COLUMBUS, Ohio – In 2008, the Ohio State student-athletes stepped outside of their usual concerns of school work, practice and competition to fight a bigger battle – a battle against cancer.

Between the football, women’s hockey and men’s lacrosse teams, the winter and spring seasons were sprinkled with various events all with one central theme – raising awareness and donations for various types of cancer.

In February, women’s hockey senior captain Tessa Bonhomme organized a surprise for teammate Mallory Peckels. To show Peckels’ mother Janice, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, she had a team of 23 Buckeyes battling with her, Bonhomme ordered breast cancer ribbon stickers to put on both the Ohio State and opponent Minnesota State’s helmets.

“The idea started with my two roommates, Erin Keys and Liana Bonanno, and I,” Bonhomme said. “We were watching sports highlights on T.V. and noticed all the women’s basketball players wearing pink jerseys. It was a big weekend coming up for us and Mallory’s mother was coming into town so we decided to do something to let her know she wasn’t alone.”

Over the two-game series, the women’s hockey team passed out breast cancer bracelets and scarves and collected over $400 in donations which was given to the Susan G. Komen Breast Care Foundation in the name of Janice Peckels.

“A few girls on the team have had people they know battle breast cancer so we wanted to do something to help get breast cancer awareness out there. I didn’t really expect to collect that much but I’m happy it turned out so well.”

In April, the men’s lacrosse team took on two initiatives to thwart cancer, including one with a very physical outcome.

After witnessing his sister battle and beat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma three years ago, junior midfielder Brian Lalley has changed the way he looks at the world.

“I’ve had a number of family members affected by cancer but to see your sister go through something like that is awful,” Lalley, a native of Orchard Park, N.Y., said. “When you see an immediate family member go through cancer, you want to do all that you can to remedy that because it could always come back.”

With the help of his teammates, Lalley has raised nearly $2,000 in donations for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in honor of Lalley’s sister and colon cancer in honor of sophomore James Green’s father – all by shedding their lovely locks.

“Getting our hair cut, whether it was a full shave or just a hair cut, stood as a symbol of us losing hair for cancer research.”

Lalley and 15 of his teammates lined up the first weekend of April at a local salon in Columbus to shed their hair in the name of cancer awareness.

Soon after, the team started wearing neon green shoelaces at every practice and game. Green started the trend after seeing former high school teammates wearing the noticeable laces.

“I asked my buddies about their green shoelaces and they told me they were wearing them because Nick ColleluoriI, a kid I had known of in Philadelphia and Hofstra lacrosse player, had passed away from non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,” Green said. “I thought it would be a good thing if Ohio State wore the shoelaces too so I gathered up information on the HEADstrong Foundation, a nonprofit organization started in Nick’s memory.

“Hopefully, with us wearing them it will help bring awareness to the HEADstrong Foundation and encourage more teams around the country to wear them.”

Green and the Buckeyes garnered lots of attention with the neon green shoelaces from ESPNU announcers as they made their run to the 2008 NCAA quarterfinals this May. 

And with cancer, a disease that can affect anyone at any age, not even a Buckeye is safe from its grasp.

Dan Potokar, a redshirt sophomore on the Buckeye football team, was diagnosed with an advanced stage of testicular cancer in December 2007. On May 1, members of the Ohio State athletics department participated in a fundraiser event at Buffalo Wild Wings. The restaurant chain donated a percentage of each food bill from the Lane Avenue and High Street location to Grove City’s Potokar family to help pay for the expenses. To date, the fundraiser has collected more than $12,000.