North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week | January 20, 2026
Men's Basketball - Luke Chicone, John Carroll
John Carroll graduate student Luke Chicone (Mentor, OH/Mentor) totaled 40 points while helping lead the Blue Streaks to a pair of conference wins over Oberlin (86-69) and Denison (89-75). In the win over the Yeomen, the guard led all scorers with 24 points and added six rebounds, eight assists, and five steals. Chicone then recorded 16 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, and four steals against the Big Red. For the week, he averaged 20.0 points, 8.5 assists, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.5 steals per game. Chicone currently leads the NCAC in scoring (23.3), assists (6.4), and steals (2.8) per game, while also ranking first nationally in assists, third in scoring, and tenth in steals.
Women's Basketball - Ada Taute, Denison
Denison junior guard Ada Taute (Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius College Prep) totaled 29 points while helping lead the Big Red to a pair of conference wins over Oberlin (93-56) and John Carroll (58-41). The junior scored 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor with five rebounds, six steals, one assist, and one block in the win over the Yeowomen. Taute then added eight points, seven rebounds, four steals, and one assist against the Blue Streaks. For the week, she averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 steals, and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 46 percent from the field.
Men's Swimming & Diving - Callum Glover, Wooster
Wooster senior Callum Glover (Houston, TX/Stratford) broke three Timken Natatorium records in Saturday's 170-45 win over Ohio Wesleyan. The senior swam the freestyle leg of Wooster's winning and pool-record setting 400 medley relay (3:23.65), broke the 100 freestyle pool record with a 46.85 as the leadoff of the record-setting 400 freestyle relay (3:08.78), and won the 50 freestyle (21.59).
Women's Swimming & Diving - Gwen Bakker, Denison
Denison junior Gwen Bakker (Nashville, TN/Father Ryan) recorded three wins at the Carnegie Mellon Dual as the Big Red defeated the Tartans, 214-74. In the win, the junior helped set a pool record in the 200 medley relay, finishing in 1:43.43. She also won the 100- (1:03.22) and 200- (2:16.63) breaststrokes. Bakker's mark in the 200 breast set a new personal best, and all three of her performances met the NCAA Division III B-cut standard.
Men's Sprints/Hurdles - Jacob Sandlin, DePauw
DePauw sophomore Jacob Sandlin (San Pierre, IN/Kankakee Valley) delivered a standout performance at the Friday Night Spikes Larry Cole Opener, winning the 60-meter hurdles in a school-record time of 8.05 seconds, a mark that currently ranks fourth nationally and leads the NCAC by 0.28 seconds. The sophomore also captured first place in the 200 meters with a time of 22.70 seconds and ran on DePauw's fourth-place 4x400-meter relay (3:39.38). Sandlin totaled twenty individual points on the day, helping DePauw secure a third-place team finish with 138 points among seven schools.
Men's Mid/Distance - Jacob Blubaugh, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan sophomore Jacob Blubaugh (Columbus, OH/Bishop Ready) opened the new year with a strong performance at Muskie Meet #1, winning the 3,000-meter run in a personal-best time of 8:58.82, improving on his previous best by more than twelve seconds (9:11.36). With that mark, the sophomore currently ranks second in league standings.
Men's Field - Evan Furuness, Wabash
Wabash senior Evan Furuness (Brownsburg, IN/Brownsburg) set two personal-best marks at Friday's Larry Cole Opener, helping lead the Little Giants to a second-place team finish among seven schools. The senior won the shot put with a career-best toss of 16.00 meters on his final attempt of the night, posting the 22nd-best mark in Division III this season and taking over the top spot on the NCAC performance list by nearly a full meter. Furuness also placed fourth in the weight throw with a personal-best mark of 15.71 meters, which currently ranks fourth among conference performers.
Women's Sprints/Hurdles - Noa Helmbrecht, Kenyon
Kenyon sophomore Noa Helmbrecht (Lexington, MA/Lexington) won the 60-meter dash in 8.09 seconds at the Wooster Invite, finishing first among 11 competitors and helping lead the Owls to a second-place team finish in the four-team field.
