Interviewees

Men’s Basketball

Garrett Sattazahn is from Morris, Connecticut, and is a sophomore majoring in social welfare. He loves going on hikes, playing golf, and is a self-proclaimed roller coaster fanatic. 

Michael Makiej is from Andover, Massachusetts, and is a freshman still deciding his major. He plays the guitar, sings, and has produced his own music that is out on Spotify. 

Men’s Soccer

Chase Gwynn is from Florida and transferred to Gordon at the end of his Junior year. He is a senior majoring in physics. He had never seen snow until he came to Gordon and Chase says that he has a really fluffy cat…like incredibly fluffy. 

Travis Singh is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is a senior majoring in biochemistry. He loves the ocean and water sports are one of his biggest hobbies. 

Wes Sprague is from San Diego but is a “military brat” so he moves around a lot and currently lives in Chicago. Wes is a senior majoring in biblical studies. He loves playing music, hunting, fishing, and shooting. 

What position do you play in basketball/soccer?

Garrett: Shooting guard/small forward 

Michael: Forward

Chase: Center-forward

Travis: Center-back

Wes: Goalie

What is your favorite and least favorite part about being in that position?

Garrett: My least favorite part is that sometimes I have to match up with guys that are like 6’7. For something I like, I like being off the ball. I’m pretty good with moving off the ball so it’s fun to set screens and get other people open.

Michael: My favorite part is catching the ball at the high post, get to the basket, and do a lefty or right layup. My least favorite is that I don’t get to shoot as many 3’s.

Chase: My favorite part is scoring goals. My least favorite is hanging out with center-backs most of practice.

Travis: My least favorite part is that you can’t take risks on the ball. If I play at center-mid or wing I can mess around on the ball and not really worry about giving up a goal. But, I love crunching people. If a player kicks the ball down the sideline, I get to put a shoulder into someone. 

Wes: The game can either be won or lost by you. That’s the bad side of it but it also gives you the motivation to work hard and do well.

What do you like most about playing basketball/soccer at Gordon and what are some of your favorite memories?

Garrett: Coming from a public school, it is really nice to be on a team that stands for Christ. The coaches have a Christ-centered view on everything we do. Some of my favorite memories are from last year when we played Endicott at a home game. They were the number one seed and we beat them on senior night.

Michael:  The guys are really accepting, genuine, and have lots of energy. They’re always asking me how I’m doing. In my senior year of high school, my main focus was to train for basketball. So when I had a really strong first game here at Gordon, all that hard work paid off. I didn’t expect to score 28 points at my first college game. That was crazy.

Chase: Favorite part is definitely being with the guys. It’s not every day that you get to be around teammates like that. My favorite memory is when I transferred in there was a freshman on the team named Juju. I told him he shouldn’t dribble a lot, and he just looked at me and said ‘ok.’ The next time he got the ball he dribbled around 8 people and scored.

Travis: My favorite part is getting to compete with some of my closest friends and it just builds great relationships. Some of my favorite memories…Probably when we won the conference championship my sophomore year. That was pretty special for us.

Wes: One, the family aspect, and two, the high-level program and our coaches treat it that way. My freshman year as a whole was awesome and my first experience of college soccer was so different than high school. Then, I would say winning conference. And then just all the family, family fun times. Call it family fun.

What is the biggest challenge about being a student-athlete?

Garrett: When I came as a freshman, I wasn’t the most organized person. Balancing college and sports was difficult but I’ve started to get a bit better. 

Michael: As a student-athlete, you need to get good rest so you can perform on the basketball court and academically. So managing time better and getting to bed early which is hard in college.

Chase: There’s lots of homework especially in my major. The hardest thing is finding time to get from practice to class without going directly and being all sweaty. Even if its difficult, getting a good nights sleep helps a lot. 

Travis: It takes up a lot of time especially in the fall when it’s practice every day and games on Saturday and Tuesday, so you only get Sunday off. It can be a lot at times especially when exams pile up. I’m also a decent procrastinator. So, I work a lot more efficiently when time is short so that’s been pretty helpful for me. 

Wes: Some student-athletes came for sports and care a lot more about sports than they do school. Sometimes we forget that it’s student-athlete. Not athlete-student.

What is your pump-up song?

Garrett: Pump up song? Oh geez. God’s Plan by Drake. 100%.

Michael: I really like Ariana Grande so maybe Positions. Most guys aren’t pumped up by that but I do. 

Chase: 22 by Taylor Swift

Travis: My pump-up song? Man. It’s a bit vulgar, but Doses & Mimosas. I don’t like listening to music that gets me hyped. I like something that gets me chilled out before games. I sometimes listen to country music too.  Not the typical pump-up music.

