ODAC Athletes of the Week | Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling

ODAC Athletes of the Week | Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling

FOREST, Va. --- All winter sports were active as the ODAC season reached week 20 for the 2022-23 academic calendar. League basketball teams will largely compete in conference play from here on out, while swimming, track & field, and wrestling squads begin their preparations with ODAC championship events drawing ever-closer. Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards for Monday, January 16, include (pictured left-right): Mary Schleusner from Washington and Lee women's basketball, Mahlic Sallah from Roanoke wrestling, Miles Mallory from Randolph-Macon men's basketball, Sophia Rollo from W&L women's swimming, Colton Schnars from Lynchburg men's swimming, and Ryan Luth from W&L wrestling.

Below are entries for all four winners from today's release. The schedule below will be used for reporting ODAC Athletes of the Week:

  • Mondays: basketball, swimming, wrestling
  • Tuesdays: indoor track & field

For more on ODAC athletics, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Miles Mallory | Randolph-Macon | Sr. | Forward
Mallory, a senior from Beltsville, Md, earns his second ODAC weekly award of the season after leading the nationally second-ranked Yellow Jackets to a pair of victories last week, running their winning streak to 13 straight games. Mallory helped Randolph-Macon win a clash of top-five ranked teams in R-MC's 64-59 victory over #5 Christopher Newport, the lone team to defeat national champion Randolph-Macon last season. Mallory poured in 19 points on 7-of-15 from the field including 2-of-2 from deep with a 3-for-4 showing from the line. He added 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the year, and he blocked five shots to go with an assist and a steal. This is the eighth time he has registered three or more blocked shots in a game this season. Mallory then had a perfect shooting day in leading R-MC to an 83-63 road win at Lynchburg on the weekend. He was 7-of-7 from the field and made all six of his foul shots to finish with 20 points. He chipped in six rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot to help the Yellow Jackets improve to 7-0 in league play tied atop the ODAC table with Roanoke College. For the season, Mallory leads the ODAC in rebounding (9.0), total rebounds (144), and blocked shots (43). He is third in field goals made (100-of-176), offensive (50) and defensive boards (94), fourth in field goal shooting (56.8%), fifth in total points (250), and sixth in scoring (15.6).

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Colton Schnars | Lynchburg | Gr.
Schnars, a graduate student from Bellefonte, Pa., won a pair of individual events and helped his Lynchburg teammates to first and second place showings in two relays in the Hornets split of a tri-meet with Roanoke (W, 143-119) and Division II member Milligan (L, 168-94). The win for Lynchburg over Roanoke marked the first triumph for the Hornets over the Maroons in the program's four-year history. Schnars set Lynchburg school records in winning both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events, doing so as the first off-taper records since January 2020. He posted a time of 21.09 seconds in the 50-free to take over the top spot in the ODAC. He won the 100-free with a time of 46.94 seconds, the fourth-fastest in the conference. Schnars joined teammates Tyler Caten, Chris Jennings, and Will Kasemeyer in winning the 200-yard medley relay in 1:35.85, just off their already ODAC third-best mark (1:35.55). Schnars, Caten, and Jennings were joined by Parker Hayungs in the 400-yard freestyle relay, in which they finished second at 3:15.82. In addition to his new top 50-free time, Schnars is the owner of the ODAC's #1 time in the 100-yard backstroke (51.21) and sits second in the 200-yard backstroke (1:54.98) from previous meets.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
WOMEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Sophia Rollo | Washington and Lee | Jr. |
Rollo, a junior from Haddonfield, N.J., picks up her first weekly award of the season after helping nationally 20th-ranked Washington and Lee defeat #21 Gettysburg College, 162-100. Rollo won twice individually and participated in a relay victory as part of a personal four-event outing. She won the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events with times of 0:59.78 and 2:08.84, respectively. Both marks are just off her previous season-best times and would rank inside the ODAC's posted top-five. Rollo added a second place finish in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:14.75. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Rollo anchored the team of Myla Rice, Bella Tarbet, and Tess Deyerle, which won the event in 1:39.90. From previous meets, Rollo is the ODAC leader in the 200-yard IM (2:08.46) and is second in the 100-yard (57.58) and 200-yard (2:05.01) backstroke events.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WOMEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mary Schleusner | Washington and Lee | Fy. | Forward
Schleusner, a first-year from Charlotte, N.C., picks up her second weekly award of the season in record-setting fashion after leading Washington and Lee to a pair of ODAC victories to stay atop the league table at 9-0 as part of an overall 12-4 mark. Schleusner set a Generals women's basketball record with 23 rebounds in W&L's 86-69 victory over Roanoke College, snapping the benchmark of 21 rebounds by Megan Babst in December 1999. Schleusner paired her rebound record with 25 points for the first 20/20 game posted by an ODAC player since former Randolph-Macon All-American center Kelly Williams went for 20 points and 20 boards in a victory over Valley Forge in November 2018. Schleusner was 10-of-26 from the field against the Maroons. Eight of her 23 rebounds -- tied for 12th-most in Division III this season -- came via the offensive glass. She also blocked three shots and chipped in an assist and a steal in 32 minutes on the floor. Schleusner then helped the Generals win for the fifth time in six games with a 75-50 victory at Randolph-Macon. She went for 19 points and 16 rebounds her for sixth double-double of the season. She was 7-of-15 from the field including 3-of-3 from deep. She also blocked seven shots, her seventh game with at least three rejections and her second-highest output of the season. She is only the second player (Jessica Hunsinger) in program history with two or more games of seven or more blocked shots in her career. Schleusner added two assists and three steals at R-MC. For the season, Schleusner leads the ODAC in blocked shots (44) and all rebounding categories: average (11.0), total (176), defensive (117), offensive (59). She is second in points scored (224) and field goals made (91-of-197), fourth in scoring average (14.0), and seventh in field goals shooting (46.2%).