Women's Mid/Distance - Grace Flores, DePauw
DePauw junior Grace Flores (Boerne, TX/Boerne-Samuel V. Champion) recorded a personal-best time of 5:22.30 to win the one-mile run at the Friday Night Spikes Larry Cole Opener. With that time, the junior contributed ten individual points toward DePauw's first-place team finish in the six-team field and currently sits atop the NCAC standings.
Women's Field - Dakota Houston, John Carroll
John Carroll sophomore Dakota Houston (Beachwood, OH/Beachwood) won the long jump at the John Carroll Alumni Meet with a leap of 5.82 meters, finishing first overall among nine competitors. Houston's performance broke the program record in the event and marked her third school record of the season (60-meter dash, 200-meter dash). The sophomore is currently tied for third nationally and ranks first in the NCAC in the event.
Milestones & Records (Jan. 12-19)
Denison, Women's Basketball – The Big Red earned its first win over a nationally ranked opponent since the 2016-17 season with a 58-41 victory over No. 10-ranked John Carroll last week. In the win, junior guard Ada Taute (Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius College Prep) became the fastest player in program history to surpass 250 career rebounds at Denison, reaching the mark in just 43 games.
Denison, Women's Indoor Track & Field – Sophomore Julia Schena (Newburyport, MA/Newburyport) won the triple jump at the Muskie Meet #1 with a mark of 10.64 meters, a performance that ranks fourth on Denison's all-time indoor top-10 list and third in the NCAC this season.
DePauw, Women's Basketball – Head Coach Kris Huffman earned the 750th win of her career with Wednesday's 51-32 victory at Wittenberg. Huffman's 750 career wins rank 14th among active coaches across all NCAA divisions, while her .823 winning percentage sits fourth among active Division III women's basketball coaches.
John Carroll, Men's Indoor Track & Field – Sophomore Jeremy Frazao (Erie, PA/Fairview) cleared a personal-best 1.92 meters to place second at the John Carroll Alumni Meet, improving on his previous mark of 1.86 meters to rank third in the NCAC so far this season.
Ohio Wesleyan, Women's Basketball – Junior forward Macy Miller (Marysville, OH/Milford Center Fairbanks) became the 20th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points. Miller reached the milestone in Wednesday's 83-55 win over Kenyon, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, two assists, and one block.
Wittenberg, Men's Indoor Track & Field – Senior Cameron Elliott (Springfield, OH/Springfield) won both the 60- (7.05) and 200- (22.48) meter dashes at the Wooster Invitational, setting indoor personal bests in each event. His 60-meter time ranks eighth in the NCAC this season, while his 200-meter mark sits fourth in the conference.
Wooster, Men's Basketball – Senior guard Isaac Roeder (Monroeville, OH/Monroeville) scored a career-high 26 points in Saturday's 77-74 win over Ohio Wesleyan. Roeder shot 12-of-15 from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range, while adding three assists and two rebounds in the Fighting Scots' lone game of the week.
Wooster, Men's Swimming & Diving – The Fighting Scots broke five Timken Natatorium records in Saturday's 170-45 win over Ohio Wesleyan. First-year Hayden Price (Canfield, OH/Canfield) and seniors Boston Sullivan (North Canton, OH/Hoover), Will Laymon (Mt. Vernon, OH/Mt. Vernon), and Callum Glover (Houston, TX/Stratford) broke the 400 medley relay record (3:23.65), while Glover, Laymon, junior Ethan Neuner (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park & River Forest), and senior Will Laubacher (Wexford, PA/Pine Richland) broke the 400 freestyle relay record (3:08.78). Individually, Sullivan's 2:08.90 broke the 200 breaststroke pool record and Price's 50.52 100 backstroke as the leadoff of the 400 medley relay broke the facility record. Glover rounded out the pool records with the 100 free (46.85) as the leadoff leg of Wooster's 400 free relay.