Crossroads League Announces Athletes of the Week | April 17-23
Crossroads League Athletes-of-the-Week Page
JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League Athletes of the Week were announced on Monday, recognizing the league's top individual performances from April 17-23. Sports Information Directors from the league institutions nominate student-athletes for the awards and vote on each week's winners.
Baseball Player of the Week
TJ Bass, Taylor
Bass powered No. 21 Taylor within a single win of clinching the Crossroads League Championship by hitting .500 with three home runs, two doubles and seven RBI in a series win over Marian.
Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Reese Willoughby, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Willoughby carried a one-hit shutout through eight innings of a 4-0 Mount Vernon Nazarene win at Marian. The freshman fanned six hitters in his eight frames, did not yield a run and only walked one.
Softball Player of the Week
Elisa Koshy, Indiana Wesleyan
Koshy swung a hot bat for No. 20 IWU, leading the Wildcat offense with a .360 average, four home runs, two doubles and 14 runs driven in during a 7-1 week. Koshy homered twice in wins over Goshen and Bethel.
Softball Pitcher of the Week
Alyssa Wagner, Indiana Wesleyan
Wagner led No. 20 Indiana Wesleyan to a 7-1 week that included a sweep of No. 10 Marian by going 3-1 in the circle with three complete games. Wagner totaled 26.2 innings over four games, striking out 21 and posting an earned-run average of 0.79.
Women's Tennis Player of the Week
Joelle Leihbacher, Marian
Leihbacher helped Marian past RV Northwestern Ohio by a 4-3 margin with a win at No. 6 singles. The 6-0, 6-1 singles victory was the decisive point in the contest.
Men's Tennis Player of the Week
Pablo Gregori, Grace
Gregori helped No. 18 Grace to a 4-3 win over RV Cornerstone, winning at No. 4 singles and No. 1 doubles. Gregori rallied for a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 win in singles play and pulled out a 7-6 win in his doubles match.
Women's Golfer of the Week
Sabrina Langerak, Taylor
Langerak rolled to medalist honors at the Ackerman-Allen Shootout, posting scores of 73 and 75 to top the field of 39 competitors by four strokes.
Men's Golfer of the Week
Javan Johnson, Taylor
Johnson led No. 6 Taylor to a win at the Ackerman-Allen Shootout, and won medalist honors after shooting a score of six-under for the event. Johnson opened with a 66 and then played even par over the final 18 to seal the title.
Women's Outdoor TF Track Athlete of the Week
Erin Oleksak, Marian
Oleksak scored wins in the 200-meters, 100-meter hurdles and 4x400-meter relay for Marian at the Little State Championships. Oleksak also automatically qualified for NAIA Nationals in the 100-hurdles and 4x400-relay.
Women's Outdoor TF Field Athlete of the Week
Arriana Benjamin, Marian
Benjamin hit A-standards in the shot put, hammer and discus for Marian at the Little State Championships. The senior broke MU records in the discus and hammer and topped the field in the shot put.
Men's Outdoor TF Track Athlete of the Week
Steven Ott, Indiana Wesleyan
Ott scored wins in the 800-meters and 4x800-meter relay at the Indiana Little State Championships, hitting a pair of NAIA standards along the way. Ott also helped IWU post the second-fastest 4x800 time in the NAIA this season.
Men's Outdoor TF Field Athlete of the Week
Christian Rios, Marian
Rios won the discus and set a new Marian record with a distance of 55.86 meters at the Indiana Little State Championships and also placed top-three in the hammer and shot put while hitting NAIA A-standards in all three events.