By Maddie Moran

Sports Editor

This week, April 7 through 13, is national Division 3 (D3) week, which is being celebrated in stride with daily events hosted by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). The week kicked off with a student athlete appreciation breakfast on Monday morning — complete with muffins, bagels, fruits, chocolate milk and orange juice. There were also cards for athletes to write and send out to coaches, parents, professors and anyone else who has impacted their D3 athletic journey.

“Being engaging and even having fun are certainly two aspects that our Student Athlete Advisory Committee tried to bring to the forefront of our D3 Week celebrations,” said SAAC advisor Libby Ladrach. “We have planned opportunities to connect with one another sharing breakfast, and even our greater Wooster community by welcoming kids to school on Friday morning in our varsity uniforms.”

Tuesday featured a Fighting Scots Field Day, with activities including cornhole, ladder ball, footballs for tossing around, spike ball, can jam and the big seller: pie in the face. Student athletes lined up to pie an assortment of coaches and other staff from the athletic department who came in for half hour shifts. The first shift was women’s lacrosse head coach Liz Ford and assistant coach Katie Shideler along with their athletic trainer Dane Moore. All three were a big hit among their players, especially on game day.

The next shift was the men’s soccer head coach Andy Zidron and director of Sports Medicine Nate Huston, who brought in crowds of men’s soccer and lacrosse players. Other athletes who spend a good deal of time in the training room — either for treatment or employment — took this opportunity to show Huston how much he is appreciated.

The main event — Assistant Athletic Director of Communications Kevin Smith, head softball coach Vic Rumph, head women’s tennis coach Amy Behrman and Athletic Director Lynn Holleran — raked in a good deal of athletes from all different teams. Overall, the event brought in over 200 dollars for the SAAC funds.

Wednesday included a fun twist on integrating academics and athletics. Student athletes were encouraged to take their coaches to class with them and adversely, their professors to practice. The day concluded with a men’s lacrosse game at 7 p.m., featuring the band with a Wooster favorite, the bagpipes.

Thursday was dubbed “Thank You Thursday”. To recognize this effort, SAAC distributed mason jars of thank-you notes to the athletic staff who aid athletes off the field, including athletic trainers, the strength and conditioning coach, facilities and equipment managers and everyone working behind the scenes from the third floor of the Scot Center. Keeping with appreciating Wooster staff, a student-staff pickleball tournament was hosted at 6 p.m. for students to compete with a staff or faculty member of their choosing.

“I’m personally most excited for the DeStress Fest we’re doing and pairing with [the Wellness Center] on Friday,” said Chloe Pordash ’26, a Scot spirit coordinator for SAAC. “A lot of spring athletes are in season right now and it can be very stressful, especially with all of the games we have on Saturday and I’m sure there are a lot of nerves for that. We’re creating a space for athletes to just chill out and relax your brain.”

To end the academic week, today, Friday, April 11, SAAC is hosting a highly anticipated DeStress Fest — complete with activities like legos, balloon stress ball making, coloring sheets and playdoh. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Scot Center. This comes after a visit to the four local elementary schools in uniform to welcome the children in for the day.

“This is a great week for our students to celebrate being D3 athletes, and I am certainly proud of the efforts SAAC has put forth to make it the best yet,” said Ladrach.

Cheer on the Scots at their many home games this weekend to bring D3 week to a close and have a chance to catch a t-shirt from the t-shirt toss at each game.