Details about 4 Bluffton University students killed in bus crash

<p>A look at four Bluffton University baseball team members killed when their charter bus crashed:</p><p>__</p><p>Sophomore David Betts</p><p>David Betts, 20, of Bryan, was a great-grandson of former Bluffton University President Lloyd Ramseyer.</p><p>He was part of a family enthusiastically involved in both the church and athletics, said the Rev. Ronald Guengerich of Zion Mennonite in Archbold.</p><p>Betts' two older sisters graduated from Bluffton, and he had a younger brother.</p><p>"He was one of those kids who gave everything he had," said Connie Tipton, a friend helping take calls for the family while they traveled to Atlanta. At Bryan High School, he also was on the cross-country and basketball teams and played trombone, said Tipton, who knew Betts since he was in preschool.</p><p>Betts' father and grandfather had been flying to Florida for the games when they got the news and rerouted to Atlanta, where the rest of the family was flying to join them, Tipton said.</p><p>__</p><p>Freshman Scott Harmon</p><p>Scott Harmon "was always the guy that put the team before himself," said his high school baseball coach, Mark Thompson.</p><p>Once, Thompson recalled, Harmon injured his nose during a collision at third base during a district tournament. Despite being bloody and lightheaded, Harmon couldn't wait to get back in the game _ and ended up hitting a home run to help the team win, Thompson said.</p><p>"He's a competitor," Thompson said. "He's going to do what he can to help his team out."</p><p>Harmon, who graduated in 2006, also played football at Elida High School and was a member of the National Honor Society, Thompson said. He believes Bluffton's "close-knit, family-type atmosphere" played into Harmon's decision to enroll there.</p><p>Matt Rau, a Bluffton volunteer assistant baseball coach, said Harmon had a great work ethic.</p><p>Just a freshman, Harmon had been so excited to have made the team's bus trip, Thompson said.</p><p>___</p><p>Freshman Cody Holp</p><p>They had only known each other a few months, but Cody Holp's teammate Brett Hunt already considered him a good friend.</p><p>"He was one of the guys, like the class clown, who liked to make people laugh," said Hunt, who met Holp at Bluffton. "We'd hang out, watch movies, go to eat together."</p><p>Holp, a pitcher from Arcanum, graduated from Lewisburg Tri-County North High School.</p><p>Hunt said he had some classes with Holp, who was a good student, but what he'll remember most is "his sense of humor, how he could make anybody laugh."</p><p>___</p><p>Sophomore Tyler Williams</p><p>Those who knew outfielder Tyler Williams of Lima described him as an outgoing student who was always smiling and laughing.</p><p>"It's a real tragedy to lose such an outstanding man as he was," said his high school coach, Jim Hay.</p><p>Williams selected Bluffton for college because he could play baseball as well as get a good education, said Jim Offenbaker, athletic director at Lima Senior High School. Williams earned three varsity letters during his time at the high school before graduating in 2005, he said.</p><p>Williams was funny and a little hyper, said Matt Rau, a Bluffton volunteer assistant baseball coach.</p><p>"He's the kind of kid you need on your team," he said.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/3/105043