Category: 2022-23

  • Yellow Jackets Sports Weekly Recap (Jan. 23- Jan. 29)

    By: Brandon Unverferth

    Photography: Hanna Young

    Men’s Basketball: Thurs. Jan. 26 and Sat. Jan. 28

    1/26: Defiance 71 (6-12), Mount St. Joseph University 57 (6-12)

    The Defiance College men’s basketball team welcomed the Mount St. Joseph Lions to the Karl H. Weaner Center Thursday evening for an HCAC conference showdown. The starters in this contest included (senior) Marell Jordan, (senior) Te Jones, (sophomore) Landen Swanner, (freshman) Cole Wojciechowski, and (freshman) Ried Jury. Twenty-four seconds into the contest (19:36 left in the 1st), freshman Cole Wojciechowski scored the Yellow Jackets’ first points of the game, as he was able to find a crease in the Lion’s defense for an open layup (2-0). Nearly a minute later (18:49 left in the 1st), sophomore Luke Collinsworth answered Cole’s basket with a layup of his own, to tie the game at two apiece. With 17:02 left in the first half, sophomore Landen Swanner returned the lead into the hands of Defiance, as he splashed home a mid-range jumper from the right wing (4-2). Forty-three seconds later (16:19 left in the 1st), freshman Cole Wojciechowski would add another two points to his early point total, as he connected on a pair of free throws following a Mount St. Joseph foul by sophomore Dayne Gardner (6-2). Senior Te Jones connected on a mid-range jumper forty seconds later (15:39 left in the 1st), to end the Yellow Jackets’ 6-0 scoring run. Wojciechowski scored his sixth point of the contest at the five-minute mark of the first half (15:00 left), as he found his way to the rim once again for a layup, to put Defiance up six (10-4). Freshman Mathew Menninger would add his name to Lion’s scoring sheet twenty seconds after Wojciechowski’s layup, as he managed to find separation in the Yellow Jackets’ defense to score a layup (10-6). Senior Marell Jordan would go on a mini four-point scoring run of his own, as he connected on a pair of mid-range jump shots (13:34 and 12:51 left in the 1st), to stretch the Defiance lead to eight (14-6). With 11:49 left in the first half, freshman Mathew Menninger finally ended the Lions near a three-minute scoring drought, as he splashed home a deep three-pointer from the left wing (14-9). Sophomore Alex Totton would splash home another Mount St. Joseph tray moments later (10:05 left in the 1st), to cut Lion’s deficit down even further to four (18-14). Senior Te Jones went on a mini 5-0 scoring run of his own minutes later, as he splashed home a shot from downtown (9:18 left in the 1st) and also connected on a short-range jumper from the left wing (8:42 left in the 1st), to put Defiance back up by seven (23-16). Freshman Cam Martin scored his first points of the contest off a layup with 8:09 left in the first half, and he shortly followed that up with another layup thirty-nine seconds later (6:44 left in the 1st), to extend the Yellow Jackets lead to nine (27-18). With 5:15 left before halftime, sophomore Landen Swanner would help Defiance reach their first double-digit lead of the contest at eleven (31-20), as he connected on a mid-range jump shot from the right corner. The Yellow Jackets’ momentum would continue throughout the remaining five minutes of the opening half, as Defiance led by twelve (38-26) at the break. Senior Marell Jordan led the Yellow Jackets with 11 first-half points, while sophomore Luke Collinsworth and freshman Nate Kratzer each led the Lions with 6 points apiece. Fifty-five seconds into the second half (19:05 left), sophomore Luke Collinsworth for Mount St. Joseph found his way around multiple Defiance defenders, to put up his first points of the second half (38-28). With 18:22 left, senior Evan Wiehe splashed home his first three-pointer of the contest, and this cut Lion’s deficit to just seven (40-33). Freshman Ried Jury would respond to Mount St. Joseph’s quick 5-0 scoring run, as he scored via a short-range basket, to extend the Defiance lead back to nine (42-33). Senior Te Jones would put the Yellow Jackets back up double-digits (46-36) with 15:25 remaining in the game (off a Marell Jordan steal), but this double-digit lead did not last long, as the Lions managed to cut the deficit back to six (46-40) with 14:35 left to play. Mount St. Joseph would trim the Yellow Jackets’ lead to five (49-44) just prior to the under-twelve media timeout, but the lead for Defiance was quickly pushed back to seven (51-44), as Marell Jordan converted on a contested layup. Just past the midway point of the second half (9:43 left), sophomore Dayne Gardner managed to cut Lion’s deficit to just four (53-49) as he muscled his way to the rim for the layup. With 7:23 left, freshman Jakob Trevino was fouled hard by Gardner as he went to score the layup, and thankfully for Defiance, Trevino was able to continue on. Trevino used this unfortunate moment as a confidence booster, as he easily knocked down the ensuing pair of free-throws moments later, to bring the Yellow Jackets’ lead back up to eight (57-49). Defiance’s momentum would continue throughout the remaining seven minutes of the contest, as the Yellow Jackets took the victory 71-57. Defiance finished with a trio of players in double-figures, including senior Marell Jordan (15), freshman Cole Wojciechowski (14), and senior Te Jones (11). Meanwhile, Mount St. Joseph finished with two players in double-figures, including sophomore Luke Collinsworth with 20 points and sophomore Dayne Gardner with 10. The Yellow Jackets shot 58.3% (28-48) from the field, while the Lions shot 46.9% (23-49). Defiance shot well from beyond the arc, as they hit four threes on ten attempts (40%), while Mount St. Joseph hit three threes on fourteen attempts (21.4%). Both teams shot well from the charity stripe, as the Lions shot 88.9% (8-9) and the Yellow Jackets shot 84.6% (11-13). Mount St. Joseph had a slight advantage in the rebounds category 25-24. Bench points played a large role in this contest, as Defiance’s bench outscored Mount St. Joseph’s bench 20-13.

    When senior Grant Johnson was asked by The Defender about his thoughts following Thursday’s victory over Mount St. Joseph, he expressed, “It feels good to get back into the win column. With the way the past few games have went, we definitely needed this win. Now we’ll focus on picking up another victory on Saturday.“

    1/28: Hanover College 95 (12-7), Defiance 82 (6-13)

