Thunderbirds trio proud Buckeyes
‘Once you’re a Buckeye, you’re a Buckeye for life.’
It’s a mantra that embodies three members of the Halifax Thunderbirds.
Jake Withers, Austin Shanks and Eric Fannell – each an integral player for the National Lacrosse League team – are graduates of the Ohio State Buckeyes university men’s field lacrosse program, Class of 2017.
“We have that scarlet and gray running in our blood,” said Withers, a defender who was a four-time scholarathlete at Ohio State.
The connection between the three begins in Ontario long before they arrived at the Columbus, Ohio, campus.
Withers, who hails from Peterborough, Shanks, of nearby Whitby, and St. Catharines native Fannell were about 12 years old when they began playing against each other in lacrosse.
They were opponents all through bantam, junior A and senior levels and only became teammates during Withers’ third year at Ohio State when both Shanks and Fannell transferred to the Big Ten Conference school.
“We were always battling against each other. And just so you know, Jake never beat me,” Shanks said with a laugh.
When Shanks arrived at Ohio State for his junior year without a place to stay, Withers stepped in.
“There weren’t many houses available and I didn’t want to go into the dorms as a junior classman,” Shanks recalled. “Wizzy (Withers) lived in an 11-room house and he offered up his room. So I put a mattress on the floor and we lived together in the same room for a year.
“The next year we got an apartment together.”
“Sometimes with Shanksy it was a little annoying when it came to privacy,” Withers joked.
“But it was the best time of my life.”