Athlete Spotlight: Nathan Lambert

Voted “Most Athletic” as a senior in High School, Nathan Lambert played both football and baseball. He excelled at both and that left many who knew him questioning which sport he would play in college. He managed to find a school that didn’t make him choose, and decided to attend Centre College. After a year of playing both, he decided baseball was what he wanted to focus on, so he no longer plays for the football team. According to Lambert, Division III has been a perfect fit.

What schools from other divisions were interested in you/did you consider going to?
    The other schools I was interested in were Ohio Northern, Valpo & Cincinnati.

Why did you choose to play at Centre instead?
    I chose to play at Centre because it was close to home, and the atmosphere of the small school is overall better. I know more people and see them often, which I like.
   
What do you think have been some benefits of playing d3 instead of a higher division?
Some benefits would definitely be that there is more time for me to get involved with other things. I'm in a fraternity with most of the football team and can still play intramural sports, where as at a big school I may not have gotten a chance to do that.

A lot of people say d3 is just an extension of high school sports, how would you compare the competition levels between the two?
I would say that is most definitely not true. In baseball I played with 2 guys who were picked up and play amateur baseball. There was also a football player who was invited to try out for an NFL team. Maybe top to bottom it may not be as strong as say Division 1 but there are just as good athletes.

Gagliardi Trophy

Until 1 p.m. on Monday, December 7, the polls will be open for the public to vote for the outstanding Division III football player of the year. This is the 17th year that the Gagliardi Trophy will be awarded. The winner displays excellence in athletics, but also in academics and community service. Already more than 7,000 people have cast their votes. So let’s take a look at this year’s contestants:

1.    Gerry (Spud) Dick. DePauw. Senior Quarterback. Spud Dick completed 71.3% of his passes resulting in 27 touchdowns, as well as 309 passing yards per game. In the playoffs, he went 35 for 59 passing, 318 yards, 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
2.    Judd Lutz. Mount Union. Senior Linebacker. He finished the season with 80 tackles, 30 solo, 10 passes broken up and 4 tackles for loss.
3.    Dave Paveletz. Susquehanna. Senior Running Back. Paveletz ended with 1,414 rushing yards, 4.7 per carry and 128.5 per game. He scored 11 touchdowns, and had 20 receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown.
4.    John Peters. Union. Senior Linebacker. 121 tackles, 50 solo, 6.5 tackles for loss, five passes broken up and 1 forced fumble.
5.    Jeff Schebler. UW-Whitewater. Senior Kicker. Schebler is the NCAA’s all-time leading kick scorer. He went 10 for 11 on field goals, and 71 for 73 on extra points. His average on kickoffs was 60.3 yards.
6.    Adam Shaffer. Mississippi College. Senior Quarterback. Shaffer completed 59% of passes resulting in 33 touchdowns with 9 interceptions, as well as 259 passing yards per game.
7.    Alex Tanney. Monmouth. Junior Quarterback. Tanney had 44 touchdowns with 7 interceptions, as well as 70% passes completed for 350.5 yards passing per game.
8.    Blaine Westemeyer. Augustana. Senior Offensive Tackle. The 6-5 senior is a three-time first-team All-CCIW selection. Off the field he is a biochemistry/pre-med major maintaining a 3.94 GPA.
9.    Dan Whalen. Case Western Reserve. Senior Quarterback. Whalen completed 68% of passes for 304 passing yards per game. Totaling 34 touchdowns with 8 interceptions.
10.    David Zachary. Central. Senior Running Back. He totaled 1,254 rushing yards, averaging 6.1 per carry and 114 per game. He scored 13 touchdowns and had 5 receptions for 29 yards.

The trophy will be presented as part of the Stagg Bowl festivities in Salem, Va by Jostens, Inc and the J-Club of Saint John’s University.

Wordless Wednesdays

The Monon Bell Goes Back to Wabash

One of the Division III rivalries I mentioned in a previous post took place over the weekend. After two years at DePauw, the Monon Bell returned to Wabash as the Little Giants beat the Tigers 32-19.
Matt Hudson, Wabash’s quarterback completed 19 of 30 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns. By winning this game, Wabash ended a two-year losing streak, and also broke the tie between the schools for this annual rivalry game.

Despite the Wabash win, the Tigers were the team that had already clinched a spot in tournament play, being the teams’ first playoff game in school history. The Little Giant’s on the other hand had to wait until this afternoon to hear whether they would advance to the playoffs. They received news that they too will have the opportunity to play in the D3 NCAA playoffs.

For the students, a lot of the week/weekend is focused on parties and their “hatred” for the other school. But, President Casey of DePauw and President White of Wabash issued a joint letter about the rivalry game. They urged the students and fans to focus on the traditions and history of the game. In it they wrote, “Today and throughout the year, we can all celebrate the fact that DePauw and Wabash are two great schools that share this tremendous tradition alongside a tremendous mutual respect and admiration.”

Troy Montigney, a first-year alum of DePauw, seems to understand both the Presidents’ views as well as the students. He wrote an article for “The DePauw” about the tradition of the Monon Bell Game. In it he admitted that as a DePauw student (which I’m sure is also true for Wabash students) a lot of the Monon tradition is about parties and hatred for Wabash (or DePauw), but he also admitted that the best part about the rivalry is being part of the tradition. “Odds are Spud Dick will not join Peyton Manning and Drew Brees in racking up 300-yard games on Sundays in the NFL, and Bryan Mulligan will not make everyone forget about Jerry Rice and Randy Moss. Adam Vinatieri's pair of Super Bowl-winning boots will not be replicated by Jordan Havercamp, despite the latter's NFL-worthy performance two years ago. But the trio and their teammates will never forget their Monon triumphs”.

So even though I know simply being part of the tradition doesn’t erase DePauw’s pain over losing the bell, in the end, being a part of this historic rivalry game is an honor... win or lose.