WINONA LAKE – Grace College men’s basketball coach Jim Kessler was named the 2015 Crossroads League Co-Coach of the Year, highlighting the Lancers’ award haul. Logan Irwin, Brandon Vanderhegghen and Dennis Williams also earned honors from the league for impressive regular seasons. Kessler shared the league’s Coach of the Year honor with IWU’s Greg Tonagel. Kessler has led the Lancers to a No. 4 seed in the always-competitive league and into the NAIA Top-25 Coaches’ Poll for much of the season. Irwin was a Second Team All-League selection as Grace’s leading scorer. The junior point guard had a team-best 13.4 points and 4.5 assists per game. He also led all players in the league with a plus-4.5 assist/turnover ratio in league contests, handing out 77 assists with just 17 turnovers in 18 CL games. Vanderhegghen was Third Team All-League and also earned a spot on the league’s five-player All-Defensive Team for Grace. He produced 10.1 points per game and hit 33 percent on three-pointers for the season. He also had a team-high 1.6 steals per game average. Williams was honorable mention for All-League status. The senior center hit 60 percent of his shots from the floor, averaging 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game for the season. Grace will host fifth-seeded Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the CL Tournament. The semifinals are Saturday afternoon with the championship to be played on March 3. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NAIA DII Nationals in Point Lookout, Mo.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Allison Kauffman and Kelsie Peterson were honored by the Crossroads League following impressive regular seasons. Kauffman was a consensus First Team All-League performer for the Lady Lancers, leading Grace with 18.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. She made 44 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the free throw line during the regular season. Kauffman scored in double figures in 26 of the 30 games in the regular season and led the CL with 13 double-doubles. She won three CL Player of the Week awards in 2014-15. Peterson earned a spot on the CL’s All-Freshman Team, picking up the second-most votes among freshmen in the league. The freshman guard was second on the team with 9.5 points per game, hitting a team-best 34 percent on three-pointers during the Crossroads League season. Peterson also led Grace’s team with 51 steals (1.7/game) and hauled in 2.9 rebounds per game. She scored in double figures 11 times, including a season-high 19 points against Marian. The Lady Lancers tied for fifth in the Crossroads League. They earned the No. 6 seed and will play third-seeded St. Francis in Fort Wayne today at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The semifinals will be Friday night with the championship on March 2.
INDOOR TRACK Grace senior Donovan Graham was honored as the recipient of the 2015 NCCAA Wheeler Award for indoor track. The Wheeler Award is the highest individual honor given to a sport by the NCCAA, recognizing one student-athlete for outstanding Christian character, athletic and academic achievement and community service. Graham has qualified for the NAIA Indoor National Championships this year in both the 600 and 800-meter races. He took third place at Saturday’s NCCAA Indoor National Championships and was named NCCAA All-American. For his career, Graham has racked up three All-American awards for indoor track and four All-American awards for the outdoor season. “Donovan [Graham] has been a key contributor to our team since he arrived on campus. Over the past four years he has grown as a person, as a leader and as a competitor,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “He is well deserving of this prestigious award.” Graham is the third Lancer to win the NCCAA Wheeler Award for track and field, joining Jonathan Rex (2014) and Tim Sprankle (2002).
