Applegate Not Your Ordinary Offensive Star

Most dominant offensive players in sports admit that at times they are selfish. Sometimes they feel they have to be because they are the best on their team, sometimes they do it to pump up their statistics or set records, and sometimes they do it to get some publicity or be in the limelight.

Although Jim Applegate remains as the all-time leading scorer in men’s lacrosse at Wooster with 256 career points, that is the exact opposite description of him. Applegate, who joined head coach Art Marangi’s squad in the spring of 1982, is most proud of being known as a consummate team player and “finding the open man even if it meant foregoing a good shot.”

Not only did he enjoy passing the ball off, but he did so with an uncanny ability. Applegate finished his stellar career with 132 assists — 23 more than any other player in school history. During the 1984 season, he led all of NCAA Division III with 42 assists, and followed that up by being on the starting end of 42 more Scot goals as a senior, including a school-record nine in one game against Ashland University.

Marangi once praised, “(Jim) is one of the most unselfish players I’ve coached in any sport.”

More evidence of his selflessness, Applegate marks his most memorable achievement not as leading the nation in assists or being an All-American, but being part of Wooster’s 10-9 victory over then-10th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University during his freshman year when he was more of a role player.

Applegate made great strides following that season, turning into a team leader and developing an outstanding all-around game to go along with his adept passing skills. He graduated with 124 goals (a school record at that time) and also performed well in other areas of the sport that are sometimes overlooked, such as being “excellent in groundball situations” according to his coach.

Other than his sophomore season when the Scots went 12-4 and ended up ranked 15th in the country, the ultimate team player was unfortunately part of squads that averaged less than seven victories per year.

Even though the wins weren’t always there, Applegate’s big numbers he put up led to many honors. He was once named Most Valuable Player of the Midwest Region and even achieved honorable mention status on the All-America Team as a senior. Additionally, he participated in the North-South All-Star Game that spring, which back then was one contest comprised of Division I and Division III players, instead of one game for each division like the current setup.

Today, Applegate, who graduated from Wooster in 1985 with a degree in business economics, owns his own computer programming company — Applegate Consulting, Inc. When not running his business, Applegate and his wife, Sandi, try to keep up with their three sons — Ryan (8), Scott (8), and Eric (6).