The Press Box 7/6/15

Following the season, Grindle was named First Team All-Region XII, Region XII tournament MVP, Region XII All-Tournament Team, NJCAA Division I All-National Tournament Team, NSCAA All-Central Region and NSCAA Second Team All-American.

Owens leading scorer Jessica Grindle (Northwood) runs past defenders during her sophomore season. (Photo courtesy Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens SID)

In an injury shortened freshman year, Grindle had six goals and three assists in just 10 games.

Grindle finished her Owens career with 29 goals and eight assists in 31 games, and she is the program's second highest single season goal scorer, second highest single season points leader (51, 2013), second highest career goal scorer and the second highest career scorer (67).

Prior to Owens, Grindle was a First Team All-NWOSSL, First Team All-District and Second Team All-Ohio player at Northwood High School in Northwood, Ohio. She came to Owens along with fellow Northwood grad, Marissa Ramirez, who is now playing at NCAA Division II Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Calif.

Grindle is the 24th student-athlete from Owens to join a four-year program this year, and the 52nd in the past two years to do so. Furthermore, she is the 10th women's soccer play to sign with a four-year school in the past two years.

Lourdes University, located in Sylvania, competes at the NAIA level. They will have at least seven former Owens players on next year's team along with Grindle, including Erika Brinkman (Kalida), Kendyl Christian (Clay), Abby Groll (Clay), Kayla Lehmann (Bedford, Mich.) Megan Soncrant (Clay) and Elizabeth Theaker (Maumee).

Owens coaches tops
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association has named the Owens softball coaching staff the 2015 East Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

The trio of head coach Marcus Smith, along with assistants Carly Hewitt and Anita Williams, were one of three coaching staffs in the nation to earn the honors along with Phoenix (Ariz.) College and Kankakee (Ill.) Community College.

Playing for Owens was freshman third basemen Cassidy Rolf (Eastwood) and Katelyn Jensen (Genoa),

Following a 4-9 start to the season thanks to a tough spring trip schedule in Florida, Owens won 11 of its next 12 games. The team carried the momentum to an Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) championship. In the postseason, the team breezed through the competition in the Region XII District I tournament to earn the program's third-ever berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Tournament.

At nationals, Owens fell to No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast before defeating No. 10 Sauk Valley 22-18 in a thrilling elimination game. After the long battle against Sauk Valley, the team's season ended with a loss to No. 1 Phoenix College.

Owens finished 32-18 overall and 10-2 in OCCAC play.

Phoenix College, which finished 53-12, earned South Region Staff of the Year honors, while NJCAA Division II national champion Kankakee (45-6) was named the NFCA NJCAA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year, while also earning NFCA Midwest Region Staff of the Year honors.

Soccer skills camp
Owens head women's soccer coach Kenny Hewitt will host the First Annual Owens Express Soccer Skills Camp July 27-30.

The four-day event will focus on developing foot skills and learning to play the game the right way. Hewitt will help players work on ball skills, technique, moves and juggling, while there will also be one vs. one and two vs. two competitions.

The camp will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day and will be held at the Owens soccer field on the Toledo campus. The cost is $50 per child. All ages are welcome and campers will be placed in groups by age/grade. Campers are encouraged to fill out the camp's online form.

For information, contact Hewitt by phone at 567-661-7935 or by email at kenneth_hewitt@owens.edu.

Hewitt is in his second year at Owens. He helped lead Owens to a 14-5-2 overall record last year. In the postseason, he directed the team to its second straight Region XII championship, which earned the team a berth in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament for the second straight season.

Hailing from Brighton, England, Hewitt was an assistant coach with the men's and women's soccer programs at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tenn. for two seasons from 2012-14. Prior to his time at Carson-Newman, he was a four-year starter at Ashland University.

Napoli executive of the year
The East Coast Hockey League Board of Governors has selected Toledo Walleye President & CEO Joe Napoli as the 2014-15 recipient of the ECHL Executive of the Year award.

Napoli, who also won the award in 2012-13, joins Steve Chapman and Matthew Riley, as the only two-time winners of the Executive of the Year award since it was introduced in 1993.

Toledo set a new club record in attendance during the 2014-15 season drawing 231,847 fans during the regular season and adding 64,899 during the Kelly Cup Playoffs, including a team record 8,300 fans for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against South Carolina.

Winterfest, a 10-day outdoor hockey festival held at Fifth Third Field, created an economic impact of over $10 million for Toledo and the surrounding area. Napoli also hired Derek Lalonde as the Walleye head coach, who helped to spearhead an ECHL-record 58-point improvement over the 2013-14 season on his way to earning ECHL Coach of the Year honors.

In addition to serving as president and CEO of the Walleye, Napoli also is president and CEO of the Toledo Mud Hens professional baseball team. Before coming to Toledo, he worked for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association, the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball, the Canton-Akron Indians and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company.

A member of the development team for the Huntington Center, Napoli is responsible for the management and day-to-day operation of both the Walleye and Mud Hens. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Napoli graduated Cum Laude from St. John's University with a bachelor's degree in management.

Sports announcements
The 13th Annual Cardinal Classic four-person golf scramble is at Maumee Bay Golf Course on Aug. 15 with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. It follows the Alumni Mass and Parking Lot Party, which starts at 6 p.m. the Friday night before. Arctic Claim is the entertainment for the parking lot party. The golf outing Saturday is limited to first 144 paid golfers (32 teams) and proceeds go to the athletic department. For the golf outing, dinner only (6 p.m.) is $15 and dinner for two is $25. Cost for golf and dinner is $99. Deadline is August 7. Download a flyer go to: http://www.katerischools.org/cardinal-stritch-high-school or call Craig Meinzer at 419-693-0465 ext. 211.