Wilmington College Athletics to be Featured in History Center Series on July 30

Wilmington College has a long and storied history in sports dating back to the late 1800s, and highlights will be featured at the Clinton County History Center’s “Beyond the Scoreboard” series, celebrating sports at WC on July 30 at 7 p.m. in the McCoy Room of the Kelly Center.

Special panelists include Class of 2024 graduate Simon Heys, who capped off his celebrated collegiate career in cross country and track and field this spring with his sixth and seventh All-America honors; Ashley Johnson Wolf, a multiple All-American and NCAA pole vault champion; Jerry Scheve, whose 30-year tenure as head coach of Lady Quaker basketball was capped by the national championship in 2004; and David Raizk, a WC alumnus whose legendary father, Fred Raizk, coached multiple sports at the college for 53 years.

Admission is $5 and free for History Center members. The sports-focused program accompanies the History Center’s exhibit celebrating sports in Clinton County throughout the years.

Simon Heys rewrote the Wilmington College record book in distance running during his years as a standout runner in cross country and track and field. He is a three-time All-American in cross country, placing fifth at the 2021 NCAA D-III Championships. In track and field, he achieved All-American status in the 2023 indoor 10,000m, the 2023 outdoor 5,000m, and this spring in the outdoor 5,000m and outdoor 10,000m (3rd place), leading the men’s track and field team to an 8th-place finish in the nation.

Ashley Johnson Wolf, a 2017 inductee into the Wilmington College Athletic Hall of Fame, won the pole vault title at the 2006 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. The two-time All-American is a three-time OAC champion, six-time All-OAC selection and still holds the college’s indoor and outdoor pole vault records. She was also a four-time OAC champion during her two years on the swim team.

Jerry Scheve retired in 2021 after teaching accounting for 44 years and leading the WC women’s basketball team for 30 years. A member of the Ohio Basketball and Greater Cincinnati Basketball Halls of Fame, Scheve won championships with the Lady Quakers in four collegiate associations, the Western Buckeye Conference, Assoc. of Mideast Colleges, Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and Ohio Athletic Conference. His teams played in numerous national tournaments, but in 2004 – the team of the ages – the Lady Quakers won the NCAA D-III championship with a 54-51 come-from-behind victory over first-ranked and previously undefeated Bowdoin College. That year, Scheve was named National Coach of the Year.

WC alumnus and trustee David Raizk will share stories about his father’s legendary 53-year career as a coach, faculty member and administrator at Wilmington College.

Fred Raizk, a 1936 graduate of WC, returned to his alma mater in 1946 as dean of students and faculty member. He soon became the college’s coach. He coached football from 1947 to 1956, basketball from 1951 to 1972, track and field from 1947 to 1961 and baseball from 1947 to 1961. He started WC’s intercollegiate football program in 1960 and coached for its first three years. He also founded the college’s golf program, which he coached from 1959 until his retirement at age 86 in 1999. He was a faculty member from 1946 to 1990 and athletic director for 25 years. The college honored him as a charter member of its Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991, and he was inducted into the Clinton County Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

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