College notes: Highland grad Owen Wendl named MAC Field Athlete of the Week

The University of Akron's Owen Wendl (Highland) was named Mid-American Conference Field Athlete of the Week after his career-best shot put throw of 59 feet, 4.25 inches at Kent State's Jud Logan Invitational. The throw not only won the event but is the best mark in the MAC and 35th nationally. Wendl backed that up by winning the shot put at the Doug Raymond Invitational at Kent State with a 59-2.75. Wendl joined teammate Isaac Baltic (Cloverleaf) with a conference honor, as the Cloverleaf graduate was the MAC Field Athlete of the Week for Dec. 16. Men's basketball Sophomore Quinn Barnett (Brunswick) scored in double figures in three straight games for Walsh with 18 points in a win over Hillsdale, 15 in a loss to Lake Erie and 13 in a win over Northwood. Through 20 games, he is averaging 15.1. Sophomore Brock Beech (Medina) scored in double figures in back-to-back games for Baldwin Wallace with 12 points against Otterbein and 14 points against Marietta. Redshirt sophomore Solomon Callaghan (Wadsworth) scored in double figures in three straight games for Wright State with 12 points in a win over Milwaukee, 15 points in a win over Green Bay and 14 points in a loss to Robert Morris. He has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games and is averaging 14.0 over that span. Women's basketball Redshirt sophomore Lea Holmes (Brunswick) stretched her double-figure scoring streak to six in wins over Ashland, Malone and Walsh. She scored 17 against Ashland, 13 against Malone and 20 points and 12 rebounds against Walsh. Freshman Olivia Klanac (Medina) had the first two double-figure scoring games of her career for Coastal Carolina, scoring a career-high 14 points against Arkansas State and 13 against Bowling Green. She knocked down three 3-pointers against Arkansas State and a pair against Bowling Green. Men's wrestling Freshman Jack Dinwiddie (Wadsworth) finished fourth for Wheeling (W. Va.) at the Mountain east Conference championships at 141 pounds. In the consolation semifinals, he pinned Salem's Elijah Hunter in just 1:30. Junior Chris Earnest (Wadsworth) won a pair of matches at 156 pounds for Kent State in a dual against Long Island and Clarion, both by technical fall. His match against Jack Valentin of Long Island ended at 16-0, while his win over Gabe Lilly of Clarion was 17-1. He also helped the Golden Flashes take home The Grudge Match Trophy against Ohio University with a 9-0 major decision over nationally-ranked Jack Lledo. Freshman Jaxon Joy (Wadsworth), ranked No. 2 nationally at 149, picked up a pair of wins against Columbia and Arizona State in a dual meet with two technical falls, first against Richard Fedalen of Columbia and then over Daniel Miranda of Arizona State. Then against Princeton, Joy left no doubt with a 13-0 major decision. Sophomore Kaden King (Buckeye) helped Iowa Central Community College take home the NJCAA Coaches Association Duals National Championship for the eighth time. He went 5-0 in the event. Men's track and field Freshman Garrett Shook (Medina) took home second place for Walsh in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.37 seconds at the Muskie Meet at Muskingum University. Women's track and field Junior Addie Beck (Wadsworth) finished first in the pole vault for Ohio Wesleyan at the Bob Shannon Invitational at Denison with a mark of 3.40 meters. Sophomore Sierra Podolan (Highland) had a personal best with a weight throw of 15.40 meters for Bowling green to place 14th at the Doug Raymond Invitational. Men's swimming and diving Junior Nathan Herbert (Highland) stood atop the podium in two events for Ohio Northern in a win over Mount Union, winning the 1,000-yard freestyle and 100 breaststroke. Women's swimming and diving Senior Isabelle Parr and freshman Chloe Parr (Brunswick) helped Mount Union win a meet against Ohio Northern. The sisters were on the 200-medley relay and 400-free relays that took home first place, while Isabelle finished second in the 50 free and the 100 butterfly and Chloe was second in the 200 free. Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.