New Dynamic Duo Steps in to

College third-year Adriano Atallah.

Photo courtesy of OC Athletics

College third-year Adriano Atallah is a force on the track. Currently a captain of the men’s track and field team, Atallah spent his first few years on campus setting Oberlin’s record book ablaze. His most notable accolades include winning the North Coast Athletic Conference outdoor decathlon last year and competing as a member of the relay team that secured first place in the indoor 4x200-meter relay and the outdoor 4x400-meter relay. Outside of track, Atallah is a Biochemistry major and a founding member of Oberlin Step Ahead, an organization that coaches kids with autism in track and field.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Khalid McCalla Sports Editor

How long have you been running track and field?

I started just doing sprints and hurdles in middle school. Mostly the [400-meter sprints], sometimes the hurdles. Then, I got to high school [and] … at the end of my freshman year, I thought the pentathlon looked really cool. So, I tried that. I liked it a lot, and so I stuck with the multis and sprints and hurdles and that’s kind of what I do now.

What events were you recruited to compete in at Oberlin?

I got recruited by [Assistant Track and Field Coach Alisha Samuel], who’s no longer here, but I submitted both my sprint times, hurdle times, and also my multi scores. I was very intent on doing both when I got here.

Besides the decathlon and the relays, do you participate in any other events?

Yeah. So, last year my conference meet included long jump, [60-meter] dash, [200-meter] dash, and [4x200-meter relay]. This year, I’m in the [4x400-meter relay] at the conference meet as well. Outdoors, basically anything 400 [meters] and under. Hurdles included, not included. I’m doing it.

How does it feel to be so successful individually?

I think it’s really cool. I mean we don’t really have a history of great multis here. [Ohio Wesleyan University] had a kid my [first] year, Nate Newman, who has the conference record in the decathlon. They also had a kid before I got here ... who has the OWU school record. Both of them are multi-time AllAmericans. So being able to follow that NCAC legacy, but also sort of carving out a name for Oberlin in the multis as well is really cool.

How does it feel to be part of a successful relay team?

The guys — [College third-years Victor Salcido, Malachi Clemons, and Sam Mader] — are great. I think our class is incredibly special, you know, talent wise, but also just [as people]. I mean there’s evidence in the fact that all four of the captains, and granted there are no seniors on the men’s team on the sprint side, are juniors. I think that speaks to the leadership of this class and the work ethic as well. We all care a lot about each other, about the sport, about representing the school the right away. And that right way is winning.

What are your goals, both individually and as a team, for the rest of the season?

For the indoor season, [I have] quite a few because I do so many individual events. We’re trying to qualify for the fast seed section at conference in the [4x200-meter relay]. [I’m] trying to qualify in the 200 meter sprints for nationals. Then, once I get to nationals, it’s All-American. As a team this year we’re really just looking to solidify our place in the conference and sort of build something that we can bounce off of next year — because we’re really only graduating like three or four people. It’s a great place to be in order to try to win or put together our best possible team to win next year.

What other accolades do you have your eyes on for the rest of your career?

National champion in the decathlon, [next] year for sure. I mean obviously this year, but definitely [fourth] year. That’s my ultimate goal.

Do you do anything else outside of track?

At the end of last school year, [members of the track team] founded the Oberlin chapter of Step Ahead, which is a track and field program for kids with autism. We’re still kind of kicking it off, but we’re hoping that this semester it really leaves the ground. Basically it’s a program that, once a week, kids with autism and their siblings can come and run track. Track is one of the easiest sports to pick up for just about anyone. We meet a bunch of times over the course of a few months. You get to watch their development over that time period. And that’s a great way to get involved. We’re looking to expand in the next few semesters hopefully.

Anything else you want the good people of Oberlin to know?

I know track meets are long, but … they’re a lot of fun. I love them. The energy is great. We’re hosting conferences here [in May]. Come out and support!

New Dynamic Duo Steps in to Lead Yeowoman Basketball

Hulan Edward

In all college sport programs, filling leadership roles after star players depart is a source of stress. The Oberlin College women’s basketball team faced this issue after captains and star basketball players Alex Stipano, and Liv Canning, both OC ’19, graduated last year

Stipano, a guard, finished last season averaging 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game, and earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference her third and fourth years. Canning ended her final season averaging 11.1 points and 7.2 rebounds, and amassed 77 blocks and 31 steals on her way to earning NCAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in her career.

At the end of last season, many questioned whether the Yeowomen would have anyone ready to step into the prominent leadership roles that Stipano and Canning filled. Stepping into those positions would be no small task after the Yeowomen went 15–11 last season, losing out in the quarterfinals of the NCAC tournament. The job was left to College fourth-years Cheyenne Arthur and Jasmine Sorrels.

