ODAC Athletes of the Week | Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling

ODAC Athletes of the Week | Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling

FOREST, Va. --- Swimming saw its first action of the 2023 calendar year in week 19 and joined basketball and wrestling as active sports. Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards for Monday, January 2, include (pictured left-right): Josh Wilson from Greensboro wrestling, Alex Turley from Averett wrestling, Ben Pastva from Randolph-Macon men's swimming, Lindsay Gauldin from Guilford women's basketball, Josh Talbert from R-MC men's basketball, and Katelyn Wiglesworth from Bridgewater women's swimming.

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
Josh Talbert | Randolph-Macon | Sr. | Guard
Talbert, a senior from Virginia Beach, Va., helped the nationally second-ranked Yellow Jackets to a pair of high-profile ODAC victories last week, running the defending Division III champion's records to 13-1 overall and 6-0 in ODAC play powered by a 11-game winning streak. Talbert, a do-everything guard for Randolph-Macon, opened with 12 points in R-MC's 69-57 victory at Hampden-Sydney, which was receiving votes towards the latest D3hoops.com Top-25 rankings. Included in those 12 markers was his 1,000 career point. He added three rebounds,, four assists, and a steal to his line. In a 59-56 victory over 24th-ranked Guilford, Talbert scored eight of his 17 points over the final seven minutes of the contest to key a 15-7 run on the way to the victory. He was 4-of-7 from the field including 3-of-6 from deep and canned all six of his foul shots. He added four rebounds, four steals and three assists, helping him finish the week with a 2.3 assist to turnover ratio. For the season, Talbert is averaging 13.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest. He leads the ODAC in steals (39) and is third in assists (61). He is seventh in field goal shooting (53.5%) and eighth in field goals made (77-of-144).

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Ben Pastva | Randolph-Macon | Jr.
Pastva, a junior from Fairfax, Va., put together a pair of strong performances to kickoff the Yellow Jackets 2023 winter/spring slate. In a 122-83 team loss to Bridgewater, Pastva posted a pair of individual event victories and helped Randolph-Macon finish second in one relay. He won the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events with times of 0:24.26 and 0:56.12. Those convert to 0:21.68 and 0:50.15, respectively, which would slot fourth and 30th in the ODAC. He already leads the ODAC in the 50-free (21.34) from a previous meet. Pastva then joined teammates Evan Fannin, Alex Richardson, and Jacob Willis in placing second in the 200-meter freestyle relay in 1:41.38. Pastva then helped R-MC post a 146.5 to 115.5 team win over Marymount (Va.) University with two individual event wins, a fourth place finish, and a second place showing in a relay. He won the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles in 0:22.51 and 0:51.22 while adding a fourth place showing in the 50-yard backstroke in 0:26.72. Aidan Campbell joined Pastva, Willis and Fannin in finishing second in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:23.18.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC MEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
WOMEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Katelyn Wiglesworth | Bridgewater | Jr.
Wiglesworth, a junior from Landisville, Pa., won three individual events and placed second in a fourth while adding a pair of relays in over two meets for Bridgewater. In a 138-67 loss to Randolph-Macon, Wiglesworth won the 100-meter freestyle in 1:02.83. That converts to 0:56.50 for collegiate rankings. She added a second place finish in the 200-meter at 2:20.84, which converts to 2:07.10. Wiglesworth joined teammates Katie Yoder, Lexi Roberts, and Katie Tolone for a victory in the 200-meter freestyle relay in 1:56.44. Wiglesworth enjoyed three event wins in the Eagles 171-76 team triumph at Virginia Wesleyan. She won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:23.41 and the 100-yard backstroke in 1:04.59. Melia Ross joined Wiglesworth, Tolone, and Roberts for a first place showing in the 400-yard medley relay in 4:20.35.

Click to learn more about the past week in ODAC WOMEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lindsay Gauldin | Guilford | Gr. | Guard
Gauldin, a graduate student from Stokesdale, N.C., picks up her second weekly award of the season after leading Guilford to a pair of ODAC wins last week. Gauldin opened with her second 30-point game of the season in an 83-82 victory at Lynchburg. Her lay-up with nine seconds left provided the winning margin. She finished with 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting including 3-of-6 from deep. She added five rebounds, three assists, six steals, and a blocked shot to her line. Gauldin then notched 19 points in a 69-58 triumph over Shenandoah. She was 7-of-14 from the field and posted four boards, four assists, seven steals, and a blocked shot. For the season, Gauldin leads the ODAC in scoring (16.7), points (251), field goals made (93-of-169), and steals (55). She is second in free throws made (51-of-86), third in field goal shooting (55.0%), and eighth in blocked shots (14).

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
Alex Turley | Averett | Gr.
Turley, a graduate student from Chester, Va., took the mats for the first time in 2022-23 and posted three victories at the NWCA National Duals with two of those triumphs coming from competitors from ranked schools. Turley bested Braeden Hendel from Luther College with a 10-4 decision. The Vikings are rated 19th in the NWCA dual rankings and 23rd in the NWCA tournament standings. Turley then won by fall at 1:13 over the University of Mount Union's Caleb Zimmerman, helping the Cougars to a 40-5 victory over the 20th-ranked (tournament) Purple Raiders. Turley capped his weekend with a win by technical fall at 20-4 over Thomas McCreadie from Dubuque. Turley, who was a 2022 national qualifier, is part of an Averett squad that ranks 22nd in the NWCA's tournament table.

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
Josh Wilson Greensboro | Jr.
Wilson, a junior from Greensboro, N.C., earned his second invitational title of the season by winning at the 141-pound bracket at the Jim Crytzer Invitational hosted by Washington and Lee. Wilson, a two-time All-American and holder of the current (1/3/23) NWCA #6 national and #2 regional (Southeast) rankings at 141 pounds, won four times in Lexington to push his overall record to 24-3. He won by fall at 2:55 over Alex Choi from Roanoke in the first round. He then topped Evan Lindner from W&L in the quarterfinals via a 7-2 decision. A major decision victory at 12-4 over Roanoke's Nick Kaufmann followed in the semifinals. Wilson met regionally sixth-ranked Vincent Ziccardi from W&L for the weight class title. Wilson scored a 15-5 major decision victory to stand atop the podium.

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