North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week – Week of Oct. 17, 2023
Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week – Connor Kolka, Wittenberg
Wittenberg junior Conor Kolka (Dexter, MI/Dexter) and the Tigers competed at the Mike Woods Invitational hosted by SUNY Geneseo on Saturday. The meet featured many nationally ranked teams as well as conference competition. Kolka finished 10th out of 371 competitors in a time of 24:13.8, which broke the Wittenberg school record by over 25 seconds.
Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week – Sydney Khosla, Wittenberg
Wittenberg senior Sydney Khosla (Centerville, OH/Centerville) finished eighth overall in a field of 300 runners at the Mike Woods Invitational hosted by SUNY Geneseo. The meet featured many nationally ranked teams as well as conference competition. Khosla finished the 6k in a time of 21:27.2, which broke the Wittenberg school record set earlier in the season by teammate Ella Webster (Van Buren, OH/Van Buren).
Offensive Field Hockey Athlete of the Week – Grace Lane, Kenyon
Kenyon junior Grace Lane (Chelsea, MI/Chelsea) led the Owls to a 3-0 week. Lane contributed to multiple goals in each of Kenyon's outings, recording 12 points from five goals and two assists. The junior began the week with a pair of assists against Washington & Jefferson before recording her second hat trick of the season against Earlham. Additionally, Lane's two goals against Concordia (Wis.) a day later provided the margin in Kenyon's fifth-straight victory.
Defensive Field Hockey Athlete of the Week – Gabi Dahllof, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan junior Gabi Dahllof (Bear, DE/Caravel Academy) was a key component of the Bishop defense that posted shutouts in two NCAC conference wins. Dahllof and her teammates held Earlham to one shot, that came during the fourth quarter, and allowed only five shots against Washington & Jefferson.
Offensive Football Athlete of the Week – Josh Aiello, Denison
Denison fifth-year senior Josh Aiello (Mansfield, OH/Lexington) tallied three touchdown receptions in the Big Red's 28-24 win over Wabash. Aiello had the game-winning touchdown catch to push Denison ahead of the Little Giants with 2:45 left in the game. The fifth-year senior finished with six catches for 95 yards and his longest reception totaled 24 yards. The wide receiver brought his season touchdown total to 11, which is tied for the second most touchdown receptions in a single season in the Big Red's program history.
Defensive Football Athlete of the Week – Drew Thornton, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan junior Drew Thornton (Powell, OH/Olentangy) was instrumental in the Bishops' 19-18 win over Hiram. In the second quarter, Thornton forced the Terriers to punt after stopping the Hiram ball carrier short of a third down conversion. The junior made initial contact to bring down the Hiram ball carrier on a potential game-winning two-point conversion try with 1:22 remaining on the clock. He also covered the ensuing onside kick, allowing the Bishops to run out the clock. Thornton finished with five solo tackles on the day and added a pass breakup.
Men's Golf Athlete of the Week – Jaiden Koonar, Kenyon
Kenyon freshman Jaiden Koonar (Alberta, Canada/Webber Academy) posted his best individual finish for the second week in a row after finishing in fifth place out of 75 golfers at the Tartan Invitational. Koonar carded a 222 (+6) after recording rounds of 76, 73, and 73. The freshman's fifth-place finish landed him a spot on the All-Tournament team as one of the top-seven performers. Koonar collected six birdies and he tied for the tournament's best showing on par 5s, shooting six-under with a 4.50 average. The first-year helped the Owls finish eighth in the tournament full of top-25 teams, and Kenyon outperformed teams ranked No. 7, 8, 11, 14, and 24.
Offensive Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week – Cameron McIntosh, Denison
Denison junior Cameron McIntosh (Worthington, OH/Thomas Worthington) scored the game-winning goal in both of the Big Red's wins last week. Denison started the week with a 1-0 win over Wabash after a goal by McIntosh in the 79th minute on Wednesday. In a 4-0 win over Wittenberg, McIntosh intercepted a pass from the Tiger's goalkeeper and scored the opening goal of the match in the 16th minute. All three of McIntosh's goals this season have been game-winners, bringing his career total of game-winning goals up to eight.
Defensive Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week – Henri Heyes, Denison
Denison sophomore Henri Heyes (New Albany, OH/New Albany) anchored the Big Red back line in two shutout wins this week, a 1-0 victory over Wabash and 4-0 win over Wittenberg. Denison held the Tigers to just one shot on goal and limited the Little Giants to four shots on goal as Heyes came up with a big block on a near goal in the 67th minute.
