Ohio Wesleyan University will induct 8 former Battling Bishop standouts — 7 of them All-America or Academic All-America® selections — into the University's Athletics Hall of Fame and bestow the Dr. Robert M. Strimer Honor Award upon Charlie Hartigan '75 and the George Gauthier Award upon Catie Butt '91.  These individuals were selected in 2020 and will be formally recognized during ceremonies on Celebration Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 2.  For more information about Celebration Weekend, click here.

The 8 Hall of Fame inductees are:

• Owen Case '07 — He was an All-America defensive end in football.  His senior year, he was named North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week after recording 8 tackles and intercepting a pass at the OWU 45 with 2:13 to play, allowing the Bishops to run out the clock in a 17-10 win over Wittenberg.  He finished with a team-leading 7½ sacks and 14 tackles for loss, and 30 solos and 29 assists for 59 total tackles, ranking fourth on the team in total tackles, and was a first-team All-NCAC selection and an honorable mention All-America pick by the Football Gazette.  His junior year, he recorded 7 sacks and 20 tackles for loss among his 49 solos and 47 assists for 96 total tackles.  He led the NCAC in tackles for loss, tied for fourth in sacks, led NCAC linemen in total tackles and tied for fifth in the NCAC in total tackles.  He was a second-team All-NCAC pick.  As a sophomore, he moved to defensive end and rang up 5 sacks and 6 tackles for loss among his 36 solos and 27 assists (63 total), ranking second among linemen and fourth on the team in tackles.  He shared the NCAC lead in fumbles recovered (3) and tied for seventh in sacks.  He played safety his freshman year, compiling 22 solos and 15 assists to finish with 37 tackles.

• David Gatz '10 — A 5-time All-America swimmer, he was a 4-time NCAC champion in the breaststroke events.  As a freshman, he finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke and fourth in the 200 breaststroke.  His sophomore year, he won the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and  finished 19th in the 200 IM at the NCAC championship meet.  At the NCAA Division III championship meet, he won honorable mention All-America honors in both breaststroke events, finishing ninth in the 100 and 12th in the 200.  As a junior, he repeated as NCAC champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and added a 16th-place finish in the 200 IM.  At the NCAA Division III championship, he won All-America honors in the 100 with a sixth-place finish.  In the 200, he finished fourth to tie the best-ever individual finish by an Ohio Wesleyan swimmer.  He also competed in the 100 butterfly, placing 44th.  His senior year, he won All-NCAC honors with a third-place finish in the 200 breaststroke and made the championship final in the 100 breaststroke, finishing sixth, and added a 24th-place finish in the 200 IM.  At the NCAA Division III championship, he won honorable mention All-America honors with a 16th-place finish in the 100 breaststroke and finished 20th in the 200 breaststroke.  He was the third Ohio Wesleyan men's swimmer to be a 5-time All-America honoree and the third to be a 3-time All-American in a single event.

• Chris Goss '88 — An All-America defenseman in men's lacrosse, he helped the Bishops make their first appearance in the NCAA Division III national championship game.  As a senior, he was a first-team All-America, All-Midwest Lacrosse Association and All-NCAC selection as Ohio Wesleyan hosted the national championship game, losing to Hobart by a score of 18-9.  The Bishops went 15-2 that season and allowed only 90 goals.  He was a first-team All-MLA and All-NCAC selection as a junior as Ohio Wesleyan went 14-3 and reached the NCAA Division III national championship game for the first time, losing 9-5 to Hobart.  The Bishop defense allowed 89 goals that season, the lowest figure since 1972.  He won a starting spot in the Bishop close defense as a freshman and helped the team win 17 games, and helped Ohio Wesleyan advance to the NCAA Division III semifinals as a sophomore.