    Senior #24 Te Jones splashes home a three-pointer vs Hanover


    The Yellow Jackets men’s basketball team hosted the Hanover Panthers (HCAC conference opponent) Saturday afternoon at the Karl H. Weaner Center for a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup. The starters in this contest included (senior) Marell Jordan, (senior) Te Jones, (sophomore) Landen Swanner, (freshman) Cole Wojciechowski, and (freshman) Ried Jury. Both teams combined to miss their first seven shots of this contest, but that finally came to an end two minutes and four seconds in (17:56 left in the 1st), as senior Te Jones splashed home a three-pointer from the right wing (3-0). Thirty-nine seconds later (17:17 left in the 1st), sophomore Coleman Sater responded to Jones’s basket with a bucket of his own, as he capitalized on an open look from mid-range (3-2). The Yellow Jackets would lead by as much as four (7-3) with 16:21 left in the first half, but Hanover would fight back to take their first lead of the game (10-9) with 14:27 before the half. Both teams would trade baskets for the next nine minutes of play before the Panthers went on a 6-2 scoring run (4:55-3:51 left in the 1st) to take a comfortable lead of 38-30. Fifteen seconds later (3:36 left in the 1st), senior Marell Jordan would end the Hanover scoring run and cut the Defiance deficit to six (38-32), as he was able to splash home a mid-range jumper from the left wing. Following Jordan’s jumper, both teams struggled to find the back of the net as the next basket did not occur for nearly two minutes. Sophomore Coleman Sater ended the cold shooting streak (1:42 left in the 1st), as he split a pair of free-throws at the charity stripe, to give Hanover a seven-point lead (39-32). Fourteen seconds later though (1:28 left in the 1st), senior Te Jones would splash home yet another three-pointer from the right wing, which cut the Panther’s lead back to four (39-35). Hanover would end the final minute and a half of the first half on a 6-2 scoring run, which allowed them to walk into the locker room with an eight-point lead (45-37). Ten seconds into the second half (19:50 left), sophomore Landen Swanner opened up the Yellow Jackets second half scoring as he managed to fight his way to the rim for the layup (45-39). Defiance would trim the deficit down to just three points (45-42) with 19:05 left to play, but they struggled to get any closer. Hanover would splash home two consecutive three-pointers in the next forty-eight seconds, as first senior Jack Wininger hit a three from the left corner (18:52 left), and then senior Ty Houston buried a triple from the right wing (18:17 left). The duo of threes allowed the Panthers to stretch back out to a seven-point lead (51-44). With 17:56 left, sophomore Landen Swanner would once again fight his way to the rim for a layup to cut the deficit to five (51-46), but Wininger responded by splashing home yet another three-pointer from the left corner, which expanded the Hanover lead to eight (54-46). The Yellow Jackets would not back down, though, as in the next minute and a half (15:27 left), Defiance went on a 4-0 scoring run of their own, to cut the Panther’s lead back to four (54-50). Following a made (senior) Marell Jordan free-throw with 14:45 left, the Yellow Jackets had found themselves down by just three (56-53). Hanover, once again, though, would push out to a comfortable lead of eight (63-55) with 13:38 left to play, following yet another scoring run, this time 7-2. Defiance would trim the deficit back to within four (65-61) with 12:05 left following a pair of mid-range jumpers from sophomore Landen Swanner, but the Yellow Jackets’ momentum would not last long, as junior Max Greenamoyer splashed home his first triple with 11:46 left to give Hanover a seven-point lead (68-61). Greenamoyer’s triple started what would lead to a 10-0 Panthers scoring run, as they took a fourteen-point lead (75-61) with 9:48 left to play. Hanover would stretch their lead out to as much as seventeen (84-67) in the final six minutes of play, and Defiance simply had no response. In the end, the Panthers took home the victory 95-82. Hanover finished with five players in double-figures, including junior Max Greenamoyer (20), junior Matt Munoz (19), senior Jack Wininger (17), junior Brice Gilman (13), and sophomore Michael Donoho (11). Defiance finished with a trio of players in double-figures, including senior Marell Jordan (24), senior Te Jones (21), and sophomore Landen Swanner (17). The Yellow Jackets shot 57.4% (35-61) from the field, while the Panthers shot 55% (33-60). Three-pointers made a huge difference in the outcome of this game, as Hanover hit 16 triples on thirty-six attempts (44.4%), compared to Defiance’s 40% (6-15). The Panthers shot an impressive 76.5% (13-17) from the charity stripe, while the Yellow Jackets shot 66.7% (6-9) from the line. Both teams had an equal 29 rebounds apiece, but Hanover was able to convert their offensive rebounds into four second-chance points, while Defiance failed to score on second-chance opportunities. The Yellow Jackets dominated the points in the paint category 44-32, while the Panthers dominated bench points 30-13.

    Women’s Basketball: Tue. Jan. 24 and Sat. Jan. 28

    1/24: Mount St. Joseph University 72 (11-8), Defiance 64 (6-12)

    The Defiance College women’s basketball team traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio, Tuesday evening for an HCAC conference showdown against the Mount St. Joseph Lions. The starters in this contest included (graduate) Taylor Day, (senior) Taylor Steinbrunner, (senior) Nicole Sims, (junior) McKenzie Cooper, and (freshman) Kalista Friday. Thirty-seven seconds into the contest (9:23 left in the 1st), junior Madison Drummonds scored the first points of the game for either team, as capitalized on an open mid-range jumper from the left wing (2-0). Almost a minute later (8:39 left in the 1st), graduate Taylor Day would tie the game at two a piece as she scored via a hook shot. Moments later (8:30 left in the 1st), senior Chloe Jansen put Mount St. Joseph back ahead by a pair, as she found separation in the Defiance defense for the layup (4-2). Twenty-one seconds later (8:04 left in the 1st), junior McKenzie Cooper would miss an open three-pointer from the right wing, but thankfully she did not give up on the play, as she grabbed the offensive rebound and finished at the rim for two (4-4). Cooper would find the bottom of the net once again, just prior to the midway point of the opening quarter, which cut the Defiance deficit to one (9-8). To end the first quarter though, the Lions would go on a 9-2 scoring run, to take a 24-14 lead. The Mount St. Joseph run continued into the second quarter, as they would add six more points to the run (15-2) to take an early sixteen point lead (30-14). Two minutes and twenty-seven seconds into the second quarter (7:33 left in the 2nd), graduate Taylor Day pushed her way through the Mount St. Joseph defense for the layup, which put an end to the Lions scoring run (30-18). Following a Yellow Jackets timeout just past the midway point of the second (4:50 left in the 2nd), Defiance finished the quarter on a 12-0 scoring run to trim the deficit to just six (39-33) into the halftime break. To start the second half though, the momentum went right back into the hands of Mount St. Joseph, as they would start the third quarter on a 11-1 scoring run to take a sixteen point lead (50-34). With 6:50 left in the third quarter, freshman Kalista Friday found her way past the Lions defense to score an easy layup, which cut the Yellow Jackets deficit to fourteen (50-36). Defiance would end up trimming the Mount St. Joseph lead down to just eight (54-46) with 2:10 left in the third, but the Lions unfortunately ended the third on a 7-2 scoring run, to take a twelve point lead (60-48). Forty-five seconds into the fourth quarter (9:15 left), sophomore Anyiah Murphy splashed home a deep three-pointer from the left corner to put the Lions back up fifteen (63-48). Nearly two minutes would tick off the clock before the next point was scored, as Murphy once again found the the bottom of the net, as she split a pair of free-throws at the line (64-48). With 5:52 left, graduate Taylor Day scored via an open layup, which began what would lead to a quarter concluding 16-4 Defiance scoring run. Unfortunately, the Mount St. Joseph lead was just too much for the Yellow Jackets to overcome, as they came up just eight points short of the victory 72-64. The Lions finished with a trio of players in double-figures including sophomore Anyiah Murphy (17), freshman Karlee Mills (14), and senior Carlee Daulton (10). Defiance also finished with a trio of double-digit scorers including graduate Taylor Day (17), junior Kylie Brinkman (11), and freshman Kalista Friday (11). The Yellow Jackets shot 52% (26-50) from the field, while the Lions shot 45% (27-60). Mount St. Joseph was able to hit nine shots from downtown in this contest on twenty-one attempts (42.9%), while Defiance shot 41.7% (5-12) from three-point range. At the free-throw line the Yellow Jackets shot 70% (7-10), compared to the Lions 69.2% (9-13). Defiance out-rebounded Mount St. Joseph 31-28. The difference in this matchup came from the turnover category, as the Lions scored 30 points off twenty-five Yellow Jacket turnovers, while Defiance only scored 23 points off nineteen Mount St. Joseph turnovers.

