North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week | October 20, 2026
Men's Cross Country - Sam Su, John Carroll
John Carroll junior Sam Su (Akron, OH/Woodridge) led the Blue Streaks at Saturday’s Augustana Interregional Invitational, placing eighth out of 355 runners. Su set a career best by completing the 8k course with a time of 24:22.9, nearly 40 seconds quicker than his previous best. The finish was the junior’s highest this season, and helped John Carroll place 12th in a 37-team field that featured eight top-25 ranked Div. III programs.
Women's Cross Country - Zoe Ward, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan senior Zoe Ward (Columbus, OH/Worthington Christian) paced the No. 28-ranked Battling Bishops to a 10th-place finish at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday. Ward whipped up a career-best 6k time of 21:18.6. It was a loaded 28-team field that featured 11 ranked teams, and the senior secured 14th place out of 258 runners.
Field Hockey - Clare Kammeier, Oberlin
Oberlin senior Clare Kammeier (Annapolis, MD/Annapolis) scored her first career hat trick in a 6-1 win over Transylvania, pouring in three goals and one assist in the first half, including two goals in less than three minutes. Kammeier’s assist led to a teammate’s first career goal, while her hat trick marked the first by an Oberlin athlete in 13 years. The six goals were Oberlin’s most in a game since 2013, and the victory secured the Yeowomen’s first season with at least three conference wins since that year.
Football (Offensive) - Giovanni Rufus, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan sophomore Giovanni Rufus (Columbus, OH/Franklin Heights) ran for a career-high 137 yards and two scores on 23 attempts in a 21-6 win over Wittenberg on Saturday. The running back also added 26 return yards to tally 163 all-purpose yards. Rufus led an OWU rushing attack that totaled 311 of the team's 392 total offensive yards.
Football (Defensive) - Chris Green, DePauw
DePauw junior Chris Green (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) delivered a defensive outing that included six total tackles (3 solo, 3 assists), 2.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks in a 62-14 win over Denison. The defensive lineman’s stops behind the line set the opposing offense back 24 total yards, and he added a game-high four quarterback hurries. Green also generated a forced fumble that the Tigers recovered and turned into a touchdown on the next play as DePauw defended its home field.
Women's Golf - Sasha Belova, Kenyon
Kenyon sophomore Sasha Belova (Ekaterinburg, Russia/Ekaterinburg Gymnasium #2) earned medalist honors at the Clovernook Intercollegiate, topping a field of 82 golfers to secure her third collegiate tournament victory. The sophomore carded a two-round total of 147, including a one-under-par 71 in the final round, to win by four strokes. Belova's performance helped the Owls finish third among 14 teams, just three strokes behind the co-champions.
Men's Soccer - Andrew Adams, Kenyon
Kenyon junior Andrew Adams (Westerville, OH/Westerville North) helped lead the No. 14-ranked Owls tally two wins over the week, scoring in each victory. Adams tied a season high with four shots at John Carroll, finishing with one goal and one assist to help secure the 3-2 win. In a 3-1 victory over Mount Union, the junior netted a goal on his lone shot attempt.
Women's Soccer - Jordyn Adams, Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan senior Jordyn Adams (Carroll, OH/Bloom-Carroll) delivered the deciding goal in the Battling Bishops’ 3-2 victory on the road at DePauw. The forward found the back of the net late in the match, scoring in the 88th minute on her second shot of the game. Adams’ game-winner clinched OWU’s first win in NCAC play since the 2024 season.
Men's Swimming & Diving - Leo Karnitz, Kenyon
Kenyon junior Leo Karnitz (Knoxville, TN/Farragut) was the top finisher in the 100 breaststroke, the best individual performance for the Owls in a dual against NCAA Div. II UIndy. Karnitz stopped the clock at 54.98, matching the NCAA ‘B’ cut cutoff and setting a career-best time. The junior also added a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:02.92) and was part of Kenyon’s runner-up 200 medley relay quartet (1:30.53).
