Gene's Blog: Our "gringo" makes an impression on kids... and vice versa

January 27, 2010

St. Thomas' Ben Wartman figuratively hit for a college sports triple crown in 2009 with three elite national accomplishments.

He won an NCAA championship ring in baseball last May as a sophomore catcher. He had two hits and threw out two base runners in the Tommies' 3-2, 12-inning national championship victory over Wooster.

In football, the junior running back was one of only two Division III players to make both first-team All-America and first team CoSIDA Academic All-America. His 24 touchdowns in 2009 broke a 19-year-old school record, and his 1,861 rushing yards were the second most in one season in conference history. He helped UST finish the season with the No. 5 national ranking and reach the NCAA quarterfinals in the school’s first postseason berth in 19 seasons.

Wartman will likely be a strong candidate as senior in 2010-2011 for several elite awards, including an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. His 3.87 grade-point average in Finance is among the best of all UST junior or senior student-athletes.

Wartman recently had another unique opportunity for personal growth. He traveled to Costa Rica for a volunteer trip Jan. 7-16 with his girlfriend, former Tommie basketball player Jenni Gillard; her parents, John and Gail Gillard; her sister Kristen, her brother Tim; and her sister Melissa, her husband Adam Runk, and their daughter Isabelle. Runk is former Iowa State football player, but the rest of the Gillards are Tommie graduates.

The group went to Camp Penuel, a faith-based camp for underprivileged children in a rural area of Costa Rica. (Camp website: http://www.cp-cr.org/Home_Page.php)

Founded in 1973, the camp relies on all volunteers and private donations. “It’s just people lending their time for a greater cause, they believe in the camp and the kids,” Wartman said.

Wartman said the opportunity to mingle with youth from a different culture was both rewarding and unforgettable.

“We had to travel through treacherous rock and dug out roads to get there,” he said. “We volunteered our time doing odds-and-ends jobs, but mainly interacting with the kids was our experience. Kids come there for three days totally free to play, do arts and crafts, and learn about Jesus or as they say 'Jesus Christo.'

“The best part was interacting and playing with the kids. I kind of got attached to them, even though I couldn't even communicate with them as they didn’t speak English.  I showed them how to play ‘Futbol Americano’ as they call it. It was kind of funny to see them try to do something they have never learned, especially when a tall 'gringo' as they called me was teaching them in English.”

Wartman said everyone in the group plans to return to Camp Penuel in the future.

This was Wartman’s second opportunity to travel overseas. He once trekked to Germany to visit his uncle, who is stationed there. “That trip was unbelievable and propelled me to take German as a language.”

Well-rounded

Balance has been important to Wartman, the son of two teachers and the recipient of the Star Tribune’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award at Prior Lake High in 2007. His dad Mike is a Communications teacher at Normandale Community College and at St. Olaf College (" A little trash talking goes on there," Ben said.). His mother Jodene teaches Communications at Eagan High and coaches that school’s speech team. His sister works in South Dakota as a TV meteorologist.

“My parents did not allow me to play football until sixth grade,” he explained. Besides excelling in sports and academics, Wartman played trumpet in his high school band. He has a 5-handicap in golf, and worked last summer at The Meadows at Mystic Lake Golf Course.

PHOTO: Wartman (8) rushed for 100 or more yards in 12 of 13 games last fall.

"Ben is the consummate Tommie football player -- he strives for excellence in everything he does," said UST football coach Glenn Caruso. "Here is a young man who's a first team All-American, and a first-team Academic All American while maintaining a very nice gpa in a rigorous major, and in his free time from all that he takes the time to make mission trips to places that need help. What I love about our kids is that they love challenging themselves in every single facet of their lives, and Ben is a bright, shinging example of that."

Wartman recently made what he called an "extremely difficult" decision to pass up his junior season with Tommie baseball.

“After a few months of deliberation, I decided I am not going to play baseball this year,” he said. “The time commitment, the health factor, and my dedication to football has pushed me that way.

"I’m sure the team will have another great season. They still have a coach who loves the game and his players, and truly have top-of-the-line athletes and people who will stop at nothing less than a repeat championship.”

Wartman's first leg of the Costa Rica trip probably helped put life into perspective.

"Our 5 a.m. flight from the Twin Cities was delayed four hours, so we missed our connecting flight in Atlanta and then the next flight out of there was delayed two hours," Wartman said. "We ended up leaving at 9:30 that night after an all-day airport extravaganza. We landed in Costa Rica at 2:30 in the morning, and all eight of us with our luggage somehow packed into a small van and took the hour-long journey up and down hills and roads, being passed by everyone the whole way because we were driving 20 miles per hour."

A high achiever like Ben Wartman is not used to going slow and getting passed. But in Costa Rica he discovered there's a time and place to take a road less traveled, especially when the reward is a chance to be a little kid again.

The Gillard family and Ben Wartman enjoyed their experience at the camp.

The tall "gringo" made an impression, and vice versa