    When junior McKenzie Cooper was asked by The Defender about her thoughts following the loss at Mount St. Joseph, she expressed, “I think we did a lot of things well, but ultimately we just turned the ball over too much, myself included. With that said, however, we had a lot of girls do a lot of really good things. Unfortunately for us, we just dug ourselves too deep into a hole to overcome it at the end. We hope to get back into the win column this Saturday against Hanover.“

    1/28: Hanover College 67 (12-5), Defiance 55 (6-13)

    Junior #14 Kylie Brinkman drives to the rim for the layup vs Hanover

    The Yellow Jackets women’s basketball team hosted the Hanover Panthers (HCAC conference opponent) Saturday afternoon at the Karl H. Weaner Center for a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup. The starters in this contest included (graduate) Taylor Day, (senior) Taylor Steinbrunner, (senior) Nicole Sims, (junior) McKenzie Cooper, and (freshman) Kalista Friday. Thirty-seven seconds into the game (9:23 left in the 1st), sophomore Kady Clancy scored the first points of the contest for either team, as she connected on a layup (2-0). Fifty-three seconds later (8:30 left in the 1st), senior Taylor Steinbrunner would tie the game at two a piece, as she answered right back with a layup of her own. Both teams would trade baskets through the next two minutes of play until sophomore Grace Bezold was fouled by graduate Taylor Day, which resulted in a made free-throw for Bezold (7-6). Bezold’s free-throw would begin a 9-3 scoring run for the Panthers, which took place over the course of a five and a half minute period (6:05-0:36), to give Hanover an early six point lead (15-9). In the final thirty-five seconds of the opening quarter, however, Defiance went on a 5-0 scoring run of their own, as junior Kylie Brinkman splashed home a three-pointer and senior Lexie Sparks connected on a layup, which allowed the Yellow Jackets to trail by only a single point (15-14) at the end of the first quarter. Forty-two seconds into the second quarter (9:18 left in the 2nd), freshman Kalista Friday found separation in the Hanover defense and she capitalized off this separation by converting on an open layup (17-16). With 7:58 left in the second quarter, Defiance was able to take their first lead of the afternoon (18-17), as senior Lexie Sparks splashed home a contested mid-range jump shot from the left wing. Nearly two minutes later (5:59 left in the 2nd), junior Cait Good converted on a layup to extend the Yellow Jackets lead to three (20-17), thanks to a defensive rebound by junior McKenzie Cooper. Over the next four minutes of play (1:59 left in the 2nd), Defiance went “cold” as the Panthers went on a 11-3 scoring run, to jump out to a 28-23 advantage. With just thirty-seven seconds left until the half, senior Lexie Sparks ended the Yellow Jackets cold streak, as she was able to convert on a short-range jumper to cut the deficit to three (28-25). Thirty seconds later (0:07 left in the 2nd) though, sophomore Grace Bezold would find the bottom of the net once again, this time via a layup, which gave the Panthers a 30-25 lead into the locker room. At the half, sophomore Katherine Benter led Hanover with 10 points, while senior Lexie Sparks led Defiance with 6. Seventeen seconds into the third quarter (9:43 left in the 3rd), freshman Kalista Friday scored the first points of the second half for either team, as she found her way to the rim for the open layup (30-27). After a pair of made free-throws from sophomore Kady Clancy (9:28 left in the 3rd), Friday responded with another made layup, this time coming from the opposite side of the rim, to cut the Yellow Jackets deficit back down to three (32-29). The next basket would come two minutes and fifteen seconds later (7:13 left in the 3rd), as junior Taylor Heath connected on a pair of free-throws (34-29). Twenty seconds later (6:53 left in the 3rd), Defiance responded once again with another two-point score, as this time graduate Taylor Day converted on a layup (34-31). With 6:32 left in the third quarter, junior Maddi Sears pushed the Panthers lead back up to five (36-31), as she managed to connect on a mid-range jumper. Graduate Taylor Day responded to Sears bucket just nineteen seconds later (6:13 left in the 3rd), as Day connected on her second-straight made basket, this time coming from mid-range (36-33). In the next two minutes though (4:13 left in the third), Hanover went on a 6-3 scoring run, which pushed their lead to six (42-36). The Yellow Jackets would trade baskets with Hanover in the remaining four minutes of the third quarter, as Defiance still found themselves down by six (48-42) heading into the fourth quarter. One minute and thirty-three seconds into the fourth quarter (8:27 left), junior Kylie Brinkman splashed home a deep three-pointer from the left wing, as she cut the Hanover lead to three (48-45). Eight seconds later (8:19 left), junior McKenzie Cooper fouled junior Taylor Heath, and Heath capitalized by converting on both free-throws at the charity stripe (50-45). With 8:10 left to play, freshman Kalista Friday found an open look from downtown, as she was able to knock it down to trim the deficit even further, to just two (50-48). Nearly two minutes later (6:23 left), sophomore Katherine Benter joined the “three-point party”, as she connected on a corner three, to push the Panthers lead back up to five (55-50). Moments later (6:04 left), senior Taylor Steinbrunner would put Defiance back within three (55-52), as she connected on a pair of free-throws following a foul by Hanover sophomore Grace Bezold. Both teams would have trouble scoring for the next two minutes and thirteen seconds, until junior Taylor Heath found the bottom of the net off a (senior) Lexie Sparks foul with 3:51 left, to give the Panthers a four point lead once again (56-52). The Yellow Jackets though just kept responding, as with 3:31 left, graduate Taylor Day managed to push her way into the paint for the layup and the foul, to cut the deficit back to just one after a made free-throw (56-55). Hanover, however, would respond to the Defiance pressure once and for all, as they finished the game on an 11-0 scoring run to take the victory 67-55. The Panthers finished with four players in double-figures including sophomore Kady Clancy (17), sophomore Katherine Benter (16), junior Taylor Heath (13), and sophomore Grace Bezold (11). Freshman Kalista Friday was the lone double-digit scorer for Defiance, as she finished with 15 points. Defiance shot 37.5% (21-56) from the field, while Hanover shot 37.3% (22-59). Both teams struggled from three-point range as the Panthers shot 28.6% (2-7), compared to the Yellow Jackets 15.8% (3-19). Free-throws made the difference in this contest, as Hanover went to the line twenty-seven times and they converted on twenty-one of those attempts (77.8%), while Defiance went to the line thirteen times and they converted on ten of those attempts (76.9%). The Panthers out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 41-36. Defiance’s bench outscored Hanover’s bench 20-6.

    Men’s Track & Field: Sat. Jan. 28

    The Defiance College men’s track & field team traveled to Tiffin, Ohio, Saturday afternoon for the Tiffin Invitational at Tiffin University. Sophomore Gavin Maratea and freshman Landon Sensmeier each competed in the 200 meter dash, where Maratea finished in 18th with a time of 25.13, while Sensmeier finished in 20th with a time of 27.13. Tiffin University sophomore Michael McNeil picked up the 200 meter dash victory over the twenty-one competitor field, with a time of 22.69. Freshman Isaac Miler finished in 4th place (5.95m) in long jump competition among five competitors. Lake Erie College sophomore Dakota Harvey picked up the long jump victory with a distance of 6.39m.

