May 20, 2008

Five Pioneers Collect NCCAA Student Athlete Of The Week Honors

Five Malone College athletes recently garnered NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) Student Athlete of the Week recognition following their impressive performances over the past month.  Ben Smith, of the Pioneer men’s golf team, Scott McIlvain of the baseball team, Nathaniel Rodd, of the men’s tennis team, Lori Ickes, of the women’s outdoor track & field team, and Aaron Melhorn, of the men’s outdoor track & field team, each earned the national honor.
 
Smith, a sophomore from Carrollton, Ohio (Carrollton H.S.), led Malone to its fifth straight AMC/NAIA Region IX Men’s Golf Championship (21st overall) April 24-25 by finishing first overall with a three-round score of 213 (77-70-66).  This is the second consecutive year that Smith has won the tournament.  Smith’s final round of 66 (36-30), which included six straight birdies (11th through the 16th), tied the school record for lowest round and his back-nine 30 set a new Malone record as the lowest nine holes in the program’s history.  Prior to Smith’s final round, only three other Pioneers had ever posted a round of 66.  Malone later went on to finish 16th out of 28 teams at the NAIA National Championships May 13-16.
 
McIlvain, a junior shortstop from Alliance, Ohio (Marlington H.S.), led Malone to a perfect 7-0 record on the baseball diamond April 21-27 by tallying a .423 batting average (11 hits in 26 at-bats) with two doubles, six runs scored, seven RBI’s, and three stolen bases.  The Pioneers will compete as the top seed in the NCCAA National Tournament this week.
 
Rodd, a sophomore from Canton, Ohio (homeschooled), helped Malone capture the NAIA Region IX Men’s Tennis Championship May 1-2 by tallying victories in both of his singles matches.  The Pioneers defeated Ohio Dominican University 6-3 in the tournament semifinal on May 1st and Walsh University 5-3 in the championship match on May 2nd.  Rodd won his singles pairings 6-1, 6-2 against ODU and 6-1, 6-0 against Walsh, earning his squad crucial points in each of the tightly-contested matches.  Malone competed in the NAIA National Tournament last week, but was eliminated after dropping its opening-round contest to Savannah College of Art & Design (GA) on May 12th by a final score of 9-0.
 
Ickes, a freshman from Smithville, Ohio (Smithville H.S.), helped the Pioneers claim the NCCAA Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championship May 1-3 by winning the javelin throw (135’5”), placing third in the discus throw (137’0”), and finishing third in the heptathlon (3926 points).  Ickes will compete at the NAIA National Championships this week.
 
Melhorn, a freshman distance runner from Navarre, Ohio (Fairless H.S.), led the Malone Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Team to a second-place finish at the NCCAA National Championships May 1-3 by placing first in the 3000-meter steeplechase (8:55.29).  Melhorn was also a member of the Pioneers’ 4x800 meter relay team that placed first in a time of 7:45.20. Melhorn’s impressive steeplechase performance broke the NCCAA National Championship Meet record by over 13 seconds.  He will now compete for the NAIA steeplechase title later this week at the NAIA National Championship Meet in St. Louis, Missouri.
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