COLLEGE NOTES
College Notes is a semi-regular look at Ashland-area athletes who are competing in sports at the collegiate level.
ASHLAND — A wide array of local high school graduates wrapped up their fall sports seasons recently at myriad colleges around the country.
Among those were standout efforts from former athletes at Ashland, Crestview, Hillsdale, Loudonville and Mapleton.
Featured below, Ashland Source has gathered a breakdown of those performances.
Area winter sports college athletes who recently kicked off their seasons will be highlighted in a later edition of these College Notes. Anyone with information on former Ashland County-area athletes consistently in action this winter can send them to doughaidet19@gmail.com.
Ashland
– The Division I Ohio University football team captured its first Mid-American Conference title since 1968 on Saturday in its 38-3 throttling of Miami (Ohio) – the largest margin of victory in a MAC Championship.
Playing a part on that defense all season has been sophomore and former Arrow Kadin Schmitz. The sophomore defensive end has collected 30 tackles (3.0 for loss) and 2.5 sacks while appearing in all 13 games thus far for the Bobcats (10-3, 7-1 MAC), who will finish their season Dec. 20 against Jacksonville State in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl.
Schmitz’s standout play this season came on a 100-yard interception return on a two-point pass play in a 47-16 OU win over Buffalo.
– The Ashland University women’s soccer squad had yet another banner season this fall, finishing 17-2-2 overall, 12-0-2 in the Division II Great Midwest Athletic Conference and hosting its regional in the NCAA Tournament. And once again, former Arrow McKinley Mendenhall was a massive piece of the puzzle for the Eagles as an All-Midwest Region first-team selection.
The forward led AU with 38 points overall (tied for eighth in the country in Division II), coming from her 14 goals and 10 assists. Ashland has made the NCAA Tournament in six consecutive seasons with plenty of help from Mendenhall, who finished her career with 101 points (33 goals, 35 assists) in her 86 games played (all starts).
She finished ranked fourth all-time at AU in points, third in assists, tied for seventh in goals and second in games played for her career.
– The Division I Winthrop University volleyball team put together a fantastic finish to its season after starting 3-7 through 10 matches. The Eagles, with help from AHS graduate and senior Karli Shepherd, advanced to the Big South Conference Tournament title match and finished the fall 16-11 (12-2 Big South).
Winthrop’s final match came in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, where the Eagles fell to East Carolina. Shepherd had nine kills and 16 digs in that four-set outing.
The outside hitter was named second-team All-Big South and was a Big South Player of the Week in early October, closing out her senior year with 209 kills and 184 digs. For her career, Shepherd totaled 830 kills and 485 digs.
– Tyler Sabo wrapped up the fall portion of his season on the links for the Ohio State men’s golf team in late October.
The redshirt sophomore competed in four events overall, including a finish of 34th in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational with a 230 (77-79-74), and 20th in the East Lake Cup (79).
– The Ashland University football team had a monster 2024 season that culminated in an outright G-MAC title and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. Former Arrow Kristian Gehrisch played a huge role from his defensive tackle position and was a team captain as well.
The senior turned in 29 tackles in his 12 games for the Eagles (9-4, 8-1 G-MAC), alongside 7.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. A three-year starter, he had 86 tackles, 19.0 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks during his career.
– Also on the Division II football field this fall was Jon Metzger. A receiver at Hillsdale College, the sophomore had at least one catch in six different games for the Chargers (6-5, 6-3 G-MAC), closing his season with 12 catches for 195 yards.
Metzger, the all-time leading receiver at AHS, also had three kick returns during the season and even played a bit of defense, totaling eight tackles. Hillsdale won its final five games of the fall.
– On the gridiron in Division III, former Arrow Cole Garrison played as a graduate student for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this season. A defensive lineman, he was an honorable-mention pick on the All-Liberty League team.
Garrison helped the Engineers (5-5, 3-3 LL) finish their 12th straight season with at least a .500 record, putting together 40 total tackles (7.0 for loss) and 3.5 sacks. Those numbers came after he spent three seasons playing in 30 career games at Kenyon College.
– The Siena Heights University football team (3-7, 2-3 Mid-States Football Association) also had a contributor from Ashland this season in punter Isaac Roop. Formerly a punter at Ohio Dominican, Roop contributed in all 10 games for the Saints in NAIA play.
The redshirt sophomore totaled 44 punts averaging 39.4 yards. He had a long of 64 yards and also placed 16 of his punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
– The Ashland University women’s golf squad wrapped up the fall portion of its season during action in the nine-team Intercollegiate at Nemacolin, where junior Klaira Paramore – a former AHS standout – tied for 23rd individually with a three-round 239 (81-75-83) that included an eagle and a pair of birdies.
Earlier in the fall, Paramore fired a 234 (79-77-78) to tie for 46th at the William Beall Fall Classic.
– Also in action on the golf course this season was Kamden Mowry, who had multiple standout performances to close the fall schedule for Division III John Carroll University.
A sophomore, Mowry’s two-round, 4-over-par 146 during the Jeff Roope Invitational tied him for eighth overall in the 11-team event. He also was part of the Ohio Athletic Conference Preview-winning JCU team, placing 14th out of 60 with a two-day 152 (75-77).
– On the links in October for the Division III Ohio Northern University men’s golf team at the OAC Fall Preview, junior Aidan Chandler turned in a two-round 166 (82-84), good for a tie for 48th overall.
