SHU Student-Athletes Excel in the Classroom

Siena Heights student-athletes earned a 3.09 GPA in the fall 2016 semester. Leading the way was the women’s golf team with a 3.61 GPA, followed by the softball team (3.57). Every women’s team earned a 3.0 or higher, with an aggregate GPA of 3.33 on the women’s side. The men’s teams were led by the men’s soccer team with a 3.42 GPA. The men’s aggregate GPA was a 2.91.

Basketball

Women: The Saints (24-10) fell to No. 11 Morningside (Iowa) 90-73 in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. SHU also dropped a 77-39 decision to No. 7 Davenport in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament championship. Senior April Watson was named a first team NAIA All-American, the first player in program history to earn the honor. The forward/center averaged 19.4 points, 11.3 rebounds and two blocks a game this season. Watson finished eighth all-time in scoring with 1,073 points in just two seasons with the program. She also finished first in scoring average (16.8) and sixth all-time with 661 total rebounds. Watson also holds the single-season rebounding record with 383, set this season. She also completed her career with a SHU record 129 career blocks. Watson was also named to the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference first team and also garnered a spot on the all-defensive team. Senior guard Jaaliyah Arrington earned a spot on the All-WHAC second team, as well as on the all-academic team. Demi Russell was named to the conference’s all-freshman team, with Avery Chezem the team’s Champions of Character recipient. The Saints, who appeared in the national tournament for the fourth time, finished 23rd in the final NAIA Top 25 poll.

Men: The Saints (16-15) made a run at No. 2 Cornerstone before falling 74-70 in the opening round of the conference tournament. SHU, had its first winning season since 2009-10. Senior Jerrell Martin was named to the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference second team after averaging 13 points and seven rebounds this season. He also was the team’s Champions of Character recipient. Martin also became the 37th player in men’s program history to reach 1,000 career points.

Bowling

Women: The Saints reached the quarterfinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. The Saints also placed 13th at the American Heartland Intercollegiate Bowling Conference Championship, and also competed at the Intercollegiate Team Championships Sectional Qualifier in Tennessee, placing 12th out of 16 teams.

Men: The Saints finished 1-2 at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships. SHU also finished 15th at the American Heartland Intercollegiate Bowling Conference Championship in Ft. Wayne, Ind., and competed at the Intercollegiate Team Championships Sectional Qualifier in Tennessee, placing 15th out of 18 teams.

Cheer

The host Saints placed seventh out of 12 teams at Saturday’s NAIA Northeast Regional. Senior Kortney Ouellette was named an NAIA All-American, the first in the program’s history. Ouellette was also named the WHAC Cheerleader of the Year, made the All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference first team, the All-WHAC Academic Team and was the SHU Champions of Character recipient. Siena Heights placed fourth at the conference championships at Concordia. Safiya Best and Kara Morley were also each named to the WHAC’s all-academic team. Best was also named a NAIA Scholar Athlete for the second consecutive year. Finally, the Saints finished fourth at the CANAM National Championship event in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Cross Country

Women: Junior Ashley Russo crossed the line in 62nd place at the NAIA Championships in Elsah, Ill. Russo ran a time of 18 minutes, 23.01 seconds. She was the only Saint to qualify for the national meet. Seniors Lauren McMahon and Mariah Ridal and junior Amber Koprin and Kristin Stobinski were each named NAIA Scholar-Athletes. The Saints finished second to Aquinas at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships in Grand Rapids. Russo paced SHU with a second place time of 18:26.1 to earn first team All-WHAC. Lauren McMahon was 11th (19:13) and Mariah Ridal 13th (19:23) and were second team honorees.

Men: The Saints finished 29th at the NAIA Championships in Elsah, Ill. Stephen Merchant was 81st in a time of 26 minutes, 5.6 seconds, with Anthony Vermilye 117th (26:19) and Kyler VanWormer 169th (26:52.9). Seniors Vanwormer, Vermilye and Timothy Young were each named NAIA Scholar-Athletes. The Saints bumped nationally ranked Cornerstone and Aquinas to finish second behind Indiana Tech at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships in Grand Rapids. Esrom Woldemichael finished third individually in 25 minutes, 55.6 seconds to earn first team all-conference. Stephen Merchant was sixth (26:13.3) and Vanwormer 12th (26:34) to garner second team recognition.

Dance

The Saints finished eighth at the inaugural NAIA Cheer and Dance Championships in Oklahoma City. SHU scored 76.4 points, with Midland (Neb.) winning the title with 91.38. SHU placed third at the NAIA Northeast Regional, which earned an at-large berth to the NAIA national competition. The Saints also won the CANAM National Championship title after scoring 83.73 points out of a possible 100 points in action in Myrtle Beach, S.C. SHU competed against institutions from the NAIA and NCAA Division I-II-III.

Football

The Saints finished the season 5-5 overall, 2-4 in the Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division. Senior kick returner Jordan Riley, junior cornerback Darius Price and senior safety Da’vonte Price were each named to the MSFA Mideast first team. Riley finished with 597 returns yards, including a 100-yard return for a TD. Darius Price earned his third all-conference honor after making 28 tackles with an interception. Da’vonte Price had a team-leading 65 tackles and four interceptions to lead the defense. Earning second team honors were sophomore wide receiver Deontae’ Rush and senior linebacker Nate Yeloushan. Senior safety Cha’Quan Love, sophomore defensive end Malik Edwards and senior receiver Curtis Smith Jr. were tabbed to the honorable mention squad. Love, junior Braelen Bader and sophomores Brady Tanguay and Izayah Newsom were each named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.