    Women’s Track & Field: Sat. Jan. 28

    The Defiance College women’s track & field team traveled to Tiffin, Ohio, Saturday afternoon for the Tiffin Invitational at Tiffin University. Senior Lisa Maria-Markau competed in the 60 meter dash, where she finished in 5th place (8.15 seconds) among the eight competitors. Toledo University freshman Paris Gosha-Foreman picked up the 60 meter dash victory with a time of 7.84 seconds. Lisa also finished 3rd place (26.83 seconds) in the 200 meter dash among twenty-three competitors. Tiffin University freshman Chelsea Janis picked up the 200 meter dash victory with a time of 26.67 seconds. Sophomore Lexi Coward and senior Brianna Snider competed in the one mile event. Coward finished in 7th place with a time of 6:54.77, while Snider finished in 8th place with a time of 7:06.29. Tiffin University sophomore Ines Macadam picked up the one mile victory with a time of 5:01.47. Freshman Shyla Pemberton finished in 7th place (1:06.91) in the 400 meter dash among fifteen competitors. Toledo University freshman Laryah Worthy picked up the 400 meter dash victory with a time of 1:01.67.

    Wrestling: Fri. Jan. 27 and Sat. Jan. 28

    The Yellow Jackets wrestling team traveled to Wheaton, Illinois, Friday afternoon for the two-day Pete Wilson Invitational at Wheaton College. Senior Seth Majewski was the lone Defiance wrestler to advance to the second day of competition. Majewski advanced to the 133-pound semifinal on Saturday after picking up three wins on Friday night. Majewski pinned his first two opponents and earned a 10-3 decision over Roanoke College sophomore Sean Hall, to secure a spot for Saturday. Majewski battled the eventual invite champion sophomore Ty Bisek of Concordia College in the semifinal and was defeated 16-2. Majewski was then sent to a consolation semifinal and lost 15-1 to senior Trevor Boryla from Augustana College. The impressive first day secured a 6th-place finish for Majewski in a tournament that featured 32 teams. The Yellow Jackets also earned opening-round wins on Friday night by senior Alejandro Castro in the 157 weight class and senior Keringten Martin in the 165 weight class. Castro pinned his Heidelberg University opponent in six minutes, but was knocked out of the main bracket with a 12-0 loss. Castro surrendered a medical forfeit in the consolation bracket. Martin outscored his first-round matchup 15-3, but was taken out with an 8-0 decision in the second round. Martin lost in the consolation bracket by fall in six minutes. Senior Rigo Villa (285), freshman Kelvin Ruffin (197), and sophomore Joey Perez (184), all went 0-2. Sophomore Kliever Joseph received a first-round bye in the 141 weight class, before getting defeated twice. Junior Brent Eicher lost his first match in the 149 weight class, then he received a consolation bye, where he then lost by fall to finish the weekend. Defiance totaled 18 points for the invite with 13 contributed by Majewski.

    Home

    Wednesday, Feb. 1

    Men’s Basketball (6-13) vs Manchester University (11-8)

    Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

    (7:30 pm)

    Thursday, Feb. 2

    Wrestling vs Marian University-Ancilla (Ancilla Duel)

    (Senior Night)

    Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

    (7:00 pm)

    Away

    Wednesday, Feb. 1

    Women’s Basketball (6-13) at Manchester University (8-10)

    (7:30 pm)

    Saturday, Feb. 4

    Men’s Track & Field at Trine University (Dick Gollnick Invitational)

    (12:00 pm)

    Women’s Track & Field at Trine University (Dick Gollnick Invitational)

    (12:00 pm)

    Women’s Basketball (6-13) at Transylvania University (19-0)

    (2:00 pm)

    Men’s Basketball (6-13) at Transylvania University (10-9)

    (4:00 pm)

  • Book Review: Confess

    By. Hanna Young

    Confess, by New York Times Best Selling Author Colleen Hoover presents to the readers a fictional story that leaves readers wanting to know all the secrets that lie within the pages. This story is set in Dallas, Texas. The book does have a little bit of a time-lapse at the beginning and end to give the readers some important details. This book leaves readers wanting to know what will happen to the main characters.

    Auburn Reed is just trying to make ends meet in a big city after her life is shattered, and she is left to rebuild it. Living in Dallas and trying to accomplish all her goals have proven hard, especially when she has no room for mistakes. Then she finds herself inside a Dallas art studio after finding a helpful wanted poster. She was there thinking she was just going to get a job, she had no idea that she would meet Owen Gentry, an artist. Auburn and Owen fall madly in love, but Owen has a major secret he is trying to keep from coming out. This secret has the opportunity to ruin everything that he has with Auburn. What she needs to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it, to hopefully secure everything that she loved before. While Owen is left with two options: confess his secret and save their relationship or keep the secret and protect a different relationship.

    This story kept my attention and made me want to continue to know what happened to Auburn and Owen. The feelings I have toward Owen and Auburn are unmatched by any other fictional couple. The last few chapters of the story are so life-like there would be a chance that those things could happen. That made the book that much better for me. This was a good book; however, it is not my favorite that I have read so far. This book seemed to have a couple of slower points in the story and I was less inclined to want to read it. There is also one detail that is talked about at the beginning of the book that is not mentioned again until the very end, which I find kind of annoying.

    Overall, I give this book a 4/5. This book kept the reader’s attention and made me want to continue reading.

  • Senior Spotlight: Abbegail Rank

    By: Caia Bevins


    Abbegail Rank is a senior here at Defiance College and will graduate this spring. She will have not one, not two, but three majors when she leaves in the spring. Why you may ask? Well, when she first came to campus as a high school student, she was a Criminal Justice major. While she enjoyed the subject, she realized that the world of law enforcement wasn’t for her, so she added Social Work when she came to Defiance during her Freshman year and added Psychology later on. Also, because she didn’t have enough classes already, she added a minor in Autism Studies. This, to her, was her most significant accomplishment so far. She said that, even though people doubted her a little bit, “I still pursued it, and I’ll have three majors.”

    Abbegail was very active outside of the classroom as well, joining both the Soccer and Track and Field teams as well as being a part of SAAC, and the Service Leader Program. She also worked as a peer tutor and a writing consultant. As I’m sure you can imagine, she was a very busy person and admitted that she probably forgot a few things, but wouldn’t we all? She did share a little bit about her time in the McMaster Program, however. Her group was supposed to go to Belize, but it was unfortunately during Covid, so she wasn’t able to go. Initially, she wanted to focus on “nutritional hydration and exercise,” but it evolved into “focusing on stress relief because Covid was stressful.” However, the experience was still incredible, and she was incredibly grateful for the opportunity.

    When I asked her what advice she would give her Freshman self, she immediately said, “I would focus more on my own self-care. For the first two years, I just focused on my classes and stuff, and I just got burnt out. So definitely self-care.” She also pointed to how focusing on self-care also helped her in the classroom.

    But enough about the past; let’s talk about the future. When I sat down to talk with her this week, she was excited about her future and about grad school. She told me that she is going to the University of Northern Texas to get her Master’s degree in kinesiology (the study of human body movement). After graduating from there, she plans to get her doctorate in counseling psychology, focusing on sports psychology. In terms of career goals, she wants to change how mental health is seen in sports and help athletes develop good mental health and physical strength and ability.

    So please join me in congratulating Abbegail for her incredible accomplishments over the last four years, and wish her the best of luck in grad school and beyond.

  • Interesting Facts About Ice Cream

    By: Elizabeth Patrick

    Did you know according to “The History of Icecream: The Evolution of Ice  Cream” states that “ Ice cream’s origins are known to date back as far as the second century B.C., although no specific date of origin nor inventor has been undisputably credited with its discovery.” Some people believe that ice cream evolved sometime during the 16th century. However, other people believe that England discovered ice cream around the same time, maybe even a few years earlier. According to “The History of Ice Cream: Ice Cream for America,” states that “The first official account of ice cream in the New World comes from a letter written in 1744 by a guest of Maryland Governor William Bladen.” Until around 1800, ice cream was considered a rare dessert that only the elite could eat. From 1940 through 1970, ice cream production became relatively constant in the United States as the more prepackaged ice cream was sold to local stores and ice cream parlors. Even though most people believe that vanilla ice cream was the first flavor, it was actually chocolate ice cream.

