Posted: Dec 06, 2022
LANCASTER, Pa. -- This week marks the first Centennial Conference weekly awards for men's and women's indoor track & field as all seven Centennial Conference winter sports have now opened their 2022-23 season.
Giovanni Rubino of Muhlenberg men's basketball earned weekly awards for the second time this season while Alex Ross and Victoria Kadiri of Johns Hopkins women's indoor track & field broke conference records on opening weekend to headline the CC award winners for Nov. 28-Dec. 4. Other weekly winners included Elaina Beckett of McDaniel women's basketball, Max McAlister of Gettysburg men's swimming, Melissa Leonard of Ursinus women's swimming, Anson Dewar of Muhlenberg wrestling, Arthur Beyer of Johns Hopkins men's indoor track & field, and Elek Ferency of Muhlenberg men's indoor track & field.
See below for more details on each of this week's award winners.
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MEN'S BASKETBALL
Athlete of the Week
Giovanni Rubino, Jr., G, Muhlenberg
Pequannock, N.J. | Cheshire Academy (Conn.)
Rubino earned weekly honors for the second time this season after averaging 23.0 points per game and shooting 60% from the field to lead Muhlenberg to two huge Centennial Conference wins against previously undefeated Ursinus and seventh-ranked Johns Hopkins. He scored 15 of his 23 points against Ursinus in the second half, including five points in the last four minutes to help the Mules hold on to a narrow lead. In the Hopkins game, he scored seven of Muhlenberg's last nine points in the final 1:12. Rubino shot 88.9 percent from the line in the two games and also averaged 3.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
Athlete of the Week
Elaina Beckett, Fr., F, McDaniel
Mechanicsburg, Pa. | Trinity
Beckett posted two 20-point games last week as McDaniel went 1-1 in conference play. She scored a career-high 31 points against Gettysburg, including 21 in the second half and 19 of the team's 26 in the fourth quarter as the Green Terror rallied from a nine-point deficit. It was her first career 30-point game. Beckett totaled her second consecutive 20-point game and her fourth double double in eight games this season with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Ursinus. It was her second double double with at least 20 points as she had 26 points and 10 rebounds at Bryn Mawr on Nov. 19. For the week, she averaged 26.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 66.7% from the floor.
MEN'S SWIMMING
Athlete of the Week
Max McAlister, Fr., Gettysburg
Powell, Ohio | Olentangy
McAlister won three events to lead the Bullets to a team title at their own invitational on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, he swam to a program record in the 100 butterfly, winning the event in a time of 49.71 seconds. His mark missed the NCAA B-Cut by less than a second. He also won the 200 fly (1:53.02), moving into third place on the program's all-time list. He was also part of the winning 200 medley relay that posted a time of 1:31.85. Both of McAlister's fly times rank among the top-10 all-time in Centennial history (100 fly-7th; 200 fly-9th), while the 200 medley relay time is currently 24th in Division III.
Athlete of the Week
Melissa Leonard, Jr., Ursinus
Dallas, Pa. | Dallas
Leonard earned a trio of first-place finishes and top times in the conference in the 200, 500, and 1650 freestyle events at the Gettysburg Invitational last weekend. She opened the meet by breaking the school record in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:58.36, which is the top time in the conference by six seconds, ranks ninth in the nation, and is fourth all-time in Centennial history. Leonard then won the 200 freestyle at 1:51.92, with is 17th in Division III and ranks third on the all-time CC list. Her 200 and 500 freestyle times both ranks as NCAA B-cuts. Leonard won the 1650 freestyle in 17:21.67, which is 14th in the nation. In an exhibition race in the 200 backstroke, Leonard touched the wall in 2:05.55, which is 10th on the conference all-time list.
WRESTLING
Athlete of the Week
Anson Dewar, So., 174, Muhlenberg
Merrimack, N.H. | Merrimack
Dewar went 4-0 to capture the 174-pound bracket at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational and win his first career tournament title. Dewar's four wins included two pins and a major decision. Seeded third, he pinned the second seed from Mount Union in the semifinals to advance to the final against the top seed, a 2022 NCAA qualifier from King's. Dewar gave up no offensive points in the final, scoring an 8-1 decision to win the title and remain undefeated on the season.
relay time is currently 24th in Division III.
Track Athlete of the Week
Arthur Beyer, Gr., Johns Hopkins
Rumson, N.J. | Rumson-Fair Haven Regional
Beyer was the top finisher among 30 entries in the 3,000-meter run as crossed in 8:24.14 at the Fast Track Season Opener. His winning time was nearly 11 seconds better than his previous career best in the event and ranks third in Division III after the opening weekend.
Field Athlete of the Week
Elek Ferency, Sr., Muhlenberg
Easton, Pa. | Easton
Ferency recorded regional-qualifying performances in two throws at the season-opening Fast Times Before Finals Meet at Lehigh. His mark of 15.92 meters in the weight throw not only broke the school record, but it also moved him into third place on the CC all-time performance list and ranks 23rd in Division III. Ferency also threw an indoor personal best of 13.93 meters in the shot put, which ranks 26th nationally. He placed third in the weight throw and fourth in the shot, finishing behind only Division I and Division II competitors.
WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Track Athlete of the Week
Alex Ross, Gr., Johns Hopkins
Glastonbury, Conn. | Glastonbury
Ross picked up where she left off in cross country as she won the 5k at the Fast Track Season Opener with a Centennial Conference-record time of 16.41.39 to place first overall in the 22-person field. Her winning time was eight seconds better than the runner-up and more than 35 seconds faster than the next collegiate finisher. She broke the previous CC record of 16:41.95 set by JHU's Felicia Koerner in 2017. The time ranks second in the nation following the opening weekend of the indoor season.
Field Athlete of the Week
Victoria Kadiri, Jr., Johns Hopkins
Lynn, Mass. | Phillips Academy
Kadiri paced the Blue Jays at the Fast Track Season Opener as she won the triple jump with a Centennial Conference-record leap of 12.38 meters. She also finished second in the long jump (5.74 meters) and tied for first in the 60-meter dash (7.4). Kadiri's record-breaking triple jump broke the previous record of 11.79m held for over 20 years by Swarthmore's Desiree Peterkin and Catherine Laine. Both her triple jump and long jump marks rank atop the NCAA Division III list.