Harford Community College Launches First Fighting Owl Celebration Week

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Weeklong activities celebrate the student-athlete and include soccer championships, 5K, championship rings presented to the women’s lax team and Athletic Hall of Fame induction and signage unveiling

Harford Community College is hosting its first Fighting Owl Celebration Week: Honoring the Past, Present and Future of Harford Athletics from October 28 through November 2. The weeklong activities celebrate the student-athlete and feature men’s and women’s soccer championships, a 5K race, presentation of national championship rings to the women’s lacrosse team and the Athletic Hall of Fame induction and signage unveiling.

Harford Community College, a Division I institution, offers its students 13 sports (baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis and women’s volleyball). The College is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association, Region 20, and the Maryland Junior College Conference.

During the previous academic year, Harford Community College won seven conference titles, five regional titles, one district title and one national championship. Seven of the teams qualified for an automatic NJCAA Division I National Tournament berth. In addition, the College hosted three Region 20 championships and three District championships, the highest in the region.

The Fighting Owl Celebration Week was started to bring attention to the outstanding accomplishments of the College’s student-athletes.

“Students at Harford Community College embody what a student-athlete is. They excel in the sports they play and also in the classroom,” said Estevan Vasquez, athletic director at Harford Community College. “In addition, they know the value of being active community members. Fighting Owl Celebration Week allows us to shine the spotlight on our students who accomplish great things while they are at Harford and beyond.”

The week begins with the NJCAA Men’s and Women’s Soccer Region 20 Championships, held at the Harford Sports Complex on the Harford Community College campus from October 29-November 2. The games are open to the public, and tickets may be purchased at the gate prior to each contest. For more information, visit harfordathletics.com.

Screech’s Night Owl 5K, presented by APG Federal Credit Union on November 1 at 7 p.m., is an evening glow run that supports scholarships for Harford Community College’s student-athletes. Race participants will run on a new course through the College’s campus and will receive refreshments, a premium long-sleeve race T-shirt, wearable glow items and other swag. Medals will be awarded to the top male and female overall and top three male and female runners in each age category. Entry fees are $30 in advance (by October 28) or $35 the evening of the race. To register, sponsor or donate, visit www.harford.edu/screech.

Fighting Owl Celebration Week concludes on November 2 with the presentation of championship rings to the women’s lacrosse team, induction of two new members into the Athletic Hall of Fame and the unveiling of new signage for the Hall of Fame. The events start at 11 a.m. at the Harford Sports Complex. While there is no fee to attend, registration is required by contacting Lanell Patrick via email at [email protected] or at 443-412-2563.

At the November 2 event, the women’s lacrosse team, who won the NJCAA National Championship in the spring, will be presented their championship rings. The women’s lacrosse championship is the first national championship won by a Harford Community College team in the athletic program’s modern era.

Being inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame are Kate Tiburzi Bohlen, who played for the Fighting Owls women’s tennis team from 2008-10, and Joe Harbach, who played baseball from 2009-10. Bohlen helped the Fighting Owls win back-to-back Region 20 tournaments from 2008-09. Harbach holds several batting and pitching records for Harford Community College.

Harford Community College’s Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1992. The Office of College and Alumni Development partnered with the Athletics Department in 2014 to revive the tradition. Permanent signage honoring all the Athletic Hall of Fame inductees will be unveiled at the November 2 event.

“Harford Community College has enjoyed a long history of strong athletic programs, and I am proud of our students’ accomplishments,” said Lanell Patrick, assistant director for development and coordinator of the Fighting Owl Celebration Week. “The Athletic Hall of Fame is an ideal way to recognize both the athletic and personal achievements of our dedicated alumni athletes, coaches and faculty.”

While athletics and academics are important to Harford Community College student-athletes, also important is community service. Recent examples include the women’s lacrosse team donating blankets to the Kaufman Cancer Center at University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health; the baseball and softball teams participating in Harford Family House’s Home Runs for the Homeless; and the men’s basketball team serving a meal and handing out gifts at Word of Faith in Aberdeen.

For more information about Fighting Owl Celebration Week, visit harford.edu/alumni. For more information about Harford Athletics, visit harfordathletics.com.

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