WILMINGTON – The 2015 class of the Wilmington College Athletics Hall of Fame will be inducted Saturday and honored at the Quakers Homecoming football game at Townsend Field.
The class of five features an athletic training pioneer, two multiple time All-Americans and two All-American soccer players.
The inductees are Hank Benedict, Josie Eilerman Crawford, Bjorn Lidman, Paul Sparling and Jonas Svensson.
Following is a brief bio on each inductee:
HANK BENEDICT, class of 2003, is a three-time All-American in track and field and is still the school record holder in the indoor weight throw.
He placed third in the 2002 indoor weight throw, while earning outdoor All-American honors in the hammer following the 2001 and 2002 season.
While competing in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Benedict claimed the league championship in both the shot put and hammer en route to being named field events MVP in 2000.
Benedict was dominant in the hammer, claiming the All-Ohio outdoor championship for four straight seasons. The OAC didn’t sponsor the event during Benedict’s years at Wilmington.
Benedict was the OAC runner up in the shot put in 2001 and 2002.
He chose Wilmington because he wanted to attend an agriculture school and participate in both football and track/field. But ultimately, he chose to concentrate only on field events.
“I wanted to only concentrate on the hammer and weight,” said Benedict. “But out of respect to coach (Ron) Combs and the team, I competed in the shot put and discus as well.”
He attributes his success to not only Combs, but to his parents, Pat and Nelson Benedict. They missed just one meet during his high school and college career.
Despite his success, Benedict didn’t think he accomplished enough to join the Hall.
“I didn’t win a title,” said Benedict. “I was pretty stocked, but I didn’t think I would make it in.”
Benedict lives on his family’s 350-acre farm in Fleming with his wife Callie and their two children, Mariska, 4, and Mariah, 14 months.
JOSIE EILERMAN CRAWFORD, class of 2001, was in some respects the start of an impressive run in which six Wilmington College women’s basketball post players earned All-America honors over a 12-year span.
Crawford earned All-American honors following the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons. During her four-year career, WC won at least 20 games, but only had one NCAA tournament appearance. In her career, the Fightin’ Quakers went 81-21, losing more than five games just once.
She is one of four Wilmington College players ranked in the top 10 in both points and rebounds. Crawford is seventh in school history with 1,500 points and sixth with 741 rebounds. Her career shooting percentage (.489) is seventh in school history.
Crawford is married to former WC football player Dave Crawford and they live in Cincinnati with their three children.
BJORN LIDMAN, class of 2003, is a three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection and a 2001 All-American.
Coming from his native Sweden, Lidman quickly acclimated himself to Wilmington College and American soccer.
“I had the best time of my life at Wilmington College,” said Lidman. “At first, the football experience was very different compared to Sweden. Back home we had more structure and were tactically solid but I loved the physical football in college and the individual skill of most players. I have such strong memories from travelling with the team and playing in the national tournament was amazing. I really felt at home from my first day at Wilmington. The team was like close family and everyone at the school was friendly as well. I think it was the perfect match for me to join the Wilmington family.”
During his time with the Fightin’ Quakers, the men’s program claimed three league championships and advanced to the NCAA tournament following all three title seasons. Wilmington posted a 63-13-8 record during Lidman’s four-year career.
As a defender, Lidman was a key figure as Wilmington held teams scoreless in 36 games during his stellar career.
Even following a phenomenal career, joining the Wilmington Hall of Fame wasn’t on his radar.
“I know I had a good career and the team did really well, but the Hall of Fame was never on my mind,” said Lidman. “I was surprised and very honored. I was also happy to get a chance to come back to Wilmington and meet a lot of old friends.”
Following graduation, Lidman earned his master’s degree in business management from Hawaii Pacific in 2006. He worked at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Honolulu before returning home to Katrineholm, Sweden, where he works for Ericsson.
He is still playing soccer for Ericsberg, while also serving as an assistant coach. Lidman is single and living in Sweden with his dog Pysen.
PAUL SPARLING, class of 1981, is one of the first graduates of Wilmington College’s athletic training program, and his influence in the professional community has greatly enhanced the experience of the many students that have followed.
Through his work as the head athletic trainer for the Cincinnati Bengals, he has hired an AT intern nearly every year without fail.
“I know the student I get from Wilmington College is a top-notch person and athletic training student,” said Sparling. “It’s a way of giving back to Wilmington College because of what Wilmington College gave to me. They have quality instruction from Larry Howard, Brian Dykhuizen and the rest of the staff.”
Sparling knows a thing or two about how the Wilmington College hands-on experience benefits all involved.
“A small school setting led to a big league opportunity,” said Sparling.
It started with a letter from Roger Tewksbury to a nine-time letter winner for athletic training in 1977 as WC was launching its AT program. From there, Sparling took advantage of the Cincinnati Bengals using Wilmington College as its summer home for training camp, which at that time was almost nine weeks long.
He started in the laundry room, moved to the equipment room and eventually found his way into the training room. His first airplane trip came courtesy of the Bengals organization and Sparling never really left. Following graduation, the Orthopedic Group of Cincinnati, which enabled him to maintain his ties with the Bengals organization, hired him and he moved through the ranks to where he is now, the head athletic trainer for the Cincinnati Bengals.
JONAS SVENSSON, class of 2001, was equally impressive on the soccer pitch and the classroom, earning All-America and Academic All-America honors following his senior season.
Wilmington won two HCAC titles and one OAC crown in during his career, and advanced to two NCAA tournaments. The Fightin’ Quakers were 66-15-7 during his four-year stay, and with all of the success, Svensson figured this day could be in the works.
“I was pretty sure that I had good chances on being elected,” said Svensson. “My career at WC was vey successful with the All-America awards being the highlight. But the competition is hard and I was very happy when I received the news 15 years after graduation.”
Even 15 years following the end of his time on the Wilmington College campus, the memories bring a smile to his face.
“It started in the basement of Friends and ended with an All-American award and graduation,” said Svensson. “Everything in between was a fantastic journey. It took some time to adapt to the college way of playing soccer. It was a great difference to what I was used to. I feel that everyone was very responsive to my knowledge in the game and also the experience that I had.”
It was an experience that was almost short-circuited as he had the opportunity to return to Sweden. However, he chose to continue his soccer career and finish his studies stateside — a decision he “never regretted.”
Svensson works as a marketing and export manager for Keddy, a company that manufactures and sells fireplaces. He started as a sales manager following graduation.
He lives in Stockholm with his wife Lisa and their two children Moa, 5, and Alex, 3.
