GOLF
Golfweek NJCAA
Division I
Final rankings
School, points, last poll
1. Midland (6 first-place votes), 69, 1
2. Ranger (1), 60, 2
3. New Mexico JC, 45, 6
4. Hutchinson, 41, 3
5. Indian Hills, 40, 4
6. Odessa, 36, 5
7. Central Alabama, 35, 7
8. McLennan, 20, 9
9. E. Florida St., 18, 8
10. Iowa Western, 10, 10
Others Receiving Votes: Eastern Arizona, 8; Western Texas, 3.
KCAC unveils
golf awards
TOPEKA — The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference named its Champions of Character Award winners and Scholar-Athlete Teams in men’s and women’s golf.
The Champions of Character Award "aims to inspire student-athletes, coaches, officials, and fans to hold high standards and embody what character truly means in a competitive arena. By keeping the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership at the heart of the athletics experience, the Champions of Character program empowers participants to change the culture of sport."
Bethel senior Chase Anderson was among the winners in men’s golf.
The Scholar-Athlete Award goes to student-athletes who "have sophomore standing at the start of the sport season, and maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale."
Anderson, senior Parker Austin and junior Trae Gehring were all named from Bethel.
The award winners are listed below:
Champions of Character
Men’s Golf
Brandon Garza, Bethany
Chase Anderson, Bethel
Logan Vacca, Kansas Wesleyan
Jack Pritchard, Oklahoma Wesleyan
Daren Reed, Southwestern
Casey Dougherty, Sterling
Daniel Rempel, Tabor
Graham Marks, York
Women’s Golf
Kayla Tunley, Bethany
Madison Hart, Friends
Mikaela Johnson, Kansas Wesleyan
Jordan Leonard, Oklahoma Wesleyan
Kayla Kaps, Ottawa
Abby Bertholf, Southwestern
Amber Donker, Sterling
Jessica Li, York
Scholar-Athlete Team
Men’s Golf
Chase Anderson, Bethel, Sr., Topeka
Parker Austin, Bethel, Sr., Derby
Trae Gehring, Bethel, Jr., Pretty Prairie
Cameron Becker, Kansas Wesleyan, Jr., Coffeyville
Evan Lambert, Kansas Wesleyan, Jr., Salina
James McNutt, Kansas Wesleyan, Jr., Sterling
Logan Vacca, Kansas Wesleyan, Sr., Coffeyville
Troy Watson, Kansas Wesleyan, Sr., Coffeyville
Zac Cepure, Kansas Wesleyan, Jr., Lincoln, Neb.
Nic Rankin, Oklahoma Wesleyan, So., Oklahoma City
Daniel Rempel, Tabor, So., Meade
Logan Matthews, Tabor, So., Ada, Okla.
Alangkarn Thongprakob, York, So., Kojan, Thailand
Graham Marks, York, Jr., Pflugerville, Texas
Women’s Golf
Deane Reaves, Friends, So., Rio Rancho, N.M.
Maddy Hart, Friends, Jr., El Dorado
Mikaela Johnson, Kansas Wesleyan, Sr., Salina
Sonnie Palmatary, Oklahoma Wesleyan, Jr., Pawnee, Okla.
Abby Bertholf, Southwestern, Sr., Winfield
Peyton Timmerman, Southwestern, Graduate Student, Ozark, Ark.
Reid Green, Southwestern, Sr., Stillwater, Okla.
Amber Donker, Sterling, So., Maize
Kaylea Hein, Sterling, So., Wichita
Madalyn Kleinsmith, Sterling, Jr., St. Marys
Micah Hall, Sterling, So., Elkhart
Alex Rooney, York, Sr., Whittier, Calif.
Bailee Bastin, York, Jr., Choctaw, Okla.
Jessica Li, York, So., Reading, England
Jessica Salazar, York, Jr., Arvada, Colo.
ECHL awards
announced
PRINCETON, N.J. — South Carolina Stingrays coach Steve Bergin was named the ECHL John Brophy Award winner for the being named the league’s coach of the year.
When the season was terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stingrays were 44-14-3-1 for 92 points, tied for the best record in the league with the division-rival Florida Everblades. The two teams held a 29-point lead in their division, a seven-point lead in their conference and a four-point lead over the rest of the league.
A four-year player at UConn, Bergin played five seasons with the Pensacola Ice Flyers in the third-tier minor league Southern Professional Hockey League. He was an assistant coach with the Stingrays for the three seasons before taking over as the head coach this season.
Bergin’s team posted 25 road wins, tied for second best in league history.
In the league voting, Steve Martinson, of the Allen Americans, was second. Brad Ralph, of Florida, was third, followed by Kirk MacDonald, of the Reading Royals, and John Snowden, of the Newfoundland Growlers.
Spencer Watson, of the Indy Fuel, was named the ECHL Sportsmanship Award. Watson was second in the league in goals with 31. He had 28 assists for 59 points in 54 games. He led the league in power-play goals with 11. He had just 12 penalty minutes.
Watson is a third-year pro who was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Tyler Sheehy, of Allen, finished second in the voting. Toledo Walleye Shane Berschbach was third, followed by David Vallorani, of the Brampton Beast, and Tim McGauley, of the Utah Grizzlies.
Sheehy was awarded the John A. Dale Trophy as the ECHL Rookie of the Year.
A four-year player player at the University of Minnesota, where he led the Golden Gophers to a pair of Big Ten regular-season titles, Sheehy played in five games last year with the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League on an amateur tryout contract. He played in 47 games with Allen this season, scoring 26 goals with 44 assists for 70 points. He had just four penalty minutes. Sheehy played two games with Iowa this season.
Sheehy was third in the league in scoring and tied for the league lead in assists. He was previously named to the all-league team and all-rookie team.
Sheehy was a former member of the U.S. National Under-18 Team.
Justin Brazeau, of Newfoundland, was second in the league voting, followed by Billy Christopoulos, of Toledo; Logan Thompson, of South Carolina, and Justin Baudry, of the Cincinnati Cyclones.