• Norman Lambacher '31 — An All-America sprinter, he set facility records at both Edwards Field and Selby Stadium.  His sophomore year, he won the 220-yard dash and placed second in the 100-yard dash, helping OWU win the Buckeye Conference championship.  Ohio Wesleyan went on to win the Big Six (Ohio Athletic Conference) meet that season.  He competed in the NCAA championship meet that year, finishing sixth in the 220-yard dash to win All-America honors.  As a junior, he shared the team lead in scoring.  He won the 220-yard dash and finished second in the 100-yard dash as Ohio Wesleyan finished second in the Buckeye championship meet.  He set an Edwards Field record by an Ohio Wesleyan runner in the 220-yard dash.  His senior year, he finished second in the 100-yard dash and second in the 220 as OWU finished second in the Buckeye championship meet.  He set Selby Stadium records for an Ohio Wesleyan runner in the 100 and 220 in Selby's first season of hosting track & field.

• Laura Marean '99 — An All-America swimmer, she was a 2-time honorable mention All-America and 2-time All-NCAC performer in the 100 backstroke.  As a freshman, she won the 100 backstroke at the NCAC championship meet.  At the NCAA meet that year, she finished 10th in the 100 backstroke and added a 25th in the 50 freestyle and a 28th in the 200 backstroke.  Her sophomore year, she won All-NCAC honors with a second in the 100 backstroke and was a member of relay teams that finished fourth in the 200 and 800 freestyles.  At the NCAA meet that year, she finished 12th in the 100 backstroke to repeat as an honorable mention All-America pick.  As a junior, she helped the 200 freestyle relay team finish fourth and the 800 freestyle relay team place fifth at the NCAC meet.  Her senior year, she helped the 400 medley relay team place seventh at the NCAC meet.

• Dustin Rudegeair '08 — A 2-time all-conference selection as a basketball post player, he finished his career with D3hoops.com All-America honors.  His freshman year, he started 5 games, averaging 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, ranking 13th in the North Coast Athletic Conference in rebounding.  As a sophomore, he won a starting spot and averaged 9.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, ranking 17th in the NCAC, and was named to the All-NCAC tournament team.  His junior year, he was named to the All-NCAC tournament team and averaged 12.8 points per game, leading the team and ranking 15th in the NCAC, and 5.9 rebounds, ranking second on the team and 13th in the NCAC, and was a second-team All-NCAC pick.  As a senior, he averaged 15.8 points per game, leading the team and ranking sixth in the conference, and 7.0 rebounds per game, ranking second on the team and seventh in the conference.  He was named Most Valuable Player in the NCAC tournament after scoring a career-high 29 points as Ohio Wesleyan defeated Wabash in the championship game.  In Ohio Wesleyan's first NCAA Division III tournament game in 20 years, he scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a win over Heidelberg, then had 17 points as the Bishops defeated Centre to advance to the sectional semifinals (final 16).  He was a first-team All-NCAC selection, received first-team all-district honors from the NABC and first-team all-region from D3hoops.com, and was a fourth-team All-America honoree by D3hoops.com.  He finished his career with 1311 points, ranking 13th on the OWU scoring list, and 633 rebounds.

• Rachel Seibel '10 — A 3-time all-conference softball pitcher, she was a 2-time selection as NCAC Pitcher of the Year.  Her freshman year, she saw time both at pitcher and in the outfield.  She had a breakout sophomore season, setting a school record with 15 strikeouts vs. Salem State and striking out the first 8 batters she faced against Mount St. Joseph in the first game at Margaret Sagan Field.  She made 21 starts and went 11-11 with a 1.39 ERA and a school-record 181 strikeouts.  She led the NCAC in ERA, strikeouts, and opponent BA (.196) and ranked third in wins.  She was a first-team All-NCAC pick and was named NCAC Pitcher of the Year.  As a junior, she finished with a 14-8 record and a 2.24 ERA, leading the league in strikeouts (143) and ranking second in wins, shutouts (5), third in opponent BA (.241) and fifth in ERA.  She was a second-team All-NCAC selection.  Her senior year, she compiled a 14-5 record with a 2.54 ERA, ranking third in the league in ERA, tying for third in wins, and ranking fourth in strikeouts (94) and opponent BA (.280).  She was a first-team All-NCAC choice and garnered her second NCAC PItcher of the Year citation.  She set OWU career records for wins (41), games started (74), shutouts (15), innings pitched (486.0), and strikeouts (444).  She also lettered 3 times in basketball, winning a starting spot as a defensive stopper her junior year, starting all 29 games and contributing 4.7 points per game as Ohio Wesleyan won the NCAC tournament and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament.

