IU Kokomo has been running sports programs for 13 seasons now. While that’s not a long time on the college sports landscape, the Cougars aren’t new anymore, and have established their presence regionally and nationally.
The Cougars started in 2011 with just two programs, women’s volleyball and men’s basketball, and have grown to support 14 programs currently. This past season, the Cougars sent two teams and more than a dozen individuals to NAIA postseason events.
“I have had the privilege to witness the remarkable evolution and growth of IU Kokomo Athletics over the past 13 years,” IUK athletic director and women’s volleyball coach Heather Hayes said. “This transformation stands as a testament to the powerful blend of vision, unwavering determination, and a commitment to excellence exhibited not only by our university but by all those who have played a role in our journey. Today, our athletic programs stand as a beacon of inspiration and a source of immense pride for our campus.
“In our short history, our teams have enjoyed significant success. We’ve secured an impressive 12 team conference championships and celebrated numerous individual conference champions. On the national stage, our teams and individuals have consistently competed in national tournaments. We have seen three top 16 finishes for a couple teams and, notably, had the honor of crowning a national champion in shot put, along with some other top-eight finishes by our track and field athletes.”
Want to get a feel for the program’s impact on the regional and national scene? Look no further than the women’s volleyball program, which has reached the NAIA national tournament nine straight times. The volleyball squad leads our IUK highlights and stories of the year from the recently finished school year.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The volleyball program continues to fly the IUK flag highest of all. The Cougars went 34-4 overall and 19-0 in River States Conference play to win the league, then won their sixth straight RSC tournament title and reached the NAIA national tourney.
The Cougars then came agonizingly close to bringing home hardware. They went 1-1 in pool play, eliminated by the loss to Indiana Wesleyan in a five-set thriller, and Wesleyan went on to win the national championship, finishing an unbeaten season.
Honors rolled in. Lexi Broyles was named third-team all-American by the NAIA and AVCA, taking all-American honors for the second straight season, and Audrey Strawsma made the AVCA’s all-American honorable mention list.
The league named Hayes the RSC Coach of the year and Lori Elson the RSC Assistant of the Year. Four Cougars were named to the RSC first team — Broyles, Strawsma, Kaley Lyons and Alyvia Smith. Maggie Connell and Allison Richman were named to the second team. And 11 players made the scholar-athlete team.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
The women’s soccer team rode a 15-match unbeaten run to win the RSC regular season and league tourney championships. The Cougars won the 11-team league with an 8-0-2 record and then backed that up by winning the league tourney for the second straight season.
That put the Cougars in the NAIA tourney for the second year in a row, where they concluded a 13-4-5 season.
Individual honors poured in as goalie Sydney Miller was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and Sohalia Akhavein was named the Coach of the Year.
Miller, Keely Hoopingarner, Kelsi Hoot, Karlie Kellett and Cassie Dispennett were all named to the all-RSC first team, Kaiya Bogers made the second team and Brooke Gill the third team.
ON TRACK
The women’s track and field program took second in the RSC meet in the indoor season, then finished a program-best second again in the outdoor season. Both times, thrower Sydney Duncan made a huge impact and reached the NAIA national meet.
In the indoor season, Duncan was named the RSC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year as she reached the NAIA meet in shot put, the only freshman to get to the national meet. She placed sixth at the NAIA meet with a distance of 14.07 meters and was named all-American for the indoor season.
Additionally, Maddie Dotlich reached the NAIA meet in the 3,000-meter race walk.
When the outdoor season began, Duncan kept right on wowing the league, being named the RSC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year and Outdoor Newcomer of the Year on her way to qualifying for the outdoor NAIA national meet. Hannah Wells, Emma Byrum, Faith Rock and Dotlich were also named all-RSC.
At the national meet, Duncan was eighth in the shot put at 14.04 meters and was named all-American. She also took 19th in the hammer throw.
Byrum had an even higher finish at nationals. She took fourth with an effort of 43.31 in the javelin and was named to the all-American squad.
Additionally, Dotlich was 16th in the 5,000 race walk and Wells was 22nd in the 3,000 steeplechase.
WELLS RACES TO TITLE
Women’s cross country standout Hannah Wells had a banner season. She won the RSC meet in the fall and was named RSC Runner of the Year, Newcomer of the year, and took a spot on the all-RSC squad, as well as being named the school’s representative on the Champions of Character team.
She went on to run at the NAIA national meet on Nov. 17, taking 182nd out of a field of 331.
Also for the women’s cross country squad, Leslie Sprankles was named second team all-RSC and Isabelle Altic third team.
A STEP AWAY
Two programs finished second in the RSC West, men’s basketball and baseball.
• The men’s basketball program continued a string of strong seasons by going 21-8 overall and 11-7 in the RSC in a transition season after several key players graduated off a team that went to the NAIA tourney for the second straight season.
Forward Max Newman was named to the first team and Noah Harris landed a spot on the third team.
• The baseball squad went 32-21 overall and 18-6 in the RSC to take second place in league’s West Division and that impact was well represented on the RSC’s postseason baseball squads.
Third baseman Tucker Platt was named to the all-RSC first team. Also honored by the RSC were second-team all-conference performers Dylan Janke, Alex Janke and Jack Leverenz, and third-team performers Logan Greer, Victor Fujiu and Jarod Gillespie. Additionally, Platt and Blake Kimball were on the league’s gold glove squad.
Off the field, the baseball team put a whopping 15 players on the league’s scholar-athlete team.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS
• In the men’s indoor track season, five Cougars reached the NAIA indoor championships. Ethan Carmean took 10th in the 3,000 race walk and Bryce Statler was 22nd. Nick Anders also qualified for the race. Julian Wallace finished 13th in the 600 meters and Evan Gaylor was 33rd in the shot put.
• The outdoor track season followed and Carmean, Anders and Wallace each qualified for the national meet. Carmean was 12th in the 5,000 race walk.
• Men’s cross country runner Luis Saldana was named third-team all-RSC.
• After the cross country season finished, three Cougar men’s runners competed in the inaugural NAIA marathon national championships and one IUK woman’s runner raced in the event.
In the men’s race, Saldana led the group, taking 19th in 2:40.42. Nathan Lozoya was 44th and Alex Carie 49th. In the women’s race, Ella Kantz took 24th in 3:39.45.
• Gracie Tucker tied for fourth in the RSC women’s golf meet and took a spot on the all-RSC first team. Sarah Williams tied for 12th and was named to the third team.
• In men’s golf, Corbin Robison took sixth in the league meet and Drew Wagner eighth. Both were named to the all-RSC second team. Ryan Jones tied for 11th and Hayden Williamson tied for 14th, with both taking spots on the third team.
• Forward Anna Kiser was named to the all-RSC third team after helping the Cougar women’s basketball team post a five-win improvement under interim coach Lisa Pflueger. Pflueger was named coach after the season concluded.
• In women’s tennis, Maria Oliveira was named to the all-conference second team and Ava Allen and Reiley Hiser made the third team.