    According to “Everything you Ever Wanted to Know About Ice Cream,” “It takes 12 pounds of milk to produce just one gallon of ice cream. “Everything you Ever Wanted to Know About Ice Cream” also states that “The tallest ice cream cone was over 9 feet tall in Italy, and the average American eats 45.8 pints of ice cream each year.” Even though there is a wide variety of different ice cream toppings, chocolate syrup is the most popular! According to “Facts About Ice Cream,” “The largest ice cream cake weighed 12, 096 pounds.” In conclusion, ice cream is a very popular dessert that the majority of Americans will eat.

  • Pool Tournament

    By: Hannah Feldman

    On Thursday, January 19th, an intramural eight-ball pool tournament was held on campus to kick off intramurals for the 2023 Spring semester. Three teams competed in the lobby of McReynolds hall for the title of best 8-ball players on campus.

    The tournament accepted teams through email leading up to the day before the tournament. Teams consisted of Blake Bowman and Ryan Ahmed playing on “The Second Floor”, Shaun Hudson and Paige Roholoff playing on the “Socket Pockets”, and Zakary Klopfenstein and Zachary Centerbury playing on “CB#1”.

    The tournament started with an elimination bracket with The Second Floor playing CB#1, CB#1 won this match. The second game was The Socket Pockets against The Second Floor; with the Second Floor winning this round, they stayed in the bracket. Game three was the Socket Pockets playing the lead with no losses CB#1. Though it was a close game, CB#1 came out on top, winning the tournament.

    The final standing of the tournament was CB#1 with two wins and no losses, The Second Floor with one win and one loss, and Socket Pockets with a rough night walking away with two losses.

    Overall the eight-ball pool tournament was a fun night spent taking a normal pass-time game to a new level on campus. We encourage you to try an intramural tournament or sport while on campus. Intramurals are hosted at random times to help with campus involvement and to help students try new activities, and they are open to all DC students living on or off campus full or part-time as well.

    If you have any ideas for more intramural activities, you can reach out to Hailey Krawczyk through email to help with campus involvement, also, keep checking your email to keep up to date on when activities are.

  • Ask Buzz

    By: Mallory Timbrock

    Dear Buzz, 

    It’s my turn to pick date night with my boyfriend. Where should we go? Remember, we’re on a college budget.

    -from Anonymous

    Dear Anonymous, 

    If you and your boyfriend like semi-dangerous dates, I recommend The Eager Beaver AxeHole! It’s in Defiance and only 6 miles from campus! Don’t forget your ID if you go because you have to be 18 to enter. Due to the fact, I am an insect and can’t lift an axe, I haven’t gone, but my fellow bugs have been flies on the wall, and they enjoy it. If you’re going on a date with a fellow insect (we’re great and in it for the long run), I recommend walking through the garden centers at any of the local stores. Nothing makes a Yellow Jacket, or any bug, happier than the smell of flowers and springtime. If you and your partner prefer more lowkey and romantic dates, Stefano’s in town is a popular and inexpensive Italian restaurant calling your name.

    -Buzz

    Dear Buzz,

    I’m a commuter student, and I miss out on a lot of campus socializing. How can I make friends?

    Dear Commuter,

    First off, I am so happy to love DC enough to drive, or walk, here every day! As for making friends, put yourself out there during class! Sit next to new people, talk to them, and get to know them. If they seem like your kind of person, ask if you can hang out with them. If they’re a kind person (like all DC students), then they’ll want to hang out with you too! Or, if you want to make friends with fellow commuters, hang out in the commuter lounge in between classes. The lounge’s decor may be stuck in the 70s, but the people who show up are awesome. (Just make sure you don’t take their food from the mini-fridge. They might throw hands.) DC is a small campus full of wonderful people; I’m sure you’ll find some friends soon. If you don’t, then join the Defender Newspaper! The writers there will add you to their squad. If they don’t, they’ll meet my stinger!

    -Buzz




  • I’ll Take an Iced Coffee Please

    By: Caia Bevins

    Ah, yes. Coffee. As a college student, you are probably more addicted to this than you are to anything else in this world. It is the lifeblood of a student body. So, whether you order a black coffee or a caramel macchiato with a double shot of espresso, soy foam, low sugar, blended with unicorn sprinkles, all over ice, double sleeve, no cup, coffee is an important part of your life. But why do we drink it? If you think about it, it’s just hot bean water which sounds disgusting, so why is it such a big deal?

    Let’s take a little trip to Ancient Southern Arabia. Coffee became a very popular drink amongst Muslims as a substitute for alcohol, which was prohibited by their religious texts. It very quickly becomes a favorite amongst Arabs. The first coffeehouse appeared during the fifteenth century in Mecca and spread to Constantinople by the sixteenth century. Despite the disapproval of many religious leaders, people flocked to these establishments to discuss politics and daily news, and to spend time with other people. Even after such a short time, coffee was a necessity in many people’s lives.

    Coffee didn’t make it to Europe for about another hundred years in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It spread rapidly there as well as in the American colonies. However, in England, coffee had a major competitor: tea. The hundreds of thousands of pounds of tea that came from India put a huge damper on the importation of the relatively limited supply of coffee beans.

    Now, I don’t know if you know this, but tea is still a really big thing in the U.K., so why is coffee so popular in the United States? The answer may surprise you. It’s actually because of the Boston Tea Party. After all the taxes put on tea, no one wanted to buy it, but there just so happened to be an alternative that was significantly cheaper. You guessed it: coffee. It quickly became a major import and still is today. So, there you go. The next time you’re standing in line for your coffee, remember, it was all possible because some guys decided to play dress up and throw some stuff in the ocean. Thank you, Sons, of Liberty.

  • Yellow Jackets Sports Weekly Recap (Jan. 16- Jan. 22)

    By: Brandon Unverferth

    Photography: Hanna Young

    Women’s Basketball: Wed. Jan 18 and Sat. Jan. 21

    1/18: Earlham College 56 (2-13), Defiance 50 (6-10)

