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Sofia Istnick leads way for William & Mary cross country; Avery Keith impacts W&J football

bill arsenault
·5 min read
Sofia Istnick, William & Mary
Sofia Istnick, William & Mary

Sophomore Sofia Istnick had a big effort for the William & Mary women’s cross country team at the Coastal Athletic Conference Championship Oct. 27 in Mechanicsville, Va.

Istnick, a Jackson High School graduate, led William & Mary to a fourth-place finish by finishing eighth out of 113 runners with a 6,000-meter time of 21:27.7. She was 26th after the opening 2K and improved 18 spots over the final 4K to finish in the top 10 for her second straight All-CAA

William & Mary heads to Spartanburg, S.C. on Friday for the Division I NCAA Southeast Regionals. Istnick finished 44th in the regionals last year. Her personal record at 6K is 20:46.

Sofia Istnick competes in a meet for the William & Mary women's cross country team.
Sofia Istnick competes in a meet for the William & Mary women's cross country team.

Morgan Cole (Louisville)

The graduate student posted her fourth straight top-six finish for the Youngstown State women’s cross country team when she placed second out of 116 runners at the Horizon League Championship in Fairborn. She posted a 6K time of 20:50.9 and missed the top spot by 4.3 seconds. Cole was defending the title she won last season. She finished third in 2021 and was sixth as a freshman. Cole prepped for this year’s race by posting a personal-record 20.41.8 when she finished 54th out of 385 at the prestigious Arturo Barrios Invite on Oct. 13 in College Station, Texas.

Morgan Cole
Morgan Cole

Nathan Moore (Lake)

The junior helped the Liberty men’s cross country team finish second at the Conference USA Championship in Bowling Green, Ky. He finished ninth out of 75 runners with a personal-record 8K time of 23:23.1. He was the second-best finisher for the Flames who finished with 53 points and he earned all-conference second-team honors. Moore is a transfer from Walsh where he finished fourth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship last November.

Lourdes Myers (St. Thomas Aquinas)

The 6-foot-3 redshirt junior continues to contribute as a middle blocker for the 19th-ranked Purdue (Ind.) women’s volleyball team (14-8 overall, 8-5 Big Ten). Myers has 106 kills and 63.0 total blocks and leads the team with a .353 attack percentage. She had a season-high 11 kills in a 3-1 loss to Indiana on Oct. 18 and a season-high total blocks in a 3-0 win over Central Florida on Sept. 14.

Lourdes Myers in action for the Purdue University women's volleyball team.
Lourdes Myers in action for the Purdue University women's volleyball team.

Brock Henne (Hoover)

The 6-4, 243-pound tight end, a redshirt freshman, is used mainly as a blocker for the Ashland football team, but he has had two big catches of late. Henne had a 42-yard reception in a 31-19 victory over Lake Erie on Oct. 21 and caught a touchdown from 3 yards out in a 28-20 triumph over Thomas More a week later. He had just one catch prior to that.

Claire Eberhardt (Central Catholic)

The freshman helped the John Carroll women’s cross country team win its fourth straight Ohio Athletic Conference title at the league championship. In just her third collegiate race, Eberhardt finished seventh out of 111 runners with a season-best time of 22:25.0 over the 6K course. She was the third finisher for the Blue Streaks who topped a field of 10 schools with a score of 32, 30 points ahead of runner-up Ohio Northern.

Natalie Stepanovich (GlenOak)

The 5-11 freshman outside hitter is wrapping up a big first season with the Robert Morris (Pa.) women’s volleyball team (6-20, 3-12 Horizon League). Stepanovich leads the team with 282 kills and 329.0 points and is second in digs with 270 and service aces with 32. She has had 11 double-doubles and had two big matches recently. She had 24 kills and 22 digs in a 3-2 victory over Youngstown State on Oct. 12 and 23 kills and 14 digs in a 3-1 win over Oakland on Oct. 20.

Tyson Durant (McKinley)

The redshirt junior is starting at cornerback on defense for the Akron football team (2-7, 1-4). In the 31-27 victory over Kent State, Durant had three solo tackles and a pass breakup. He entered this week with 26 tackles, 16 unassisted, an interception, four pass breakups and one quarterback hit. In 33 career games, Durant has 92 tackles and five interceptions, one for a touchdown.

Akron cornerback Tyson Durant pursues a first-half play at Bowling Green, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.
Akron cornerback Tyson Durant pursues a first-half play at Bowling Green, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

Kyle Freudeman (Central Catholic)

The 6-1 junior helped the St. Leo (Fla.) men’s golf team wrap up its fall season at the Copperhead Championship Oct. 22-24 at the Innisbrook Resort in Florida. Freudeman finished tied for 68th out of 90 golfers 228 total on rounds of 77, 73 and 78. He was the fourth finisher for the Lions who ended up tied for 11th in the 16-team field. Freudeman competed in the same tourney last fall and posted a 237 score on rounds of 80, 79 and 78.

Avery Keith (Lake)

The 6-3, 225-pound junior is starting at defensive end for the Washington & Jefferson football team. Keith had six tackles, including two sacks, and a quarterback hit in a recent 38-33 win over Case Western Reserve. On the season, he has 43 tackles with 10 for losses of 48 yards with 5.5 sacks. He also has a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Erin Wagner (Perry)

The 6-1 redshirt junior had 13 kills and moved up on the Ohio Northern career hitting percentage list in a recent five-set match with Marietta. Wagner now ranks seventh (.302) in 70 career matches. This season, she has a .328 hitting percentage and leads the team with 305 kills. She also has 58.0 total blocks and 41 digs.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: College updates on Morgan Cole, Sofia Istnick, Tyson Durant, others