COLLEGE REPORT: Wilson's national championships highlight county grad performances in college

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Huntington University sophomore Emma Wilson of Greencastle won two individual national championships and was a member of a national champion relay team at the 2021 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships earlier this month.

The women finished eighth with 32 team points.

Wilson's first national title came in the mile where she clocked in at 4:48.94. She followed up that performance by winning the 3000 meters in 9:58.89. She also ran a leg of the winning distance medley relay team and earned All-American honors for her role in the prelims of the 4x800 meter relay.

Most impressive about the University of Illinois transfer's performance was logging all three of her first place finishes within a five-hour span in the same day.

Wilson wrapped up the afternoon less than an hour after the 3K by running the 1600-meter leg of the DMR. She along with Sydney Lambert, Mia Ostopovich and Jessica Chojnacki teamed up to blow away the competition, winning in 11:56.94 (20 seconds faster than second-place Milligan).

When all was said and done, the HU women, the defending national champions, racked up three national titles and a total of 11 All-American accolades.

In February, Wilson was honored as the NAIA Indoor Track Athlete of the Week, earning her fourth national weekly badge of the year having been named the NAIA Cross Country Runner of the Week three times last fall.

On Saturday, Wilson clocked in at 9:45.65 in the 3000 meters to not only take first at the Midwest Classic but also claim the top 3K time in the NAIA this season. She also ran the 1600 meter leg of the distance medley relay that brought home a first place finish as well. HU's DMR time of 12:17.76 leads the nation.

In addition to holding the top spot nationally in the 3000 meters and DMR, Wilson also boasts the fastest 1000 meter and mile time too.

In other recent news from Putnam County graduates competing in college:

• Moore named all-district, all-conference, all-tourney — Oakland junior point guard Jalen Moore of Cloverdale was named to the All-District 12 First Team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

Moore is the first Golden Grizzly to earn NABC All-District First Team honors since Kendrick Nunn in 2018. Xavier Hill-Mais was named to the Second Team in 2019.

The transfer from Olney Central College played in all 30 games, averaging 17.9 points, 8.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per contest. He currently leads the nation in assists per game and minutes played (1,134:50) while ranking second in free throw attempts (219) and free throw makes (170). The Cloverdale, Ind. native totaled a team-leading 10 double-doubles — the most in the country by a player below 6-foot. To add, Moore went off for 18 points, 14 assists, and 11 rebounds against UDM (1/22) for OU's first triple-double since Kay Felder (3/29/16).

Against Horizon League opponents, Moore averaged 18.3 points (third in HL), 9.5 assists (first in HL), 4.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals (sixth in HL) per game. He earned his lone HL Player of the Week award (1/18) after posting consecutive double-doubles en route to a weekend sweep over Youngstown State. In League play alone, Moore scored in double figures 17 times and dished out 10-plus assists in 11 games to earn first-team all-conference honors.

Moore helped the Golden Grizzlies land the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and a trip to the Horizon League Championship game against Cleveland State. He averaged 18.7 points, 8.3 assists, and 5.0 rebounds in postseason play to earn a spot on the Horizon League Championship All-Tournament Team. Oakland finished the season at 12-18 overall and 10-10 in conference action.

• Neese still undecided — Cloverdale grad Cooper Neese remains undecided on his collegiate future after putting his name in the transfer portal earlier this month.

Indiana State did not renew the contract of former coach Greg Lansing, and Neese and several other players put their names in the portal to test potential interest from other schools. The Sycamores have hired Josh Schertz of Division II Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.), whose team is still alive in the NCAA tournament.

• Mundy named top GLIAC pitcher - Saginaw Valley State University sophomore pitcher Julia Mundy was named the GLIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week for her performance over the weekend.

The Greencastle native made two appearances over the weekend, including a complete-game shutout of Cedarville University. Mundy tossed all seven innings, scattering seven hits, walking two, and striking out six.

In the first game at the University of Findlay on Saturday, Mundy went 4.2 innings, allowing six hits and one unearned run, while walking one and striking out six more batters.

Mundy is 4-0 on the season, allowing six earned runs in 33 innings (1.27 ERA) with 21 strikeouts and 10 walks. She has started five games, with two complete games.

• Stoffregen on all-region relay team — Greencastle sophomore Seelye Stoffregen of the DePauw Tigers was one of four members of the 4x400 relay team who recnetly earned All-Region Honors from the USTFCCCA.

The quartet of Erin Pasch, Annalise Grammel, Stoffregen and Charlotte Borland finished in 8th place, running 4:04.8 to break its own school record they set two weeks ago.

In the first outdoor meet of the season on Saturday at Rose-Hulman, Stoffregen placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 28.05 and also in the 100 hurdles with a time of 17:58.

Stoffregen and the 4x400-meter relay team also won with a time of 4:10.08.

• York, Grizzlies win HCAC - For the first time since the 2007-08 season, the Franklin men's basketball team claimed the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship.

The Grizzlies (9-6) capped off a stellar run through the conference tournament that saw them win three straight road games en route to the program's fifth conference tournament championship. The final one was never in doubt, as Franklin led for almost 35 minutes of game action in a 73-54 win over host Transylvania University (8-9).

Colin York of Greencastle is a junior guard for the Grizzlies.

• Watts, Blazers ranked No. 22 – Cloverdale's Parker Watts has emerged as the closer out of the bullpen for the No. 22-ranked Vincennes University baseball team.

The Trailblazers split a four-game Mid-West Athletic Conference series last weekend with Lewis & Clark. VU won the opening game of the series 10-7 on Saturday, as Watts closed out the win with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to improve his record to 3-0.

In nine innings of work this spring, Watts has allowed no earned runs and has struck out 10 batters while walking just six. He also has one save.

• Combs top JUCO blocker – Tori Combs of Lincoln Trail ranks first in the national in three blocking categories for all National Junior College Athletic Association Division II players.

The sophomore from Cloverdale is first in the nation with 77 solo blocks, while also leading the nation with 119 total blocks and a 1.59 block-per-set average.

• Bratcher excelling for Tigers - Seventh-ranked DePauw moved to 14-1 following a doubleheader sweep at 10th-ranked Transylvania by scores of 8-0 and 4-2 on Monday.

South Putnam sophomore Drew Bratcher has started eight games for the Tigers, batting .360 with five runs scored, two doubles, one triple, nine RBI and 13 total bases. She has only struck out three times in 25 at-bats, and also has an .800 fielding percentage.