This is the design for the commemorative t-shirt the DSU Student Senate is selling for $3 in honor of Ashley Neufeld, Kyrstin Gemar and Afton Williamson. All proceeds from the t-shirt sales go to the families of Gemar, Neufeld and Williamson.
The shirts go on sale at 5 p.m. today at the DSU Student Center.
Shane Bennett doesn’t believe he’s where he needs to be on the wrestling mat.
He’s not competing at full strength and he’s nowhere near the conditioning level he was at when he took second place at the NAIA national tournament as a redshirt freshman.
Still, the 21-year-old Dickinson State University fourth-year sophomore takes comfort knowing there was a time — not that long ago — when those close to him didn’t know if he would live to see the next day.
There was a time when Derrick Atkins didn’t know if he was ready to compete in the international spotlight.
He didn’t know if the rewards that come with racing at the international level were worth being away from his girlfriend and daughter for months at a time. Atkins only knew he was prepared to hold his own against the fastest athletes on Earth.
“The emotional side of it, the mental approach, it takes a lot out of you,” Atkins said. “Midway in the season, I felt it. There was a point I had to take a break, regroup and come back.”
Atkins’ determination to compete at the highest level paid off significantly. He used the spring and summer of 2007 to cement his place as one of the world’s fastest men.
The Nassau, Bahamas, native capped his stunning 11-race summer with a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the International Association of Athletic Federations World Championships in Osaka, Japan.
The seven-time Dickinson State national track and field champion is in town this week to take part in the school’s homecoming festivities. As a tribute to his recent accomplishments, DSU has made Atkins the honorary grand marshal of Saturday’s homecoming parade. He is also signing autographs at the Blue Hawks’ football game that afternoon.
Continue reading “Accepting fame: Atkins adjusts to international track stardom”
War can change a man. It may affect him violently and physically, or it can come at him slowly, setting him on a path that will alter the way he lives out the rest of his days. In Justin Schlecht’s case, it was a little of both.
After Schlecht returned home from the war in Iraq, the Dickinson State wrestler had an epiphany. Schlecht knew then that he needed to start living for the big picture and relax the rigid stance he once had for his wrestling career.
“It (wrestling) wasn’t going to change the world,” Schlecht said. “It wasn’t going to have an effect on the world if I lost the match. … I was still going to have to pay the bills. It opened me up so I saw the bigger picture.”
Although the 23-year-old is quick to admit he doesn’t owe the 197-pound NAIA national championship he won last March to the time he spent in Iraq, he believes the war did its part to shape his persona.
“It’s hard to say who people are and where they come from,” Schlecht said.
Schlecht time at war did its part to shape his body and mind. He believes it’s the mindset he brought back from Iraq that has turned him into DSU’s most reliable wrestler.
“I went over there 19 years old physically and mentally. I came back … I was physically 21 and I feel like I’ve matured like an average 30-year-old,” Schlecht said.
Dustin Monke 