For the vast majority of college athletes, the winter sports season has closed.
Among them is a large group of Ashland-area high school graduates.
There were a variety of successes across several sports for former local standouts. Here’s a look:
Ashland
• Jayden Jones has had a steadily impressive career throughout his time as a wrestler for NCAA Division III Ohio Northern University, and he capped his senior season off nicely in late February.
Jones was named an All-Ohio Athletic Conference second-teamer, putting together a 16-11 campaign that included five pins at 157 pounds.
For his career, he finished in the Top 45 all-time at ONU in wins (76), with 30 of those victories coming via pin.
• Also on the mats this winter was sophomore and former AHS state runner-up Brady Welch, who turned in his first season at 184 pounds for NCAA Division II Ashland University.
Welch nabbed third place at 184 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships, helping the Eagles win their fourth league title in five seasons.
A few weeks earlier, he chipped in as AU knocked off No. 6-ranked McKendree in a dual, 19-18, collecting a 7-4 decision.
• Wrapping up her freshman season for the NCAA Division I Wright State University women’s bowling team, former Arrows standout Jada Baker didn’t waste any time leaving her mark.
When the Raiders closed their Ohio Bowling Conference season in Columbus, the team finished as runner-up and Baker was named both Newcomer of the Year and conference MVP. The freshman also claimed all-rookie team and all-conference first-team honors, as she had the high four-game series in OBC action.
• A junior swimmer at John Carroll University, Bailey Parsons helped the Blue Streaks reel in their ninth consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference team championship in February.
The former Arrow gathered key team points at the OAC meet with seventh-place finishes in both the 400-yard individual medley (4:17.16) and the 200-yard butterfly (2:00.07).
Crestview
• Hayden Kuhn had a breakthrough season on the wrestling mats for Ashland University this winter, becoming the first Eagle since 2020 to win 30 matches (30-9 at 149 pounds) while also qualifying to the NCAA national championships for the first time.
Kuhn, who was 21-15 as a freshman, won a G-MAC title and was named a league first-teamer. The first three-time state placer and four-time Firelands Conference champion for Crestview, Kuhn will begin his junior year with a 51-24 record.
• A junior for the Grace College women’s track and field team, Morgan Welch wrapped up her indoor season in style in February.
The distance runner was part of the Lancers’ 4×800-meter quartet that captured All-American status at the NAIA Indoor National Championships. Welch and her team finished seventh in the country in 9:19.63.
A few weeks earlier at the Crossroads League Indoor Championships, Welch was part of the sixth-place 4×400 relay (4:09.14) and also was eighth individually in the 1,000 (3:06.80).
Hillsdale
• Jordan Taylor has been excelling for the University of Findlay track and field team for years. Now performing as a graduate student for the NCAA Division II program, nothing has changed.
On the indoor track for the Oilers, Taylor qualified to the national championships in mid-March in three different events (60 meters, 200 meters, 4×400 relay). She finished as a second-team All-American in the 200 after placing 10th in 23.91.
The 4×400 race was one of the highlights of the national championships, as Taylor and her teammates matched the quartet from Lincoln with a program-record 3:37.30. In a video review, however, the Oilers were awarded second place, making the podium in a time that was just one second off the Division II record.
Earlier in March during the G-MAC Championships, Taylor won the 200 in 23.64 and competed on the winning 4×400 relay unit (3:38.21). Both were program records at the time, and the Findlay women finished second behind Ashland for the G-MAC title.
In mid-February, the former Falcon also was named the G-MAC Athlete of the Week for the third time in her career following a massive outing at the Grand Valley State Big Meet. Taylor won the 60 (7.41), the 200 (23.82, second-fastest in G-MAC history at the time) and was part of the first-place UF distance medley relay (11:32.33).
Loudonville
• The NAIA Mount Vernon Nazarene University women’s basketball team closed out its season with a 71-55 loss to Marian in the Crossroads League Tournament quarterfinals Feb. 26.
A pair of former Redbird standouts came off the bench throughout the season for the Cougars (15-14, 7-11 CL) in junior guard Shalen Guilliams and senior forward Grace Vermilya.
Guilliams had arguably the game of the year for MVNU against Clark State on Jan. 20. The junior exploded for a career-high 34 points in the 100-48 rout, netting 25 in the first half and finishing 10-of-14 from 3-point range – just two treys off the school record.
For the season, Guilliams played in 27 games and averaged 4.1 points a game. The guard also had 19 rebounds and 16 assists.
Vermilya, meanwhile, had her season-high of eight points against Clark State and turned in seven points in the season finale against Marian.
She played in 20 games for the Cougars this season and finished out her career with 249 points and 173 rebounds in 82 games played.
• Vermilya’s younger sister, Corri Vermilya, got her first taste of college basketball this season as an off-the-bench contributor for Ashland University. The Eagles (32-4) advanced to the Division II Sweet 16 before losing to eventual national champion Grand Valley State, 62-50.
For her part, Vermilya tossed in a season-high 13 points in both of AU’s games against Ursuline, getting her first collegiate start in the Jan. 4 matchup. The guard had at least eight points on four other occasions.
For the season, she totaled 112 points, 44 rebounds, 20 assists and 11 steals in 30 games played for the Eagles, who were a perfect 17-0 at home and 19-1 in league play en route to a fourth straight G-MAC title.
Mapleton
• Any questions that Brock Durbin could continue his wrestling dominance at the college level were quickly answered this winter.
A four-time state placer for the Mounties, Durbin took no time in standing out at Ashland University. He ended his freshman season with a 24-17 record at 141 pounds. His final win came at the NCAA national championships – one of the Eagles’ five victories in Indianapolis in mid-March.
Durbin also claimed a G-MAC runner-up spot in his first collegiate season and on Thursday was named the G-MAC Freshman of the Year. He is the first Eagle to win the honor in the program’s five years in the league.
• As a junior at Division III Otterbein University, Andrew Sas also saw action on the mats this winter. Wrestling at both 141 and 149, he put together a combined record of 11-11 with six pins.
He will enter his senior year with 39 career wins for the Cardinals.
Note: Area high school athletic directors and local readers can submit names of current college athletes to the Source. Anyone with information on former athletes from Ashland, Crestview, Hillsdale, Loudonville or Mapleton consistently in action during the current spring sports college season can send them to doughaidet19@gmail.com for inclusion in the next edition of College Notes.
