INDIANAPOLIS- The Great Midwest Athletes of the week for September 28th, 2026 are based on student-athlete performance from September 21st, 2026- September 28th, 2026.

 

Men’s Cross Country

Wes Taylor / Ashland University / Jr. / Lancaster, Ohio
Junior Wes Taylor won the individual title at the G-MAC Preview meet hosted by Tiffin at Hedges Boyer Park. Taylor was the first to cross the line in the men’s 8K with a time of 24:30.3, leading Ashland to a second-place team finish with 50 points. The Eagles only trailed host Tiffin, who won with a team score of 33.

 

Women’s Cross Country

Charlotte Brown / Northwood University / Graduate Student / Kyndhurst, Hampshire, UK
Brown led Northwood to the women’s team title at the Lock Haven Invitational. She secured a fourth-place finish in the women’s 6K crossing the line at 21:32.3, breaking the previous school record of 21:38 that stood since 2008. Brown was also the third collegiate finisher in the 22-team field. 

 

Football

Defense: Luke Dobbins / Walsh University / So. / Inside Linebacker / Norton, Ohio
In Walsh's 17-10 win over Ashland, Luke led the Cavalier defense that held Ashland to 10 points. Dobbins had 9 total tackles, including 5 solo and 4 assisted. Dobbins also picked up a big TFL/sack for a loss of 8 yards. Walsh is now 4-0 for the 2nd straight season.

Offense: Ethan Hamby / Northwood University / Jr. / Quarterback / Macomb, Mich.
Hamby led #23 Northwood to a 34-11 road victory over No. 9 Findlay, finishing the game with 273 yards passing and a total of four touchdowns. He completed 28 of 31 passes, which is the third-highest completion percentage in a game in G-MAC history. Hamby, who already owns the league record for single-game completion percentage, now has two of the top three single-game completion percentage games in G-MAC history. Hamby broke the school record for touchdown passes in a career in the game, now standing at 38 for his career. For the season, Hamby currently ranks number one in all of Division II in completion percentage (77.0) and completions per game (26.0).

 

Special Teams: Braeden Springer / Walsh University / So. / Wide Receiver / Solon, Ohio
Springer’s big return put the Cavaliers in position to defeat Ashland and move to 4-0 on the season. His kick return of 89 yards gave the Cavaliers prime field position to score the go-ahead touchdown, making the score 17-10. Springer finished the game with 3 kick returns totaling 130 yards.

 

Men’s Golf

Oliver Marshall / Hillsdale College / Sr. / Naples, Florida
Marshall finished fourth at the UIndy Invitational as an individual with a 10-under par 206, carding a 69-67-70 over three rounds. This is the lowest 54-hole score in modern program history for the Chargers. Marshall’s performance helped lead Hillsdale to a third-place team finish.

 

Women’s Golf

Emma Myers / University of Findlay / So. / Toledo, Ohio
The Oilers finished 6th at the Mary Fossum Invitational hosted by Michigan State. Findlay and GVSU were the only DII teams in the field that included 13 Division I teams headlined by Big Ten's Michigan State and Rutgers. Myers finished T13 (+9) in the event with rounds of 80-73. The tournament was shortened to two rounds, and in Round 2, the Oilers posted a team score of 297, which was the lowest score of the week by any team in the field.

 

Men’s Soccer

Offensive:

Jersey Lopez / Kentucky Wesleyan College / Jr. / Midfielder / Wolverhampton, England
Lopez played a significant role in Wesleyan's two wins this past week over Malone and ODU. On Thursday, Lopez scored 1 goal and had 1 assist in the team's 6-0 blowout against Malone. Lopez continued his production on Saturday as he had the game-deciding goal to earn the 1-0 win over Ohio Dominican.

 

Defensive:

Matteo Graniero / Kentucky Wesleyan College / So. / Goalkeeper / Palgrave, Ontario
Graniero earned back-to-back shutouts this week in the wins against Malone and ODU. Graniero made 6 total saves on 9 shots in 157 total minutes of action for the week. These two wins helped KWC improve over .500 to 4-3.

Women’s Soccer

Offensive:
Josie Gruber / Thomas More University / Jr. / Forward / Westerville, Ohio
Gruber scored the game-winning goal for the Saints in their 1-0 win over Northwood on Thursday. The junior forward also assisted on the winning goal in Thomas More’s 2-0 victory over Malone on Saturday.

Defensive:

Anna Taylor / Cedarville University / Sr. / Goalkeeper / Stanford, Ky.
Taylor made three saves in goal during Cedarville’s battle with No. 7 Ashland to end in a 0-0 draw. She helped the Yellow Jackets extend their school-record shutout streak to seven on the season. Taylor leads the league with eight clean sheets, while Cedarville has blanked their opponents in 17 of 18 halves this season. 

 

Women’s Tennis

Ane Dannhauser / Hillsdale College / Sr. / Johannesburg, South Africa
Dannhauser went 5-1 and won the A-bracket doubles title with partner Briana Rees at the Davenport Invitational this past weekend. The duo had victories over teams from Northwood (8-2) and a pair of teams from Davenport (8-6, 8-4). Dannhauser also picked up a pair of wins in singles, beating Purdue Northwest's Isabella Array 6-1, 6-1 and Davenport's Sienna Opray 6-2, 7-5.

Volleyball

North Division
Mackenzie Scheid / Northwood University / Jr. / Middle Blocker / Coldwater, Mich.
Mackenzie Scheid led Northwood to a pair of wins last week, averaging 3.14 kills, 2.29 digs, 0.86 blocks, and 4.21 points per set. Scheid totaled 10 kills, five blocks, and seven digs in the Timberwolves’ 3-0 win over Thomas More. She also picked up 12 kills, three aces and nine digs in the team’s 3-1 win over Kentucky Wesleyan.

 

South Division
Logan Rubel / Ohio Dominican University / So. / Outside Hitter / Cottleville, Mo. 
Rubel led the Panthers with 29 kills (3.6 K/S) while adding 32 digs (4 D/S) in a 2-0 week for ODU. The team picked up 3-1 wins over Tiffin and Cedarville to extend their record to 6-0 in conference play.

 

East Division
Maria Montseny / Walsh University / Jr. / Rightside Hitter / Almoster, Spain
Junior standout Maria Montseny played a huge role in Walsh’s win over Lake Erie, and showed a strong performance during the Cavaliers’ loss to Charleston. Montseny had 35 kills (4.4 K/S) with 20 against LEC, four blocks, and six digs for the week.