Winter sports action has picked up again for college athletes, and a variety of Ashland-area graduates have been contributing in both basketball and wrestling recently.
Below, Ashland Source has put together a breakdown of some of those in action as 2024 has kicked off.
Area high school athletic directors and local readers have submitted names of current collegiate athletes to the Source.
Anyone with information on other former Ashland County-area athletes contributing to their teams this winter can send them to doughaidet19@gmail.com.
ASHLAND
* In Division II men’s basketball, the Anderson University team has three players averaging double-digit points per game and two of them are brothers who graduated from Ashland High School.
Senior Garrett Denbow paces the Trojans 7-8 (2-5 South Atlantic Conference) with 19.4 points per game while pulling down 4.6 rebounds a game as well. Over the past month-plus, the 6-foot-6 guard had a 34-point outburst against Belmont Abbey, 33 against Limestone and 27 each in games against Furman and Mars Hill. All four of those contests were Anderson wins and all four were on the road.
Meanwhile, sophomore brother Luke Denbow averages 10.8 points, 3.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game for the Trojans. He had 10 assists against Mars Hill on Jan. 6
* On the hardwood at Division III Wittenberg University, Greyson Steury is averaging 4.2 points and about 14 minutes per game off the bench. The Tigers are off to a 12-5 overall start (6-2 North Coast Athletic Conference).
* In Division III wrestling at Ohio Northern, Jayden Jones continues to roll through his junior year as the team’s most productive grappler at 157 pounds. The former Arrow is 12-10 on the season with four pins, which means his next victory will be the 50th in his college career, while another pin will be his 20th.
CRESTVIEW
* After wrestling unattached to begin his freshman season at Ashland University, Hayden Kuhn turned in a seventh-place finish at the 44th annual Midwest Classic in December. The 149-pounder was 6-2 in the event.
* On the Division III men’s basketball team at Defiance College, former Cougar Heath Kash has turned in some key minutes as the season has gone along. Scoreless in his first six games played, Kash netted his first eight collegiate points Dec. 30 against Earlham, adding four rebounds. The freshman has played in the last six games for the Yellowjackets.
LOUDONVILLE
* On the NAIA hardwood for Huntington University, Emily Seboe has bumped up her per-game averages in recent weeks. The senior boasts 6.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest for the Foresters, led by an 18-point outburst against IU Kokomo and a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double at Mount Vernon Nazarene.
The Foresters are 9-9 overall and 3-5 in the Crossroads League.
* Also in NAIA action, the Mount Vernon Nazarene women are 7-11 overall this season, with a little help from former Redbird Grace Vermilya. The junior had a pair of double-digit scoring games recently, dropping 13 points and grabbing six rebounds at Governors State, then tossing in 10 points in a win at Bethel.
MAPLETON
* The Division III Otterbein University wrestling team has benefited from another solid campaign from former Mountie Andrew Sas. The sophomore recently surpassed his win total as a freshman by improving to 14-6 for the Cardinals. He’s got three pins and a 2-1 record in Ohio Athletic Conference action at 141 pounds.
* Also a college sophomore on the mats, Joe Shoup has been busy for Division III Ohio Wesleyan. The heavyweight and MHS graduate has a team-high 27 decisions for the Battling Bishops, compiling a 14-13 record.
