By Kyle Kuhlman/OCCAC Sports Information
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Owens Community College has earned its fourth consecutive OCCAC All-Sports Award, and this 2017-18 honor marks the Express’ sixth accolade in the last seven years.
The award is tallied by issuing points to schools based on their place of finish in each OCCAC-sponsored sport and dividing that total by the number of sports at each respective school. Conference champions earn 10 points, second place earns nine and so on. Ties are divided (i.e. - a two-way tie for second place would result in both schools receiving 8.5 points; a three-way tie for second would give each team 8.0 points).
Owens boasted a 9.50 average (28.5 points across three sports), tied for the highest mark in the award’s history which began in 2008-09. Cincinnati State Technical & Community College’s four sports in ’09-10 garnered 38 points to match the 9.50 average. The Express have finished no worse than second place in the 10-year history of the award.
“Very honored that Owens won the OCCAC All-Sports Award for the fourth year in a row,” J.D. Ettore, Owens Athletics Director, said. “I thank the coaches and our student-athletes for all of their hard work this year on the field of play.”
The Express competed in three OCCAC sports during the 2017-18 campaign, placing second or better in each. Volleyball opened the year by capturing the conference crown en route to a 40-1 season (16-0 in the OCCAC) which ended in the NJCAA D-II Finals. Gymnasium success continued into the winter season with women’s basketball sharing league champion recognition with Sinclair Community College at 13-1 while the men’s squad posted a 14-1 league mark to finish second.
The Sinclair Tartan Pride registered an 8.50 average, the second-best rate overall and tops among the four institutions competing in all five OCCAC sports (volleyball, m/w basketball, softball, baseball). Outright and shared conference championships from baseball and women’s basketball, respectively, were flanked by additional top-3 performances in softball (2nd) and volleyball (3rd).
Cuyahoga Community College represented the lone school to claim a pair of outright conference titles, doing so in men’s basketball and softball. The Challengers also notched a runner-up showing on the baseball diamond. Solid efforts by the volleyball and women’s basketball squads rounded out Cuyahoga’s 8.00 average, good for third-highest in the OCCAC.
Lakeland Community College (7.20) and Edison State (6.70) fill out the top-5.
2017-18 ALL-SPORTS AWARD STANDINGS
| PLACE | SCHOOL | POINTS | SPORTS | AVERAGE |
| 1 | Owens Community College | 28.5 | 3 | 9.50 |
| 2 | Sinclair Community College | 42.5 | 5 | 8.50 |
| 3 | Cuyahoga Community College | 40 | 5 | 8.00 |
| 4 | Lakeland Community College | 36 | 5 | 7.20 |
| 5 | Edison State Community College | 33.5 | 5 | 6.70 |
| 6 | Columbus State Community College | 18.5 | 3 | 6.17 |
| 7 | Lorain County Community College | 16 | 3 | 5.33 |
| 8 | Clark State Community College | 13.5 | 4 | 3.38 |
| 9 | Hocking Technical College | 7.5 | 3 | 2.50 |
Complete Results Since 2008-09