half-century

later. Some, like Bildner, still skate a few times each week. Others, like Bell, experience hockey now through their grandchildren. Many reunite in Florida during the winter, return to campus for Homecoming, and give back to the College through the Drawbridge Scholarship in gratefulness for their experience. “I try to pay it forward a little bit every year because Hillsdale was so good to me,” said Bell. “It was and still is a big part of my life.”

And so, the story of Hillsdale hockey lives on, inspiring younger generations who hear of their grandfathers’ adventures, and bringing a smile to those former Norsemen as they reminisce. “My years at Hillsdale were the best consecutive years of my life,” said McDowell.

Members of the Hillsdale Norsemen at the 2017 Chargers Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

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BY DOUG GOODNOUGH, ’90

Building for the Future: Funding Priority Hillsdale College Athletics recently completed a strategic plan that will address the needs of the department for years to come. Here is one of the major funding priorities that was identified in this plan:

Softball Stadium Johnny Williams Field was built on a former garbage dump on the banks of Lake Winona 40 years ago. It’s time for a new facility. The softball program has great potential to succeed on the national level but needs a new facility to help it get there. The new stadium will relocate to the northeast of the baseball field. This new location will provide more stable ground and expanded space for a synthetic turf field, a 100-seat covered grandstand, stadium lighting, and more. The estimated cost to complete is $4.3 million. FEATURES: • SYNTHETIC TURF FIELD • NEW COVERED 100-SEAT GRANDSTAND AND 200-SEAT EXPANSION • NEW PRESS BOX

• CONCESSIONS AND RESTROOMS IN STADIUM • NEW SCOREBOARD • STADIUM LIGHTING FOR EVENING PLAY

There are naming opportunities available for the softball stadium. To learn how you can support Hillsdale College Athletics, please contact Director of Athletic Development Jeff Lantis at jlantis@hillsdale.edu or (734) 516-9036.

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SCAN QR CODE TO SUPPORT HILLSDALE COLLEGE ATHLETICS

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LOVE

A FOR THE MATCH BY STEPHANIE GORDON

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Ané Dannhauser Plays for Something Bigger Than Herself

Having never set foot on American soil before coming to Hillsdale College, Ané Dannhauser, ’27, of Johannesburg, South Africa, took a serious leap of faith and traveled approximately 8,500 miles to become a Charger student-athlete. There was no campus visit before the life-changing commitment. There was just faith that the Lord was leading Ané down the right path to pursue her love for academics and tennis. Calling herself “super competitive,” Ané started playing tennis for fun with her father around age eight. “I tried a lot of sports growing up—netball, track and field, and hockey, to name a few,” she recalled. “I was always playing more than one sport up until ninth grade. I really loved tennis, so I decided to just focus on that.” And that she did. According to the Athletic Department, Ané was a strong junior tennis competitor in her home country. She was just one of eight players to qualify for the Juniors Masters Tournament, a nationwide event in South Africa. There, she reached the finals and ranked as high as fifth in the nation in her age group in singles and doubles, with several titles and runner-up finishes in Tennis South Africa events. She was a dominant player for her high school, going a perfect 29-0 as a junior and senior. From 2017-2022, she helped her province win four team tennis championships and played with the South Africa National Schools’ tennis team, traveling to London, England. SIGHTS SET ON THE USA As Ané prepared to explore collegiate tennis opportunities in the United States, she said she was looking for a college that focused on academics, was located in a big city, and had a warm climate. Hillsdale didn’t quite fit the bill. During the fall of her senior year of high school, the college recruitment process began. “Hillsdale’s former women’s head tennis coach, Liam Fraboulet, reached out to me,” said Ané. “He told me about

Hillsdale, but I did my own research as well. I talked with alumni and reached out to Dr. Charles Steele of the Economics, Business, and Accounting Department, because I knew I wanted to study accounting. Everything about Hillsdale felt right, but it was completely different from what I was looking for. I also wanted a school where I could grow in my faith. I knew in my heart that Hillsdale was the school for me.” Ané had serious conversations with her parents prior to the commitment, and they supported her decision to attend Hillsdale. “I kept an open mind, especially about the climate,” said Ané, who has enjoyed sunshine and warmer temperatures her entire life. “It’s been a bit of a shock, but I’m very glad this opportunity worked out. I look back and think, ‘wow, I was insane,’ but it was a leap of faith.” Ané left her home in South Africa and arrived on campus in the fall of 2023. “When I first came to campus, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” she recalled, “but when I walked across the quad, I fell in love with the campus and the architecture and how close and convenient everything was.” COMPETITIVE BY NATURE According to Ané, she’s always been competitive. “It could be a board game, running, or walking… there’s this switch in my mind to win,” she said. “I’ve had a competitive nature from the start. My brother will bring up a tennis match we played in the sixth grade. He managed to beat me, and we haven’t played since.” Ané channeled that competitive energy into collegiate tennis, making a tremendous impact on the Chargers women’s tennis team. She plays both singles and doubles for the Chargers. “Head Coach Melanie Zampardo is such a calm presence and very hardworking and likes to switch it up to keep us on our toes. We have high energy and good follies. I play against other competitive people, which makes me a better athlete.”

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In addition to Coach Zampardo, Ané praised Senior Associate Athletic Director and former women’s tennis coach Nikki Walbright for making such a big impact on her, calling her one of the best people she’s met on campus. “I think the reason Coach Nikki and I get along so well is because of our competitive spirits,” said Ané. “We both love to compete and win, but she has truly helped me through some of the hardest matches and moments during my time at Hillsdale because she sees me and understands me for who I am. She works so hard for everything and everyone she loves.”

LOVE FOR THE FUTURE “At the moment, I cannot wrap my head around the fact that my time is almost done here at Hillsdale,” she smiled. “I would love to make it to Regionals with my team. I will fight for every ball for my team; that’s what it’s all about.”

In 2024, Ané was named G-MAC Freshman of the Year. She’s also earned first-team All-G-MAC honors all three seasons. “When I get these awards, they help put things into perspective to put less pressure on myself,” she said. “This year, I made it to the semifinal round of the top draw of the ITA Midwest Regional.”

Outside of the classroom and off the tennis court, Ané is involved with Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) and the Accounting Club. She has “met some of her closest friends through KKG,” and calls it one of her biggest blessings. Ané loves spending time with her family and dogs, going on walks and runs, and reading a good book she’s not required to read.

According to the Athletic Department, Ané became the first Chargers women’s tennis player in program history to reach the semifinal round in 2026. She spent the 2025-2026 season nationally ranked in singles, with an impressive 21-7 record, and was also part of a nationally ranked doubles team with Briana Rees, ’28, going 19-8.

