The college winter sports season has come to a close for a variety of Ashland-area high school graduates.
Below, Ashland Source has gathered a breakdown of some of those who excelled during their respective 2023-24 campaigns.
Area high school athletic directors and local readers have submitted names of current college athletes to the Source. Anyone with information on other former Ashland County-area athletes in action can send them along to doughaidet19@gmail.com.
Ashland
* Garrett Denbow closed out his senior season for the NCAA Division II Anderson University men’s basketball team earlier this month when the Trojans (15-14, 10-10 South Atlantic Conference) fell in their conference quarterfinals to Wingate.
Denbow collected 30 points in the 79-68 loss just a few days after being named second-team all-conference. On Feb. 14, the senior also had a big day when he surpassed 1,000 career points in a home win over Limestone.
He closed the season averaging 19.4 points and 3.9 rebounds over 29 games and had six games of 30-plus points scored.
Denbow’s younger brother, Luke Denbow, also finished his sophomore season with some big totals, averaging 11.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest.
One of the Denbow duo’s biggest games came Feb. 21 against Newberry, when Garrett hit nine 3-pointers en route to 35 points and Luke dropped in a season-best 24 markers in the 30-point blowout victory.
* On the wrestling mat at Division III Ohio Northern University, Jayden Jones wrapped up his junior season with plenty of highlights.
The 157-pounder helped the Polar Bears claim second in the Ohio Athletic Conference and eventually closed the year in fourth place at his weight at the Central Regional Wrestling Championships on March 2.
Jones was 23-14 for the season and now is 60-35 through three years at ONU.
* The Division III Wittenberg University men’s basketball team finalized its season in late February after a 79-62 loss to the College of Wooster in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.
Former Arrow Greyson Steury ended his freshman season with the Tigers (18-9, 11-5 NCAC) averaging 3.7 points and a rebound per game in 27 games played. He notched a season-high 15 points Feb. 14 in a road win at Denison.
* A sophomore member of the John Carroll University men’s swim team, Bailey Parsons turned in a second-place effort in the 400 IM (4:13.91) at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships in mid-February.
The Blue Streaks collected their eighth consecutive OAC title this season.
* In NAIA women’s bowling at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Mackenzie Kauffman gathered some Crossroads League honors when she was named to the Newcomer of the Year team.
Crestview
* The Division II Ashland University wrestling team had plenty of highlights this winter, gathering its third Great Midwest Athletic Conference title in the last four seasons and winning the Region 3 team crown as well.
Part of the Eagles’ success came from former Cougar Hayden Kuhn. A freshman, he was sixth at 149 pounds at the regional and also was fourth at the GMAC Championships, eventually totaling a 19-15 record.
* On the hardcourt at Division III Defiance College, Heath Kash ended his season by playing in 20 games for the Yellow Jackets. Kash totaled 46 points as a freshman, including a season-best 14 on Feb. 13 at Manchester.
Hillsdale
* A former multi-sport star for the Falcons, Jordan Taylor’s indoor track season came to an end recently for the Division II University of Findlay. The senior was first-team All-GMAC as part of the 4×400 relay for the Oilers.
That same relay also set a school record in 3:44.31 on March 9, helping Taylor and the quartet win their heat and earn All-American honors.
Loudonville
* A pair of former Redbirds wrapped up their basketball seasons at NAIA Mount Vernon Nazarene, where the Cougars finished 9-19 overall.
A junior forward, Grace Vermilya played in a career-high 27 games, averaging 4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game. She had six games with double-digit points, with her 18-point effort Feb. 3 against Goshen a season-best performance.
Meanwhile, sophomore Shalen Guilliams played in 13 games for the Cougars, averaging 3.2 points. The guard turned in a pair of nine-point efforts.
* The NAIA Huntington University women’s basketball team went 15-14 overall this season and 9-9 in Crossroads League play, with senior Emily Seboe turning in plenty of key efforts.
For Senior Day on Feb. 21, HU topped Taylor by a 62-49 count, with Seboe picking up seven points and eight rebounds.
She started all 26 games in which she played, averaging 7.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest for the Foresters. Seboe had 717 points and 392 rebounds during her three seasons of action at Huntington.
* A junior forward on the Division III Washington & Jefferson women’s hoops team, Sydney Snyder represented the program on the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Team.
The Presidents (23-3, 19-1 PAC) closed out a monster season Feb. 22 with an 89-75 loss to Geneva in the PAC Tournament semifinals. Snyder ended her year playing in 13 games while totaling 25 points and 16 rebounds.
Mapleton
* After collecting 12 victories as a freshman for the Division III Otterbein College wrestling team, Andrew Sas put together a 16-14 sophomore season this winter.
The 141-pounder finished with three pins and his 3-1 record in OAC matches was one of the best on the squad.
* A successful heavyweight wrestler for Division III Ohio Wesleyan last year, when he was 17-17 as a freshman, former Mountie standout Joe Shoup bumped up his victories as a sophomore to finish 21-17.
In his final action of the season at the Trine Mid-States Invitational, Shoup had a pair of pins in under a minute.
* Also on the Division III mats was freshman Landen Sword at the University of Mount Union. He closed his first collegiate campaign with a 4-8 record that included three pins.
