A YEAR IN REVIEW

It was a good year to be a Forester despite a spring season that never unfolded. HU athletes turned in epic performances in 2019-20. It’s been undoubtedly the most memorable year in Huntington University history.

Check out the list of accomplishments that took place this fall and winter. Sit down, relax and grab a cup of coffee; you’ll be reading for a while.

HANNAH STOFFEL WAS THE 2019 CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL CHAMPION
Not only did Stoffel earn HU’s first individual NAIA national title in cross country this past fall, she was also the first female in Forester history to be deemed an NAIA national champion. Her performance at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships was dominate as she crossed the line in 17:18 which proved 16 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. The awards continued to pile up for Stoffel after the season as she was deemed the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USATFCCCA) National Athlete of the Year as well as their Scholar Athlete of the Year.

THE HU WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD TEAM CLAIMED THE 2020 NAIA NATIONAL TITLE
Eight Foresters made up the squad that clinched the Foresters’ first-ever NAIA National Indoor Championship title with 77 team points. Not only was it the program’s first national title, it also proved the first NAIA national title of any Huntington athletic team. When all was said and done, the Foresters claimed three individual titles, won two relays and collected 19 All-American honors over the course of the three-day national event. See the breakdown of individual honors/results at the bottom of this release.

MEN’S SOCCER MADE A REPEAT TRIP TO NAIA NATIONALS
For the second straight year, the Foresters claimed the Crossroads League tournament title to secure an automatic bid to the big dance. As the No. 2 seed in the CL tourney, HU picked off top-seeded and 6th ranked Spring Arbor, 1-0, to punch their ticket to nationals. In the opening round, Coach Russ Lawson and crew outlasted Cardinal Stritch in a shootout to log the program’s first win in NAIA postseason play. Huntington ended the season with a 15-5-3 record which is the most wins since Lawson’s playing days in 1989 when he and his team went 20-5.

BOTH CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS EARNED A SPOT AT NAIA NATIONALS
It was the first time since 1999 that both the HU men and women competed as a team on the national stage. On the women’s side, the Foresters outran their 16th-place seeding to finish tenth overall with 339 points which is the highest finish of any Huntington women’s cross country team. While Stoffel’s top finish headlined the meet, teammate Molly Mitchell also garnered national attention by finishing 17th out of 340 runners to join Stoffel as an All-American. The rest of Coach Nick Johnson’s crew included Saige Norris (59th), Mara McFarland (124th), Olivia Von Gunten (140th), Isabel Hunter (166th) and Erin Manchess (212th).

On the men’s side, tenth-seeded Huntington placed 17th overall with 477 points behind freshmen Haile Stutzman and Kent Yoder who finished within two spots of each at 46th and 48th respectively. Other Forester runners included Elijah Chesterman (114th), Adrien Gentie (120th), Aaron Hendryx (149th), Nick Childs (187th) and Matthew Hyter (192nd).

THE CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM WAS ALSO HONORED NATIONALLY FOR THEIR SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM
Both programs were named by the USTFCCA as All-Academic Teams. To be eligible for this honor, teams must have competed at nationals and achieved a collective GPA of at least 3.0 which the Foresters far exceeded as the women boasted a 3.75 GPA while the men carried a 3.31 GPA. All seven members of the women’s team also claimed individual All-Academic status for having a GPA of at least 3.25 while four members of the men’s squad also earned All-Academic badges. Hannah Stoffel surfaced to the top once again as the Scholar Athlete of the Year with her 3.948 GPA.

SARAH FRYMAN WAS NAMED NAIA FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
The 5-9 forward was one of ten NAIA Division II women’s basketball players to earn this distinguished honor. Fryman is just the third Forester in program history to receive an NAIA First Team All-American badge. The award caps off an incredible final campaign that saw Fryman rewrite the history books by racking up 715 points to eclipse the previous season record of 659 points shared by Becky Stump (1984) and Miranda Palmer (2017). She poured in 23.1 points per night to finish as the nation’s second leading scorer. Her accuracy at the charity stripe (.917) was also the second best in the NAIA. Not just a scoring machine, she also posted a team-leading 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 steals per contest. Her long list of accolades also included being voted the Crossroads League Player of the Year.

JAKE ERLANDSON EARNED NAIA HONOR MENTION ALL-AMERICAN ACCOLADES
The junior defender is just the second Forester in the last decade to be honored at the national level. He joins an elite group of nine Huntington men’s soccer players to earn All-American status. The center back anchored an HU defense that surrendered just 18 goals on the year and posted ten shutouts. Erlandson and crew led the Crossroads League in goals allowed per game (.078) and for his efforts was tabbed the league’s Defender of the Year as voted on by the CL coaches. The Waynesville (Ohio) native was also his team’s leading scorer with ten goals on the season, seven of which were game winners. His seven game-winning goals topped the NAIA.

JOEL CHILDS WAS NAMED THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD COACH OF THE YEAR
Third year HU head coach Joel Childs was tabbed the 2020 National Women’s Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year for leading the Foresters to not only their first indoor national title in program history, but the school’s first ever NAIA team title. HU’s journey to the top was highlighted by claiming three individual titles and winning two relays. In all, Childs’ crew nabbed 19 All-American badges and named 13 national champions over the three-day event.