The 8,500-mile leap of faith led Ané right where she’s supposed to be. With it being her last year as a Charger, she plans to make every second count. “I just want to have fun and enjoy every moment like it’s my last,” she said of her last collegiate tennis season. “Of course, I want to beat the girl who’s beaten me three times, but really, it’s not that deep. Tennis will always have an impact on my life. But now it’s time for me to figure out what’s next.”

For Ané, being a Chargers athlete has made her realize she’s playing for something bigger than herself. “It’s not like you’re just competing for yourself to win,” she explained. “Your win contributes to the team. Even if you’re having an off day, it doesn’t mean that your team is going to have a bad day. Off court, you can always cheer someone on, and there’s always someone to cheer you on. Seeing the team do well has been a very good thing for me. I like having something bigger to play for. It makes you want to dive for that extra ball and run a little faster to get there because someone else is relying on you.” That dedication and drive helped Ané reach a major milestone in the spring of 2026—her 100th career win. “I was in shock,” Ané said. “It was such a good surprise. Only two other Chargers athletes have accomplished this. I didn’t know I had played that many matches. It’s great motivation to keep going because I still have my senior year.”

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The accounting major is considering a master’s degree in accounting after graduation. Being a graduate assistant for tennis isn’t out of the question either. “I don’t want an abrupt exit from sports,” she added.

“ I like having something bigger to play for. It makes you want to dive for that extra ball and run a little faster to get there because someone else is relying on you.”

GAME, SET, MATCH ANE’S WINNING RECORD G-MAC Freshman of the Year (2024)

’25-’26 Season Record:

First-Team All-G-MAC Honors

21-7 Singles

(’23-’24, ’24-’25, ’25-’26)

First Charger to reach the ITA Midwest Regional Semifinals in Women's Tennis

19-8 Doubles with Briana Rees

Nationally Ranked in Singles and Doubles

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With a history that dates back over 100 years, the Kimball Medal is the oldest, most prestigious honor Hillsdale College bestows on its student-athletes, with just one man and one woman per year receiving the award.

The History of the Kimball Medal BY JAMES GENSTERBLUM, ’12

First awarded in 1920 after a generous donation from 1904 graduate Ora C. Kimball, who funded the award in perpetuity, the Kimball Medal succeeded the Simpson Medal, which had honored the top male and female athlete on the Hillsdale College campus since 1898. To win the Kimball award in contemporary times, a studentathlete must be nominated by their coach. The nominees are then evaluated and voted on by a panel of athletic administrators to select two winners. The Kimball Medals weren’t always handed out in this way, however. At the beginning of the award, and for its early years, athletes didn’t capture the prize by vote, but through the fires of competition.

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For the men, however, an arguably even more daunting trial awaited. Any male athlete who wanted to capture the Simpson Medal had to show up to the College’s track on a June day and run the gauntlet of the modern decathlon, beating out his fellow classmates in a series of 10 grueling events to claim the prize.

E.P. SIMPSON AND THE ORIGINAL MEDAL The story of the Kimball Medal begins in 1898 with the award it would later replace. Designed and sponsored by 1873 Hillsdale alumnus and businessman E.P. Simpson, the first Simpson Medal was handed out that year to multi-sport star Francis Earl Garlough, who received the award along with a small financial stipend. For the first seven years of its existence, it was awarded solely to men, but beginning in 1905, a second medal also was awarded to the top female athlete on campus, with Bertha Baker receiving the first women’s award. E.P. Simpson’s goal in founding and funding his annual prize in 1898 was to identify and award the best all-around athletes on the Hillsdale College campus, and the original criteria for awarding the medal required the athletes to prove their worth not just with a list of accomplishments, but by putting their skill on the line. For Hillsdale women, that meant excelling in intramural competitions and accumulating points throughout the year based on their success in each competition, with the highest cumulative point total earning the medal.

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DECATHLON AS DECIDER Adapted from the Ancient Greek pentathlon that saw competitors in classic Olympic Games compete in five events—the long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, sprint, and a wrestling match—the first modern decathlon, which expanded the competition to 10 events, was contested at the 1884 U.S. Amateur Track and Field Championships, and by 1890, it had become a formalized event in track and field. Long considered the premier test of all-around athleticism in the world, the decathlon has minted such Olympic legends as Jim Thorpe, Bruce Jenner, Dan O’Brien, Bryan Clay, and Ashton Eaton, while becoming a dazzling part of the Summer Games. As a means of proving the athletic mettle of Hillsdale athletes, it was an ideal match. In an era before sports specialization, almost all male athletes were well-versed across a variety of disciplines, trading helmets and football cleats for sneakers and basketball in the winter and baseball gloves and track spikes in the spring, meaning stars from a variety of sports were capable of battling for the medal. The competition often was fierce, and some of Hillsdale’s biggest names in the early days of the Athletic Department are among the recipients. Track and field star and future Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Famer Clifford Ward was among the first winners of the medal in 1902. The medal wasn’t the exclusive domain of track and

field greats, however. Other winners included Harold Stock, star quarterback and future owner of Stock Mill in Hillsdale and the namesake of Stock Field House, the predecessor to the Roche Sports Complex, in 1909; Chargers football star and future Hillsdale coach George Buchheit in 1917; and Dwight Harwood, a multi-sport star and Hillsdale’s first true athletic director and legendary football coach in later years, in 1912.

Decathlon Events 100-meter dash Long jump Shot put High jump 400-meter dash 110-meter hurdles Discus throw Pole vault Javelin throw 1,500-meter run

MEN’S KIMBALL MEDAL WINNER

Ben Haas,

Track and Field A repeat winner and deserving recipient, Ben Haas closed out his Hillsdale track and field career this season as one of the greatest athletes in the history of the program. Already a two-time national champion in track and field, Haas added a third NCAA DII title in the weight throw in March at the 2026 NCAA DII Indoor Championships, winning the competition with a school-record setting throw of 22.97 meters. In doing so, he joined Chargers legends Glenn Magrum, ’84, and Paul Aufdemberge, ’87, as the only men’s track and field athletes to win three national titles in his career. His winning throw also made him the fourthbest athlete in the history of NCAA DII in the weight throw. In recognition of his accomplishments, Haas became just the third Chargers athlete and the only man in program history to win USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year honors. He continued to excel in the outdoor portion of the track and field season, earning All-American honors in both the hammer throw and the shot put. For his career at Hillsdale, Haas finished with three national titles, eight All-American honors, nine G-MAC titles, and five major G-MAC awards, while setting new school records in the weight throw, hammer throw, and indoor and outdoor shot put. In four seasons at Hillsdale, he never lost a G-MAC competition in the weight throw, sweeping four straight titles. HILLSDAL E . E DU

and desired object on the Hillsdale College campus. Laurel Kirk was the first male Kimball Medal recipient in 1920, and Dorothy Harding won the first women’s Kimball Medal in the same year. A CHANGING ERA Throughout the 1920s and ’30s, top track and field athletes began to win the decathlon and claim the Kimball Medal more consistently. Long jump record holder William Fairgrieve (1923), star hurdler Roderick Goeritz (1926), and legendary thrower Frank Davis (1933) were among the recipients with elite track and field backgrounds.

