APRIL HIGHLIGHTS
The Cleveland State Department of Athletics made headlines throughout the month of April on and off the competition field. To view the latest newsworthy stories from CSU Athletics, please click HERE.
44 STUDENT-ATHLETES EARN DEGREES
Cleveland State University held its annual commencement ceremonies on May 12 at the Wolstein Center with the event featuring 44 student-athletes wearing caps and gowns to receive their degrees.
In addition, three student-athletes were named CSU Outstanding Seniors as Samantha Butterbaugh (Cross Country/Track & Field), Sierra Davidson (Women's Basketball) and Jamie VanDeWerker (Women's Swimming & Diving) were all honored with the special recognition.
The following CSU student-athletes took part in this year's graduation ceremony:
Ashanti Abshaw, Women's Basketball
Katie Bainbridge, Women's Soccer
Shadae Bosley, Women's Basketball
Samantha Butterbaugh, Cross Country & Track
Kenny Carpenter, Men's Basketball
Kristin Catalano, Softball
Nick Corba, Wrestling
Larissa Czupik, Women's Swimming
Jamie Daniels, Women's Soccer
Sierra Davidson, Women's Basketball
Kait Gairing, Softball
Matthew Gebbett, Men's Fencing
Jamarcus Hairston, Men's Basketball
Terrell Hales, Men's Basketball
Mercedes Hobbs, Women's Basketball
Mackenzie Joecken, Softball
Sophie Kelner, Women's Golf
Gina Kilner, Volleyball
Karen Kosik, Women's Track
Jon LaValle, Men's Swimming
Patrick Luth, Men's Golf
Pavle Majerle, Men's Soccer
John Martin, Wrestling
Matt McAdoo, Men's Golf
Alexis Middlebrooks, Volleyball
Katie Mihalik, Volleyball
Sarah Mok, Women's Fencing
Mirko Radosevic, Men's Tennis
Clinton Ransey, Men's Basketball
Cameil Ruffing, Women's Fencing
Jana Schober, Women's Tennis
Bridget Smik, Women's Cross Country
Robert Stark, Wrestling
Patrick Tippen, Men's Swimming
Aubrie Tone, Softball
Madisen Tretter, Women's Swimming
Marquia Turner, Women's Basketball
Emily Turski, Women's Golf
Jamie VanDewerker, Women's Swimming
Grant Wethington, Men's Swimming
Jessica White, Women's Track
Parese Williams, Men's Lacrosse
Mel Woodard, Softball
Bobby Word, Men's Basketball
Tobie Zeller, Women's Swimming
MEN'S GOLF WINS FIFTH STRAIGHT HORIZON LEAGUE TITLE
The CSU men's golf team won its fifth straight Horizon League Championship and advanced to the NCAA regionals for the ninth time in the last 13 years.
Under the direction of head coach Steve Weir, the Vikings were led by junior Anton Krecic who was the runner-up at the League tournament, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. Senior Blake Prince joined Krecic on the all-tournament team with his fifth place finish.
Krecic was also a first team All-Horizon League pick.
The Vikings were selected to compete in the NCAA Columbus Regional at The Ohio State Scarlet Course in where freshman Jules Blakely was CSU's top finisher.
Seniors Joey Krecic, Prince and Matt McAdoo leave the program as three of five players in program history to win four Horizon League titles.
MEN'S TENNIS CAPTURES HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
For the first time since 2013, the Cleveland State men's tennis team returned to the top of the Horizon League, as the Vikings captured their sixth Horizon League Tournament title after earning a share of their fifth regular season Horizon League championship.
After posting a 6-1 record in the regular season, the second-seeded Vikings knocked off Youngstown State in the semifinals and defeated top-seeded Detroit Mercy in the championship match to earn the League's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
The Vikings fell to 15th-seeded Michigan in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Sophomore Nico Mostardi was named the Horizon League Player of the Year, while Matthew Terry was honored as the Horizon League Freshman of the Year.
SIXTH ANNUAL VESPYS HIGHLIGHT 2017-18 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Cleveland State Department of Athletics and the Student-Athlete Advisory Council hosted the 6th Annual VESPY Awards on May 3 in the Student Center Ballroom. The awards ceremony honors the achievements of CSU student-athletes from the season.
The following is a complete list of winners from the evening:
Freshman of the Year: Tyree Appleby, Men's Basketball
Best Social Media Post: Men's Tennis Horizon League Championship Celebration
Coach of the Year: Chuck Voss, Volleyball
Community Service Award: Men's Lacrosse
Best Game Face: Gabe Stark, Wrestling
Best Individual Performance: Molly McNamara at Horizon League Swimming Championship
Best Game: Women's Basketball Defeats Nationally-Ranked Green Bay
Bleed Green/Viking Spring Award: MacJilton Lewis, Men's Swimming
Best Sport Moment: Men's Basketball Horizon League Championship Run
Female Athlete of the Year: Gina Kilner, Volleyball
Male Athlete of the Year: Nico Mostardi, Men's Tennis
Ms. Viking: Sophie Kelner, Women's Golf
Mr. Viking: Kenny Carpenter, Men's Basketball
FOUR EARN NCAA PUBLIC RECOGNITION; NINE POST PERFECT APR MARK IN 2016-17
Four Cleveland State programs – women's basketball, cross country, women's tennis and women's track and field earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for posting multi-year APRs in the top-10 percent of their respective sports.
