We Are Knox...

Reprinted with permission from The Knox Student.

Ryan Meier stands about 5'7" tall and weighs about 145 pounds soaking wet.
Although he is not the sort of physical specimen that leaps to mind when you think of a championship athlete, he is arguably the most successful current athlete at Knox. Just a sophomore, he already has two Midwest Conference Individual Golf Championships under his belt and was voted the most valuable player and next year's captain by his teammates on the Knox men's golf team. In addition, this year he captured two of the most prestigious athletic awards offered at Knox-the Cleaveland Bridgman Trophy, given to the male student-athlete with the outstanding performance in an individual sport, and the Harley Knosher Male Athlete of the Year award.

His is a face you don't see around campus too much because he's usually in one of two places-holed up studying in SMC or at Soangetaha Country Club working on his golf game. "I came to Knox primarily for the education, and I'm glad I did," Meier said. "I also love the game of golf, but I'm the type who has to work really hard at it, so I'm at the course as much as I can be."

Meier was just 17 when he began his career at Knox. His age, combined with his stature, earned him a nickname of Doogie Howser-the TV character who graduated from medical school at 16-among his golf teammates. "It's not my favorite nickname, but I don't mind it too much," Meier said. "It beats some of the others I've had -- things like Mighty Mouse, Mini-Me. At least I know the guys accept me."

Meier is excited about his role as captain next year, as well as the team's prospects. "It is a huge honor to be named captain, and I hope I can live up to the job," he said. "As far as next year goes, we're losing only two seniors, but we're bringing a lot of great players back . . . if we all play as well as we're capable, there's no reason we can't be the first Knox team to go to the national championships in a few years."

Head coach Tom Dranger says Meier's importance to the golf team isn't just in his playing ability. "Ryan is just a huge part of the team's success-not only with his own play, but in the way he helps the other guys. He's the one who's always out early, walking the course, checking pin placements and offering the other guys advice on how to play the holes that day. It's that type of thing that's going to make him a great captain."

Meier has more in common with Doogie Howser than his workload-he is no stranger to challenging academics. He currently carries a 3.86 grade point average as a chemistry major, and he plans to add physics as a second major or a minor next year. "I'm not sure yet what I want to do when I graduate, but I've always been interested in science. I think eventually I want to go to grad school and study forensic science, something like the guys on 'CSI.'"

If you want to find Meier this summer, check in his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois, where he'll be doing two things he loves-working on his golf game and umpiring baseball games. "I played baseball most of my life. I gave it up for golf a couple of years ago, but I love umpiring. It keeps me in the game in a way, and I like being around the kids."

Just as long as they don't call him Mighty Mouse.