Offensive Women's Soccer Athlete of the Week – Zoe Graver, Oberlin
Oberlin junior Zoe Garver (Salt Lake City, UT/Skyline) played a key role in helping the Yeowomen secure three points in conference action last week. Garver collected her fifth goal of the year in a 2-1 win over Wooster, marking the team's first triumph over the Scots since 2018. The junior also assisted on Oberlin's lone goal in a 1-1 draw with DePauw, setting up Elena Foley (Charlotte, NC/Concord) to register her third assist of the year. Including her three points from last week, Garver has totaled 13 points on the season.
Defensive Women's Soccer Athlete of the Week – Aubree Empie, DePauw
DePauw first-year Aubree Empie (Carmel, IN/Carmel) recorded 17 saves in a pair of 1-1 ties against Denison (weather-shortened) and Oberlin this past week. During 165:16 minutes of play, Empie allowed only two goals and helped secure a tie during the last minute of the Tiger's matchup against Oberlin. Several shots that Empie faced came on breakaways or point-blank rage.
Men's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week – Kristian Kowalski, Denison
Denison fifth-year Kristian Kowalski (Mansfield, OH/Ontario) was the top performer for the Big Red at the season-opening Akron Zips Classic. Kowalski took home two titles on the diving boards, first with a score of 247.10 on the three-meter board (six dives) on Friday. The fifth year then found the top of the podium on the one-meter board (six dives) on Saturday after recording a meet-record 263.25 points.
Women's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week – Elena Rinaldi, Hiram
Hiram senior Elena Rinaldi (Cleveland Heights, OH/Cleveland Heights) placed first in three of her four races on Saturday at Chatham. Rinaldi claimed individual titles in the 100 (1:07.50) and 50 (29.78) butterfly, while earning second in the 100 freestyle (1:02.63). The senior also swam the third leg of the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:55.77) that edged out Chatham to win the dual meet 130.5-128.5. Rinaldi helped the Terriers collect 33 points.
Offensive Women's Volleyball Athlete of the Week – Andréa Jones, Oberlin
Oberlin senior Andréa Jones (Marietta, GA/Saint Francis) recorded a season-high 21 kills in the Yeowomen's five-set victory over Wooster, marking the program's first triumph over the Scots since 2015. Jones hit at a.226 clip with just nine errors on 53 total swings. The senior added an ace, block assist, and four digs which totaled 22.5 match points.
Defensive Women's Volleyball Athlete of the Week – Iris Archibald, Oberlin
Oberlin sophomore Iris Archibald (State College, PA/Tate College Area) was key in helping the Yeowomen beat Wooster for the first time since 2015, recording a season-high 26 digs while matching a season-high with five aces along the way. Archibald produced 5.2 digs per set and had just one reception error on 21 total attempts.
NCAC Milestones & Records (Oct. 9 – 15)
Denison, Field Hockey – Big Red junior Athena Joannou (Reston, VA/Flint) recorded her seventh shutout in seven conference games this season in a big 2-0 win at DePauw on Thursday night. Then in neutral-field action against No. 6 nationally ranked Christopher Newport on Sunday, Joannou's 26 saves in the 5-0 defeat were the most by a Big Red goalkeeper dating back to at least 2010.
Hiram, Football – Sophomore linebacker Gavin Cruser (Springville, UT/Springville) recorded the first Hiram safety since the 2019 season on Saturday against Ohio Wesleyan, sacking the opposing quarterback in the end zone to give Hiram a 9-7 lead in the second quarter.
Ohio Wesleyan, Field Hockey – The Ohio Wesleyan field hockey team recorded four goals during the second period of Wednesday's win at Earlham, breaking the school record of three accomplished twice during the 2022 season…The Battling Bishops added to their season-opening-win streak by totaling 13 wins this season while also extending their school record and remain as one of three undefeated teams in NCAA Division III…The team is tied for first place in NCAA Division III with 10 shutouts on the season and rank fifth in NCAA Division III in scoring margin (4.08).
Ohio Wesleyan, Football – The 19-18 win at Hiram on Saturday marked the first time in OWU football history that the team won a game by that score. It was the second week in a row that the Bishops had won by a score unique in program history, following the team's 48-7 win over Kenyon on Oct. 7.
Wooster, Volleyball – Senior libero Trinity Harmon (Wildwood, MO/Marquette High School) recorded two career milestones this past week. Harmon tallied a career high 26 digs in a four-set win over Westminster on October 15. Earlier the week, the libero served a career-high six aces against Oberlin.