KIMBALL MEDAL FOUNDED In the late 1910s, with the money from Simpson’s initial donation dwindling, a new sponsor was needed for the medal. Into the breach stepped another successful Hillsdale graduate, Ora C. Kimball, who took over funding for the medal in 1920. From that time on, the medal would bear his name. Born in Orland, Indiana, just west from Hillsdale across the state line, Kimball attended Hillsdale from 1900 to 1904, pursued a master’s degree at the University of Michigan, and returned to Hillsdale in 1908 to found and serve as a senior partner at Kimball Brothers, a wholesale poultry dealer that sold products nationwide. Kimball’s business success allowed him to be a prolific philanthropist. Along with funding the Kimball Medal in perpetuity, he also gave generously to the College in other areas while serving as a Hillsdale College trustee from 1921 to 1954. He gave back to the wider Hillsdale community as well, serving for 50 years as a member of the Hillsdale County YMCA board, and donating the land and funding for the Kimball Camp Outdoor Center, which to this day runs summer camp programming for children on over 100 acres on Long Lake in Reading, just 12 miles from the Hillsdale College campus. Kimball’s love of athletics and his belief in the potential transformative power it held for young men and women made him an ideal person to take on and further the legacy created by the Simpson Medal, which by the time Kimball took over the funding in 1920, had become a highly regarded

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Still, the medal was never the exclusive domain of track and field stars. Football captain Sol Wolfe captured the medal in 1937, while one of Hillsdale’s all-time greatest athletes, football and baseball star Bill Young, won the decathlon and the Kimball Medal in back-to-back years in 1947 and 1948. By Bill Young’s day, however, the increasing professionalization of college sports meant the days of the Kimball Medal being awarded by decathlon were numbered. Even Young himself passed up a chance at a historic threepeat in 1949, as conflicts with scheduled baseball events left him unable to go to the track and defend his crown. As the popularity of college sports grew post-World War II, schedules grew longer and more rigid, the games grew more important, and events like the Kimball decathlon, which often conflicted with varsity team commitments and carried a high injury risk, became less and less attractive. By the end of the ’50s, the event was phased out entirely, replaced by the current system of nomination and voting to determine the winner. Despite the change in how the winner is determined, the Kimball Medal continues to be an incredibly prestigious award, with the list of winners over the years since the end of the decathlon filled with All-Americans, national champions, and school record-holders. The two most recent recipients this past school year, thrower Ben Haas, ’26, and distance runner Allison Kuzma, ’28, add to that legacy, with both winning national titles and earning multiple All-American honors in track and field on the way to receiving the Kimball Medal. Although the Kimball Medal’s decathlon days are over, the spirit of competing at the highest level through displays of elite skill and athleticism lives on in the modern era.

WOMEN’S KIMBALL MEDAL WINNER

Allison Kuzma,

Cross Country and Track and Field

Just a sophomore, Kuzma captured the Kimball Medal for the women with an all-time great season, dominating her sport in the fall, winter, and spring seasons. In the fall, Kuzma was one of the top cross country runners in the Midwest Region, capturing the G-MAC individual title, placing runner-up at the NCAA DII Midwest Regional, and earning All-American honors with a 13th-place finish at the NCAA DII Cross Country Championships.

Kimball’s love of athletics and his belief in the potential transformative power it held for young men and women made him an ideal person to take on and further the legacy created by the Simpson Medal.

Moving to the winter, Kuzma continued to dominate, stunning the NCAA DII track and field world and upsetting the defending 5K champion at the 2026 NCAA DII Indoor Championships with a dominant victory in the 5,000m run. Her winning time of 15:58.57 beat the field by 18 seconds, broke Hillsdale’s old record in the indoor 5K by 15 seconds, and ranked her as the 11th fastest runner in the race in NCAA DII history. Kuzma added more honors in the spring outdoor season, shattering the school record in the 10,000m run and running the 15th-fastest 10K in NCAA DII history with a 33:10.83 at the Stanford Invite in April. She then won her second national title of 2025-26 at the 2026 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships in May, beating the rest of the field in the 10K by over 38 seconds. For her accomplishments in 2025-26, Kuzma was named the USTFCCCA NCAA DII Midwest Region Track Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor season. In just two seasons, she now has two national championships, four All-American honors, six G-MAC individual titles, and holds two Hillsdale school records.

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2026 Hall of Fame Inductees Hillsdale College’s 27th Athletic Hall of Fame class represents six individuals who made a tremendous impact on Chargers Athletics. They will be honored on October 9 at the Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet during Homecoming Weekend.

Bill Lundberg Cross Country/Track and Field Coach

Dave Dye Football Coach

In 27 years leading the men’s cross country and track and field programs, “Wild” Bill became a legend in national track and field circles, and his enthusiasm, dedication, and spirituality made him indispensable to the culture of Hillsdale College athletics. One of the greatest coaches in Chargers history, Lundberg led Hillsdale to 25 GLIAC championships in cross country and track and field, guided the careers of 17 NAIA or NCAA DII National Champions, and coached athletes that earned over 200 athletic and Academic All-American honors. From 1992 to 1994, his men’s cross country teams earned two NAIA national runner-up finishes and a third-place finish, a stretch of accomplishment that saw him named the 1994 NAIA National Coach of the Year. Lundberg also led the women’s track and field programs at Hillsdale for more than a decade and served as women’s cross country coach at different stretches in his tenure. He helped make Hillsdale a central location in collegiate track and field by growing the GINA Relays into one of the largest meets of its kind in the Midwest in the 1990s and 2000s. Committed to academic excellence, every one of Lundberg’s teams posted a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or better during his years in charge.