Golf

Women: The Saints finished the fall conference season by placing fifth at the final Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Jamboree and fifth overall. Andrea Richards earned first team all-conference honors, tying for 12th with a 162 (84-78). Alyssa Fausneaucht had the top finish for the weekend, placing 10th with a 161 (80-81).

Men: The Saints finished seventh at the final fall Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Jamboree in Ypsilanti, and finished seventh in the final conference standings. Nick Sanscrainte shot a 74, with Aaron Bitz adding a 75 for SHU.

Indoor Track and Field

Women: The Saints finished ninth at the NAIA Indoor National Championships in Tennessee. SHU had multiple All-Americans, including Sheila (second, 12-4 1/2) and Tasha (seventh, 11-8 1/2) McKinley in the pole vault, Marissa Johnson (third, 5-7 1/4) in the high jump, Asia Gardner in the 200 (fifth, 25.15), Mariah Ridal in the 600 (sixth, 1:27.8), Alexis Moore in the 400 (eighth, 58.23), Ashley Russo in the 1000 (eighth, 3:04.3) and the 4×400 relay of Ridal, Russo, Brianna Pekel and Moore (fourth, 3:53.66). The Saints finished second to top-ranked Indiana Tech at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships at Aquinas. High jumper Johnson was named the Most Valuable Performer of the meet after tying her school record with a jump of 5 feet, 8.5 inches. She tied for the best jump, but finished second due to the tiebreaker. Also setting a conference record was Sheila McKinley, who won the pole vault in 12-5. Also earning firsts were the 4×400 relay of Ridal, Russo, Pekel and Moore (3:58.08) and Moore in the 400 (58.2). Placing second were Tasha McKinley in the pole vault, Gardner in the 200, Russo in the 1000, Ridal in the 600, Charlena Williams in the triple jump and Ashley O’Neill in the weight throw. The Saints had 131 points, second only to Indiana Tech’s 193.

Men: Brent Rodden finished second in the 800 to lead Siena Heights at the NAIA Indoor Championships. Rodden finished second by .29 seconds (1:52.41) to earn All-American honors. Other All-American performances were Devonte Johnson in the pole vault (eighth, 15-1 3/4) and the 4×800 relay of Anthony Vermilye, Kyler VanWormer, Dominic Muessig and Rodden (third, 7:41.12). SHU finished in 17th place as a team. The Saints finished second to top-ranked Indiana Tech at Saturday’s Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships at Aquinas. Tech outscored the Saints 237-100. However, the Most Valuable Performer of the meet went to SHU’s 4×800, which set a new conference record. The foursome of Vermilye, VanWormer, Muessig and Rodden finished in 7:39.79 seconds to place first. It is also the top time in the NAIA. Also winning events for the Saints were Rodden in the 800 (1:57), Vermilye in the mile (4:27.73). Placing second were the 4×400 relay of Blaine Ellington, Joshua Miles, Torin Anderson and Muessig, Muessig in the 800, and Jacob Compagner in the weight throw.

Soccer

Women: Juniors Samantha Bartelotti and Emily Burkman were each named honorable mention NAIA All-Americans. Bartelotti, a forward, led the Saints with 11 goals, including three game-winners. Burkman, a center defender, had four goals and anchored a defense that allowed only 19 goals in 18 games this season. Burkman, Alexis Gainer and Bartelotti were each named to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference first team. Gainer is a junior defender. Senior Kelsey Shoenberger and sophomores Taylor Mulder and Danielle Eastman earned spots on the second team. The Saints also led the conference with 12 Scholar-Athletes, including Morgan Behn, Gabi Corbin, Emily Loar, Brittany Trout, Gainer, Kayla Cardeccia, Taylor Hill, Megan Kennedy, Rebecca Penny, Rachel Sherman and Erin Schiedel. Schiedel was also the team’s Champions of Character recipient. The Saints had 10 players named NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Making the list were seniors Behn, Corbin, Loar and juniors Trout, Cardeccia, Hill, Kennedy, Penny, Schiedel and Sherman. The Saints (12-6-2) were defeated 3-0 by sixth-ranked Northwestern Ohio in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.

Men: Senior Alexandre Santos and junior Luis Miguel Anaya were each named NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Four Saints were named Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Scholar-Athletes. Santos and senior Collin McLaughlin and Anaya and junior Rahbar Khan each received the honor. Santos also received the team’s Champions of Character Award. The Saints finished 4-12-1 overall, 1-10 in the conference.

Volleyball

Women: The Saints (21-12 overall, 8-9 WHAC) had their season end with a 3-1 loss to 20th-ranked Cornerstone in the semifinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament. Paige Hudgin was named the NAIA Mideast Region Freshman of the Year after leading the Saints in kills this season. She was also an honorable mention all-region selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Hudgin also was named to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference first team and was the WHAC’s Newcomer of the Year. Junior setter Amanda Metz and junior defensive specialist Gabrielle Kalugar each earned second team all-conference honors. Junior Libby Breton was named a second team Academic All-America by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Student-athletes must have a minimum 3.3 grade-point average and compete in at least 50 percent of the team’s contests. Juniors Abby Whitehead, Julie Bonk and Breton were each named NAIA Scholar-Athletes as well as academic all-conference. Finally, Breton was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and was the team’s Champions of Character recipient.

Men: The Saints (16-11) defeated host Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.) and lost to nationally ranked Lourdes twice over the weekend at the season-ending NAIA qualifying tournament in Arizona. Senior Matthew Dugan was named first team all-conference by the independent NAIA conference. Dugan led the Saints in kills (322) and second in digs (262). Both are second on SHU’s all-time season list. Earning academic all-conference honors were seniors Brody Davidson and John Kalugar and junior Parker Saenz.