“They’ve always wanted to be in this position,” said Kerry Jenkins, former head coach of the women’s basketball team. “In their own right, they’ve always been seen as leaders on the team. I [am] not surprised that [they] have embraced newfound expectations.”

Sorrels and Arthur have both focused on growing into their new leadership roles. They have each taken on more game time. Arthur went from 28.9 average minutes per game to 32.8, and Sorrels went from 14.3 to 26.7, helping to find ways to fill the void left by talented graduates.

Arthur has focused on growing into being the best point guard she can be. Even with the added pressure of handling the ball, she finds this growth very rewarding.

“The role of a point guard is one that comes with great responsibility, but knowing that my teammates and coaching staff trust in me and my ability to fulfill this role is truly an amazing feeling,” said Arthur.

Sorrels, agreeing with Arthur, explained the joy she feels watching her role expand.

“It’s been really exciting to get the opportunity to challenge myself this season and push myself to be the best player I can be for the team,” said Sorrels.

Sorrels and Arthur’s success in those roles has not gone unnoticed. New Head women’s basketball Coach Stephany Dunmyer appreciates her fourth-year leaders and the experience they bring to the game.

“Cheyenne brings great experience to the court as our primary ball-handler, and she has continued to grow in her role as a point guard,” said Dunmyer. “She also has a terrific ability to score by getting to the basket and by knocking down the outside shot.

Similarly, Dunmyer also had plenty of good things to say about Sorrels.

“Jasmine is the type of player who makes our team different and sets us apart,” said Dunmyer. “Jasmine has the ability to change a game on both ends of the floor. Her ability to alter and block shots on the defensive end is College fourth-years Jasmine Sorrells and Cheyenne Arthur. Photo courtesy of OC Athletics

outstanding, and she has amazing touch on the offensive end and is one of the fastest players on the court every day.”

With only one regular-season game remaining, both Arthur and Sorrels have high hopes for the end of their careers, while looking ahead to the next challenge.

“We obviously want to make it to the championship game again, but for now we’re just taking it one game at a time,” said Sorrels. “We’ve already secured a playoff spot, so right now it’s about focusing on what’s right in front of us and making sure we’re continuing to get better every day.”

With these attitudes, Sorrels and Arthur have valiantly led this year’s Yeowomen basketball team and continued the culture of excellence cultivated by Canning and Stipano.

“Anyone that knows about Oberlin women’s basketball knows about Alex and Liv,” said Arthur. “Being able to watch them over the course of their careers has prepared me to lead the team in the most effective way possible.” Looking to the future for the Yeowomen, Dunmyer knows that the team will be facing a familiar challenge next year. With the graduation of Arthur and Sorrels, Dunmyer will have to find other players to take the reins and lead the team.

“We have high expectations for our [second-year] class and [College thirdyear] Leo Ross,” Dunmyer said, “and hope they will continue to commit to building a championship culture on and off the court for our program.”

With the powerful examples set to follow by Canning and Stipano, and now Arthur and Sorrels, the Yeowomen basketball team has a bright future.

February 21, 2020 Established 1874

Current and Former Football Players Express Concern About Team Culture The Oberlin College varsity football team. Photo courtesy of OC Athletics

Zoë Martin del Campo Contributing Sports Editor

Founded in 1891, Oberlin’s football team has provided a community to both athletes and spectators, alike, for generations. Despite this history, the team has seen significant turnover over the past few years; this past season alone, seven players left the team. This upcoming season, the team will have seven rising fourth-years on a 29-person roster. In previous seasons, this number was higher; in 2017, the roster included 16 fourth-years.

At the end of the past season, Head Football Coach Jay Anderson announced that he was stepping down from his position at Oberlin to become the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio.

Steve Opgenorth was named head football coach to replace Anderson. He spent the last five seasons at Baldwin Wallace University serving as associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks’ coach. This announcement serves as an opportunity to implement changes in the program as a whole — especially as several former players have expressed concerns about coach and staff conduct.

While the team has made strides to promote an inclusive and productive environment, there is still much room for improvement, particularly when it comes to supporting injured players, as highlighted by former-football player and College third-year Ben Collado.

Last season, Collado ultimately decided to leave the team and, consequently, move away from a sport he’d spent his entire life playing, after receiving two concussions and fracturing his neck during play. He was disappointed with the management style of the team staff, whom he felt, at times, prioritized his playing time over his safety.

“The baseline test measures how your brain works cognitively, including reaction time,” he said. “So, when you think you have a concussion, you have to retake the test and see if there’s a delay in or an issue with your memory. But I never took that test, so, after I got my first concussion, it was harder to track my progress and see if I was getting better and even diagnose the concussion in the first place.”

Director of Sports Medicine Jill Rondini could not comment on the specific athlete’s medical care due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, but shared that concussion protocol varies across teams.