    Graduate #24 Taylor Day dribbles her way to the rim vs Earlham

    The Defiance College women’s basketball team welcomed the Earlham Quakers to the Karl H. Weaner Center Wednesday evening for an HCAC conference showdown. The starters in this contest included (graduate) Taylor Day, (senior) Taylor Steinbrunner, (senior) Nicole Sims, (junior) McKenzie Cooper, and (freshman) Kalista Friday. One minute and two seconds into the contest (8:58 left in the 1st), graduate Taylor Day put the Yellow Jackets on the scoreboard first with a basket from inside the arc (2-0). Forty-three seconds later (8:15 left in the 1st), junior McKenzie Cooper found open space to the rim for the layup, as she put Defiance up by four (4-0). With 7:56 left in the opening quarter, sophomore Amari Bradford scored the Quaker’s first points as she managed to fight her way to the basket for the layup (4-2). At the midway point of the first, the Yellow Jackets found themselves ahead by four (6-2). Nearly two and a half minutes would burn off the clock before the next basket was scored, and once again, Earlham managed to create enough separation to score a layup, this time scored by senior Neely Trenshaw. Defiance would remain scoreless for the entire second half of the first quarter, while Earlham chipped in another layup with just twenty-three seconds left, to tie the game at 6. The Quakers began the second quarter on a 9-3 scoring run to take a seven-point lead 16-9 with 5:10 left until halftime, but the Yellow Jackets would end the quarter on a 10-2 scoring of their own to take a two-point lead into the locker room (20-18). One minute and twelve seconds into the third quarter (8:48 left in the 3rd), junior McKenzie Cooper connected on a mid-range jump shot to extend the Yellow Jackets’ lead to four (22-18). Both teams would trade the lead numerous times in the third quarter, but going into the final ten minutes of play, Defiance still maintained a four-point lead (37-33). Forty-two seconds into the fourth quarter (9:18 left), graduate Taylor Day splashed home a deep three-pointer from the left wing, to give the Yellow Jackets a seven-point lead (40-33). Thirty-one seconds later (8:47 left), sophomore Janaiya Bright found separation in the Defiance defense to cut the Quakers deficit to five (40-35). With 8:18 left, freshman Zadria King returned the Yellow Jackets’ lead to seven as she scored via a short-range jumper. Ten seconds later (8:08 left), senior Neely Trenshaw knocked down a shot from downtown off an assist from sophomore Alexis Gibson, to cut the Defiance lead to four (42-38). Nearly a minute later (7:14 left), sophomore Willow Runyon connected on a pair of free-throws following a shooting foul committed by Defiance freshman Zadria King (42-40). With 6:10 left, junior McKenzie Cooper was called for a technical foul, which sent sophomore Willow Runyon back to the charity stripe, but this time with a chance to tie. Runyon did just that for Earlham, as she tied the game at 42. Thirty-six seconds later (5:34 left), senior Taylor Steinbrunner scored via an old-fashioned three-point-play, as she converted on a layup and free-throw to give Defiance the lead back 45-42. Twenty-two seconds later (5:12 left), sophomore Willow Runyon responded to Steinbrunner’s three-point play, with a three-point play of her own, as freshman Kalista Friday committed the after-the-basket foul (45-45). The Quakers would take the lead for a matter of sixteen seconds (4:00- 3:44 left) just past the midway point of the fourth quarter, but the Yellow Jackets just kept fighting back. Senior Lauren Criblez would give Defiance a three-point lead with 2:56 to go, as she knocked down a short-range jumper. With 1:41 left, senior Neely Trenshaw trimmed the Earlham deficit to one (50-49), as she connected on a pair of free-throws at the line. Following a (junior) McKenzie Cooper missed three-pointer moments later, the Quakers would take the lead back with just fifty-six seconds remaining as sophomore Bailey Gibson scored on an open layup (51-50). On the Yellow Jackets’ next possession, freshman Addy Allen would turn the ball over, and sophomore Janaiya Bright would capitalize off the Defiance mistake to stretch the Earlham lead to three (53-50). Seventeen seconds later (0:22 left), Bright would extend the Quaker’s lead even further to four (54-50), following a split (1-2) at the free-throw line. With twenty seconds left, senior Taylor Steinbrunner would, unfortunately, turn the ball over, which allowed the Quakers to regain possession and be sent to the free-throw line once again. Sophomore Alexis Gibson would convert on the first free-throw, but miss the second, which allowed Defiance with an opportunity to potentially trim the deficit to a single score. With eighteen seconds left, freshman Kalista Friday was unable to connect from three-point range, which once again sent Earlham to the line following a foul by freshman Addy Allen. Senior Neely Trenshaw would split the free-throws at the line (56-50). The last 2:56 ended up telling the story of this contest, as the Yellow Jackets were left completely scoreless. With this victory, the Quakers picked up just their second win of the season to date and their first win in HCAC conference play. Earlham finished with four players in double-figures, including sophomore Janaiya Bright (11), sophomore Willow Runyon (11), sophomore Amari Bradford (11), and sophomore Bailey Gibson (10). The Yellow Jackets had nobody in double-figures, but graduate Taylor Day was the leading scorer with nine. The Quakers shot 36.5% (19-52) from the field, while the Defiance shot 31.6% (18-57). Both teams struggled from three-point range as Defiance shot 18.5% (5-27) and Earlham shot 9.5% (2-21) from downtown. Earlham made their way to the free-throw line twenty-two times in this contest in which they capitalized on a sixteen of those attempts (72.7%), while Defiance shot 69.2% (9-13) from the charity stripe. The Quakers out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 40-37.

    When senior Nicole Sims was asked by The Defender about her thoughts following Wednesday’s loss against Earlham, she expressed, “They simply outplayed us tonight. We have to go back and work on our defense and move on to the next game. The best thing we can do is learn from this experience and improve starting tomorrow in practice.“

    1/21: Franklin College 62 (7-10), Defiance 49 (6-11)

    The Yellow Jackets women’s basketball team traveled to Franklin, Indiana, Saturday afternoon to take on the Franklin Grizzlies in HCAC conference action. The starters in this contest included (graduate) Taylor Day, (senior) Taylor Steinbrunner, (senior) Nicole Sims, (junior) McKenzie Cooper, and (sophomore) Teagan Hunt. Twenty-four seconds into the contest (9:36 left in the 1st), graduate Taylor Day put the Yellow Jackets on the scoreboard first, as she was able to find an opening in the Grizzlies’ defense for the easy layup (2-0). One minute and twenty-four seconds later (8:12 left in the 1st), senior Taylor Steinbrunner copied the exact formula that Day used to score the opening basket, as Taylor scored via a layup to give Defiance an early 4-0 advantage. The Yellow Jackets would hold a 10-7 lead with 3:03 left in the opening quarter, thanks to an early eight points from graduate Taylor Day, but Defiance would give up the lead moments later as Franklin would end up going on a 12-0 scoring run to end the quarter (19-10). The 12-0 Grizzly scoring run continued into the second quarter, as freshman Lauryn Bates converted on a pair of free throws following a foul by junior McKenzie Cooper, to put Franklin up eleven (21-10). The Yellow Jackets would only score four points in the entire second quarter (a pair of free-throws from senior Taylor Steinbrunner and a mid-range jump shot from graduate Taylor Day), while Franklin scored 17 points in the second period to put them up twenty-two (36-14) into the halftime break. With 6:08 left in the third quarter, Defiance found themselves down twenty (40-20), but this would soon change. In the ensuing two minutes (4:08 left in the 3rd), graduate Taylor Day went on an 8-0 scoring run of her own, as she connected on a pair of layups and four free-free throws. Twenty seconds later (3:38 left in the 3rd), junior McKenzie Cooper would add to Day’s impressive scoring run with a made mid-range jump shot, to trim the Defiance deficit to ten (40-30). At the end of the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets found themselves down by eleven (47-36). Fifteen seconds into the fourth quarter (9:45 left), graduate Taylor Day split a pair of free throws, which once again cut the deficit to ten (47-37). Both teams would trade baskets for most of the fourth quarter, as Defiance still trailed by ten (54-44) with 4:33 left, but in the final 3:47, the narrative would change. Franklin would end the game on an 8-5 scoring run, which provided them with a thirteen-point victory (62-49). Super senior Taylor Day scored a career-best 29 points in the contest as she scored eight of the Yellow Jackets’ 10 first-quarter points and two during the second before she exploded for 12 more in the third. Day scored an additional seven points in the fourth quarter, including the last bucket of the game, to put her at 29 points. Junior McKenzie Cooper was the only other Yellow Jacket to score in double-figures, as she finished with 13. Franklin finished with a trio of players in double-figures, including freshman Jordan Coon (19), sophomore Jasmine Walker (12), and sophomore Georgia Hanauer (11). The Grizzlies shot 43.4% (23-53) from the field, while the Defiance shot 29.3% (17-58). Franklin hit eight threes in this contest on twenty attempts (40%), while Defiance shot 6.7% (1-15) from downtown. Both teams shot well from the free-throw line as the Yellow Jackets shot 77.8% (14-18) and the Grizzlies shot 72.7% (8-11). Franklin out-rebounded Defiance 40-31.

