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| Photos by BEN RUEHLMANN Freshman Cameron Larson rides Marlin Wheels during the bicycle segment of the Iron Marlin Triathlon. |
An assignment to organize an activity that would benefit the campus resulted in the creation of a triathlon, consisting of a 300-meter swim in the Batten Center pool, a 5-mile bike ride on the main road encircling campus, and a 1-mile run on the same road. Seven students participated in the first Iron Marlin Triathlon on Saturday, Nov. 10. Senior Dave Scott and junior Travis Williams created the triathlon in conjunction with a project for a 300-level recreation and leisure class, Recreation Program Principles.
"Travis and I got together to do something we were interested in," said Scott. "I have been in numerous triathlons, and Travis always wanted to participate in one." The five men and two women who took part in the competition were competing for the prize of a $10 gift certificate to Final Kick sporting goods store. The triathlon began at 1:25 p.m. and the last participant crossed the finish line in 85 minutes. Jeff Magner crossed the finish line first for the men; however, a tie was called with Tom Drabczyk because of a faulty bike.
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| Sophomore Meghan Oare rounds the corner on her way to a first-place finish. |
Thirty-one minutes after the men started, the women's leg began. April Teaford came out strong and jumped ahead of Megan Oare, but Oare came back to finish ahead of Teaford, making her the female Iron Marlin. "I just wanted to keep going and finish," said Oare. "I'm not as strong of a swimmer as April is. Swimming was definitely the hardest part of the competition for me."
Yet it was more than just winning a prize. It was also about proving that they have what it takes to complete such a tedious task. Magner said it was definitely physically straining. "It was one of the hardest things I ever did for fun," he said.
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| Junior Greg Barry competes in the bike portion of the first-ever Iron Marlin Triathlon, held Sat., Nov. 9. |
Participant Greg Barry also said that the swimming portion of the competition was the hardest. Magner agreed. Swimming the 300 meters, equal to 12 lengths of the pool, took a lot of strength right at the start and made it harder to compete in the other two events. For Barry, the highlight of the triathlon was during the bike competition when he was constantly avoiding getting run over by oncoming traffic. "As I was pedaling along on my Marlin Wheels, I almost got run over by a huge coach bus," he said.
Drabczyk had his own problems during the 5-mile bike competition. One of the tires on his bike burst and he had to leave the competition and return later to complete the course. But this did not hinder him from making a comeback and tying for first with Magner. Drabczyk said that the tie with Magner was well deserved. After the entire competition, all of the competitors were glad that they had participated and believed they left with a lot more than they had when they started.
According to Barry, the experience was tough but worth it. "I'm glad I did it," he said. "I ended up learning a lot about myself." Drabczyk agreed. "It was definitely a motivating experience for me,” he said. “It inspired me to compete in any other triathlons that may come in the future."
Lending a helping hand |
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| Photo by BLADEN FINCH Aquatic Therapeutic Recreation Students from ODU lent their services to special needs children from Norfolk Public Schools on Nov. 13 in the Batten Center Pool. The students used an aquatic wheel that was purchased from funding donated by Bob and Cari Labbe. The Labbes, in background, lost their son Jamie to muscular dystrophy shortly after he graduated from Wesleyan in 1998. |
For a majority of the seniors at Virginia Wesleyan, the graduation countdown ends in May 2003. For approximately 64 seniors, the countdown ends in Dec. 2002. These students get a chance to celebrate their graduation on December 8, 2002, at 2 p.m. in the Convocation Center. Six years ago, the Commencement Committee decided to institute a reception for December graduates.
“By the time exams and processing those exams were done, it would be the Christmas holidays,” said Dr. Stephen Mansfield, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college. "We wanted to be sensitive to the concern of some students if they finish their work in December." Although the reception recognizes December graduates, it is not considered an official commencement.
"The December ceremony could not be a commencement because some students haven't taken exams," said Mansfield. Much like the May Commencement, the reception has a speaker, and graduates still walk across the stage and shake hands with President William T. Greer, Jr.; however, differences include a lack of honors designation and the absence of “hooding” of graduates. For some students, the decision was based upon different factors. For biology major Amber Beals, the choice to graduate in December was made by her major, due to the availability of her required courses. In the case of Adult Studies student James Kalinowski, the completion of one major does not necessarily mean that he is ready to stop taking classes.
Please see Grads, News page.
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Photo by BLADEN FINCH |
A large hole with "CAUTION" tape encompassing it is bound to arouse a degree of curiosity and even anticipation. One spectacle did just that on the Virginia Wesleyan campus, and despite the protective boundaries to keep people away, the spectacle was explored. Accompanied by his wife and their small dog, Ryan Brown of Residence Life came across the mass of dirt and tape that can be seen on the left hand side of the road while traveling toward Village I after entering campus. Peering into the hole, he saw a chamber of about 10 feet by 10 feet was revealed.
"I could see that whatever it was had been made with reinforced concrete," reported Brown. "And leading into it was what appeared to be the metal rungs of a ladder." According to Dr. Stephen Mansfield, Dean of the College, Wesleyan's most knowledgeable historian, the land on which the college now resides used to be owned by a family named of Smith. The portion of the land containing the peculiar construction happened to be the portion of the acreage that the Smith family sold to the city of Norfolk. Since this transaction took place shortly prior to War World II, it can be speculated that perhaps the building that has been found was used during the war as housing for the soldiers.
"It's a neat little mystery," said Brown. The mystery, however, has now been solved upon further examination by the Physical Plant staff. According to the Director of Physical Plant David Hopper, the digging commenced in response to their observation of the ground beginning to inexplicably sink in that particular area. As it turns out, the exposed chamber appears to be nothing more than an abandoned storm drainage collection system, which, according to Hopper, will be filled sometime in the near future.
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