“Athletes who participate in contact varsity sports undergo baseline concussion testing which may be administered differently for various reasons,” Rondini wrote in an email to the Review. Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos added that, while baseline testing is helpful in assessing the impacts of a concussion, Oberlin does not require it of all varsity athletes.

“Baseline testing is not required,” she wrote in an email to the Review. “Baseline testing is a tool that can be used to assist our care team’s work but it is not critical to concussion management.”

College fourth-year and running back Melvin Briggs, who was on the football roster all four seasons of his Oberlin career, agreed on the need for further medical support from the program. In particular, Briggs was dissatisfied with the length of time it took trainers to communicate his injury to medical staff and the College.

“None of my professors had any documentation of my concussion for four weeks,” he said. “I never really had the chance to recover. Within a matter of months, I was diagnosed with severe depression and chronic anxiety.”

In response to this allegation, Winkelfoos had the following to say.

“I cannot discuss a student-athlete’s medical care,” she wrote. “This is a very specific circumstance in which all information has perhaps not been provided to you. We make every effort to ensure the concussion protocol is followed. Everyone needs to do their part for it to be successful ... our sports medicine staff, disability services and the student-athlete.”

In addition to physical support, Collado hopes that in the future coaches will be more equipped to handle conversations surrounding mental health.

“It needs to be a conscientious effort across the board,” he said. “From an administrative level, and coaches holding each other accountable when issues come up. Coaches need to be equipped to handle situations relating to mental health issues, so they will know what is appropriate to say.”

Collado also stated that coaches did not always reflect the principles of Oberlin, perpetuating a culture that he felt was toxic.

See Football, page 14

Volume 148, Number 15 The Wade Family’s Positive Infuence

Khalid McCalla Sports Editor

NBA star Dwyane Wade recently announced that his daughter, Zaya, is transgender. This announcement was immediately met with support from those who saw Wade’s acceptance of his daughter’s gender identity as evidence of a shifting norm; and criticism from those without a full understanding of what this announcement means, both for the Wade family and for society as a whole.

At Oberlin, the separation between the LGBTQ+ community and others, like the Black and athletic communities, is not as stark as it is in the majority of American culture. This is notable considering that these communities are not mutually-exclusive. That being said, several student athletes at Oberlin see Wade’s announcement as a great moment for the future of understanding the intersectionality of these communities.

“I thought it was really brave of him to say that to everyone, to the public,” said College second-year and softball player V Dagnino, who identifies as queer. “It’s not easy for any parent to come out and speak about their child. From my own experience, and my parents raising me, they were terrified at first because they saw the life that it was to be queer, and they were really concerned that I’d face hatred and discrimination, so they tried to shield me.”

The athletic community is often regarded as being behind-the-times when it comes to social justice issues, especially those surrounding the LGBTQ+ community. “As a trans and queer athlete, saying that there’s a gap feels weird to me, as if me and other queer athletes have to ‘pick,’” said College fourth-year and ultimate Frisbee player Eli Presberg. “However, I think [athletics], especially men’s athletics, both stereotypically and actually can be a really homophobic and transphobic environment.”

Having an athlete with such a heightened profile, like Wade, advocate for the inclusion of LGBTQ+ community in such a public and personal manner could help mend the complicated, and often strained, relationship between these communities.

“I think that what Dwyane Wade is doing is very inspiring, to see someone who’s an NBA champion using his platform to say [something along the lines of ], ‘This is my daughter, and I’m so proud of her, and this is who she is becoming.’” said Dagnino. “I thought that was amazing, and I do think it’s a step in the right direction to normalizing [queerness] in the athletic community.”

While it is undeniably helpful that a man of Wade’s stature is helping to push the needle in the right direction, College third-year and track and field athlete Malachi Clemons believes it will take more to fully shift the relationship between athletics and queerness, pointing to former NFL player and openly gay man Michael Sam as an example.

“[He] was [Southeastern Conference] defensive player of the year [in 2014],” said Clemons, referencing Sam’s college playing career. “And where is he now? I think it takes a bigger step. I think things like this can help, but I think it takes a bigger step.”

Presberg shared similar sentiments. “I distinctly remember when [former NBA player] Jason Collins came out in 2013, and being so astonished that he was the first person to come out in a major men’s sport,” said Presberg. “That was only seven years ago, so I think that this process is both slow and moving in the right direction, and that Dwyane Wade’s public support is a part of that. … I think ultimately it’s much more on the coaches and leadership of individual teams to actually check people.”

Dwyane Wade’s public announcement and acceptance of Zaya’s identity is not only a step for the athletic community, but it’s also a strong step toward acceptance of queer identities in the Black community.

“I think the Black community and the LGBTQ community haven’t always gotten along,” said Clemons. “I think religion plays a huge part of it, in addition to the See Wades, page 14