Women's Swimming & Diving - Gwen Bakker, Denison
Denison senior Gwen Bakker (Nashville, TN/Father Ryan) competed against five NCAA Div. I teams at the Akron Zips Classic, compiling three NCAA ‘B’ cuts and setting three personal bests over the weekend. Bakker’s best finish came in the 100 breaststroke, where she placed third with a personal-best time of 1:01.53. She also posted career-best times in the 200 breaststroke (2:16.10) and the 200 individual medley (2:10.14), and added a ‘B’ cut as part of the seventh-place Big Red 200 medley relay team (1:43.76).
Volleyball - Mary Kate Sheehan, John Carroll
John Carroll senior Mary Kate Sheehan (Chicago, IL/Mother McAuley) posted three strong performances and hit .430 to help the Blue Streaks secure three non-conference wins over an undefeated week. The right side started strong with a season-high 18 kills in a 3-2 win over Case Western Reserve and followed it up with 13 kills at a .462 clip while also adding six digs in a five-set win over Hiram. Against Franciscan, Sheehan cracked double-digit kills again with 10, hitting .409.
Milestones and Records (Oct. 12-19)
Denison, Women’s Cross Country - Sophomore Shaylee Murdough (Contoocook, NH/Hopkinton Middle) placed second at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble 6K with a personal-best time of 22:39.5, improving her fastest time by 39 seconds on a muddy course and helping Denison finish third as a team.
Denison, Field Hockey - The Big Red broke the program’s 13-year-old single-season assist record of 41 in Sunday’s 5-0 victory over Allegheny, bringing their season total to 42.
DePauw, Football - The Tigers blocked two punts in a 62-14 win over Denison, marking the first time the program had blocked two punts in a game since 2003.
DePauw, Volleyball - Junior setter Julia McWaters (Cincinnati, OH/Ursuline Academy) recorded her 1,000th career assist after tallying 22 against UC Santa Cruz. McWaters currently has 1,031 career assists.
John Carroll, Women’s Cross Country - Senior Morgan Dobos (Copley, OH/Revere) recorded a personal-best time of 21:52.5 in the 6K at the Augustana Interregional Invitational, finishing 31st out of 314 runners and helping the Blue Streaks place ninth out of 35 teams. Dobos competed against nine Division III programs ranked in the top 30 and recorded her highest finish of the season.
John Carroll, Football - Senior Jack McDaniels (Westwood, MA/Westwood) hauled in the game-winning 63-yard touchdown reception in a dramatic 24-17 Homecoming victory over Wabash. McDaniels finished with career highs of four catches and 94 receiving yards, while the touchdown marked the second of his career.
Oberlin, Volleyball - Sophomore Mara Geiger (North Royalton, OH/North Royalton) recorded a career-high 20 kills, while hitting .364 in a 3-1 win over Wooster, helping Oberlin secure its first conference victory of the season.
Ohio Wesleyan, Field Hockey - Junior forward Mary Powers (Centreville, VA/Chantilly) cemented her place among the most prolific goal-scorers in program history with seven goals during the week. At W&J, Powers scored a career-high four goals, including three in the first half and two in the opening 10 minutes, to finish with eight points in the game.
Ohio Wesleyan, Volleyball - Senior libero Avery Krause (Cleveland, OH/Holy Name) surpassed 1,000 career digs with 24 on Saturday against 19th-ranked Otterbein. Krause currently has 1,006 career digs.
WashU, Football - Senior Levi Moore (Nashville, TN/Ensworth) became the program’s all-time leading scorer with 240 career points, surpassing the previous record of 236, as the Bears earned a win over Kenyon.
Wooster, Women’s Cross Country - First-year Stella Anderson (Austin, TX/Ann Richards) finished 11th out of 129 competitors at Friday’s Jenna Strong Invitational with a collegiate-best 5K time of 19:52.5, helping the Fighting Scots place seventh as a team. Anderson recorded her third top-15 finish of the season.
Wooster, Football - Senior quarterback Michael Boyle (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen) connected with junior receiver Chance Bennett (Orlando, FL/Hagerty) on a 98-yard touchdown pass in Saturday’s win over Oberlin, tying the program record for the longest touchdown pass. The previous 98-yard touchdown pass came in 2021 against Wittenberg, when Mateo Renteria connected with Bryant Douglas II.