Campus Currents

Wolves Basketball Team Makes Adventist Sports History

Underdogs can be underestimated. Last-minute contenders can be miscalculated. And small schools can have sports teams that everyone loves but nobody expects to garner a championship bid.

Wolves’ basketball team takes fourth place at the NCCAA tournament in Kentucky.

This year, the Walla Walla College men’s basketball team coalesced into a group of accomplished student athletes, paving a path from their home court in rural College Place to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) tournament in Frankfort, Ky. It was an unexpected journey that led to a fourth place title.
Team captain Clinton Bartlett, a senior mathematics major, says, “We took the tournament by storm. They didn’t expect us to win a game, then we became the favorite of the tournament.”

“We have a great group of kids,” says Tim Windemuth, athletic director and professor of health and physical education. “It was the first time in the history of the tournament that the eighth seed beat the No. I seed … People didn’t even know who Walla Walla College was, then everyone knew after that first game, and they were cheering for us the rest of the weekend.”
The Wolves also became the first WWC basketball team to place at the NCCAA tournament. “All [the] teams that we played were NCCAA Division II teams,” says Windemuth. “WWC is Division I.”

Jeremy Claridge scored 25 points in the second game, winning First Team All-American.

The team, led by head coach Jim Hill and assistant coach Rhett Unger, didn’t expect to attend the competition. Anticipating only a final celebration dinner for the close of the season, the team was informed of their surprise opportunity to attend nationals.
“Those guys could not believe it,” remembers Windemuth. “They thought we were lying to them. They were like kids in a candy store.” Ashton Bartlett, a senior physical education and pre-physical therapy major, recalls, “When they first told us, it was a huge surprise; it didn’t really set in. The coach came out and just said, ‘We’re going to nationals,’ and everyone just started screaming.”

In Frankfort, all the teams went to nearby schools to put on basketball clinics, share testimonies, and pray with the kids. Jeremy Claridge, a junior physical education major, says, “One of the coolest parts was getting to do the clinics for the kids. They were excited that someone would talk to them and take an interest in them. The most valuable part of the clinic wasn’t related to basketball in a sense.”

The Wolves’ first game was against top seed Nyack College from New York. The team came back from a 15-point deficit to take the win by two points. “No. 8 has never [beaten] the No. i. And then we did,” says Windemuth. Ryan White, who received the awards Second Team All-American and All-Tournament, scored 15 points.

Once the team took their unpredicted first win, the tournament organizers made sure WWC’s game times wouldn’t have them playing on the Sabbath, whether they were battling for the championship or any other place. “We cannot say enough for the NCCAA and the coaching staff that were there and the people who ran the tournament,” says Windemuth. “They let us honor our Sabbath.”

Game two was against Spring Arbor University from Michigan, resulting in a loss for WWC after going into overtime and Spring Arbor going on to win the tournament. Claridge scored 25 points in the game and came away from the weekend with First Team All-American.

“I think the most exciting part,” says Claridge of the award, “is that it’s more indicative of the team’s success than it is about one player’s accomplishment. It kind of showed what we did as a team if they’d recognize even one of our players.”

Ashton Barlett says, “Everything there was just unbelievable. It’ll be something I’ll always remember, and as far as our team went, it was nice to go out at a high level.”

“We’re the first Adventist college to go to a national tournament and win,” says Windemuth. “And now, in Division i, we’re the fourth place team in the nation. We give all the glory to the Lord.”

Windemuth notes that “the tournament organizers mentioned, ‘if you guys qualify next year, we’d love to have you back, and we’ll make the same adjustments again.’”  W

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