Wes: (laughs) Ha. If that’s going public. I got to think about it. My pump-up song? Oh my gosh (chuckles) Uh, I have to go public. Let me see what it’s called. We’ll keep it The Anthem By Griz.

What is your favorite book?

Michael: The Bible. I try to read it every day, even if it’s just one verse.

Chase: Favorite book? I can tell you it is not Electrostatics by David Griffin’s fourth edition, but…The Count of Monte Cristo

Travis: The Language of God by Dr. Francis Collins.

Wes: The Bible. (laughs) Just kidding well not kidding but… Redeeming Love

Do you have a favorite sports team?

Michael: I really like Duke and Kentucky. Celtics are obviously my favorite NBA team.

Chase: Florida Gators all the way. Go Gators! *does the Gator’s chomp*

Wes: Patriot’s fan (my dad and his dad were both Patriots fans before they were good. I was born into it. I’m not a bandwagon)

Who is your favorite superhero?

Garrett: Aquaman

Michael: Spiderman

Chase: Aquaman

Travis: Captain America

Wes: Superhero? I don’t know if this counts but I love Iron Man.

How would your friend describe you?

Chase: I’m sure that none of my close ones would have many nice things to say… but they’d probably describe me as introverted for the most part but kind of a clown. 

Wes: (laughs) That I want to put on paper? I don’t like this. Man of few words. Caring. Annoying. (laughs) You can add that. Protective.

What is your favorite movie, TV show, or video game?

Garrett: Lord of the Rings best movie trilogy out 100%. TV show: Psych that’s a good show. Video game: NCAA’14 football

What is your favorite post-game eat?

Chase: Post-game eat? I really like chocolate milk, honestly. Chocolate milks the go-to. It’s not necessarily an eat. 

What do you want to do after you graduate?

Garrett: Geez. I don’t even know. I’m a social welfare major so I am thinking about working in some type of homeless organization that helps people get connected with programs to get back on their feet. I’ve also thought about joining the police academy, but we’ll see.

Chase: Play soccer for as long as possible. Semi-pro or hopefully professional.

Travis: I’m trying to find a research position currently, but down the road either med school or biomedical engineering.

Wes: I know that at some point I’m called to missions in the Middle East. But what I’m doing directly after college, I have no idea. Maybe continue worship leading.

Who would you say is your role model when it comes to basketball/soccer?

Garrett: Definitely my dad. He’s been my coach and mentor throughout my whole childhood. He played college basketball, so he’s always set the bar for me.

Michael: Michael Jordan or my dad. My dad has told me a lot of advice about basketball and Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time. I watch film of Michael Jordan and try to mimic his game.

Chase: Hard to say that I can model my game around one player but when it comes to that probably Robert Lewandowski. 

Travis: My favorite player is Dybala but role model, that’s a tough one. We’ll just stick with Dybala.

Wes: I have a favorite keeper that a lot of my plays are based off of. But who I grew up loving was different. Manuel Neuer would be the guy right now. 

What advice would you give your freshman self?

Garrett: Oh geez. Get your priorities straight, get organized, and hit the weight room.

Travis: To get more involved with different clubs and to spend more time talking to my professors. I waited until junior year to do that and I wish I had those extra two years to develop a better relationship with them.

What is your favorite verse?

Garrett: Philippians 4:8

Michael: It’s actually my dad’s favorite verse, Galatians 2:20 “It’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.”

Chase: 1 Timothy 4:8 “For physical training is of some value but godliness has value in all things.” 

Travis: Jeremiah 29:11? Yeah. Wait no not that. It’s Proverbs 19: 21? Wow, I can’t believe I forgot it. I haven’t been asked that question in a while. But essentially, it’s when you’re given advice take it in and in the end, you will be wise. So, listen to your elders. 

Wes: 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 

The Gordon College Men’s Basketball Team just finished their season. They played all ten of their scheduled games, closing out the year with a 6-4 record. In the first game of the season, Freshman Michael Makiej came out with a record of 28 points. Also notable, in a game against Nichols College, sophomore Garrett Sattazahn scored a career-high of 35 points. 

The Gordon College Men’s Soccer Team has had a different season this year due to COVID-19. Out of the 9 game schedule, they have only played three games this season. They played Eastern Nazarene and won 6-0. The four games after this were canceled due to the other teams catching COVID. This past Thursday, April 22, the team played a 2 game series against Endicott and won 2-0. This was their first game since March 20. This past Sunday, April 25, they closed out the series with a win of 1-0. The team will play their next game on May 1.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not proport to reflect the opinions or views of the Gordon Review, editorial staff, or its members.