Wilson Students Earn All-Conference Honors, Coach Named Coach of Year

Five Wilson College athletes have been named to North Eastern Athletic Conference South Division All-Conference teams in their respective sports for 2014-15. All-Conference teams are made up of the top players as selected by NEAC coaches. In addition, Wilson softball coach Brett Cline was named NEAC South Division Coach of the Year.

Cline guided the Phoenix to a 15-5 conference record and a share of the NEAC South championship. Under his direction, the softball team improved its conference ranking from third place in 2014 to a first-place (tie) with 10 freshmen and no seniors on the squad. The team also won an Eastern College Athletic Conference bid as a result of its strong season and got to play in the opening round of the ECAC championship tournament.

Four of Cline’s players earned all-conference honors:

Pitcher/outfielder Taylor Crouse, a junior, was chosen for the All-Conference First team for her outstanding performance on the softball field. She finished the season with a .348 overall batting average and as a pitcher, averaged five strikeouts per game. First baseman Kayla Sullenberger, a sophomore, was also selected to the All-Conference First Team. She led the Phoenix with four homeruns and 31 runs batted in, and had a .379 overall batting average, as well as five pitching wins.

Freshman centerfielder Jennifer Hornberger and freshman utility player Raechelle Hilbish were named to the South Division’s All-Conference Second Team. Hornberger was first in the conference in stolen bases, with 21, and had a .286 batting average, as well as being a defensive standout with an .895 fielding percentage of 49 putouts. Hilbish placed third on the Wilson team in batting, with a .360 overall batting average. Defensively, she recorded a .984 fielding percentage and committed just two errors.

In men’s sports, a member of Wilson’s inaugural golf team, freshman Demitri Keopradit, was selected for the 2014-15 NEAC All-Conference Second Team, becoming the college’s first male athlete to receive NEAC All-Conference honors. In order to receive all-conference team honors, an individual performer must finish in the top 15 in the two-day NEAC championship golf tournament. Keopradit finished the championship tournament in a tie for 8th place and completed it with scores of 85 and 79 in each round for a total score of 164.