The cross country team was recognized for the 13th straight year, making the Vikings one of just 85 teams in the country to earn the Public Recognition Award in each of the 13 years of the program.
In addition, nine programs recorded a perfect 1,000 Academic Progress Rate (APR) score for the 2016-17 period, according to NCAA APR numbers.
Those programs included men's golf, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's fencing, women's golf, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, women's track and field and volleyball
The APR, created to be a more real-time measurement of academic success than graduation rates, is a team-based metric through which scholarship student-athletes each term earn one point for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating.
CHRIS KIELSMEIER NAMED HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH
Chris Kielsmeier, a coaching veteran with more than 20 years of experience as a head coach, has been named the seventh head coach in CSU women's basketball history.
Kielsmeier comes to Cleveland State after 10 years as the head women's basketball coach at Wayne State College (NE) – a perennial Division II powerhouse. During his tenure, Kielsmeier led Wayne State College to a 237-72 record, becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history.
Throughout 10 years with Wayne State College, Kielsmeier guided the Wildcats to seven 20-win seasons, including a program record 32-3 record during 2011-12. WSC captured four Northern Sun Conference regular season titles (2011, 2012, 2014 & 2015) and two Northern Sun Conference tournament crowns (2010 & 2012) under his guidance, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 & 2015).
Kielsmeier was a two-time Northern Sun Conference Coach of the Year (2010 & 2012), and was also named the WBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year following the 2011-12 campaign.
Prior to his time at Wayne State College, Kielsmeier spent nine seasons at Howard Payne University, eight as the head women's basketball coach and one as an assistant coach.
Kielsmeier accumulated a 179-44 record as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, and led HPU to a Division III National Title during the 2007-08 season.
JOSH MOORE NAMED HEAD WRESTLING COACH
Josh Moore, a two-time All-American at Penn State who has more than 14 years of Division I coaching experience, has been named the head wrestling coach at CSU.
Moore has served as the top assistant at Cleveland State over the past three seasons and helped multiple individuals to noteworthy performances.
This past season, Evan Cheek was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the EWL Championships after winning the 133-pound weight class. Last year, Nick Corba won two matches with bonus points at the NCAA Championships, the first Viking to achieve that feat in over 20 years and in 2015-16, Riley Shaw and Sam Wheeler reached the round of 16 at the 2016 NCAA Championships under Moore's guidance.
Moore was a two-time NCAA All-American, finishing as a national runner-up in 2004 and a third-place finisher in 2003. He is the Penn State record holder for all-time matches wrestled (184), single-season pins (24) and senior wins (44) and is tied for the top spot in career pins (53). Moore, a two-time National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic First Team honoree, is third in career wins at Penn State with 146.
2018 MEN'S & WOMEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULES ANNOUNCED
The 2018 men's and women's soccer schedules have been announced and are now available online.
The men's squad, led by head coach Kirk Harwat, begins the season with matches at Loyola (Ill.) and Northwestern on August 24 and 27 and will host Cincinnati on August 31 in the home opener.
The complete schedule can be found here.
Head coach Dallas Boyer and the CSU women host Howard (Aug. 17) and Chicago State (Aug. 19) to begin the season. The entire 2018 schedule can be viewed here.
Make plans to join the men's and women's soccer programs at Krenzler Field this fall and please stay tuned to CSUVikings.com as the rest of the 2018-19 schedules will be announced in the coming months.
KELNER & TONE SELECTED FOR CAREER IN SPORTS FORUM
Cleveland State women's golfer Sophie Kelner and softball player Aubrie Tone were selected to participate in the Career in Sports Forum in Indianapolis from May 31 until June 3 at the NCAA's national headquarters.
Now in its ninth year, the NCAA has invited more than 230 current student-athletes, NCAA scholarship and grant recipients, all with an interest in working within the sports industry to this year's program. A committee from within the NCAA membership selected Kelner and Tone as the lone representatives from the Horizon League.
Participants who expressed an interest in pursuing a career in sports, and who were viewed as leaders on their campus, were invited to apply to attend the forum after a nomination by athletics administrators at their respective schools. Many current and past attendees are members of their Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the student-athlete voice within the NCAA governance structure.
LEWIS & OOSTERHUIS TO REPRESENT CSU ON HORIZON LEAGUE SAAC
Senior men's swimmer MacJilton Lewis and senior women's golfer Rayna Oosterhuis have been selected to represent Cleveland State on the 2018-19 Horizon League Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Lewis will serve as the CSU SAAC President this year after spending the 2017-18 academic year as the social media chair, while Oosterhuis will be the social events chair of CSU SAAC for the second straight year.
The Horizon League SAAC will meet in Indianapolis in June to begin work for the 2018-19 year. Following the in-person meeting, SAAC members participate in several video conferences per year to discuss League issues.
