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S C O R E B O A R D D. TRUMPIE PHOTOS
Fall sports in review Football team regains league crown; women’s cross country ranks 9th at regionals by Robin Hartman Albion College is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and NCAA Division III.
Football:
After a one-year hiatus from the top of the MIAA football standings, Albion regained the league championship in 1998. Despite being picked to finish third by the league coaches in the preseason, Albion defeated six MIAA opponents in winning its 30th league football title (and ninth in the past 10 years). Under coach Craig Rundle, Albion went 8-1 in the regular season, losing only in the second week to Mount Union. Albion got a rematch with the Purple Raiders in the first round of the Division III playoffs Nov. 21 in Alliance, OH. After spotting Mount Union a 21-6 lead, Albion scored twice in the final period to cut the margin to 21-19. Unfortunately for the Britons, that’s where it ended. One fourthquarter Albion drive ended with a fumble inside the Raider 20. Another was stopped in the final minute when a 34-yard field goal try went wide. Mount Union was the eventual 1998 Division III national champion. Albion also returned to the top of the MIAA charts in a variety of statistical categories, led by total offense and total defense. Among those receiving high honors were senior linemen Jason Carriveau and Pat Slone. They are first-team selections for both the Football Gazette and the Hewlett-Packard All-America programs. In addition, Carriveau earned his second first-team All-America honor in three years by being selected to the Burger King-American Football Coaches Association Division III squad. The 6-foot-5, 342-pound guard also was invited to play in an international all-star game in December, pitting top Division III players against their Mexican university counterparts. Slone earned first-team MIAA defensive honors and was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Britons in tackles for loss (20) and quarterback sacks (10) in 1998.
Cross country: Albion placed third in the final MIAA women’s cross country standings in 1998, while the men were fifth. Two weeks after the league championship, Albion hosted the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional at Whiffletree Golf Course, near Concord. Albion’s men placed 21st, while the women earned a ninth-place showing. The latter finish was the best for an Albion team at Danielle Risner regional competition in the 1990s. Albion’s women, coached by Amy Wolfgang, got great running from junior Danielle Risner. In her first season at Albion after transferring from Siena Heights, Risner
was a model of consistency. Every 5,000meter race was finished under 20 minutes, with a best time of 18:45 turned in at the Michigan Intercollegiate Championship in Vicksburg in early October. Risner wasn’t the only person to break the 20-minute mark at regionals. Sophomores Rebekah Schultz and Shannon Stephens turned in times of 19:50 and 19:57, respectively, in the season’s final race. Senior Brad Wright and freshman Nate Warren made a battle within a battle for much of the season, fighting for the top finish with the Briton men. Wright came out on top at regionals, turning in a 27:06 time to place 74th. Warren wasn’t far behind with a final time of 27:32. Warren had not run competitively until coming to Albion. Another freshman, Austin Lampros, made tremendous strides during the season, finishing with a 27:38 showing at regionals. The men are coached by Tim Williams.
Men’s soccer: Albion’s defense ranked among the best in men’s NCAA Dvision III statistics. That was a key reason for the Britons’ strong challenge for top honors in the MIAA in 1998. Albion allowed just 15 goals in 16 matches while going 8-4-4, under coach Aaron Smith. Six of the eight wins occurred in MIAA play, as well as the four ties. Albion deadlocked twice with Hope, and played to shutout ties with NCAA Division III qualifier Alma and league rival Calvin. The Britons tied for fourth place in the league. When Albion did score, senior sweeper Dan Kogut did most of the work. Kogut led the Britons with nine goals and 19 points. He had one-third of Albion’s goals during the season.
Senior sweeper Dan Kogut led the men’s soccer team with nine goals and 19 points on the season. He received first-team All-MIAA honors.