A long-time assistant under current Hall of Famer Dick Lowry, and head football coach of the Chargers from 1997 to 2001, Dye constructed several of the most dominant defenses in all of college football in the 1980s and 1990s and coached 20 All-Americans. Dye was the architect of defenses that helped Hillsdale win six conference titles, make the NAIA playoffs five times, reach the NAIA semifinals four times, and capture the 1985 NAIA National Title. In that championship season, Dye’s unit gave up more than 21 points just once, held opponents to single digits in eight of 13 contests, and pitched three shutouts; in 1982, the Charger defense forced a school record 56 turnovers on the way to 12 wins, a school record that still stands. During his head coaching tenure, Dye was named the 1999 GTE/AFCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year. A culture-builder deeply respected and beloved by his players, he originated the team’s Lift-AThon Fundraiser, now in its 46th year, and devised the “Great 8” training regimen that fueled the program’s success in the trenches during his tenure.

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Larry Covey, ’65 Football, Basketball, Wrestling, Track and Field A Hillsdale native who was an All-American athlete at Hillsdale High School before matriculating at Hillsdale College, Covey was one of the most impressive all-around athletes of his era, lettering in four sports. He excelled in football under Hall of Fame coach “Muddy” Waters, earning four letters and being named Hillsdale’s Outstanding Defensive Back in 1962, and participated in basketball and wrestling. Covey’s best sport, however, was track and field, where he co-captained the undefeated 1965 squad and set program records in six events, including the discus with a throw of 135'10". He earned the Kimball Medal awarded to Hillsdale’s most outstanding all-around athlete in both 1963 and 1964, becoming just the third Hillsdale student to win the award twice. After graduation, Covey earned a tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL, but an injury cut his professional career short. He coached and taught for several years, including at Hillsdale College for eight seasons, before moving to Arizona and running his own self-built construction company until retirement in 2013.

Know a former Charger who may be worthy of the Athletic Hall of Fame?

Complete the nomination form by December 1, 2026, to be considered for the 2027 class.

Danielle Butler Cole, ’95 Track and Field

Scott Elwer, ’97 Football, Basketball

Kyle Cooper, ’16 Basketball

One of the greatest female sprinters in Hillsdale College history, Danielle Butler Cole rewrote the record books during her time with the Chargers. A seven-time NAIA All-American who was a part of Hillsdale’s NAIA national championship-winning distance medley relay in 1994, Cole also won GLIAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet honors that season with a title and then-GLIAC record of 7.21 seconds in the 55-meter dash. She also won the GLIAC title in the outdoor long jump in 1995. During her time at Hillsdale, Cole set new school records in the 55-, 60-, 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes that stood for a decade or more. A native of Pontiac, Illinois, Cole was a huge recruiting coup for Head Coach Diane Philipp, playing a major role in five GLIAC Track and Field team titles and three runner-up finishes for the Chargers from 1992 to 1995. More than 30 years after her final meet, Cole still ranks in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in five events, including second in the outdoor 400m dash (54.93). Cole has made a successful career in finance and currently works for Comerica Bank.

Elwer made a huge impact on the Chargers in the mid-1990s. As a football player, Elwer was one of the greatest defensive backs in the history of the program. He earned MIFC Defensive Back of the Year and All-American honors in both 1994 and 1995 and set a program record that still stands with 24 career interceptions. His 10 interceptions in the 1994 season rank as the second-most in a single season by a Chargers player as well. Along with his football career, Elwer also starred on the hardwood for Hillsdale for two seasons, finishing second on the team in scoring in 1996-97 with 14.1 points per game. He also ranks in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale for single-season steals (57) and 3-pointers made (70) from that campaign. An excellent student, Elwer won the Howard “Champ” Messenger Award in 1994 for his achievements on the field and in the classroom, as well as football Team MVP honors in 1995. After graduation, Elwer went on to a successful teaching and coaching career in Ohio, most recently at Delphos St. John’s High School.

A dominant player at forward who excelled as a threeyear starter under legendary Head Coach John Tharp, Cooper brought national attention to the Chargers. An athletic forward who was nearly impossible to guard and excelled at both ends of the floor, Cooper was one of the top players in the country as a senior in 2015-16, earning Hillsdale’s first GLIAC Player of the Year honor since 1984 and the program’s first-ever D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year honor. He also was a second-team All-American while averaging 22.6 points and 9.8 rebounds a game. A two-time first-team All-GLIAC honoree who led the conference in rebounding in 2014-15 and scoring in 2015-16, Cooper also was an excellent student, earning two CoSIDA Academic All-American honors and becoming one of just two athletes in Hillsdale College history to be named the CoSIDA Academic All-American Player of the Year in 2016. A decade after his career ended, Cooper is still all over the Chargers record books, ranking 12th in program history in career points scored (1,520) and in the top 10 in four other career categories and three single-season categories. After graduation, Cooper played professionally overseas in Spain before beginning a career in corporate finance. He lives in Michigan with his wife and three children.

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Like Mother, Like Son BY DOUG GOODNOUGH, ’90

Colleen Curcio App, ’93, knew she wanted to be a doctor at age 7. “I wanted to be a heart surgeon,” she said of her childhood ambitions. “I don’t have any idea how or why I decided on that. I don’t really have a lot of medical people in my family. It’s just something that I have always wanted to do. When I was in fifth grade, I got a D on a math test, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not going to get into med school.’” One thing to know about her: If you tell her she can’t do something, she is going to find a way to do it. Now a dedicated breast surgeon, Dr. App, MD, FACS, CGRA, is the medical director of The Breast and Wellness Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That fiery determination served her well when she was trying to attend Hillsdale College.

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“I became interested in Hillsdale because my grandfather recommended it,” said Dr. App, whose grandfather was a lawyer and FBI agent in Metro Detroit. “I think he liked Hillsdale because Hillsdale is independent and does not take any government funds.” When she learned of Hillsdale’s 97 percent acceptance rate to medical school, she was sold. However, her family did not have the funds to pay for tuition, and her father didn’t want her to leave home to attend college. She found a way. “I applied for the Coca-Cola Scholarship,” she said of the $5,000 per year annual award. “I flew to Atlanta, and it was a two-day process of multiple interviews. And then I waited. Every day I went to the mailbox, which is a quarter mile from my house, to see if I got the scholarship.”

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“It used to be a fight against the opponent; now it’s a fight against cancer.” 32

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She got it, and that—along with working several on-campus jobs and as a waitress during the summer months— gave her enough money to enroll at Hillsdale. Once on campus, she was determined to play college basketball. Although a starting point guard on her talented high school basketball team, she was not offered a college basketball scholarship. She met with thenHillsdale Head Coach Phyllis Cupp, and after a brief tryout, made the team as a walk-on.

