Press Releases

WINONA LAKE – Grace College announced a pair of headliners Tuesday pertaining to its athletic department.

Harman Resigns From Grace Softball

Sarah Harman announced this week she is resigning from her head coaching position at Grace College. InkFreeNews file photo by Mike Deak

Sarah Harman has decided to step aside as the head coach of Grace’s softball team.

Harman cited the desire to pursue professional endeavors outside of athletics as the reason for stepping down as well as the ability to spend more time with her family. She leaves Grace after three seasons.

The Lady Lancers were NAIA Scholar-Teams (3.0 overall team GPA) in each of Harman’s seasons, and she also secured strong recruiting classes to help build the program.

The program will be led in the interim by Hannah Swartzentruber, an assistant coach under Harman. Swartzentruber will direct the Lady Lancers through the spring season. “We would like to thank Sarah Harman for her pursuit of Christian excellence and guidance of our softball program at Grace,” said Grace Director of Athletics Chad Briscoe. “She has faithfully impacted lives for the Lord through softball. We support her decision and wish her all the best going forward. She has built a strong culture and helped the ladies grow in their faith.”

The Lady Lancers’ season is scheduled to begin on Feb. 13 with a doubleheader at IU Southeast.

A national search for Grace’s next softball head coach will begin later this spring.

Grace Announces Update To MOCC Policy For Basketball

A new update has been posted for fan policies and procedures at home events for Grace College basketball. The update will be in effect beginning Jan. 5 and will continue until further notice.

Kosciusko County recently transitioned to “red” status, per the state’s COVID-19 data. These changes are a direct reflection of that county update.

All information is subject to change based on state and county guidelines.

Grace’s home basketball games will be streamed online (HD) free of charge at www.gclancers.com/live.

Lancer fans wanting to attend an away game should verify the fan attendance policy on the Crossroads League’s website (www.crossroadsleague.com/cl-covid19-information) prior to traveling.

“We appreciate the Grace senior cabinet for allowing us to have a limited number of fans and employees to attend games,” said Grace Director of Athletic Chad Briscoe. “We must remain vigilant to maintain a safe environment for all fans, and tightening our protocols provides that for all in attendance.”

COVID-19 POLICIES FOR SPECTATORS

All fans will be required to wear masks at all times in the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. The reinforced mask policy includes family groups, who must wear a mask inside the arena.

There will be no medical exceptions allowed for fans to not wear a mask; all spectators will be required to observe these protocols.

Family groups are allowed to sit together, but all other attendees must sit socially distanced. (Family group defined as: mother/father/guardian/sibling/grandparents. Friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. are not considered “family group” and are not permitted to sit in close proximity).

If fans or parents are unable to comply with the updated policy, it will affect Grace’s ability to host parents and fans moving forward this season.

WHO CAN ATTEND HOME GAMES AT GRACE

Each Grace player is given a small allotment of tickets to share at their discretion.

Grace is also allowing a limited number of employees to attend games, which can be done by reserving an online ticket at www.gclancers.com/tickets. These employee tickets are free and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once the maximum allowance of tickets for a particular game are reserved, the game will be deemed “sold out” online.

Grace will not allow fans from visiting schools or members of the general public to attend basketball contests at Grace at this time.

No one will be permitted to attend without either a valid ticket (Grace employees) or appearing on the pass list. For those on the student-athlete pass list, ID must be presented to verify each attendee’s identity.