• Josh Warren '07 — He won both Academic All-America® and All-America honors as a men's soccer defender.  He won his first letter as a defender his sophomore year.  As a junior, he won a starting spot on the Bishop defense and was named to the Fred Myers Invitational all-tourmament team.  The Bishop defense compiled 10 shutouts and compiled a goals-against average of 0.66 that season.  He was a second-team All-NCAC selection, a second-team All-Ohio pick, and a first-team Academic All-America® selection as Ohio Wesleyan was 20-1-0, won the NCAC championship with a 9-0 record, won the NCAC tournament, and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament.  His senior year, he contributed 1 goal and 3 assists while leading a defense that allowed only 7 goals in 22 games and compiled 15 shutouts.  He was a first-team All-NCAC pick, first-team all-region, and second-team All-America choice, and was named Academic All-America® of the Year and first-team Academic All-America® as Ohio Wesleyan went 15-1-6, won the NCAC championship, and advanced to the national semifinals of the NCAA Division III tournament, advancing twice on penalty kicks during the tournament run.  

The 2020 class of inductees will be the 60th to be inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame and the 45th to include women.

The Dr. Robert M. Strimer Honor Award honors graduates of Ohio Wesleyan University who have made outstanding, widely recognized, and sustained contributions to the field of athletics.  Strimer first came to Ohio Wesleyan in 1941 as freshman coach in football, basketball, and track & field.  After serving 3 years in the U.S. Navy, he returned to Ohio Wesleyan and was named head men's basketball coach in 1946.  When George Gauthier retired as athletics director in 1955, Strimer was selected as his replacement.  Strimer retired in 1977 but remained active in athletic, alumni, and development affairs for over 2 decades.

Despite never having played lacrosse before coming to Ohio Wesleyan, Hartigan learned the game well enough to win All-MLA honors as a defensive midfielder and help the Battling Bishops to their first-ever NCAA playoff appearance.  He continued to play club lacrosse after graduating and served as a boys youth lacrosse coach for decades.  His being recruited to play in a tournament in Lake Placid, N.Y., led to the formation of a team of Ohio Wesleyan alumni that started to play in similar tournaments, and that team, now known as the OWU Legends, has seen more than 300 former Battling Bishops suit up, comprising one of Ohio Wesleyan's most populous and passionate alumni groups.

The George Gauthier Award honors graduates of Ohio Wesleyan University for exemplary, widely recognized, and sustained contributions to the Ohio Wesleyan athletics department, as an undergraduate on the playing fields, in the classroom, and as an alumnus providing lifelong support, interest and leadership.  The award also honors those who, through their acts of unselfish involvement, personify "Service Above Self."  Gauthier served as Ohio Wesleyan's athletics director from 1921-55.  He was the Battling Bishops' football coach from 1921-46, the Bishops' men's track & field coach from 1922-55, and the men's cross country coach from 1922-33, 1947-54, and 1957-59.

Butt won 4 letters in swimming at Ohio Wesleyan and helped the 400 freestyle relay team tie for sixth at the 1991 NCAA Division III championship meet, the best finish ever by an Ohio Wesleyan women's relay team.  She won 3 All-America citations as a member of relay teams during her Battling Bishop career.  Butt has continued her support of Bishop swimming and Ohio Wesleyan athletics through service on the Ohio Wesleyan Board of Trustees, as a women's swimming representative of the "W" Association, and through swimming alumni reunions.  She was inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.