Unfortunately, the Chargers struggled to win during her career, and each and every loss bothered her.

“Women really need someone who pays “My grandfather and mother would come to every single game, and I was so attention to detail, angry because we would lose the game,” she said. “And after the game I would go who is very much their out for a three-mile run, and they would advocate and is very have to wait. You look back on that and think, how could I be so immature? I aggressive. I’m trying really didn’t like to lose.” to get to the cancer She still doesn’t like to lose. But her wins now are women’s health and before it’s cancer.” well-being.

It wasn’t long before she cracked the starting lineup. She eventually was named a team captain and finished fourth in career steals (191). “My goal was to be the other team’s nightmare,” Dr. App said of her defense-first playing style. “You just fluster them. I wasn’t a super talented scorer, but I would definitely frustrate the point guard on the other team so they couldn’t do anything. I just wore them down.”

After graduating from Hillsdale with her biology degree, she earned acceptance into the Wayne State University School of Medicine. Being in the heart of Detroit, she had access to some of the area’s largest hospitals and eventually accepted a five-year residency into (now Henry Ford) St. John Medical Center. “It was a phenomenal experience,” Dr. App said. “We would literally work 120 hours a week.” Upon completing the residency, she worked as a trauma surgeon from 20022006. The only woman in a nine-surgeon group, Dr. App said having that general surgery experience served her well for the next steps in her career. Dr. App married her husband, Michael, who is also a doctor. They eventually moved their lives and practices to his hometown of Grand Rapids. One day, a colleague asked Colleen to attend a meeting regarding advances in breast surgery. The speaker, Dr. Umberto Veronesi, was a world-renowned oncologist and surgeon. She called the event “life changing.”

“He spoke about how we need to take [breast care] to a higher level,” Dr. App said. “It really spoke to me.” So much so that she decided to focus on breast care and surgery full time. After giving birth to her first child in 2005, she realized that being a general surgeon and having a family life was very difficult. In 2007, she opened a practice that focused on breast care and became a dedicated breast surgeon. “I loved it,” she said of the change. “Women really need someone who pays attention to detail, who is very much their advocate and is very aggressive. I’m trying to get to the cancer before it’s cancer.” She opened the Advanced Breast Care Center, which was under the physicianowned and physician-run Michigan Medical Physician Corporation. In 2010, the MMPC was acquired by the local hospital, and all physicians now had to be employed by the hospital.

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In 2015, Dr. App decided to go out on her own and started The Breast Health and Wellness Center, where she serves as medical director. Her duties still include breast surgery, but she is now focused on prevention and genetic testing. Dr. App is also the 172nd physician in the nation to be ultrasound certified. “I see about 24 patients a day, and I do an ultrasound on all of them,” she said. “I do that three days a week, and I’m in surgery the other two.” She calls surgery “relaxing” because “it’s a very controlled environment. I love what I do. I love the ability to help women. It’s a real privilege to have the patient allow us to operate on them. We save lives. That’s what I do for a living. And it’s super fun and invigorating. “I took the stuff from the basketball court and just transferred it over. It used to be a fight against the opponent; now it’s a fight against cancer.” When her patients undergo genetic testing, every patient can receive a three-generation family history of cancer. Not only does the patient get a risk assessment, but other family members can also receive information that can prevent other forms of cancer. “It’s a lot of work, but it pays off,” Dr. App said. “You’re preventing cancer in that young lady, and then her two parents. It’s just an ongoing cascade effect.” There was a time where Dr. App was not very connected to her alma mater. However, when her son, Michael, was doing his college search, the family decided to visit Hillsdale. On their campus tour, they were walking on the sidewalk and ran into Dr. Mark Kalthoff, who was one of her former professors. “Dr. Kalthoff had not seen me in over 30 years,” she said. “And he said, ‘Colleen Curcio?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ And the first thing he said to me is, ‘Well, did you get into med school?’ That was phenomenal to my husband, who went to the University of Michigan. None of his professors would ever remember or recognize him. That was a pretty big moment.” Her son is entering his senior year at Hillsdale and is a member of the men’s basketball team. In fact, he has plans of following in his parents’ footsteps as a doctor. Dr. App said seeing her son as a Charger is “surreal.”

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“It’s special to see him out there,” she said. “He’s going to Hillsdale. He’s trying to get into med school. He’s playing basketball. It’s like a repeat [of me] 34 years later.” Michael recently got engaged, and she said the entire team came to their house to celebrate the moment. “It was so amazing. There were 15 guys there, and nobody lives in Michigan,” she said. “He loves basketball, and he loves his teammates.” The Apps have another son, Peter, who is looking at Hillsdale, and she hopes one day he can become a Charger, too. “Hillsdale is just an amazing place where I got my foundation of excellent education,” Dr. App said. “I’m forever grateful for my education. My professors showed me what I needed to do to be successful. I think if you get a degree from Hillsdale, and add on to that collegiate athletics, you know you are going to have many doors of opportunity open to you. Hillsdale is just a phenomenal place and an excellent education.”

“I love what I do. I love the ability to help women. It’s a real privilege to have the patient allow us to operate on them. We save lives.” HILLSDAL E . E DU

JEFF LANTIS CHARGES ON FOR HILLSDALE ATHLETICS BY DOUG GOODNOUGH, ’90

Faith, family, freedom, and Hillsdale College. Jeff Lantis, ’86, has intertwined his life around those four pillars. Since arriving on campus more than four decades ago as an undersized walk-on wide receiver from Chelsea, Michigan, he has been a consistent presence for Hillsdale, and more recently, Chargers Athletics. For 25 years, he served the College as its director of Admissions, steadily increasing Hillsdale’s academic profile by recruiting students who best fit the school’s mission. In 2014, Lantis returned to his athletic roots by becoming the primary fundraiser for Chargers Athletics. Now, as the director of Development for Athletics, he diligently works to raise funds for the program that annually houses more than 350 student-athletes.

He does not apologize for his passion for the College and has watched as nearly 20 of his family members—including his four children—now call Hillsdale College their alma mater. As he approaches the final “quarter” of his career, Lantis continues the philosophy he used as a standout performer on the 1985 NAIA National Championship football team: be a consistent, reliable teammate. He remains True Blue to Hillsdale.

