Wittenberg Announces Athletics Hall Of Honor Class of 2008

June 25, 2008

Springfield, Ohio — Six Wittenberg University greats will be inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Honor during 2008 Homecoming Weekend ceremonies, Oct. 10-12. Bruce Borland '69, Pat Williams Clouse '64, Wendel Donathan '89, David Helm '69, Don Lynam '75, and Jennifer Parsons '94 will join 172 other Wittenberg greats who have previously been inducted into the university's Athletics Hall of Honor.

The honorees will be formally inducted into the Athletics Hall of Honor at a banquet on Friday, Oct. 10. They will be introduced to Wittenberg's loyal fans during halftime of the annual Homecoming football game against Earlham the next day, which is set to kick off at Edwards-Maurer Field at 1 p.m.

Bruce Borland is known as one of the finest linebackers in the illustrious history of Wittenberg football. A four-year letterwinner and starter, Borland led the Tigers in tackles in 1967, and he added team MVP and Golden Helmet honors a year later as a senior. A two-time first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) selection, Borland was a member of Tiger teams that compiled four-year records of 28-7 overall and 14-5 in the OAC and won the 1966 conference title. A native of Wilmerding, Pa., Borland now resides in Roswell, Ga.

Pat Williams Clouse is one of the most influential people in the history of women's sports at Wittenberg. After excelling in a number of sports during her undergraduate career at Wittenberg, including field hockey, volleyball, basketball and softball, Clouse coached seven different sports and taught for three years at Tecumseh High School in New Carlisle, Ohio. She returned to her alma mater in 1968 to join the Physical Education Department faculty and to serve as adviser of the Spray Misses, a synchronized swimming program. Clouse went on to serve as the first coach in three different varsity sports: women's swimming and diving (1970), women's lacrosse (1972) and women's golf (2003). She enjoyed her most success in 23 years as head coach for the women's swimming and diving program as her teams never had a losing dual meet record and four individuals earned All-America awards. She coached while teaching thousands of students as an associate professor in what is now known as the Health, Fitness and Sport Department. A native of Aurora, Ohio, Clouse currently resides in South Vienna, Ohio.

Wendel Donathan is the most decorated wrestler in Wittenberg history. A four-year letterwinner, Donathan posted a career record of 106-28-4, making him the only Wittenberg wrestler to ever win 100 career matches. He was Wittenberg's team MVP in each of his four years in the Red & White, and he placed first, second and third at the OAC tournament in his senior, junior and sophomore years, respectively. He capped his career with OAC Most Outstanding Wrestler honors as a senior, before becoming the first and only Tiger wrestler to earn All-America honors with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships. A native of Mt. Orab, Ohio, Donathan currently resides in Somerville, Ohio.

A four-year letterwinner in track and field, David Helm became one of three Tigers in Wittenberg history to score more than 100 individual points in two consecutive OAC Championship meets. Helm served as team captain and earned team MVP honors in both the 1968 and 1969 seasons. He placed in the OAC in at least one event in each of his four collegiate seasons, including first-place finishes in the OAC and NCAA Small College Regional Championship long jump competitions in 1968. Helm still holds the Wittenberg stadium record in the long jump with a mark of 22 feet, 2 and inches. A native of Kettering, Ohio, Helm now resides in Bay Village, Ohio.

Don Lynam was a standout on the basketball court at Wittenberg, earning three letters while starting on teams that compiled records of 61-16 overall and 30-7 in the OAC. Lynam helped the Tigers to two consecutive OAC regular season championships in 1973 and 1974, and two OAC Tournament championships in 1974 and 1975. Wittenberg won four NCAA Division III Tournament games in Lynam's years as a starter as well. A team captain as a senior, Lynam earned first-team All-OAC twice in his career. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Lynam currently resides in his adopted hometown of Springfield.

Jennifer Parsons is one of a select group of Wittenberg student-athletes to earn 12 varsity letters in her Wittenberg career, a salute to her contributions to the volleyball, basketball and softball programs between 1990 and 1994. Amazingly, between her 12 seasons as a student-athlete and 14 more volleyball and basketball seasons in seven years as an assistant coach at Wittenberg, Parsons experienced just one losing season (1991 softball). In basketball, Parsons was a team captain and a second-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) selection as a senior. In volleyball, Parsons earned three All-NCAC honors, and she served as team captain in 1993. She ranks fourth in school history with 119 blocks in a season, and her name appears on school record lists for career kills, attack percentage, blocks and digs. In softball, Parsons was a two-time second-team All-Central Region selection, and her name appears on numerous school records lists, including career batting average (second, .427) and career runs batted in (sixth, 74). Parsons now resides in Lexington, Ohio, and serves as an assistant volleyball coach at Ashland University.

Written By: Leslie Clark '10