By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---The Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) has named Annie Lindeman (Ottoville/Ottoville, Ohio), a sophomore outside hitter for the Owens Community College women's volleyball team, as the Sportsperson of the Year in her sport.
The conference also named freshman women's basketball forward Olivia Frost (North Baltimore/North Baltimore, Ohio) and freshman men's basketball guard Jamiri Bennett (Maumee/Toledo, Ohio) to the OCCAC's inaugural All-Sportsmanship team.
Lindeman, who is heading to Shawnee State University this fall, was the catalyst behind this past year's team choosing "Children's Medical Missions West (CMM)" as its charity to raise money. That organization provides free medical care to children who couldn't receive the care in the home country. For more info on that event, visit here.
On the court, Lindeman improved her hitting percentage by .161 from her freshman year and even had a season-high 10 kills in the team's district championship win over Sinclair. Off the court, she earned a spot on the OCCAC's All-Academic team in the fall and spring semesters.
Lindeman and the women's volleyball team finished 41-5 this past season. A 14-0 conference record led to a second straight OCCAC championship, and the team advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II semifinals before finishing in third place. It was the best season in program history at the Division II level.
Meanwhile, Frost and Bennett both went from walk-ons to scholarship recipients for Owens basketball.
Frost earned a starting role early before battling injuries through the season. She averaged 5.4 points over 19 games of action. Despite the injuries, she helped support the first team in school history to finish an undefeated regular season (30-0). She was a two-time OCCAC All-Academic team selection, while also helping lead the program to its fifth straight OCCAC championship.
Bennett, a freshman for the men's basketball team, saw action in 29 games, but was relegated to a deep reserve role at the guard spot. He was the consummate team player, though, as Owens finished 23-9 (12-4 in OCCAC play).
"Jamiri is the best teammate I've ever coached," said Owens men's basketball head coach Dennis Springs. "He's always all about the team. He's always respectful and whether he plays or not, he works harder than anybody every day in practice. And even if he's in a game for 30 seconds, he is giving it everything for those 30 seconds."
NOTES
This was the first year in which the conference awarded student-athletes for sportsmanship. Dylan Mutchler of Clark State Community College (baseball), Jackson Pietrzak of Sinclair Community College (men's basketball), Abbe Mowrer of Lakeland Community College (softball), Lindeman and Lauren Roetgerman of Sinclair Community College (women's basketball) were the sportsperson of the year recipients in each of the five official OCCAC sports.
In addition to those five individuals, as well as Frost and Bennett, the 2016-17 OCCAC All-Sportsmanship team is comprised of: Cody Dennis of Sinclair (baseball), Vejer Cox of Clark State (men's basketball), Johnnie Robinson of Columbus State (men's basketball), Cortez Allen of Cuyahoga (men's basketball), Nick Thompson of Edison State (men's basketball), Jazzlyn Petry of Sinclair (softball), Vicki Osborne of Columbus State (women's volleyball), Holly Hoffman of Cuyahoga (women's volleyball), Meg Reineke of Sinclair (women's volleyball), Marlena Channels of Clark State (women's basketball), Keyvona Davis of Columbus State (women's basketball) and Carly Buzzard of Edison State (women's basketball).