While the month of November may be best known for Thanksgiving, it is gaining fame for being the month in which men do not shave in order to raise awareness for prostate and testicular cancer. Since beards are so common this month, at least one person in every Simpson College men’s sport has some kind of facial hair. The athlete with the best facial hair in each sport has been nominated for The Best Facial Hair in Simpson Athletics award. 

The nominees are: wrestler Jason Clark, swimmer Kyle McKim, pitcher Daultan Gibson, basketball guard DJ Dafney, runner Nathan Jones, defensive lineman Dustin Ihns, golfer Trent Lindenman, soccer defender Josh Harry and tennis player Gabe Dubberke.

Harry and Clark both have mustaches. Clark only has a mustache because it is the only facial hair allowed during wrestling season, while Harry has his as a part of SAE’s participation Movember. Movember is to raise money and awareness for testicular and prostate cancers.

Lindenman has his beard because he is into hunting and trapping during the winter and the beard helps to keep his face warm. He plans on keeping his beard until it starts to warm up.

McKim, Gibson, and Ihns have their beards because shaving is more work than not shaving. McKim plans to keep it until Christmas and Gibson will not shave until he is told to by multiple girls.

Dubberke and Dafney have their facial hair because they like the way it looks. While they both might trim them at some point, they plan on keeping their facial hair until they get tired of the beards, at which point they will be shaved.

The three finalists out of the original nine are Clark, Harry, and Ihns. Clark is a finalist because his mustache is thick and he has a dedication to facial hair.

“I haven’t been clean shaven for several years and probably will never be ever again,” Clark said.

Harry is a finalist because he has been growing his mustache for a cause.

“Movember is a month long commitment to growing a mustache and in the process raising awareness and funds for Men’s Health, such as research towards prostate and testicular cancer.  Currently, as an organization we have raised over $500 for Movember so it has been a pretty successful month.” Harry said.

Ihns is a finalist just because his beard is massive. He initially did not shave because it was easier to have a beard, but now just grows it because the beard is impressive and may be too long to shave.

However, only one of them can win. The 2014 Best Facial Hair in Simpson Athletics goes to Josh Harry because he is growing a mustache and raising money for testicular and prostate cancer. While his facial hair may not be the craziest or the thickest, there is the best reason behind it.