COLUMBUS, Ohio—The athletic training staff at Cedarville University was voted by its peers as the conference’s best for the 2022-23 school year. The staff- which consists of Wes Stephens, Kurt Gruenberg , Ken Blood, Nicole Burnett, Ryan Rager, and Laura Weaver- was honored recently at the conference summer meetings in Columbus, Ohio.
 
Stephens, the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance and Athletic Training, joined the staff in 2014 as the head Athletic Trainer. Gruenberg serves as the Associate Athletic Trainer and splits time between men’s soccer and women’s basketball. Blood and Burnett are Assistant Athletic Trainers, with Blood covering men’s and women’s cross country. Burnett’s main sports include women’s soccer, baseball, and golf.
 
Assistant Athletic Trainer Ryan Rager serves as the Strength & Conditioning coach, while also covering track & field. Laura Weaver splits her time between volleyball, softball, and men’s & women’s tennis.
 
Cedarville sponsors 14 Varsity sports and hosted the Women’s Soccer Championship last fall.
 
About the Great Midwest Athletic Training Staff of the Year Award
Founded in 2013-14, the annual award raises awareness of the athletic training profession in the conference. Criteria includes host athletic training staff hospitality towards the visiting athletic training staff, host preparedness with supplies, equipment and services for visiting athletic training staff and teams, care for injured student-athletes from visiting teams and overall staff preparedness for emergency situations.