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Early Influences

The youngest of six children, Lantis had his world uprooted during his junior high years when his parents decided to divorce. He turned to athletics, especially football, where he found structure and a father figure in Gene LaFave, Chelsea High School’s long-time varsity football coach. “He really taught me a lot of life lessons through the game of football and athletics,” Lantis said of LaFave. “He made the game of football fun. He made it serious, so you weren’t just goofing around every day, and really used it to teach kids life lessons about hard work paying off, facing adversity head on. And while not always succeeding, overcoming that failure with ‘try, try again,’ and ‘practice makes perfect.’ Those are all great lessons.” Despite not having great size or speed, Lantis had a standout senior season on the gridiron, earning first-team all-state honors as a receiver. However, he was still looking at enlisting in the armed services until LaFave stepped in with some sound advice. “He said, ‘I think you can play at another level. College is a good thing, and you should consider it,’” Lantis said. LaFave made a few calls, including one to Jack Hepinstall, an assistant football coach at Hillsdale. There was interest. However, then-Hillsdale Head Football Coach Dick Lowry wasn’t entirely sold on Lantis’s talents. “Thank the good Lord for Jack Hepinstall,” Lantis said. “He [told Lowry], ‘We should take this kid from Chelsea. I hear good things and he looks decent on film. He’s not real big or real fast, but he catches.’” Offered a spot on the team as a walk-on, Lantis decided to give Hillsdale one year to see if it would work out. “My mentality was, if I could make the team and earn a scholarship, I would stay,” Lantis said. “And if I didn’t, then I go to plan B [join the military].” Another early influence was his stepfather, Charles Heard, an ordained minister who was an engineer at the Chrysler Proving Grounds. Although he approved of Lantis’s interest in football, he didn’t fully appreciate his stepson’s talents until a coworker showed him a newspaper article.

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“One day somebody came in and tossed a newspaper down in front of him and said, ‘Hey Charlie, is this your boy?’” Lantis said of the article that detailed him scoring three touchdowns during Chelsea’s homecoming win. “He hardly missed a game after that. He and my mom attended every college football game I played. He introduced the faith element to me at a very high level and that, along with a high school football coach who taught me the value of competing in sports, made important impressions on my life. Those two gentlemen gave me a good foundation to come to Hillsdale and try my best.”

Catching On

Lowry was still skeptical of Lantis’s abilities when he arrived on campus for fall practice. He wasn’t the only one. “When I showed up, Jack McAvoy saw me early on and introduced himself,” Lantis said of the legendary coach and athletic director. “He took a liking to me, and he nicknamed me ‘Lantis, you miserable walk-on.’ It wasn't awe-inspiring, but it kept things in perspective that I had to earn my spot.” Despite his physical limitations, there was one thing Lantis could do really well: catch a football. And that got the attention of his position coach, Denny Patzer. When starting all-conference wide receiver Chris Mayone, ’84, suffered an injury early during Lantis’s sophomore season, Patzer lobbied for his young wideout to fill his spot. “I’m indebted to Denny, because he fought for me,” Lantis said. “He said, ‘You’re our guy, so get busy.’ The rest, as they say, is history.” He never left the starting lineup, eventually earning a football scholarship that allowed him to stay in school. After a mediocre 6-4 season during his junior year, Lantis said the team was determined to bounce back in a big way for the 1985 season. “The junior class had a bunch of starters in it, and I think everybody got together and said we can’t have another 6-4

season. We committed to putting in a lot of hard work over the summer,” Lantis said. Even Lowry got into such physical shape that when the team returned for fall camp, he was running the mile with his players. That set the tone for what was arguably the most successful season in program history. Hillsdale finished the regular season with just one loss to Saginaw Valley State, which Lantis said was a wakeup call the team needed. In round one of the NAIA playoffs, Hillsdale faced the top scoring offense in the country in Salem, West Virginia. The top-rated defense in the NAIA dismantled the visitors 47-3. In round two, Hillsdale trailed Mesa, Colorado, 21-0 before mounting an astounding comeback that ended with a Mark Baker game-winning field goal in double overtime that propelled the Chargers into the championship game. On a dreary December day in Conway, Arkansas, Hillsdale battled Central Arkansas to a 10-10 tie, giving the program its first national title. Lantis was a key piece of the championship puzzle. He finished the regular season catching 40 passes for 553 yards and four touchdowns, earning NAIA Academic All-American honors. “I don’t really think of my career as having highs and lows,” Lantis said. “I think I was just a consistent team player. I pride myself on that.”

“[Jack McAvoy] nicknamed me ‘Lantis, you miserable walk-on.’ It wasn’t aweinspiring, but it kept things in perspective that I had to earn my spot.” HILLSDAL E . E DU

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All In for Hillsdale

For all of his accomplishments on the field and in the classroom at Hillsdale, one far overshadows all the others. “The greatest thing that happened to me at Hillsdale College was meeting my wife. It was a storybook romance,” he said of his wife of 38 years, Kelly Stewart Lantis, ’86. “She was a cheerleader; I was a football player. We met on the 50-yard line and were married five years later.” After graduation, Lantis briefly left the College for a sales position with Wallace Computer Services. When he came back to campus to interview some Hillsdale students for Wallace, then-Placement Director Richard Danforth, ’79, told him his job would soon be open and encouraged him to apply. Then-Dean of Women CarolAnn Barker, ’63, convinced him he was the right person for the job, and he accepted. Lantis said the long-term plan was for he and Kelly to eventually move to Grand Rapids, where she could continue her banking career. Then the College’s Admissions director job became available. Lantis’s former teammate and good friend Pat Riepma, ’82, encouraged him to take the job. Lowry also called and urged him. However, he was still not sold until receiving one final phone call. “Then Jack McAvoy called,” Lantis said. “Coach Mac, he always took care of his players, especially me. And he knew Kelly’s parents rather well. He said, ‘I hear you’ve been offered that job in Admissions. You take that job in Admissions, you hear me? It will be good for you, good for the College, and good for Chargers Football.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ So I did.’” At 27 years old, Lantis was now running Admissions, and despite the lack of experience and training, he went to work building relationships. During his 25 years of leading student recruitment, the average incoming freshman went from a 3.0 GPA and 21 ACT to a 3.6 GPA and 30 ACT. “It was a slow and steady course,” he said of the recruitment process. “Who doesn’t want to get better? And when Dr. Arnn got here in 2000, that’s when things at Hillsdale really took off.”

