Peyton Howell is unbeaten in high jump at Ohio Wesleyan
Peyton Howell is on a roll competing in the high jump for the Ohio Wesleyan women’s track team.
In six outdoor meets, the sophomore from GlenOak High School, is unbeaten and her best effort (5 feet, 4.25 inches) ranks first in the North Coast Athletic Conference and is 17th in NCAA Division III. Howell earned All-Great Lakes Region honors when she posted a career-best height of 5-8.5 in an indoor meet on Feb. 27. She was the top-seeded high jumper in Division III, but the NCAA Championship was cancelled because of the pandemic.
“Peyton has emerged as a national leader in the high jump,” head coach Kris Boey said. “She was mentored as a freshman by one of the all-time greats (four-time national champion Cirrus Robinson) and has now grown into that same role as a leader within our program.”
The NCAC Championship is set for May 9 in Granville, the NCAA Championship scheduled for May 27-29 in Greensboro, N.C.
“Peyton is poised to make a big impact at the national level and has the potential to become a perennial force in the NCAA,” Boey said.
Brody Hahn (Louisville) The 6-2, 205-pound senior quarterback wrapped up his season by being named Ohio Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week on April 13 with a record-breaking performance as the Ohio Northern football team dropped a 42-35 decision to Heidelberg on April 9. He set a singe-game record with 463 passing yards, breaking the previous mark of 452 set back in 1999. He also tied the school record for completions in a game with 29. He passed for two touchdowns and ran for three other scores. Hahn was playing his first season with the Polar Bears after a record-breaking three-year career at Muskingum. This season he got to play just four games in the OAC’s abbreviated spring schedule. Hahn threw for 1,209 yards with 10 TDs. He also carried the ball 43 times for 246 yards and seven scores.
Jordan Brewster (Hoover) The West Virginia women’s soccer team is heading to the Division I NCAA Tournament for the 21st straight year and the junior defender played a big part in helping the Mountaineers earn the bid. The team finished the regular season with a 10-2-1 overall record and a 7-2 mark in the Big 12 Conference. Brewster had a goal and two assists but more importantly helped the team limit its 13 foes to just 12 goals with three shutouts. West Virginia is seeded fifth and earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of the Rice-Furman game in the second round on May 1 in Cary, N.C.
Nikki Saibene (Perry) The Youngstown State softball team has a 27-9 overall record and a team-record with 20 wins with four losses to lead the Horizon League, and the junior infielder is the top offensive performer for the Penguins. Saibene is hitting .376, fourth best in the conference. She has 38 hits in 101 at-bats with 10 doubles, a team-high five home runs, 15 runs and a team-high 30 RBIs. Sophomore Grace Cea (Hoover) is hitting .250 and has 20 RBIs for the team.
Grace Hammer (Green) The sophomore right-hander is the top pitcher on the Lake Erie softball team (9-24, 4-8 G-MAC). Hammer has pitched in 19 games with 17 starts and 14 complete games. She is 6-10 with a save and a 3.92 ERA. In 109 innings, Hammer has given up 123 hits and 73 runs, 61 earned with 31 walks and 108 strikeouts. Her strikeouts rank third in the G-MAC.
Payton Gottshall (Perry) The Bowling Green softball team had to go nine innings to win 5-3 at Toledo in a MAC game last Tuesday and the redshirt freshman tossed a complete game to get the victory. Gottshall gave up 12 hits and three earned runs with six walks and 10 strikeouts as the Falcons moved to 18-18 overall and 10-11 in league play. She has a 12-6 record and a 1.66 ERA. In 118.1 innings, she has given up 66 hits and 30 runs, 28 earned, with 26 walks and a league-high 193 strikeouts.
Joey Mullen (Central Catholic) The sophomore helped the Xavier men’s swim team win its third straight Big East Championship earlier in April at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva. The Musketeers totaled 862.5 points. Mullen was a member of the winning 400 medley relay team (3:21.54). Individually, he finished second in the 100 butterfly (48.73) and picked up points for finishing ninth in the 200 butterfly (1:50.25).
Bre Cooper (Tuslaw) The freshman continues to be a key performer for the South Carolina Upstate softball team (22-13, 9-3 Big South). Cooper is second on the team in hitting with a .330 average (35-for-106). She has five doubles, a triple, three home runs, 23 runs and 14 RBIs. She has nine steals in 11 attempts. In the field, she has handled 34 chances without an error.
Elyssa Enrique (Hoover) The 5-4 junior has played every minute in goal for the St. Francis women’s lacrosse team (4-6, 4-5 in Northeast Conference). Enrique has given up 111 goals and made 111 saves. She had 10 saves in a 9-7 victory over Sacred Heart on March 13 and came back with nine saves in a 17-6 win over Central Connecticut on March 20.
Kaitlyn Hawkins (Green) The senior is the top pole vaulter on the Robert Morris women’s track team. She finished first at the Carnegie Mellon March Meet on March 27 in Pittsburgh with a height of 10-11.75. Hawkins improve her height when she finished second at the Robert Morris Invitational last Saturday in Moon Township, Pa with an 11-5.75. Her personal-best is 12-1.5, which she posted when she finished third in the Northeast Conference Championship in 2018.
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