Freeland Earns NCAC Athlete of the Week Honors
North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week – Mar. 22
Baseball: Athlete of the Week – AJ Reid, Wabash
Wabash freshman AJ Reid (Highland, IN/Highland) batted .556 (10-for-18) over a four-game series with Trine on Saturday and Sunday. He scored 10 runs and drove in another eight, while also drawing three walks for an on-base percentage of .619. Arguably, his best game came on Saturday in the backend of a doubleheader, where he went 4-for-4, scoring four times, driving in one and stealing two bases in an 11-9 victory.
Baseball: Pitcher of the Week – Evan Faxon, Wooster
Wooster senior Evan Faxon (Cleveland Hts., OH/Hawken School) fired a three-hit shutout against Ohio Wesleyan to open the season on Saturday. Faxon, who struck out six, had four one-two-three innings and only allowed one Battling Bishop to reach scoring position, with that runner not doing so until the seventh inning. All three hits allowed by Faxon were singles, and thanks to a pair of double plays, he faced two batters over the minimum in the 23rd-ranked Scots 1-0 walk-off win in eight innings.
Softball: Athlete of the Week – Elise Freeland, Wittenberg
Wittenberg senior Elise Freeland (Marysville, OH/Marysville) put together a five-game hit streak last week for the Tigers, collecting multiple hits in four of six games. Wittenberg ended the week by taking down two nationally ranked opponents with wins over No.10-ranked Transylvania (8-7) and No.7-ranked DePauw (5-4). On the week, Freeland recorded 12 hits (.571 avg), including four doubles, one triple, one home run, while scoring 11 runs and collecting four RBI. She also notched nine stolen bases in a 5-1 week for the Red and White.
Softball: Pitcher of the Week – Olivia Johnson, Wooster
Wooster senior Olivia Johnson (Thornville, OH/Sheridan) pitched two complete-game victories against Denison last week. On Saturday, Johnson pitched seven innings of six-hit, two run ball, while walking just one and striking out 11. On Sunday, she followed with a five-inning performance, scattering four hits, allowing one run and striking out eight batters.
Men's Outdoor Track, Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Week – Josh Wiggins, Wabash
Wabash senior Josh Wiggins (Poseyville, IN/North Posey) recorded a pair of individual victories on Saturday to help lift the Little Giants to the team title at the Rose-Hulman Early Bird Invitational. He won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.07, the third-quickest time in Division III at the start of the season. He also posted a victory in the 400-meter hurdles by finishing in 57.34, ninth-fastest in the nation thus far.
Men's Outdoor Track, Distance/Mid-Distance Athlete of the Week – Bailey Scott, DePauw
DePauw freshman Bailey Scott (Galveston, IN/Lewis Class) won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Rose-Hulman Early Bird Invitational. Scott timed in at 9:37.59, edging out six other competitors while recording the second-fastest time in Division III so far this season.
Men's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week – Brandon Peck, Wabash
Wabash senior Brandon Peck (Brazil, IN/South Virgo) won three individual field events to score a total of 30 points to help the Little Giants capture the team title at Saturday's Rose-Hulman Early Bird Invitational. He posted a career-long distance of 45.26 meters to win the discus event, which ranks fifth among Division III athletes through the early weeks of the outdoor track and field season. Peck also produced a career-best mark in the hammer throw (44 meters) and won the shot put (14.33 meters). His shot put mark ranks him 14th on the current DIII national list.
Women's Outdoor Track, Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Week – Charlotte Borland, DePauw
DePauw junior Charlotte Borland (Huntington, IN/Huntington North) recorded a pair of first-place finishes at the Rose-Hulman Early Bird Invitational. In the 400-meter dash, Borland edged out six competitors with a time of 1:01.12. She also anchored the Tigers 4x400 relay team, which took first with a time of 4:10.08 which is currently the fourth best time in Division III.
Women's Outdoor Track, Distance/Middle Distance Athlete of the Week – Rachel DeLancey, DePauw
DePauw sophomore Rachel DeLancey (Newburgh, IN/Reitz Memorial) won the 5,000-meter run at the Rose-Hulman Early Bird Invitational. DeLancey recorded a time of 19:08.22, edging out 11 other competitors.
Men's Lacrosse Athlete of the Week – Jack Giuffre, Kenyon
Kenyon sophomore Jack Giuffre (Louisville, KY/Louisville Collegiate) scored a game-high and career-best four goals as the Lords rallied to defeat Wittenberg, 14-12 on Saturday. Giuffre also added two assists and picked up one groundball in the win.
