Four former student-athletes were inducted into the EMU Athletics Hall of Honor on Oct. 9. The 25th annual ceremony, held at MainStage Theater, featured tributes to 2026 honorees Sarah Roth Shank ’10, Ryan Eshleman-Robles ’13, Hannah Chappell-Dick ’16, and Jess (Rheinheimer) Bishop ’16.
Sarah Roth Shank ’10, field hockey
Presented by teammate Kristina Landis Yoder ’08
Roth Shank brought energy and laughter to practices and games, uplifted and encouraged her teammates, and brought a combination of positivity and tough love that elevated play and team morale, Landis Yoder said.
“She sprinted to every ball, her small passing game was strong, and she was feisty in the circle,” she said. “She genuinely found joy in the game and her determination was contagious.”
During her four seasons on the team, Roth Shank helped lead the team to four consecutive ODAC championship game appearances. After graduating with a degree in history, she served as assistant coach of the field hockey team and earned an MA in conflict transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding in 2014. In 2017, she and her husband moved to New Zealand, where she completed a PhD in public policy. They now live in Columbus, Ohio, where she teaches at Ohio Wesleyan University.
Accepting the honor, Roth Shank said she was “genuinely surprised” to hear she was considered for it.
“I have never been the most skilled on the field,” she said. “I’ve never been the highest goal scorer, nor broken records for defensive saves. … However, in reflecting and preparing for this speech, there is one label that came to mind that I will own. I am a workhorse. I am committed, competitive, and driven. When I think back on my team, it was full of workhorses like me.”
Ryan Eshleman-Robles ’13, men’s soccer
Presented by former coach Roger Mast ’85
Defenders are rarely inducted into the Hall of Honor, Mast said, with the recognition typically going to attacking players. But Eshleman-Robles’ legacy at EMU extends far beyond the goals he prevented, games he played, and records he helped establish.
“His legacy is defined by the way he competed, the way he represented his teammates and his university, and the lasting impact he made on the EMU soccer program,” Mast said. “He helped create a culture in which teammates challenged one another to become better players and better people.”
A double major in biology and philosophy and theology, Eshleman-Robles appeared in 77 matches as a center back in his four seasons. In 2012, he was named the ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He recently completed his PhD at Texas Tech University and now teaches English at Eastern Mennonite School and coaches its varsity boys soccer team.
Eshleman-Robles, in his speech at the ceremony, recounted some of the mistakes from the field that still linger in his mind.
“Being a defender is sort of an inherently negative thing,” he said. “You’re always in worst-case scenario mode, thinking, ‘What is the worst thing that could happen and how do I keep that from happening?’ You expect the worst, and you definitely don’t expect a call from the Hall of Honor.”
“Thanks for helping me remember that I was who I wanted to be, at least most of the time,” he said.
Hannah Chappell-Dick ’16, women’s cross-country and track and field
Presented by former coach Jason Lewkowicz
Lewkowicz recalled his first season coaching at EMU in 2011 and recruiting Chappell-Dick, whom he described as “Ivy League caliber, athletically and academically.” The former coach, who now serves as director of athletics for Bethel University (Indiana), said he’s often asked to define success.
“My answer is predicated on being faithful to what’s been entrusted to you,” he said. “When I think of someone who modeled that, who was faithful with what was entrusted and continues to be, Hannah is one of those people.”
A biology major, Chappell-Dick qualified twice for the NCAA national championships in cross-country. In track and field, she won 11 ODAC championships and qualified for five national championships. She now serves as head cross-country coach and assistant men’s and women’s track and field coach at Amherst College.
Chappell-Dick read entries from a running log she kept as a student. From her first day of college training in 2012 to her last workout at EMU in May 2016, she shared her experiences navigating obstacles and recovering from injuries, running to clear her head, forming friendships with teammates, and competing for championships.
“I think about everything we experienced in our sport,” she said. “All the lessons we keep learning about the world and about ourselves. The confidence gained and shattered and rebuilt again. The failure that didn’t break us. I feel so fortified for life by all this failure. I have a framework now for facing hard things.”
Jess (Rheinheimer) Bishop ’16, women’s basketball
Presented by former coach Kevin Griffin ’93
Griffin shared four stories illustrating Bishop’s character, from watching her play in high school while recruiting her older sister, Steph, to her first game off the bench, when she scored 14 points against Messiah College. He connected Bishop’s humility to Proverbs 27:2: “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.”
“Somehow, with all your humility and all your abilities and all the class that anybody has ever played with, you managed to win every individual accolade you could win and won a bunch of games as a teammate and you let other people praise you and you didn’t call any attention to yourself,” he said.
A nursing major from Manheim, Pennsylvania, Bishop helped lead the Royals to an 84-26 record and two ODAC Tournament championship game appearances during her four years at EMU. She was awarded the Jostens Trophy, which recognizes the top Division III basketball player nationwide, and finished her career with the third-most points in program history.
She shared some of the moments she’ll never forget from her time on the team, including the early morning workouts, bus rides, and team dinners at the caf. She also dedicated the honor to her mom, who was diagnosed with colon cancer during her senior year of high school and underwent chemotherapy treatments for six years before passing away in 2018.
“She was EMU’s biggest fan and sacrificed so much to get to all of our home games,” Bishop said. “Watching us play basketball was one of her true joys in life and I truly believe that kept her fighting for all the years she did. She was a proud Royal and I couldn’t accept a selection to the Hall of Honor without mentioning her and my dad.”
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