Athletics News: Winter 2018

The final weeks of 2017 and the initial months of 2018 have proved eventful for Shenandoah University’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and its student-athletes. 

Shingleton Gymnasium hosted its final intercollegiate athletics event and the James R. Wilkins, Jr. Athletics & Events Center opened. 

For the fourth time in five years, the Shenandoah University baseball team is the pre-season pick to win the ODAC in poll results released by the league office on Feb. 7. The Hornets, who have earned the No. 1 seed at the last four ODAC Tournaments, have six first place votes and 96 points to top the 2018 poll by one point over Randolph-Macon. 

The Shenandoah University men’s and women’s indoor track & field team set four school records in a strong performance at the DuCharme Invitational hosted by Dickinson College in February. 

The Shenandoah University indoor track & field teams posted an additional 19 ODAC qualifiers on Feb. 10, which was day two of the VMI Winter Relays. Junior Justin Mehrer led this group by breaking the school record in the mile run with a 4:22.55 to finish fourth overall. He was the top DIII finisher by 6.5 seconds. 

The Shenandoah University men’s indoor track & field team had a best-ever fourth place showing to lead Shenandoah at the 2018 ODAC Indoor Championships on Feb. 25. The Hornet men, buoyed by a championship in the distance medley relay, had 57 points to come in 10 points in front of fifth place Roanoke and 22 back of No. 3 Lynchburg. Washington and Lee won the men’s championship with 169.5 points. They bested Bridgewater by four points. On the women’s side, Shenandoah’s 25 points was good for sixth. SU finished 4.5 points in front of seventh-place Eastern Mennonite. 

Senior Kirstyn Arcata’s 1000th career point highlighted a 66-50 ODAC Shenandoah University women’s basketball victory at Randolph College in January. 

Last summer, a select group of women’s soccer players made an empowerment trip to Haiti and blogged about their experiences. One of those players, junior Shannen de Leon, returned to Haiti over the semester break and came back with an update. 

Shenandoah University Head Athletic Trainer Mike Kotelnicki, MS, ATC, was selected as the 2018 Athletic Trainer of the Year in selections by the Virginia Athletic Trainers Association. Kotelnicki, in his 10th year as the Hornets’ head AT, received his award at the annual VATA Symposium at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg on Jan. 6. 

The women’s tennis program once again had the athletic department’s highest GPA in team grades announced in December. And, the university Department of Intercollegiate Athletics had a total of 312 student-athletes recognized for academic achievement following the completion of the fall 2017 semester. Also, for the 10th straight season, the Shenandoah University women’s cross country team earned USTFCCA All-Academic honors in selections announced recently by the organization. The nine-woman squad posted a 3.47 team GPA this fall with five of the nine better than 3.4 and one, junior Alexandria Caljean, posting a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Seven Shenandoah University football players earned All-State honors in selections announced by the Virginia State Sports Information Directors Association in December. Senior Michael Ashwell and junior Hayden Bauserman highlight these first team honors with repeat selections at wide receiver and quarterback, respectively. Sophomore Nate Hill joins Ashwell and Bauserman on the first team by grabbing a safety spot on the defensive side of the ball. Andrew Coffman, Jalen Hudson, Chris Grady and Jacob Newton round out the honorees with each picked to the second team. Four Shenandoah University football players earned All-State honors in selections announced by the Roanoke Times. Junior quarterback Hayden Bauserman, along with senior wideout Michael Ashwell, were named first team All-State by the newspaper with juniors Andrew Coffman and Jalen Hudson picking up second team accolades. 

Junior field hockey star Morgan Payne was named second team All-State by the Virginia Sports Information Directors in selections announced by the organization. 

Senior Alex Wessel was named third team Academic All-America in selections announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America in December. Wessel, a 3.97 student as political science/global studies double major, is the 19th Shenandoah University student-athlete in history to be named Academic All-America and the third from the women’s soccer program.  Junior Caleb Hutson was named second team Academic All-America for football in selections announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America in December. 

Senior women’s soccer standout Michelle Krause was named second team All-State in selections announced by the Virginia State Sports Information Directors Association in December. Krause and junior Rebecca Collimore both earned spots on the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Scholar All-Region (South Region) second team in a vote of USC coaches announced by the organization in December. 

Junior quarterback Hayden Bauserman was named second team All-South Region by D3football.com in selections announced by the organization in December. Bauserman, the Hornets three-year starter at QB, led Division III in passing yards per game this season as he was named first team All-ODAC for the second straight year.