– More Division III golf participation came from Emma Packard, a sophomore for the University of Mount Union women’s golf squad.
She competed in the two-day OAC Fall Preview, during which she helped the Purple Raiders finish first out of seven teams. Packard’s 27-hole total of 130 (85-45) was good for a tie for 13th, and she had Mount Union’s second-best score in the Fall Phipps Memorial (85).
– In women’s soccer, Ella Argo got her first taste of college action this fall at Division III Bluffton University, where she played in 14 total games for the Beavers (5-9-3, 2-6-1 Heartland Conference).
Argo, a freshman, closed the season with one assist and nine total shots (four on goal) from her midfielder position.
– Also in women’s soccer for the Division II Lake Erie College program, Caley Biddinger put forth a solid redshirt freshman season for the Storm (3-13-2), appearing in all 18 games and starting in seven.
The former Arrow scored a goal on her only shot on goal all season, playing in 954 total minutes.
Biddinger’s twin sister, Chloe, also is a defender for the Storm and played in four games this season. She had an assist as well.
Crestview
– Kenedi Goon put together a standout career for the volleyball team at Division II Tiffin University, closing it out last month as a second-team All-G-MAC performer after finishing in the Top 15 in the league in hitting percentage (.275), kills (284) and points (343.5).
Goon helped push the Dragons (13-14, 7-8 G-MAC) into the conference tournament quarterfinals and totaled an even 100 blocks for the season as well.
For her career, the former Crestview All-Ohioan played in exactly 400 sets and 115 matches overall, turning in 984 kills, 1,172.5 points, 315 digs and 308 total blocks.
– The Hillsdale College men’s cross country team had its best finish in the Division II Midwest Regional in five years in November (eighth place), and former Cougar Ross Kuhn was key to that success. The senior wrapped his career on the team with a personal-best performance in the 10K, good for 28th place in 31:45.75.
The Chargers won their first league title as a team since 2000 when they captured the G-MAC crown, beating a pair of nationally ranked teams. In that 8K race, Kuhn earned first-team all-league honors with an eighth-place PR of 25:05.1.
– The NAIA Grace College women’s cross country team also had a banner season this fall, getting some help from Crestview graduate Morgan Welch. The junior helped guide the Lancers to their highest-ever finish in the Crossroads League Championships, as they took runner-up, partially due to her 30th-place 23:29.8 finish in the 6K.
Competing in the NAIA Nationals, the Lancers again set a program standard by taking eighth out of 35 teams. Welch clocked a 23:13.0 that day, good for 151st place out of 326 competitors.
Hillsdale
– The Falcons just wrapped up the most successful high school football season in their history with a trip to the Division VII state championship game, and one of the best players in program history also had his collegiate career come to a close this fall at Hillsdale College.
Ty Williams earned his fourth varsity letter with the Chargers (6-5, 6-3 G-MAC) as one of their key blocking H-backs. He finished his senior year with 11 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown, leading to a career that included 39 total games played and 36 receptions for 367 yards and three scores.
– A sophomore for the Division III College of Wooster football team (3-7, 2-6 North Coast Athletic Conference), David Parker turned in some solid outputs on special teams for the Scots.
Parker played in all 10 games for Wooster, collecting six tackles while also accumulating 64 yards on six kickoff returns for one of the country’s best kickoff-return units.
Loudonville
– Katie Seboe followed up a big freshman volleyball season at Division III Geneva College with an even better sophomore campaign as a middle hitter for the Tornadoes (9-20).
The former Redbirds standout played in 27 matches for the squad and led the team with a .174 hitting percentage. Her 119 kills were third on the squad while her 52 total blocks were second.
– The Division III Mount Union men’s golf team was aided all fall by the efforts of former Redbird Owen Hinkle. The senior helped steer the Purple Raiders to a third-place outing at the OAC Fall Preview by firing a two-round 163 (80-83) to tie for 44th overall.
Earlier in the season, Hinkle’s 154 (73-81) was good for a tie for seventh in the Mount Union Fall Invitational.
– A sophomore for the NAIA Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s golf team, Isaac Gessner had a big day during action at the 16-team Roger Merb Invitational, where his two-round, 6-over-par performance earned him fifth overall and a spot on the all-tournament team.
Gessner also tied for 29th at the Holy Cross Invitational to round out his fall, firing a two-round 165 (80-85).
Mapleton
– Bryar Ramey finished out his career for the Division III Ohio Wesleyan University football team by playing in all 40 games for the Battling Bishops – 10 each season.
A linebacker, Ramey was a four-year letterman, posting 64 total tackles (4.0 for loss), two interceptions and a sack this season for OWU (3-7, 2-6 NCAC).
In his career, Ramey accumulated 161 total tackles (9.5 for loss) and four interceptions as one of the team’s top contributors.
– One of the most potent scorers in the history of Ashland-area high school soccer, Brinlee Youngen was a quick contributor as a freshman this fall for the Division II program at Lake Erie College.
Youngen played in all 18 games for the Storm (3-13-2), totaling 563 minutes. The freshman collected four total shots on the season (three on goal).
– Evan Dennison is in his junior season playing for the Ohio Northern University men’s golf team. He played in the Ohio Athletic Conference Fall Preview in October, tying for 29th overall with a 15-over 159 (78-81) – the fourth-best score for any Polar Bear at the event.