    Men’s Basketball: Wed. Jan. 18 and Sat. Jan. 21

    1/18: Earlham College 74 (3-13), Defiance 66 (5-11)

    The Defiance College men’s basketball team traveled to Richmond, Indiana, Wednesday evening to take on the Earlham Quakers in an HCAC conference matchup. The starters in this contest included (senior) Marell Jordan, (senior) Te Jones, (sophomore) Landen Swanner, (freshman) Evan Conrad, and (freshman) Ried Jury. Fifty-nine seconds into the first half (19:01 left in the 1st), senior Te Jones connected on a mid-range jumper from the right wing, to give the Yellow Jackets the first lead of the contest (2-0). Twenty seconds later (18:41 left), senior Jaden Terry found an open lane to the basket for the layup, to tie the game at two. With 18:12 left in the first, senior Te Jones found the bottom of the net once again, but this time from inside the paint (layup), to return the lead to Defiance 4-2. Ten seconds later (18:02 left), graduate Anthony Phillips splashed home a three-pointer from downtown, to give Earlham their first lead of the contest 5-4. Both teams would swap the lead numerous times in the next eight minutes, but Defiance was able to grab a three-point lead (21-18) at the midway point of the first half. In the next four minutes, the Quakers would go on an 11-1 scoring run to take their largest lead of the game thus far at seven (29-22). Defiance would trim the deficit back to four (31-27) with 4:24 left in the first half, but Earlham quickly built the lead to double-digits (37-27) with less than three minutes left until halftime (2:54 left in 1st). Thankfully, the Yellow Jackets would end the first half on an 8-3 scoring run, thanks to a (senior) Marell Jordan three-pointer and short-range jumper, as well as a (sophomore) Landen Swanner score from downtown, to cut the Defiance deficit to five (40-35) into the locker room. Thirty-eight seconds into the second half (19:22 left), freshman Carter Abshear found some separation in the Defiance defense to score an easy basket from inside the paint for Earlham to stretch the lead back to seven (42-35). Abshear’s layup began what would eventually become a 12-0 scoring run for the Quakers (15:58 left), which helped them grow their lead to seventeen (52-35). Over the next three minutes, the Yellow Jackets responded with an impressive 12-0 scoring run of their own, to cut the Earlham lead back to five (52-47) with 12:44 left to play. Just prior to the midway point of the second half (10:04 left), senior Jerome Johnson kept Defiance within striking distance as he splashed home a shot from deep three-point range (56-50). With 9:02 left, senior Kiewaun Graham trimmed the Yellow Jackets’ deficit even further to four (56-52), as he connected on a pair of free throws following a foul by senior Jaden Terry. Twenty-seven seconds later (8:35 left), freshman Joffrey Nunnally brought the momentum back into the hands of the Quakers as he splashed home a three-pointer from the left wing, which stretched the Earlham lead back to seven (59-52). In the next two minutes (6:35 left), Defiance would score four straight unanswered points at the free-throw line, from senior Marell Jordan, to cut the deficit to just three (59-56). With 4:14 left, Earlham would find themselves up nine (65-56) thanks to a 6-0 scoring run that included a layup from junior Zachariah Andre, a jumper from freshman James Holder, and a pair of free-throws from senior Tommy Makabu. Senior Marell Jordan would respond with a made contested jumper from the left wing thirteen seconds later (4:01 left), to trim the Quakers lead to seven once again (65-58). Defiance had a few opportunities to try and trim the deficit even further, but they were unable to connect on those open looks from downtown. The Quakers’ second-half scoring consistency made the difference in this contest, as Earlham picked up the victory 74-66. The Quakers finished with four players in double-figures, including freshman Casey Keesee (20), senior Jaden Terry (13), senior Tommy Makabu (12), and freshman Joffrey Nunnally (10). Defiance finished with a pair of players in double-figures, including senior Marell Jordan with 28 points and sophomore Landen Swanner with 13. Both teams shot almost identically, as the Yellow Jackets shot 47.8% (22-46) from the field, while Earlham shot 47.4% (27-57). The Quakers hit nine threes in the contest on eighteen attempts (50%), while Defiance shot 40% (6-15) from downtown. Earlham shot an impressive 78.6% (11-14) from the free-throw line, while Defiance shot 64% (16-25) from the charity stripe. The Yellow Jackets out-rebounded the Quakers 30-28, including a 22-20 defensive-rebound advantage. Earlham had 34-28 points in the paint advantage.

    When senior Grant Johnson was asked by The Defender about his thoughts following Wednesday’s loss at Earlham, he expressed, “We just have to keep our heads up and battle through these tough times. With us now at the midway point in conference play, we still have a chance to play everyone in conference one more time, and we look forward to the challenge.“

    1/21: Franklin College 67 (11-6), Defiance 40 (5-12)

    The Yellow Jackets men’s basketball team traveled to Franklin, Indiana, Saturday afternoon for an HCAC conference showdown against the Franklin Grizzlies. The starters in this contest included (senior) Marell Jordan, (senior) Te Jones, (sophomore) Landen Swanner, (freshman) Ried Jury, and (freshman) Cole Wojciechowski. Thirty-four seconds into the game (19:26 left in the 1st), senior Marell Jordan scored the Yellow Jackets’ first points as he splashed home a deep three-pointer from the left wing, to put Defiance up early 3-2. Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net in the first half, as nearly midway through (9:55 left in the 1st), only 21 points were scored up to this point. With the lack of scoring, the Yellow Jackets found themselves down by three (12-9). Besides Jordan’s opening three-point tray, freshman Cole Wojciechowski scored a layup, sophomore Landen Swanner made a mid-range jump shot, and senior Te Jones scored on a short-range jump shot. In the ensuing two minutes and fifteen seconds (7:40 left in the 1st), Franklin sophomore Ryan Bostic would go on a 5-0 scoring run of his own, as he scored via a mid-range jump shot and a three-pointer, to put the Grizzlies up eight (17-9). Defiance would return to the scoreboard with 7:02 left in the first half, as freshman Jakob Trevino found separation in the Franklin defense and an open lane to the basket, to score a layup (17-11). Sophomore Clayton McCorkle returned to action in this contest following an injury, and he made his presence known, as with 5:54 left in the opening half, McCorkle buried a corner three to cut the Yellow Jackets deficit to just seven (21-14). In the remaining 5:54 of the first half, though, Defiance would end up cold as they were outscored 10-5 to put the Yellow Jackets down eleven (30-19) at the halftime break. One minute and twenty-five seconds into the second half (18:35 left), freshman Cole Wojciechowski scored the first points for either team in the second half, as he converted on an open layup (30-21). Twenty-seven seconds later, though (18:08 left), junior Logan Hudgins returned Franklin’s lead to double-digits (32-21) as he scored a layup off a collapse in the Defiance defense. With 17:38 left, senior Marell Jordan added his name to the layup party, as he went from left to right to put in the basket (32-23). In the next four and a half minutes (13:08 left), the Grizzlies went on a 10-0 scoring run, which provided them with a comfortable nineteen-point lead (42-23). Senior Marell Jordan was able to put a stop to the Franklin scoring spree, as he connected on a contested mid-range jump shot with 12:47 left to play (42-25). Both teams traded baskets for the majority of the ensuing eight minutes, as Franklin found themselves up eighteen (57-39) with 4:26 left. The Grizzlies would end the game on a 10-1 scoring run, with sophomore Will Gehlhausen scoring the lone point for the Yellow Jackets (at the charity stripe) in the final 4:28 of play, as Franklin took the victory 67-40. The Grizzlies finished with two players in double-figures, including sophomore Trey Flatt with 16 points and sophomore Ryan Bostic with 13. Senior Marell Jordan was the lone Yellow Jacket in double-figures with 11. Franklin shot 51% (25-49) from the field, while Defiance shot 27.9% (17-61). Both teams struggled from three-point range as the Grizzlies were 3-16 (18.8%) and the Yellow Jackets were 4-26 (15.4%). Franklin shot an overwhelming twenty-six free throws, but they were only able to convert on fourteen of those attempts for 53.8% at the line. Meanwhile, Defiance went to the line just four times, and they converted on two for a 50% effort. The Yellow Jackets narrowly out-rebounded the Grizzlies 37-36. Points off turnovers played a major role in the outcome of this game, as Franklin scored 20 points off 16 Defiance turnovers, while Defiance was only able to score five points off 10 Franklin turnovers. The points in the paint differential were also substantial, as the Grizzlies held a 42-22 advantage in this category.

