INDIANAPOLIS- The Great Midwest Athletes of the week for February 24th, 2025 are based on student-athlete performance from February 17th, 2025- February 23rd, 2025.
 
 
Baseball
North Division
Pitcher
Dominic Poltrone/ Lake Erie College / Jr. / Pitcher / Avon Lake, Ohio
The Storm looked to Poltrone on the mound to cap off a series win against Thomas More and he did not disappoint. He pitched a seven-inning shutout, allowing just four hits while striking out an impressive mark of nine batters.
 
Player
Andrew Fairbrother/ Tiffin University / Gr. / Infield / Getzville, N.Y.
Fairbrother went 4-for-8 from the plate with three of his four hits being extra base hits this past Sunday. In the doubleheader against Concordia-St. Paul, he recorded three home runs for nine RBIs. In game one, he gave the Dragons a 4-0 lead in the first inning with a grand slam and stepped to the plate in the seventh and with the Dragons trailing 7-4, hit a three-run home run to tie the game and TU would later get the walk off win later in the inning. Tiffin won game one 8-7 and he accounted for all 7 RBI in the game as the game-winning run was scored on a wild pitch. In game two, he gave TU another first inning lead with a two-run home run to make it 2-0 and Tiffin would cruise to a 9-3 win thanks in part to his momentum home run to start the game.  
 
South Division
Pitcher
Devin Norton/ Malone University / Rs-Jr. / Pitcher / Tallmadge, Ohio
The Pioneers were on top of their game this past weekend and Norton led the charge. He got the win over WVSU with five innings pitched and six strikeouts underneath his belt.
 
Player
Jordan Stevens/ Malone University / Sr. / Outfield / Cleveland Heights, Ohio
In the second game of a doubleheader, Stevens nearly had a cycle in a 4 RBI game against WVSU, coming up just a triple short. Earlier in the day against WVSU, he had a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch in the win.  
 
Men’s Basketball
Logan McIntire/ Kentucky Wesleyan College/ Jr. / Guard /Ramsey, IN
McIntire was nearly unstoppable last week, averaging 23.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 36 minutes per game. On top of those incredible numbers, he finished with zero turnovers while shooting 17-of-29 from the field and 9-of-20 from deep. He leads the conference comfortably with a 48% shooting percentage from three-point range. 
 
Women’s Basketball
Lea Holmes/ Northwood University / R-Fr. / Forward / Cleveland, Ohio
The Timberwolves picked up two key wins last week, and leading them was Holmes. She averaged an impressive 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 assists per game. From the floor, she shot 48.3% and from the line she shot 75%. In her efforts, Holmes broke the Northwood school record for blocks in a season, now standing with 66 on the season. Among all freshmen in Division II this season, Holmes first in blocked shots, first in field goals and third in points per game. 
 
Men’s Lacrosse
Defensive
Will Cody/ Seton Hill University / Jr. / Goalkeeper / Pottstown, PA
The Griffins keep on winning and Cody helped them to a 15-1 win over Chestnut Hill. He allowed a measly one goal while making nine saves in net to comfortably find a win. 
 
Offensive
James Sternberg / Walsh University / Jr. / Midfield / Miller Place, N.Y.
Sternberg tallied 15 points on the week which was good for nine goals and six assists. In his nine point performance on Saturday, he helped the Cavaliers defeat nationally ranked Frostburg State, which was also the first program win against FSU.
 
Softball
Pitcher
Joni Russell/ Hillsdale College/ Sr. /Pitcher Cable, Ohio
The Chargers got an effective and efficient week from Russell. She went 1-0 through two appearances, giving up just one earned run, three hits and five walks while striking out 13 batters while on the mound for 11 innings. Against Roosevelt, she pitched a complete-game one hitter in the 5-1 win, followed by four scoreless innings in Hillsdale's 7-5 win over Minnesota St. Moorhead on Friday.
 
Player
Aubrie Harper/ Tiffin University/ Sr. /Outfield/ Sycamore, Ohio
 Harper was elite at the plate for the Dragons this past week. She collected 10 hits over 14 at-bats with a triple and 5 RBIs, good enough for a .714 batting average. She also scored four runs and recorded two walks with zero strikeouts.  
 
STUNT
Abby Rossow/ Davenport University/ So. / Base / Shelby Township, Mich.
Another week, another member of Davenport's team takes home Athlete of the Week honors. Rossow scored 73 points in a dominating 24-0 win over Central Michigan, followed up by 58 points against Alma in a 17-13 victory. 
 
Men’s Indoor Field
Will Nemecek/ Northwood University / Sr. / Grand Blanc, Mich.
Nemeck has done it before, and he has done it again. He reset his program record for the indoor shot put at the Saginaw Valley State Tune-Up meet on Friday. The senior hit 18.09m to improve his NCAA Provisional mark and tenth-best mark in D-II this season.
 
Men’s Indoor Track
Xavier Foehl / Walsh University / Gr. /Health, Ohio
At the Ashland Last Chance Meet, Foehl won the 800-meter run with an improved Provisional Mark of 1:51.16, which was also a new school record. 
 
Women’s Indoor Field
Richella Spielvogel/ Lake Erie College/ Gr. / Martins Ferry, Ohio
Spielvogel won the women's weight throw this past weekend with a throw of 18.88 meters, taking down multiple Division I and G-MAC foes. Her winning throw was 1.15 meters further than the next competitor in D-II.
 
Women’s Indoor Track
Leah Smith/ University of Findlay / So. / Tiffin, Ohio
The Oilers got a monumental showing out of Smith this past week. She ran the 60-meter dash in just 7.43 seconds which is a new personal record, NCAA Provisional Mark and is now tied for the 13th best run in D-II this year.  
 
Men’s Tennis
Martin Driesner/ Tiffin University / So. / Andilly, France
Driesner went 3-0 in singles play and 2-1 in doubles play this past week as Tiffin went a perfect 3-0 overall. In singles, Driesner had a 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 win over Illinois Springfield, a 6-3, 6-3 win over McKendree, and a 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 victory over Fairmont State. In doubles he had victories over Fairmont State 6-2 and Illinois Springfield 6-1.
Women’s Tennis
Ane Dannhauser/ Hillsdale College/ So. /  Johannesburg, South Africa
Dannhauser helped lead the Chargers to another solid week, going 2-0. She went undefeated at no. 1 doubles, beat PNW 6-4 and illinois springfield 6-3. At No. 1 singles, she beat PNW 6-0,6-4, and Illinois Springfield 7-5, 6-3.