Ohio Northern’s Richards takes two NCAA track titles

Delaware graduate Emily Richards, a junior at Ohio Northern, capped a historic track season in the NCAA Division III championships recently, winning the 800- and 1,500meter titles.

In beating the field by some five seconds, Richards set a meet record of 2 minutes, 3.51 seconds in the 800, slightly slower than her nationalrecord 2:02.34 clocking earlier in the season. Her 1,500 time of 4:23.87 set a stadium record at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio, on May 27.

“I was pretty nervous heading into the 800,” Richards said. “I just ran the 1,500 pretty hard right before the 800 and my legs were a little tired. Once I started running, everything just started taking care of itself and I felt great. Getting the meet record in the 800 was pretty special to me.” Elsewhere on the track: • Two former Columbus Academy stars, redshirt sophomore Jack Lint of Virginia and sophomore Julia Rizk of UCLA, qualified for the NCAA championships.

Rizk ran a career-best 2:05.02 in the 800 to take sixth on the school’s all-time list. She also led the Bruins in the 1,500 (4:26.07). Lint was runner-up in the Atlantic Coast Conference decathlon. His seasonbest of 7,478 points ranks fourth in program history.

• Wittenberg’s Tyler Gittins, a junior from Columbus Academy, took third in the 400 hurdles (52.56) in the NCAA Division III meet. He came in seeded 14th.

• Ohio Wesleyan’s Ifa Abduljelil, a senior from Whitehall, was North Coast Athletic Conference champion in the 110 hurdles (14.57) and ran on the victorious 400 relay (43.05) with Olentangy grad Colin McShane. Abduljelil qualified to the NCAA championships but did not place.

• Capital freshman Taylor Manivanh, a product of Central Crossing, made allGreat Lakes Region in the triple jump. She was Ohio Athletic Conference runner-up in the event (36-9).

Baseball

• A handful of area players helped Otterbein (31-14) reach NCAA Division III regional play.

Junior designed hitter Bryan Stopar of DeSales (.346 batting average, six homers, 43 RBI, 36 runs) and senior catcher Stephan Hernon (.335, eight homers, 43 RBI) each made all-OAC and all-Mideast Region. Outfielder Brock Frentzel of Gahanna batted .273 with seven homers. Junior Craig Prince of Licking Valley (7-4, 2.25 ERA, 94 strikeouts) and sophomore Johnny Putnam of Liberty Union (8-2, 2.77 ERA, 44 strikeouts) led the pitching staff.

• Gahanna grad Evan White, a junior first baseman, helped Kentucky (43-21) reach its first NCAA super regional. He is batting .368 with nine homers, 40 RBI and 47 runs. USA Baseball has selected White as one of 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes award as the top amateur player. He is expected to be among the top 50 players chosen in the upcoming major league draft June 12-14.

• Sophomore Chandler Day of Watkins Memorial has helped Vanderbilt (36-23-1) to a regional championship. Day is 7-2 with a 3.78 ERA.

Softball

• Four area players played significant roles in Ohio (42-18) setting a school record for wins en route to the Mid-American Conference East title.

Senior pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey went 25-9 with a 1.14 ERA (seventh best in the nation) and 360 strikeouts (second nationally). She made second-team all-Mideast Region. The Bobcats’ top three hitters were junior shortstop Mikayla Cooper of Delaware (.337, five homers, 26 RBI), sophomore third baseman Alex Day of Hilliard Bradley (.318, 26 RBI, team-high 43 runs) and junior infielder Taylor Saxton of Logan Elm (.317, 27 runs, 19 stolen bases).

• Sophomore pitcher Taran Alvelo of BloomCarroll led Washington (50-14) to the Women’s College World Series semifinals. The firstteam all-Pacific 12 choice went 34-9 with a 2.07 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 254 innings pitched.

• Olentangy Orange grad Mason Robinson tossed two perfect games in a span of five days for Murray State (3620). She finished 23-9 with a 2.20 ERA and 116 strikeouts. She graduates as the program’s all-time leader in wins (68) and shutouts (10).

• Dayton junior Manda Cash of Worthington Kilbourne went 15-12 with a 2.74 ERA and 204 strikeouts and also batted .340. Sophomore Teammate Kyle Davidson of Olentangy Orange batted .317 with 22 RBI.

• Youngstown State freshman Maddi Lusk of Johnstown made second-team all-Horizon League and was named co-freshman of the year after going 17-13 with a 2.75 ERA and 143 strikeouts. She also batted .281 with 19 RBI.

• Otterbein sophomore shortstop Alyson Shaw of Gahanna earned second-team All-America after a season in which she batted .441, amassed 88 total bases and scored 37 runs. Senior centerfielder Molly Riggs of Pickerington Central (.443, 25 stolen bases) was selected OAC player of the year.

Lacrosse

• Senior third-year starting defender and captain Macauley Mikes helped Gettysburg capture the Division III women’s national championship. Mikes had 26 ground balls and only two turnovers. She played in a school-record 86 games.

• Otterbein senior Katy Williams of Westerville North set a single-season record with 53 goals, leaving her second on the career list with 115.

Golf

• Thanks to the efforts of two area players, Wittenberg won its first Division III championship. Senior Garrett Brickley of Pickerington North birdied Nos. 17 and 18 for a final-round 68 that pushed him into a tie for first place. He lost the playoff, however. Senior Mark David Wright of Tree of Life took 42nd. Brickley averaged 73.83 strokes over 29 rounds in the fall and spring seasons and Wright 75.76.