COLUMBUS, Ohio – Week in and week out, Buckeye student-athletes raise the standard of excellence set at Ohio State, whether that be in competition, in the classroom, or in the community. ‘Buckeye Spotlight’ recognizes student-athletes who had noteworthy accomplishments both in contests and beyond the box score.
Throughout the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Ohio State Athletics continues to celebrate exceptional female student-athletes and women’s teams throughout history, highlighting a new moment or person every week. This week, a trio of women’s basketball Big Ten Players of the Year – Jessica Davenport, Jantel Lavender and Kelsey Mitchell – is highlighted. Read more HERE. Title IX homepage
Last week, 120 Ohio State student-athletes received Academic All-Big Ten honors. Winter sports include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s hockey, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and wrestling. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team (as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for winter sports), have been enrolled full time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. The women’s swimming and diving program led the Ohio State winter sports with 28 honorees, followed by the men’s swimming and diving program with 22. Men’s hockey had 18, women’s gymnastics had 17 and men’s gymnastics and wrestling had 12 each. Women’s basketball had eight and men’s basketball had three. Release and list of honorees
Here are this week’s Buckeye Spotlight student-athletes and teams:
Women’s Basketball Team
- The Ohio State women’s basketball team (28-8) wrapped up the 2022-23 season by making its first Elite Eight appearance since 1993 and the second-consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.
- The Buckeyes defeated No. 6/8 and second-seeded UConn by a 73-61 margin in the Sweet 16, earning OSU’s first win of the series and breaking UConn’s streak of 16-consecutive Elite Eight appearances. Ohio State forced 25 turnovers and totaled 13 steals.
- Ohio State fell to No. 4/5 and top-seeded Virginia Tech by an 84-74 margin in the Elite Eight. In her final collegiate game, Taylor Mikesell set the Buckeyes’ record for most made three-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game with seven.
- Cotie McMahon and Jacy Sheldon were named to the All-Tournament Team of the regional.
Addie Engel, Andrea Kuhn, Daniella Santos | Women’s Track & Field
- The Ohio State distance runners competed at the Raleigh Relays this past weekend with Addie Engel, Andrea Kuhn and Daniella Santos all breaking program records.
- On the first day of competition in the 10000m, Daniella Santos (33:33.47) and Andrea Kuhn (33:34.10) each ran considerably faster than the previous program record (33:46.57). They finished 11th and 12th in the invitational group.
- Addie Engel wrapped up the Buckeyes’ record-breaking weekend by finishing the 5000m in 15:44.02, more than 12 seconds faster than the previous record (15:56.52). Engel was fourth in a field of 170 runners who finished the race.
Meggie Otte | Softball | Sr. | East Sparta, Ohio
- Fifth-year senior Meggie Otte helped the Ohio State softball team win its Big Ten-opening series over Michigan, collecting a hit in each of the Buckeyes’ wins.
- In the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday, Otte was 2-for-3 with a two-run home runs and three total RBI.
- Yesterday, she went 1-for-3 and drove in a run as the Buckeyes won 8-7.
- The series win was Ohio State’s first over Michigan in 33 years, since 1990.
- Otte has 18 RBI on the season, which is tied for the second-most on the team.
- With Otte’s help, the Buckeyes have won 17 of their last 20 games and are 20-8 overall on the season.
Ruby Remati | Synchronized Swimming | Sophomore | Andover, Mass.
- Ruby Remati won two national titles at the 2023 U.S. Collegiate National Championships – A Figures and duet – to help the Buckeyes win their second consecutive national championship.
- She earned the Individual High Point Award at the 2023 U.S. Collegiate National Championships, scoring a meet-high 68 points.
- She was also a member of the Buckeye’s Scarlet team routine that finished second and swam with the third-place Buckeye trio.
Colby Smith | Men’s Lacrosse | Senior | Lancaster, Pa.
- Colby Smith led Ohio State with a season-high four goals in the 11-7 win over No. 6 Rutgers Sunday night.
- The senior helped the Buckeyes to their fourth victory over Rutgers in series history and the team’s largest margin of victory over the Scarlet Knights.
- Winning their first conference game in Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium, the Buckeyes improved to 5-1 at home this season.
- Smith, who was second on the team in scoring last season, has been battling an offseason injury and has returned to the lineup in the last five games for Ohio State.
Paul Veltrup | Men’s Fencing | Sophomore | Grefrath, Germany
- In his first NCAA Championships appearance, Paul Veltrup finished as the national runner-up in men’s epee.
- The No. 2 seed after posting 16 wins in 23 bouts in pool play, he notched a 14-10 victory over LIU’s Mohamed Elsayed Saleh in the semifinals before falling to Harvard’s Jonas Hansen in the final, 15-10.
- He earned First Team All-America accolades and was the fourth Buckeye to finish in the Top 2 in men’s epee the last four times Ohio State has competed at the final site.
- Veltrup helped the Buckeyes to a fifth-place finish as a team.
Gustaf Westlund | Men’s Hockey | 5th Year | Stockholm, Sweden
- A fifth-year senior and captain for the Buckeyes, Gustaf Westlund returned to the lineup in the NCAA Tournament Friday. He had not played since October, missing five months because of an injury suffered in the fifth game of the season.
- He had an immediate impact on the squad, as he had a three-point game in the Buckeyes’ 8-1 victory over Harvard in the NCAA Bridgeport Regional semifinal. His first assist came on a tally less than four minutes into the game and he scored early in the second before setting up a goal just six seconds later (tying for the two quickest goals in NCAA regional history).
- The Buckeyes were making their first NCAA appearance since 2019 and notched the third first-round win in program history. The squad fell to No. 1 seed Quinnipiac 4-1 in the regional final and end the year 21-16-3.
Shane Wetzel | Men’s Volleyball | Fr. | Lake Mary, Florida
- Wetzel helped the Buckeyes to a 3-0 record last week.
- He has 10 or more kills in each of the last five matches, all starts.
- The freshman recorded 10 kills in a 3-2 road win at No. 1 Penn State.
- He hit .588 in a 3-0 home win over Quincy to improve Ohio State’s record to 15-9 overall and 7-3 in the MIVA
Lyle Yost | Swimming & Diving | Sr. | Shaker Heights, Ohio
- Lyle Yost claimed the 1-meter national title at the NCAA Championships last week, becoming the first Buckeye since 1988 to win the 1-meter and first since 2016 to win a national title in any event.
- Yost was the only diver at the NCAA Championships to qualify for the championship final in all three dives and earn three First Team All-America honors.
- For the 1-meter, Yost was the top qualifier coming out of prelims and led the whole way through finals, finishing with a total score of 443.95. Yost placed fifth on the 3-meter with a score of 408.50 and tied for sixth on platform with a score of 366.35.
- Yost was named the Diver of the Year by the CSCAA following his performance.
