GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Four Grove City College fall sports athletes earned Presidents' Athletic Conference weekly honors Monday afternoon in recognition of their respective performances last week.
The Grove City football team produced a pair of honorees as sophomore cornerback
Noah Wheeler (McKinney, Texas/McKinney Christian) captured Defensive Player of the Week and freshman kicker/punter
Brady Lane (Jefferson, Ga./Mill Creek) secured Newcomer of the Week.
Junior middle blocker
Kendra Klusch (Alliance, Ohio/Homeschooled) earned Defensiev Player of the Week in women's volleyball. In men's soccer, freshman goalkeeper
Keller Krieger (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence) earned Newcomer of the Week.
Wheeler and Lane both helped Grove City earn a 31-14 win last Saturday at No. 10 Cortland. Wheeler intercepted two passes to help lead a defensive effort that caused seven total turnovers. His first pick came in the end zone with 1:03 left in the first half, preserving a 14-14 tie.
On the third play of the second half, Wheeler returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown, putting the Wolverines ahead to stay. Overall, Grove City held Cortland to a 3 for 11 effort on third down and 13 total first downs.
Lane averaged 40.2 yards per punt on six kicks at Cortland. He also drilled a 37-yard field goal with 4:44 remaining in the game to give the Wolverines a 24-14 lead. Lane went 4 for 4 on extra points and added a touchback on a kickoff that came from the 30 after a penalty.
Klusch averaged 1.30 blocks per set as the Wolverines went 3-0 at the Oberlin College Invitational last Friday and Saturday. She opened the weekend with three blocks in a 3-1 win over Wooster, then posted six more blocks in a sweep of Oberlin Friday night. Saturday, Klusch wrapped up the weekend with four blocks in a 3-0 victory over Adrian.
Klusch currently ranks second in the conference in blocks average, averaging 1.00 per set.
Krieger made his first two collegiate starts in goal last week and went 1-0-1. He recorded a 0.55 goals-against average in his two outings. He made six saves Wednesday night, including three in the final 18 minutes, in a 1-1 draw at Carnegie Mellon. Two nights later, he made three saves in 75 shutout minutes against Oberlin in a 5-0 triumph. Krieger recorded a .900 save percentage for the week.
Krieger currently ranks fourth in the conference with his 0.55 GAA.
The Grove City football team, now ranked No. 15 in the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association polls, will host No. 2 Mount Union at 1 p.m. Saturday at Robert E. Thorn Field. The Grove City volleyball team opens its home schedule Tuesday at 6 p.m. against powerhouse Carnegie Mellon. Meanwhile, the men's soccer team travels to Penn State Behrend for a 4 p.m. clash Wednesday in Erie.