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK - 165 LBS. AND HEAVIER
Mahlic Sallah | Roanoke | Sr. | 184 lbs.
Sallah, a senior from Roanoke, Va., put together a strong 4-0 showing at 184-pounds to help Roanoke to a 2-2 record and third in the silver bracket at the Virginia Duals hosted in Hampton, Va. Sallah, ranked #1 in the Southeast Region at 184 by the NWCA, collected victories of nearly every fashion over the two-day competition. He earned his first victory by fall as he pinned Connor Bauman at 4:42 to help the Maroons post a 33-18 victory over Camden Country CC. In a 24-12 team loss to #16/20-ranked Alvernia, Sallah earned a 17-12 decision over James Circle. He shutout his opponent in the Maroons 28-13 team loss to Liberty University to start day two, besting Gabriel Hayes by major decision, 10-0. Sallah capped his outing with a 24-8 technical fall victory over Colin Vallis in Roanoke's 29-10 triumph over Johns Hopkins University. Sallah is now 12-1 in all bouts this season including 8-0 in dual matches.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK - 165 LBS. AND HEAVIER
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK - 157 LBS. AND LIGHTER
Ryan Luth | Washington and Lee | Sr. | 157 lbs.
Luth, a senior from Milford, Conn., posted a 5-0 weekend at 157 pounds to help Washington and Lee to a 4-1 team showing and a fifth place finish at the Budd Whitehill National Duals hosted by Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa. Luth, a former national qualifier in 2019-20 at 157, bested a pair of regionally ranked opponents in his first two bouts. He posted an 11-1 major decision victory over Garrett Cornell in the Generals 23-19 victory over Messiah University. Cornell is ranked fifth in the Southeast Region by the NWCA. Luth's next opponent, Logan McGloine from Oswego State, also holds a #5 ranking, but in the Mid-East Region. Luth won again by major decision at 14-4, leading W&L to a 35-7 team win over the Lakers. Washington and Lee then squared off with #8 Wisconin-Eau Claire. Luth earned a tough 2-1 decision over Zack Schneider, but W&L dropped the team result, 26-13. Luth helped the Generals return to the win column with his third major decision victory of the tournament. He shutout Jack Deguire, 12-0, to help W&L down Springfield College, 20-13. The last dual of the event for W&L featured SUNY Cortland. The Generals earned a 40-4 triumph with Luth again keeping his opponent off the board with a 7-0 decision over Kyle Klein. 

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK - 157 LBS. AND LIGHTER