Owens Community College honors sports teams, athletes at annual awards banquet

Jessica Grindle accepts her Owens Female Athlete of the Year award from Owens President Mike Bower at a banquet this week.

The Owens Community College athletic department has named Jessica Grindle, of Northwood, and Brandon Hoelzer, of Fremont, as the female and male athletes of the year.

Grindle, a sophomore on the Express women's soccer team, was named a Second Team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America after a season of 23 goals and five assists. She finished her two-year career with 29 goals and eight assists.

Grindle led the Express women's soccer team to a 17-2-2 record, a program record 15 straight wins, the program's first Region XII tournament championship and the program's first appearance in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I National Tournament. 

Hoelzer is competing as a sophomore member of the No. 3 Express men's golf team. As a freshman, he helped lead the team to a berth in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, where he earned Honorable Mention All-American honors. Additionally, he was named First Team All-OCCAC, First Team All-Region XII, Region XII Player of the Year and Ping Honorable Mention All-American.

Others honored at the banquet included:

The Express men's soccer team named Troy Watson the team MVP and Austin Combs the Coaches Award winner.

The Express softball team named Brittany George the team MVP and Lesley Ducat the Coaches Award winner.

The Express baseball team named Kyle Bennett the team MVP and Michael Finch the Coaches Award winner.

The Express men's basketball team named Bikramjit Gill the team MVP and Andy Bachman the Coaches Award winner.

The Express women's basketball team named Kamilah Carter the team MVP, Eboni Adams the Coaches Award winner and Malaysha Cammon the Mark Henry Award winner.

The Express women's soccer team named Elizabeth Theaker the team MVP and Marissa Ramirez the Coaches Award winner.

The Express women's volleyball team named Lisa Urbanski the team MVP and Sara Turner-Smith the Coaches Award winner.

The Express men's golf team named Hoelzer their team MVP and Harrison Long their Coaches Award winner.