Freedom’s Wheeler continues to lead 3-1 Richmond in tackles
Tristan Wheeler is leading the Richmond football team in tackles. But that’s not big news. The 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker has led the Spiders in that department the previous three seasons.
Wheeler, a Freedom High School graduate, has 43 tackles to help Richmond to a 3-1 record after opening Colonial Athletic Association play with a 51-7 triumph over Stony Brook last Saturday. Wheeler had five tackles but saw limited action in the lopsided game. He had a career-high 19 tackles in a 34-17 loss to Virginia in the season opener and came back
with 12 tackles in a 31-21 triumph over St. Francis.
Twice in his career, Wheeler has passed the 100 mark in tackles. He had 104 as a freshman in 2021 and 114 last fall. He also led the team with 38 in a four-game shortened season in 2020-21. He is a two-time CAA first-team selection and was named to numerous All-American teams including a second-team selection on the Stat Perform FCS squad last season. That group named him to the preseason All-America heading into this season.
Graduate student Jakob Herres, a wide receiver (Easton) has 18 receptions for 177 yards.
Annika Herbine — Iowa field hockey (Emmaus)
The sophomore forward is the leading scorer on the Hawkeyes who are 8-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference after a 6-1 nonleague victory over Ball State on Sunday. Herbine has six goals and six assists for 18 points with three game winners. Fifth-year senior Leah Zellner (Emmaus) and sophomore Jacey Wittel (Pocono Mountain East) have chipped in with two assists each.
Rylee Donaldson — Bucknell women’s soccer (Salisbury)
The 5-foot-5 senior forward is the leading scorer on the 5-4-1 Bison with three goals and two assists and a game-winner. She lost a goal when lightning canceled a game with Mount St. Mary’s. Donaldson was named the Patriot
League’s Offensive Player of the Year last season with 10 goals and an assist. Senior Ashley Groeber (Pennridge) has come off the bench in six games for the team.
Logan Clouser — Duke field hockey (The Hill School)
The sophomore from Bethlehem is the leading goal scorer for the Blue Devils who are 4-6 overall and 0-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference after a 4-2 nonleague loss to No. 21 James Madison on Sunday. Clouser has four goals. She had a three-goal hat trick in a 10-1 victory over Colgate on Sept. 18. As a freshman Clouser led the team with 13 points on five goals and three assists. She scored four of her goals in the team’s final six games.
Michael Ruisch — Susquehanna football (Parkland)
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound graduate student and the River Hawks have started 4-0 after a 45-0 Centennial Conference victory over Dickinson last Saturday, Ruisch connected on 14 of 25 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns. On the season, he has completed 72 of 121 passes for
1,032 yards and 10 touchdowns. In four seasons, he has connected on 608 of 1,066 attempts for 7,682 and 77 touchdowns. His freshman brother Jesse sees action on defense and has nine tackles in four games.
Jamie Byrne — West Chester women’s volleyball (Liberty)
The 5-foot-10 redshirt sophomore setter is having a big all-around season for the Golden Rams who are 13-1 overall and 3-0 in the PSAC East. Byrne has 396 assists along with 100 digs, 30 kills, 22 service aces and 16 total blocks.
She was named PSAC East Athlete of the Week on Sept. 12. Freshman
Brynn Dreisbach (Parkland) has 136 kills and 99 digs and earned league honors on Sept. 5. Sophomore Sydney Heffner (Northampton) has 173 digs and 25 service aces.
Kayla Argen — Kutztown women’s soccer (Pocono Mountain East)
The graduate student leads the Golden Bears in scoring with nine points. She has four goals and an assist with two game winners to help the team start with a 5-2-1 overall record with a 4-2-1 mark in PSAC East play. The losses came against No. 5 West Chester and No. 22 Bloomsburg, with 1-0 scores. Argen’s game winners were recorded against Shepherd (3-0) and Millersville (2-0). She had two goals and an assist in a 5-0 triumph over Mansfield.
Jake Varrato — Arcadia men’s soccer (Parkland)
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound graduate student had a breakout season in 2021 and is off to a great start this season for the 5-2-2 Knights. Goalkeeper Varrato has played in all but 15.07 minutes in front of the net and has given up nine goals with 27 saves and four shutouts and part of a fifth. Last season, he was the first Arcadia men’s soccer play to earn All-Region honors and was MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year.
Jaiden Wittel — New Hampshire field hockey (Pocono Mountain East)
The 5-foot-7 senior has started all eight games for the 3-5 Wildcats and has scored two goals. Her scores came in a 3-0 victory over Quinnipiac and in a 4-3 loss to No. 25-ranked Massachusetts. Two other area players have been key performers for New Hampshire. Senior Ava Mariani (Wilson Area) has started all eight games and has an assist. Junior Olivia Watson (Easton) has played in eight games with a start.
Rachel Hess — Towson (Md) women’s volleyball (Central Catholic)
The 5-foot-8 senior is off to a good start with the Tigers who are 13-0 overall and 3-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association after a 3-0 conference victory over Stony Brook last Saturday. Hess had 18 digs in the match. She leads the team with 139 digs and had a season-high 22 in a 3-1 triumph over Princeton. Hess played her freshman season at La Salle and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team.
Hannah Tepper — Assumption (Ma) field hockey (Stroudsburg)
The graduate student has started all five games on defense for the Greyhounds, the team 3-2 after a 2-1 victory over New Haven last Wednesday. The team opened the season with back-to-back losses to No. 2-ranked West Chester and No. 3-ranked East Stroudsburg. Tepper has a goal and an assist, the goal a game winner in a 2-1 victory over Southern New Hampshire. It was the second goal of her career.