TRACY BLOCKER WAS NAMED THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
Rounding out Huntington’s awards from the indoor season included Tracy Blocker being named the National Women’s Indoor T&F Assistant Coach of the Year. He works primarily with mid-distance athletes who combined to score 69 of HU’s 77 points at the NAIA National Championships.

THE FORESTERS RACKED UP 50 ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
HU athletes were some of the league’s best as evidenced by the abundance of all-conference honors earned this year. Highlighting these distinctions included Hannah Stoffel and Haile Stutzman bringing home the individual title for women and men respectively at the CL Cross Country Championships, Sarah Fryman being tabbed the CL Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, Jake Erlandson earning CL Men’s Soccer Defender of the Year accolades and Amber Elliott being voted the WHAC Women’s Bowling Newcomer of the Year. The breakdown by sport is as follows: men’s basketball (2), women’s basketball (2), men’s bowling (1), women’s bowling (1), men’s cross country (2), women’s cross country (3), women’s golf (1), men’s soccer (2), women’s soccer (2), men’s tennis (1), women’s tennis (3), men’s indoor T&F (13), women’s indoor T&F (13) and volleyball (4).

HU COLLECTED 33 WEEKLY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK BADGES
The Foresters were busy all fall and winter turning in notable performances as showcased by the league’s weekly honors. The breakdown by athlete included Ariene Butler (VB), Aspen Dirr (T&F), Paige Eakright (VB), Amber Elliott (WBOWL), Jake Erlandson (MSOC x2), Noah Fleming (MSOC), Sarah Fryman (WBB x4), Adrien Gentie (XC x2), Gabe Greenfield (MSOC x4), Molly Mitchell (T&F), Konner Platt (MBB), Austin Schultz (MBOWL), Caleb Sexton (MSOC), Hannah Stoffel (XC x5 | T&F x1), Haile Stutzman (XC x4), Luke Unger (MSOC), Jennings Tacosik (VB).

112 STUDENT-ATHLETES WERE NAMED TO HU’S ATHLETIC HONOR ROLL
Earlier this month, 112 athletes representing all 17 HU intercollegiate teams plus the cheer squad were honored for their success in the classroom by carrying a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5. Highlighting the annual ceremony was honoring the following students who were four-year members of the HU honor roll: Joelle Beals, Rachel Blauert, Addalyn Brown, Stephen Brown, Meg Dolde, Brianna Fish, Holly Holton, Cindy In’t Groen, Daniel Lichty, Molly Mitchell, Erin Mohr, Bailey O’Dell, Konner Platt, Betsy Schroeder, Bianca Tisdale, Phillip Williams, Andrew Yoder.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENTS BY OUR ATHLETES AND COACHES:
– Senior Meg Dolde and sophomore Morgan Fitzpatrick made program history last fall as the first HU women’s tennis duo to represent the Midwest region at the 2019 ITA Cup.
– Sophomore Caleb Middlesworth joined the HU men’s basketball 1,000-point club on February 18.
– Senior Konner Platt wrapped up his career with 1,854 points to rank 10th on Huntington’s men’s basketball all-time scoring list.
– Senior Sarah Fryman finished her career with 1,910 points to land the No. 3 spot on HU’s women’s basketball all-time scoring list.
– The men’s basketball team hosted its second annual Integrity Day on December 17.
– Women’s tennis coach Roger Ferguson picked up win No. 100 against Spring Arbor on August 28.
– Women’s basketball coach Lori Culler posted her 600th win against IU Southeast on November 16.
– Men’s basketball coach Ty Platt celebrated a coaching milestone by notching his 200th win against Goshen on February 4.
– Baseball pitching coach Brian Abbott was inducted into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame this spring.

INDIVIDUAL SUMMARY OF WOMEN’S INDOOR T&F NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
ASPEN DIRR
– Athlete of the Meet (voted on by coaches)
– Most Valuable Performer (highest point-getter with 33 points)
– National Champion in the 1000 and mile
– Ran a leg of National Champion DMR and 4×800 teams
– 2nd in the 5000
– Five All-American honors

HANNAH STOFFEL
– National Champion in the 800
– Ran a leg of National Champion DMR and 4×800 teams
– 2nd in the mile and 3rd in the 3000
– Five All-American honors

MOLLY MITCHELL
– Ran a leg of National Champion DMR and 4×800 teams
– 4th in the mile
– Three All-American honors

MARA MCFARLAND
– Ran a leg of National Champion DMR and 4×800 teams
– 9th in 1000
– Two All-American honors

OLIVIA VON GUNTEN
– Ran a leg of the 4×800 in prelims
– Ran the 800 leg of the DMR in prelims
– Two All-American honors

JESSICA CHOJNACKI
– Ran a leg of the 4×800 in prelims
– One All-American honor

JORDAN ADAM
– Ran the 400 leg of the DMR in prelims
– One All-American Honor

SAIGE NORRIS
– 16th in the 3000

If you see any of these Foresters, be sure to offer up a huge congratulations for their many accomplishments this year!