    Wrestling: Sat. Jan. 21

    The Yellow Jackets wrestling team traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday morning to take part in the Dr. Si Ostrach Duals at Case Western Reserve University. As a team, Defiance lost all four duals, but they had some solid individual efforts throughout the program. Senior Seth Majewski, senior Rigo Villa, and sophomore Joey Perez all went unbeaten during the four duals for Defiance. Meanwhile, senior Alejandro Castro went 3-1 in competition, and senior Keringten Martin went 2-2. Junior Brent Eicher was among three Yellow Jackets to earn wins in exhibitions. Two of those exhibition winners picked up their first collegiate wins, as sophomore Kliever Joseph defeated a Case Western Reserve University opponent in the 141 weight class and freshman Lesly Fleurissaint was victorious against a St. John’s Fisher College opponent in the 285 weight bracket. The day started off with a dual matchup with Penn College of Technology, where Defiance dropped the dual as a team 36-16. Seniors Seth Majewski, Alejandro Castro, and Rigo Villa, as well as sophomore Joey Perez, each recorded wins for the Yellow Jackets against Penn, while six matchups went the other way, including a no-contest at 174. Junior Brent Eicher picked up a win by fall in an exhibition match in a battle at 157. Defiance then met up with host Case Western Reserve University, where Majewski and Villa recorded victories. The duo earned seven points for the Yellow Jackets, compared to 47 points in eight victories, with forfeits at 125 and 174 for the Spartans. Sophomore Kliever Joseph picked up a victory in the 141 weight class by fall in 3:50. The third dual of the day for Defiance was a tighter affair with St. John’s Fisher College, where the Yellow Jackets fell 30-22. Majewski and Villa each secured wins in the 133 and 285 weight classes, respectively, and they were joined by Castro and Perez in the 157 and 184. Senior Keringten Martin pinned his opponent in 1:05 to pick up another Jacket victory in the dual meet against St John’s Fisher College. Freshman Lesly Fleurissaint picked up his first win during this dual by pinning his 285 opponent in 1:55. The Yellow Jackets finished the day against Thiel College, where they, unfortunately, lost 30-21. Seniors Seth Majewski, Alejandro Castro, Keringten Martin, and Rigo Villa, all recorded wins, along with sophomore Joey Perez with a no-contest at 184. Defiance and Thiel each won five bouts, but Thiel went the distance in the 157, 165, and 285 matches to award them the dual victory.

    Home

    Wednesday, Jan. 25

    Men’s Basketball (5-12) vs Mount St. Joseph University (6-11)

    Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

    (7:30 pm)

    Women’s Basketball (6-11) vs Hanover College (13-5)

    Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

    (12:00 pm)

    Men’s Basketball (5-12) vs Hanover College (10-7)

    Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

    (2:00 pm)

    Away

    Wednesday, Jan. 25

    Women’s Basketball (6-11) at Mount St. Joseph University (8-8)

    (7:30 pm)

    Friday, Jan. 27

    Wrestling at Wheaton College (Pete Wilson Invitational)

    (7:00 pm)

    Saturday, Jan. 28

    Wrestling at Wheaton College (Pete Wilson Invitational)

    (11:00 am)

    Women’s Track & Field at Tiffin University (Tiffin Invitational)

    (12:00 pm)

    Men’s Track & Field at Tiffin University (Tiffin Invitational)

    (12:00 pm)

  • Yellow Jackets Sports Weekly Recap (Mar. 27- Apr. 2)

    By: Brandon Unverferth

    Photography: Hanna Young

    Softball: Sat. Apr. 1

    Defiance (TBD), Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (TBD)

    Defiance (TBD) at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (TBD)

    Baseball: Sat. Apr. 1 and Sun. Apr. 2

    4/1: Defiance (TBD), Bluffton University (TBD)

    4/1: Defiance (TBD), Bluffton University (TBD)

    4/2: Defiance (TBD), Bluffton University (TBD)

    Home

    Friday, Apr. 7

    Baseball (TBD) vs Manchester University (TBD)

    Location: Craig A. Rutter Field

    (1:00 pm)

    Baseball (TBD) vs Manchester University (TBD)

    Location: Craig A. Rutter Field

    (4:00 pm)

    Saturday, Apr. 8

    Baseball (TBD) vs Manchester University (TBD)

    Location: Craig A. Rutter Field

    (1:00 pm)

    Softball (TBD) vs Bluffton University (TBD)

    Location: Sal Hench Field

    (1:00 pm)

    Softball (TBD) vs Bluffton University (TBD)

    Location: Sal Hench Field

    (3:00 pm)

    Away

    Monday, Apr. 3

    Softball (TBD) at Adrian College (TBD)

    (4:00 pm)

    Softball (TBD) at Adrian College (TBD)

    (6:00 pm)

    Wednesday, Apr. 5

    Women’s Golf at The Legacy Golf Club (Lourdes Gray Wolves Invitational)

    (TBD)

    Friday, Apr. 7

    Men’s Golf at Colonial Golfers Club (Polar Bear Easter Classic)

    (TBD)

    Saturday, Apr. 8

    Men’s Golf at Colonial Golfers Club (Polar Bear Easter Classic)

    (TBD)

    Women’s Track & Field at Berea College (2023 Landon Bond Classic)

    (TBD)

    Men’s Track & Field at Berea College (2023 Landon Bond Classic)

    (TBD)

  • Yellow Jackets Sports Weekly Recap (May 15- May 21)

    By: Brandon Unverferth

    Photography: Hanna Young

    Men’s Track & Field: Thurs. May 18

    at The University of Mount Union

    Women’s Track & Field: Thurs. May 18

    at The University of Mount Union

    Away

    Thursday, May 25

    Women’s Track & Field at St. John Fisher University (NCAA Division III Championships)

    (TBD)

    Men’s Track & Field at St. John Fisher University (NCAA Division III Championships)

    (TBD)

    Friday, May 26

    Women’s Track & Field at St. John Fisher University (NCAA Division III Championships)

    (TBD)

    Men’s Track & Field at St. John Fisher University (NCAA Division III Championships)

    (TBD)

    Saturday, May 27

    Women’s Track & Field at St. John Fisher University (NCAA Division III Championships)

    (TBD)

    Men’s Track & Field at St. John Fisher University (NCAA Division III Championships)

    (TBD)