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Family Ties

All four of the Lantis children graduated from Hillsdale. Scott, ’14, and Heather, ’15, were student-athletes, with twin sisters Kelsey, ’19, and Kendra, ’19, eventually following. It wasn’t a tough sell. “They looked at other schools, but they just didn't see the same caliber of students or the friendliness and genuineness. The faith element was authentic,” Lantis said. “I think they saw all that, and on their own decided on Hillsdale. They made me work at it a little bit, but not too much.” Hillsdale runs on both sides of the Lantis family. In fact, Kelly’s parents, Gary and Bonnie Kelley Stewart, ’62, ’65, are both alumni, as well as several of Kelly’s siblings and an uncle. Jeff’s niece and two nephews as well as a great-nephew are also Hillsdale alumni. “We got together once at graduation, and I think we counted 19 Hillsdale grads through both sides of the family. So, there’s a pretty good legacy at Hillsdale College,” Lantis said. “Three of our four [children] met their spouses at Hillsdale. I joke that when we get together for Christmas and Thanksgiving, we

get to discuss politics and religion and nobody’s mad. That’s a real blessing.” In fact, Lantis’s son-in-law, Zack Miller, ’11, is now Hillsdale’s associate vice president of Admissions, continuing the family tradition.

Unfinished Business

After 25 years in Admissions, Lantis said it was time for a change. When an athletic fundraising position became available, it was the right move at the right time. Now, he is one of the athletic program’s biggest cheerleaders. “I moved my office to the Sports Complex and started working for John Cervini and Institutional Advancement, and it’s been a great third career at Hillsdale,” Lantis said of the career change. “I get to tell the story of Hillsdale College, and then I get to add an emphasis on athletics. I get alumni and friends of Chargers Athletics reengaged with the College and ask them to help us, and most do. It’s been a very enjoyable career change, and I’m still working for the same mission.” He said he still has work to do for his alma mater before calling it a career, including finding funding for initiatives such as an indoor turf building, softball stadium, and athletic scholarships. “Not all of our sports are fully funded,” Lantis said. “They need help with scholarships. You can endow a scholarship for $100,000 to get started. It’s amazing how far $5,000 can go for some of these underfunded sports. “This is the greatest college in America,” he continued. “I tell all my classmates from the ’80s that your degree has tripled in value. Our alumni should be more cognizant of getting back and staying engaged with the College, and there’s plenty of things you can do, from Career Services to Admissions to attending events both on and off campus. We send you enough mail and email, it’s hard not to be engaged. You should support your alma mater.” He said he fully embraces his signature signoff of “Charge On! Charge On!” “You have to go forward. You don’t want to stay the same,” Lantis said. “And you certainly don’t want to go backwards. That’s a good mantra for Chargers Athletics, and that’s certainly a good motto for life.”

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Chargers Clips (A whirlwind look at Chargers Athletics by sport)

Baseball Sophomore centerfielder Gaard Swenson received first team All-G-MAC honors. Finishing second in the G-MAC with 71 hits in the regular season, Swenson led the Chargers in batting average (.364), slugging percentage (.518), and on-base percentage (.433). He added five home runs, 16 stolen bases, and 35 RBIs as the team’s leadoff hitter. Softball Hillsdale sophomores Ronnie Craft and Nathalie Hagle were both named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s 2026 All-Midwest Region second team, while sophomore catcher Olivia Liguori earned second-team All-Region recognition from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association. Craft, an outfielder, posted a G-MAC-leading .447 batting average with 22 RBI and 45 runs scored. She set a program single record with 37 stolen bases. Hagle, also a catcher, batted .323 with 14 doubles, eight home runs, and 48 RBIs. Liguori clubbed 10 home runs while driving in 33. Men’s Basketball Senior guard Ashton Janowski was named to the All-G-MAC second team, his first postseason conference honor, while fellow senior Jacob Meyer was recognized as the G-MAC’s Elite 26 recipient for the third consecutive year. Women’s Basketball Senior Emma Ruhlman was named to the 2026 College Women’s Basketball Academic-Athletic Honor team by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. Ruhlman is one of five players from state of Michigan squads to earn the honor, joining athletes from Grand Valley State, Hope College, Albion College, and Kalamazoo College. Ruhlman had a 3.83 GPA and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biochemistry. She also won the Hillsdale College President’s Scholar-Athlete Award.

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Football For the second time in five years, the Chargers are the best in the nation in earning spots in the prestigious National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. The NFF inducted 17 Chargers from the 2025 squad into the Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football players from all divisions of the NCAA and NAIA who maintain a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers.

first All-American since John Auseon earned NAIA AllAmerican honors in 1962.

Men’s Track and Field Dominic Scharer, ’28, was named the G-MAC’s Freshman of the Year for both the 2026 indoor and outdoor seasons. He finished third in the discus at the outdoor G-MAC Championships and placed 10th in the nation in the hammer throw at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships.

Women’s Tennis Junior Ané Dannhauser earned her third consecutive spot on the All-G-MAC first team after finishing 21-7 at No. 1 singles. Nationally ranked for most of the season, she surpassed 100 match wins for her collegiate career and became the first Charger in program history to reach the semifinal round of the top draw of the ITA Midwest Regional.

Women's Track and Field Head coach Jessica Bridenthal became just the second Chargers coach to earn USTFCCCA Midwest Region Outdoor Women’s Track and Field Coach of the Year honors. Bridenthal, in her first season, directed Hillsdale’s best finish at an NCAA Division II Outdoor Championship since a third-place result in 2016, placing eighth. The Chargers also took the G-MAC Outdoor Championships title on the women’s side for the first time since 2022. Volleyball Former All-American libero Sydney Dow Barrett, ’11, rejoins the Hillsdale program as an assistant coach. A teacher and coach at nearby Jonesville High School, she served as a Chargers assistant coach from 2013-15. Men’s Golf Robert Thompson, ’26, earned honorable mention recognition on the 2026 NCAA DII Ping All-America team from the Golf Coaches Association of America. The recent Hillsdale graduate becomes the Chargers’ first-ever NCAA DII All-American, and the program’s

Men’s Tennis Junior Ellis Klanduch was a repeat second team All-G-MAC selection after posting an impressive 11-3 record in singles play. Sophomore Sam Plys also earned second team recognition after playing in both singles and doubles for the Chargers.

