Ben Beidleman and Michael Beidleman
Posted: Jan 19, 2015
By: Matt Schickler
BEREA, Ohio -- When Baldwin Wallace University junior sprinters Michael and Ben Beidleman (Washington, D.C./St. Anselm's Abbey) graduated from high school in the spring of 2012, they both wanted to compete at the NCAA Division I level. So, Ben went off to Loyola of Maryland to run cross country and track and Michael headed south to Coker (S.C.) College to run track. Neither ended up happy with their decisions.
Enter BW.
"We encourage others to do the same thing we did," said Ben, who carries a 3.98 grade point average in economics and accounting, was a Division III All-American and a CAPITAL ONE Division III Academic All-American last spring. "Go on-line and explore the university and all that it has to offer academically and athletically.
"We found that BW fit our needs both in terms of having a very strong business program and a track program that has a great history and tradition of success," continued Ben. "It definitely was the right decision for us."
The duo visited the school and liked what they saw both academically and athletically.
Ben was the first to transfer to BW. He competed in cross country at Loyola of Maryland in the fall of 2012 and then became a Yellow Jacket in January 2013. He is running his third season of indoor and outdoor track this winter and spring and is one of the top sprinters in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
Michael was at Coker for a full year. He followed Ben to Berea in January of 2013 after he noticed that Ben was happy and achieving success as a member of the Yellow Jacket track team. He ran indoor track last winter and joined Ben, Shawn Cordes '14 and Kevin Johnson '15 in more success on the school record-setting 4x200-meter relay team that placed second at the OAC Championship Meet in 1:30.18. An injury sidelined him during the spring.
"I came with Benjamin when he originally visited the school," said Michael, an economics and accounting major who carries a 3.817 grade point average in the classroom. "I talked with coach Taraschke and I liked both the school and the track program. Then, after Ben transferred it just felt like a good fit for me too. I also talked to then sprint coach Jordan Hill '09 during the decision process. They [Ben, Taraschke and Hill] convinced me to come to Baldwin Wallace."
"I was looking to transfer from my other school," said Ben. "I originally went to Loyola (Md.) University for my freshman year.
"I happened to come across BW and was looking at the regional rankings for schools," continued Ben. "The school looked good academically and I also saw that they had a track team and I wanted to continue to compete. I did not run track my freshman year. It all just came together and BW was really the only school I wanted to transfer to. I came and visited and felt it looked like this would be a really good fit."
Last season, both indoors and outdoors, was a breakout year for Ben. He earned All-OAC honors twice and All-Ohio honors twice. Ben capped his year by being a Division III All-American by placing eighth in the 200-meter dash at the 2014 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship Meet and then being tabbed as a first-team CAPITAL ONE Academic All-America student-athlete.
"I actually didn't even know what it [the CAPITAL ONE Academic All-America award] was," said Ben. "Jordan (Hill), our sprint coach last year, texted me and told me that I received it. I looked it up and found out about it. I felt sort of overwhelmed by it because so few student-athletes that actually receive it, compared to the huge number of athletes who run track. I think it's [being a CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN again] definitely something to strive for during the next two seasons. I feel it's hard work paying off, and it makes it all worth the effort."
Michael ran his first year last season in 2013-2014 and ran season bests of 7.20 seconds and 23.07 seconds in the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. His 60-meter time, which was set at the Bob Shannon Invitational was third-best on the team, and his 200-meter time that he set at the Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor Championships was second-best on the team.
After their first year together in Berea, the Beidleman brothers are very happy they are part of the Yellow Jacket family and will continue to bring more success to the University.
"Yes! I think it was the right selection," said Michael. "I have no regrets or anything. I think I'm fitting in well and getting acclimated. This is only my second semester, but it feels like BW is home now!"
"I have experienced a good amount of success both academically and athletically in my first two years, so I think it was a good choice and I don't regret it at all," said Ben.
Veteran Yellow Jacket Head Coach Dr. Bill Taraschke couldn't be more pleased. He has enjoyed coaching Michael and Ben since the time they arrived at BW.
"Ben contacted me first," said Taraschke, who has led Yellow Jacket cross country and track teams to 47 OAC titles. "When we talked, the one thing that impressed me most about Ben was the fact he was a good kid. Then, when he visited BW, I was impressed with both Ben and his mother. From that point forward, it was a no-brainer to go ahead and recruit him to BW."
Then came Michael, who left Coker after a year. He was just like Ben, a solid student and an outstanding runner but just not happy in his previous surroundings. Once he saw that Ben had found a happy home at BW, he decided to make the move too and became a Yellow Jacket.
Although Taraschke knows that both young men are tremendously talented in the classroom and on the track, he expects the Beidleman's to continue to excel at BW.
"I [Taraschke] told the president [Baldwin Wallace University President Robert C. Helmer] the other day, that any time we can get a young man like Ben, who is a great student, a great athlete and is a great person, at BW, we should do it," said Taraschke. "He's exactly the type of young man you want here at BW.
"In Ben's case, so far he's been doing really great and is in good shape," said Taraschke. "He has the talent and ability to still go out and achieve [Division III] All-American status this year."
While both Ben and Michael came to BW as accomplished student-athletes, both credit current sprint coach and BW Hall of Famer Craig Braithwaite '69, former sprint coach Jordan Hill '09 and two-time Division III national champion and former teammate Kevin Johnson '15 with being positive influences on their growth while at BW.
Braithwaite has long been one of the top sprint coaches in all of Division III. Hill inspired Mike and Ben to be strong people both are as a person and as an athlete. Johnson, who won NCAA Division III national titles last spring in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and will this spring, was a positive influence to the brothers.
"Coach Braithwaite has vast knowledge and experience and is one of the top sprint coaches in the country," said Ben. "Everyone on the track team, especially the sprinters respect his opinion."
"In my first semester here coach Jordan (Hill) and K.J. (Johnson) were both good role models for me follow," said Michael. "I was injured, so I didn't get a chance to run much last year, but they still accepted me as part of the team. They encourage me and kept me in the loop. They still treated me like a part of the BW track family."
"The coaches on the team and Kevin Johnson have been large influences on me since I came to BW," said Ben. "My first year, Coach Taraschke and K.J. made me feel a part of the team. Outside of athletics, my advisors, Dr. [Daphne] Chang [foreign language and literature] and Dr. [Linda] Chase [business administration], both took an interest in me from the beginning. They helped me decide academically what I wanted to do. They were willing to help me."
So, what else do the Beidelman's have planned for their future?
"When we graduate from BW, we both want to continue to run track, particularly on the British team," said Ben. "We are British citizens and hope to join the British National Team down the road, but first, Ben hopes to work at accounting firm in Washington D.C. and Michael hopes to enter in law enforcement back in Washington D.C. and close to home.
The 2015 Yellow Jacket indoor track and field season begins on Friday, January 23 when it hosts the annual Mid-January Meet on the Harrison Dillard Track inside the Lou Higgins Center at 5 p.m.