Junior quarterback Jason Whalen (16) rolled up impressive numbers while helping Albion to its 30th Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football championship. Whalen tied a single season record with 19 touchdown passes in 1998, completing nearly 57 percent of his attempts for 1,617 yards. He also ran for three scores. Stopping the opponents fell in large part to another senior, Josh Yeager. Yeager was among the top goalies in Division III in stopping shots for much of the season. In one eight-day stretch, Yeager posted back-to-back shutouts of Calvin and Defiance, and forced a 1-1 tie at Hope. The week-long play earned Yeager MIAA co-Player of the Week honors. Both Kogut and Yeager were named firstteam All-MIAA at season’s end by the league’s coaches.
Women’s soccer: First-year head coach Lisa Roscheck also had to rely on defense to keep the Britons in games against tough league opponents. Three MIAA teams advanced to Division III postseason action. Albion finished 5-11-1 for the season, and 3-4-1 in MIAA play (good for fifth place in the league). Scoring for Albion was balanced, with a pair of double-figure scorers leading the way. Freshman Liz Hermiller and junior Erika Miller each finished with six goals. Hermiller added five assists for 17 points, while Miller had three assists for a total of 15 points in 17 contests. Overall, 11 players had at least one goal for the Britons during the season. Freshman goalkeeper Julie VandenBos averaged nearly eight saves per contest. A third Briton was honored by the league for her all-around play. Junior defender Wendy Boynton earned second-team AllMIAA honors. Boyton had two goals and three assists for seven points in 1998. Golf: Individuals made their marks on the links for Albion in 1998. Sophomore Brett Crosthwaite earned first-team All-MIAA honors with a fourth-place finish. Crosthwaite is the first Albion men’s golfer to earn firstteam honors since 1996. Crosthwaite averaged 75.9 strokes per match in leading Albion to a fourth-place team finish. Mike Turner is men’s golf coach. Sophomores Melissa Hall and Katie Pritchard made quite a 1-2 punch for the Briton women. Hall and Pritchard went 2-3 in the final league individual standings, leading Albion to a second-place team finish. That’s the highest team finish for Albion in women’s golf since the league recognized the sport in 1991. Hall averaged 85.3 strikes per round, while Pritchard had an 86.6 average. Both golfers earned first-team MIAA recognition for the second season in a row. Another sophomore, Lindsay Franson, placed ninth in league action, turning in a 93.1
average for eight rounds. Her showing was good for second-team All-MIAA recognition. Karen Baird coaches women’s golf.
Volleyball:
Under coach Darrell Sedersten, Albion is continuing to make strides with its volleyball program, raising both the number of overall victories as well as wins against MIAA opponents. The 1998 records of 13-20 (overall) and 8-8 (MIAA) were milestones. The eight league wins are the most by an Albion team in a season. The 13 overall victories were an improvement from the 10-22 season in 1997. Also, Albion went .500 in league play for the first time since 1987. The Britons ranked fifth in the league at season’s end. Without a senior in the 1998 lineup, prospects are bright in 1999. Team leaders for next season are likely to be outside hitter Jenny Barnes, who earned first-team AllMIAA honors, and setter Carla Trzeciak, an honorable mention selection who led the team in assists.
Britons garner academic honors Two Britons have been rated among America’s best small college football performers—on and off the field. Senior defensive end Mick Rennick is the recipient of the Ron Holland Award from the Michigan Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. The award goes to a Division III football candidate who demonstrates academic achievement, football ability and leadership. The $1,000 cash award supports postgraduate studies. A three-year starter and 1997 All-MIAA first-team honoree, Rennick has a 3.6 grade point average. Junior defensive back Nick Gates was selected to the second-team CoSIDA-GTE Academic All-America College Division Football Team for 1998. Gates finished the 1998 season with 66 tackles, second on the team. He also tied for second on the squad in solo tackles (45), interceptions (3), and recovered fumbles (2). In the classroom, Gates maintains a 3.8 grade point average. Rennick and Gates both are enrolled in the Gerstacker Liberal Arts Institute for Professional Management and are majoring in economics and management.