Women’s Swimming Freshmen Sasha Babenko and Avery May both earned first-team All-G-MAC honors while placing their names all over Hillsdale’s all-time list of top 10 times. Babenko set a new top mark in the 100 backstroke (56.07) and in the 200 backstroke (2:02.37), while May had the second fastest marks in Hillsdale history in both the 400 individual medley and the 500 freestyle. Shotgun Several Chargers earned spots on USA Shooting’s Junior National Team at the National Shotgun Championships at the Halter Shooting Sports Education Center in June. Madeline Corbin, ’27, and Zach Hinze, ’29, each earned spots in women’s and men’s skeet, respectively, while Marin McKinney, ’28, Taylor Dale, ’28, and Ava Downs, ’27, were added to the women’s international trap Junior National Team. Action Shooting In October, four Chargers traveled to be a part of the Memorial Valor Foundation’s eighth annual Memorial 3 Gun competition. U.S. Army veteran Joseph Grohs, ’26,

competed in the event conducted every year in honor of 10 selected former U.S. military personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty. Each of the 10 contested stages are named after one of the fallen heroes being honored. In addition, Jianna Coppola, ’27, William Grohs, ’29, and Kathryn Madden, ’29, also attended the event as volunteers.

hillsdalechargers.com

Dominic Scharer | ’28

ONE CLUB, ONE TEAM, ONE FAMILY JOIN TODAY! The Charger Champions Club supports all 16 intercollegiate sports and 400-plus student-athletes at Hillsdale College. It allows every Charger—past, present, or future—to play an important role in our success.

For more information on joining the Charger Champions Club, go to hillsdalechargers.com or scan the QR code.

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Chargers Champions Corbin, Dale Earn Spots on Team USA Madeline Corbin | ’27

Several Chargers stood out in the USA Shooting National Shotgun Championships at the Halter Shooting Sports Education Center in June. The event decided who is chosen to represent the U.S. in ISSF world-level competitions this fall. In skeet, Madeline Corbin, ’27, broke 230/250 targets to earn a bronze medal and a spot on both the Open and Junior Women’s National Teams. In international trap, Marin McKinney, ’28, took silver in the Open finals, while Taylor Dale, ’28, won the gold medal for Junior Women and again earned a spot on the Open Women’s National Team.

Allison Kuzma Sophomore Allison Kuzma demolished the rest of the field by nearly 38 seconds to earn the second national title of her career in the 10K meter run at the NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Kuzma had a similarly impressive indoor national title win earlier in the year in the 5K meter run at Virginia Beach in March. Kuzma joins a short list of Hillsdale women’s track and field greats with multiple individual national titles, becoming the fifth Charger to accomplish that feat, joining Erin Gillespie, ’89, Gina Van Laar, ’88, Amanda Putt, ’12, and Emily Oren, ’16. She was also recognized as the Midwest Region Female Track Athlete of the Year indoors in NCAA DII by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Ben Haas Senior Ben Haas graduated as one of the most accomplished throwers in Hillsdale history. He was named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference’s Men’s Field Athlete of the Year and was also tabbed the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s 2025-26 Men’s Field Athlete of the Year in NCAA Division II. Haas won back-to-back NCAA DII indoor national titles in the weight throw the past two seasons and was the 2025 national champion in the hammer throw at outdoor nationals.

Women’s Track and Field In a team race that came down to the final event at Hillsdale’s Jim and Sallie McGinnis Track and Field Facility, the Chargers edged out defending G-MAC Outdoor Champion Ashland 219.5 to 214, bringing home Hillsdale’s first crown since 2022. Hillsdale’s 219.5 points are the most by a G-MAC Outdoor champion since Cedarville in 2016.

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Chargers Athletic Staff Directory John Tharp Director of Athletics (517) 607-3130 jtharp@hillsdale.edu

Kyle Gross Head Softball Coach (517) 607-3191 kgross@hillsdale.edu

Keven Bradley Head Coach, Men’s Basketball (517) 607-3148 kbradley@hillsdale.edu

Jordan Hintz Head Shotgun Coach (262) 930-9718 jhintz@hillsdale.edu

Brianna Brennan Head Coach, Women’s Basketball (517) 607-3170 bbrennan@hillsdale.edu

Pat Hornak Director of Events and Game Day Coordinator (517) 607-3174 phornak@hillsdale.edu

Jessica Bridenthal Head Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Coach (517) 607-3171 jbridenthal@hillsdale.edu Adam Burlew Head Action Shooting Coach (517) 610-5593 aburlew@hillsdale.edu Tyler Cortright Senior Associate AD, Director of Sports Medicine and Performance (517) 607-3193 tcortright@hillsdale.edu Trey Follis Corporate Partnerships Manager (517) 607-3125 tfollis@hillsdale.edu James Gensterblum Assistant AD, Director of Athletic Communications (517) 607-3172 jgensterblum@hillsdale.edu Chris Gravel Head Volleyball Coach, Assistant Athletic Director (517) 607-3162 cgravel@hillsdale.edu

Luke Kelly Head Men’s Golf Coach (517) 607-3149 lkelly@hillsdale.edu Haley Ketchum Executive Assistant to the Athletic Director (517) 607-3130 hketchum@hillsdale.edu Kurt Kirner Head Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach (517) 607-3142 kkirner@hillsdale.edu

Christian Peck-Dimit Marketing and Game Day Experience Manager (517) 607-3132 cpeckdimit@hillsdale.edu Nate Shreffler Head Football Coach (517) 607-3141 nshreffler@hillsdale.edu Anika Stepke Director of Internal Operations and Compliance (517) 607-3156 afassett@hillsdale.edu Keith Turner Head Men’s Tennis Coach (517) 607-3180 kturner@hillsdale.edu Ashley Van Hoose Creative Services Manager (517) 607-3129 avanhoose@hillsdale.edu Tom Vessella Head Baseball Coach (517) 607-3137 tvessella@hillsdale.edu

Jeff Lantis Director of Development for Athletics (517) 607-3182 jlantis@hillsdale.edu

Nikki Walbright Senior Associate AD, Senior Women’s Administrator, Director of Tennis (517) 607-2980 nwalbright@hillsdale.edu

Joseph Lynn Head Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach jlynn@hillsdale.edu

Melanie Zampardo Head Women's Tennis Coach (517) 607-3168 mzampardo@hillsdale.edu hillsdalechargers.com

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How well do you know the history of Hillsdale College Athletics? If you know any of the people in this photo from Hillsdale’s past, email your answer to dgoodnough@hillsdale.edu by October 15, 2026. Please put “Mystery Photo” in the subject line and include the first and last names of the people in the photo, as well as any other pertinent information. We will conduct a drawing from the correct answers we get, with the winner receiving a $25 gift card for the College’s online store! Last issue’s mystery photo was of Davey Nelson. After playing with Heisman Award winner Tom Harmon at the University of Michigan, Davey Nelson was the athletic director and head football coach for the Dales from 1946-47. Hillsdale was 14-1-2 during his two seasons, winning two MIAA football championships. He briefly changed Hillsdale’s nickname to the Bearcats, but that did not last. He went on to a very successful coaching career at Delaware and was known as “the father of the Wing-T offense.” Nelson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Congratulations to Harvey Mascow, ’49, who won the drawing for this mystery photo!