WILMINGTON, Ohio – The 2020 calendar year saw something that collegiate athletics has not experienced in a long time. Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, Wilmington College, the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and the NCAA as a whole shut down operations of intercollegiate athletics in March for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year.
Winter sports were halted in the midst of NCAA Championships, and along with nearly every institution of higher learning in the country moving to online classes, spring sports were never allotted the chance to get into the swing of their seasons. Wilmington College would like to take this time to honor its spring sports as well as the seniors in those sports whose seasons were cut short or eliminated altogether.
BASEBALL:
Wilmington was in year two of a culture change under the direction of former University of Dayton Head Coach Tony Vittorio. The Fightin' Quakers played eight games including finishing the season with three losses to Alma College on March 7-8. The squad was set to travel south for a trio of games in Alabama before the season got cut short.
Individually, Nick Silvis, who garnered Honorable Mention All-OAC honors a season ago, and Luke Kleindl, who hit a .364 clip, were poised to move up the program's record books in average and hits for Silvis as well as home runs and RBIs for Kleindl. Pitcher Lance Fleischman departs the program as one of more consistent hurlers in recent years, logging over 141 innings in his career.
Seniors: Bryce Fordyce, Matt Oney, Jesse Walker, Lance Fleischman, Nick Silvis
SOFTBALL:
Wilmington, which was picked its highest finish in the OAC preseason poll since joining the league two decades ago, was poised to make a push for its first OAC Tournament appearance in school history. The Fightin' Quakers were fortunate to play a fourth of their originally-scheduled season with the program's annual spring trip to Florida. Wilmington concluded the trip 7-3 which included four shutouts and two contests that involved victories via mercy rule.
Offensively, Hayley Suchland led the team in a multitude of offensive categories including: hits (13), doubles (2), home runs (3) and RBIs (14). Megan Crager, KenDahl Bowles and Sarah Monnier joined Suchland in hitting at least a .333 clip while Je'Taysia Johns drove in nine runs and hit two home runs.
In the circle, all five Quakers that pitched and all recorded under a 2.50 ERA. Grace Shell, who was honored as the OAC's last Pitcher of the Week, carries a program-best 0.68 ERA on the season while pitching 31 innings and 47 strikeouts. Suchland and Alexis Stringfellow both pitched over 10 innings while Hunter Salyers and Hannah Hall both pitched in relief.
Seniors: KenDahl Bowles, Je'Taysia Johns, Bailey Sweeney, Jillia Cook, Hunter Salyers, Grace Shell, Mariyah Burkhardt
MEN'S TRACK & FIELD:
Wilmington did not get to compete in its outdoor season started as the first competition, the Bellarmine Invitational, was scheduled for March 27-28. The Fightin' Quakers were scheduled to host one home meet, the JennaStrong Invitational named after Jenna Parlette, at Williams Stadium on April 24.
The Quakers did finish sixth at the OAC Indoor Championships hosted by Marietta College on Feb. 28-29.
In track events, Simon Heys was poised to have a breakout season. The All-OAC honoree in cross country took fourth place in the indoor 3,000-meter run. Fellow distance runner Evan Whitaker would have given WC a 1-2 punch in distance events in the spring. Additionally, Heys teamed up with Taton Bertsch, Aaron Koch and Josh Cyrus for Al-OAC honors in the indoor distance medley relay. Koch would have been leading the WC sprinting efforts during the outdoor season.
In field events, three jumpers – Jeff Clydesdale, Colin Myers and Anthony Gilmore – competed in the finals of events at the OAC Indoor championships while Blake Jamison and Andrew Pacifico would have led the Quakers in throwing events this spring.
Seniors: Adam Knaub, Aaron Koch, Colin Myers, Cameron Phelps
WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD:
Wilmington did not get to compete in its outdoor season started as the first competition, the Bellarmine Invitational, was scheduled for March 27-28. The Fightin' Quakers were scheduled to host one home meet, the JennaStrong Invitational named after Jenna Parlette, at Williams Stadium on April 24.
In track events, Emma Burke has been one of the Quakers' best sprinters, hurdles and relays runners as the Hilliard, Ohio, native placed in the finals of multiple events in her career at OAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. In distance events, the freshman duo of Milena Wahl and Sydney Yontz looked to score points for Wilmington at the OAC Outdoor Championships this spring.
In field events, Morgan Loomis (javelin), Kayli Sullivan (shot put and discus) and Keva Cox (jumps) were bound for solid spring seasons.
Seniors: Emma Burke, Keva Cox, Amber LaRotonda, Morgan Loomis, Cheyenne Rhodes
MEN'S LACROSSE:
Wilmington was looking to rebound from a winless OAC campaign a season ago, and was off to a great start under Wilmington High School alumnus and third-year Head Coach Jeff Arneson. The Fightin' Quakers won all three games on the year, coincidentally allowing seven goals each game. Wilmington opened the season with a 10-7 victory over Bethany College (West Virginia) on Feb. 27 and dispatched Anderson University (Indiana) 15-7 two days later. The season concluded with a 10-7 Quaker Bowl Rivalry victory over Earlham College on March 4.
Individually, a core group of seniors led statistically by Zac Chucta and Jadon Flannery this season were poised to vault the team to competitive conference finish. Chucta finished third in career ground balls while fellow senior Andrew Miller etched his name with 33 career assists. Connor Judge, one of the more prolific offensive threats in program history, has his name in the career record books for goals (87), points (108) and shots (283).
Seniors: Jadon Flannery, Zac Chucta, Andrew Miller, Connor Judge, Kelton Gray
