By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
PHOTO GALLERY - here
Perrysburg, Ohio---The Owens Community College athletic department named Jessica Grindle (Northwood/Northwood, Ohio) and Brandon Hoelzer (Fremont Ross/Fremont, Ohio) as the female and male athletes of the year at last night's Athletic Awards Banquet.
Grindle, a sophomore on the Express women's soccer team, was named a Second Team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) after a season of 23 goals and five assists. She finished her two-year career with 29 goals and eight assists.
Additionally, Grindle led the Express women's soccer team to a 17-2-2 record, a program record 15 straight wins, the program's first Region XII tournament championship and the program's first appearance in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I National Tournament. At nationals, Grindle scored two goals and was named to the all-tournament team. Prior to that, Grindle scored two goals in the Region XII tournament and was named the tournament MVP.
Hoelzer, meanwhile, is currently competing as a sophomore member of the No. 3 Express men's golf team. As a freshman, he helped lead the team to a berth in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, where he earned Honorable Mention All-American honors. Additionally, he was named First Team All-OCCAC, First Team All-Region XII, Region XII Player of the Year and Ping Honorable Mention All-American.
This year, Hoelzer earned First Team All-Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) honors and won OCCAC Player of the Year honors after getting the lowest combined score over six tournaments. Until just recently, Hoelzer and the Express were ranked No. 1 in the nation since the fall season.
Hoelzer and the Express won the OCCAC championship and the Sub-Region XII tournament. They will compete in the Region XII tournament in a week for a trip to nationals.
Other Banquet Honors
The Express men's soccer team named Troy Watson (Sir Wilfrid Laurier/Toronto, Ontario, Canada) the team MVP and Austin Combs (Anthony Wayne/Maumee, Ohio) the Coaches Award winner.
Watson was named First Team All-OCCAC and captured the conference's Defensive Player of the Year award. The sophomore will attend Saginaw Valley State University next year. Combs, a freshman, will be back with the team next year.
The Express softball team named Brittany George (Elmwood/Wayne, Ohio) the team MVP and Lesley Ducat (Evergreen/Lyons, Ohio) the Coaches Award winner.
George, a freshman shortstop, is currently hitting .524, while Ducat is 18-3 as a freshman pitcher.
The Express baseball team named Kyle Bennett (Grove City/Grove City, Ohio) the team MVP and Michael Finch (Norwalk/Norwalk, Ohio) the Coaches Award winner.
Bennett, a freshman pitcher, is 6-1 with a 1.33 ERA this year and hasn't thrown more than 80 pitches in any game. He has only five walks in 54 innings. Finch is a freshman outfielder/pitcher who is currently hitting .314.
The Express men's basketball team named Bikramjit Gill (Our Ascension of the Lord/Toronto, Ontario, Canada) the team MVP and Andy Bachman (North Side/Fort Wayne, Ind.) the Coaches Award winner.
Gill averaged 15.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game this year. He was named First Team All-OCCAC, First Team All-Region XII and a Third Team NJCAA Division II All-American. He will play at Ball State University next year.
Bachman, who will play at Tiffin University next year, averaged 11.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game as a sophomore.
The Express women's basketball team named Kamilah Carter (Pioneer/Ann Arbor, Mich.) the team MVP, Eboni Adams (Maple Heights/Cleveland, Ohio) the Coaches Award winner and Malaysha Cammon (Divine Child/Dearborn, Mich.) the Mark Henry Award winner.
Carter averaged a team-high 19.3 points per game as a sophomore. She was named First Team All-OCCAC and First Team All-Region XII, and she is currently deciding where to play next year.
Adams, a sophomore guard, averaged 12.3 points per game. She is also choosing where to play next year. Meanwhile, Cammon fought back from a freshman year injury to average 1.7 points, two rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. The Mark Henry Award goes to a sophomore that exhibits the best sportsmanship and determination. It is named in honor of former Owens women's basketball head coach Mark Henry, who died in a car accident in the summer of 2003.
The Express women's soccer team named Elizabeth Theaker (Maumee/Maumee, Ohio) the team MVP and Marissa Ramirez (Northwood/Northwood, Ohio) the Coaches Award winner.
Theaker, who scored the game winning goal in the Region XII tournament championship game, had three goals and three assists as a sophomore defender this past year. She was named to the Region XII All-Tournament team, and she scored the game winning goal in PKs against Butler Community College at the national tournament. She will play at MidAmerica Nazarene University next year.
Ramirez, a sophomore defender, locked down the nation's top two scorers in the national tournament last year. She was named Second Team All-Region XII and NSCAA All-Central Region. She had one goal and two assists as a sophomore.
The Express women's volleyball team named Lisa Urbanski (Notre Dame Academy/Toledo, Ohio) the team MVP and Sara Turner-Smith (Cardinal Stritch/Toledo, Ohio) the Coaches Award winner.
Urbanski, a sophomore defensive specialist, will play at Lourdes University next year. As a sophomore, she had 835 digs en route to First Team All-OCCAC, First Team All-Region XII and All-Region XII tournament team honors. Turner-Smith, a freshman, will be back with the Express next year.
The Express men's golf team named Hoelzer their team MVP and Harrison Long (Wilnecote/Tamworth, U.K.) their Coaches Award winner.
Long, a freshman, medaled four straight tournaments earlier in the spring season. He is one of the nation's top freshman golfers.