Women's Lacrosse Athlete of the Week – Charlotte Godfrey, Denison
Denison senior Charlotte Godfrey (Denver, CO/Cherry Creek) led the Big Red defense against Wooster with five caused turnovers, seven ground balls and 10 draw controls. Denison defeated the Fighting Scots to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Men's Golf Athlete of the Week – Kinder Jones, DePauw
DePauw senior Kinder Jones (St. Louis, MO/Ladue Horton Watkins) tied for the individual title at Mount St. Joseph Spring Invite after shooting a 143 (73-70). He was declared the individual champion based on a scorecard playoff. He recorded nine birdies in two rounds, edging out 78 other competitors. He also played as an individual at Denison on Friday, shooting a single-round 76, tying for fifth out of 19 golfers.
Women's Golf Athlete of the Week – Laine Hursh, Denison
Denison sophomore Laine Hursh (Chardon, OH/Chardon) helped the Big Red to wins over No. 18 DePauw and Wooster to open the 2021 spring season. On Friday against the Tigers, Hursh fired a five-over par 76, which included a front-nine score of even par (35), to receive medalist honors. She then carded an 84 against Wooster on Saturday to finish second.
Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week – Liam Grennon, Wabash
Wabash freshman Liam Grennon (Concord, NH/New Braunfels) scored a pair of victories Saturday to help the Little Giants to a 5-4 victory over Adrian College. The rookie won in straight sets by scores of 7-6, 6-2 at number one singles after earning the only doubles point for the Little Giants with an 8-5 victory in the first flight paired with teammate Cole Borden.
Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week – Sydney Cianciola, Denison
Denison sophomore Sydney Cianciola (Canfield, OH/Canfield) helped the Big Red to a win over Ohio Wesleyan on Sunday. Cianciola won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, at number one singles after earning an 8-0 victory in number two doubles with teammate Sarah Robertson.
Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week – Cierra Joiner, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan junior Cierra Joiner (Centerburg, OH/Centerburg) powered the Battling Bishops to a pair of victories over Hiram last week. On Thursday, Joiner collected 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting (.571), while grabbing five rebounds and notching two assists and two steals. On Sunday, Joiner compiled 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting (.643), while adding nine rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Men's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week – Jan Dziadek, Wabash
Wabash senior Jan Dziadek (Warsaw, Poland) broke three individual Class of 1950 Natatorium records and was part of one relay record in his final collegiate swimming performance over the weekend against DePauw. Dziadek broke his own pool record with a winning time in the 100-yard butterfly. He touched the wall in 48.82 to eclipse the former record of 49.06. He broke another of his own records with a first-place finish in the 100 backstroke. He completed the race in 50.30 to break his previous pool record of 50.32. Dziadek continued his assault on the pool record board by breaking his own natatorium record in the 100-yard individual medley with a winning time of 51.22, which bettered his previous record of 51.85. The Wabash foursome of Wesley Slaughter, Caleb McCarty, Gavin Hill, and Dziadek took DePauw off the record board in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Wabash quartet won the final event of the meet with a time of 3:05.19 to snap the pool record set by the Tigers in 2014. Wabash defeated DePauw 231-120 for the first head-to-head win by the Little Giants since 2015 and the first home victory over the Tigers since 2014.
Women's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week – Katie Rozsa, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan junior Katie Rozsa (Silver Lake, OH/Cuyahoga Falls) won four events, while setting one school record, two pool records, and helping four relay teams secure wins as part of the North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Virtual Challenge. During a time trial, she clocked a 1:00.22 in the 100 IM, breaking the school record of 1:00.36 set by Tyler Mansfield in 2019 and breaking the Meek Center pool record of 1:01.01 set by Marissa Bednarek of Denison. She also set a pool record in the 200 IM, with a time of 2:11.15, breaking the mark of 2:12.55 set by Lauren Menicucci of Lake Erie College in 2012. In the relays, Rozsa and her teammates clocked in at 4:05.14 in the 400 medley, 1:51.88 in the 200 medley, 8:07.43 in the 800 freestyle and 3:43.63 in the 400 freestyle.
NCAC Milestones & Records (Mar. 15 – Mar. 21)
Denison Baseball - Denison head coach Mike Deegan won his 200th career game in a 4-0 victory over Case Western on Sunday.
Wooster Baseball - No. 23 Wooster's 1-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday marked the first 1-0 final score in a game Wooster's played in at Art Murray Field since Wittenberg beat the Scots 1-0 on April 22, 1978.
Wooster Softball - Wooster's 5-2 and 6-2 wins over Denison on Saturday marked the first time in program history the Scots beat the Big Red in back-to-back games.
DePauw Softball - DePauw's Cami Henry (Camby, IN/Mooresville) set a program record for strikeouts in a regulation seven-inning game, fanning 14, as the Tigers blanked Trine, 1-0.