Reidy Wins First NCAC Hammer Title

Jon Reidy '06 practices throwing the javelin prior to participating in the conference championship meet. Reidy added the hammer throw this season, winning the first NCAC championship in the event in May.

Since joining the North Coast Athletic Conference, Wabash track-and-field athletes have hoped to see the hammer throw move from an exhibition to an official event at the outdoor championship meet. This season, the conference coaches did just that.

When Jon Reidy, the son of Wabash admissions counselor Mike Reidy, threw the hammer 133 feet in the finals he became the first NCAC champion in the event.

Not bad for someone who had never thrown the implement until two months earlier.

“I hadn’t thrown a college field implement in my life and hadn’t participated in track and field for about 10 years,” said Reidy. “When I decided to become a part of the Wabash team this spring, I picked up the discus and javelin in addition to the hammer. Coach Jozwiak worked very hard to teach me all of the techniques involved in throwing the hammer, and with the excellent team depth that we have I was able to keep pushing myself to get better and better each meet. Without that, I’m not sure I would have been in a position to accomplish what I did that day.”

Reidy’s throw was three feet better than the next competitor’s toss. Teammate Sean Gerold ’05 took fourth in the event with a result of 128 feet, three inches. Eric Morris ’07 was sixth with a toss of 125 feet, two inches.

Freshman’s Career, and Prediction, Off to a Good Start

	Freshman Nathan Bates '07 added a conference title to his three NCAC Athlete of the Week honors. The Ossian, Indiana native hopes to add three more indoor and outdoor titles in the 400 meters.

One of the first things Nathan Bates ’07 told Wabash track and field head coach Rob Johnson when they met was that he planned to become a four-time conference champion in the 400 meters.

“Coach told me that to win the fourth one, you have to start by winning the first one,” said Bates, who already had several sectional championships and three top-20 finishes at the Indiana High School Athletic Association State Championship meet to his credit.

Bates got the first one. He joined teammates Eric Morris ’07 and Jon Reidy ’06 as a champion at the 2004 North Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships while helping Wabash to a fourth place finish in the final team standings. Bates took the top spot in the 400 meters with a time of 48.98, just missing the NCAA provisional qualifying time.

Morris took the discus title with a throw of 143 feet, five inches.

Reidy’s winning toss in the hammer of 133 feet is detailed in the next story.

Bates had hoped to add an indoor title in the 400 meters earlier in the season, but was unable to return to form in time after suffering an injury midway through the winter season.

George Perry Honored by National Soccer Coaches

Wabash Soccer Coach George Perry was honored by the National Soccer Coaches Associaton of America for his contributions to the sport and excellence in soccer coaching education.

Two issues ago in Wabash Magazine, Jim Amidon shared his admiration for Wabash Soccer Coach George Perry’s work with kids in his U-5 soccer training program. Amidon wasn’t the only one impressed by Coach Perry’s work.

At its annual meeting this spring, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America honored Perry with the Mike Berticelli Excellence in Coaching Education Award. The award is given to a member of the NSCAA coaching academy staff who is making a strong, positive impact on soccer and coaching in the United States and has exhibited excellence in soccer coaching education throughout his career.

Perry is the fourth recipient of the award, created after Berticelli passed away after many years of service to the NSCAA. Past recipients include Jim Lennox, the first director of coaching for the NSCAA, Anson Doran, head coach of the first women’s World Cup championship team and head coach of the University of North Carolina women’s soccer team, and Tony Waiters, a former goalkeeper for the England national team and Canada’s national team coach.

“This award means a lot to me because I know Mike did so much for soccer, in particular for the NSCAA, and because he was a good friend,” Perry says.