SE Grand Rapids News

As the 2021-22 academic year comes to a close, attention turns to notable individual achievements during the winter sports season.

Manuel Leija emerged as a standout for the men's wrestling team. Leija led his team with 12 wins and became the first wrestler from his school to compete in the NCAA Nationals. The sophomore from Lansing, Michigan, secured second place in the 125-pound bracket at the Super Regional, earning him a spot at nationals. Despite two losses at nationals—falling to Josh Portillo of Nebraska-Kearney by major decision 12-2 and then losing 9-4 to Paxton Creese of St. Cloud State—Leija's participation marked a significant milestone. Notably, Creese was ranked fifth nationally in this weight class, while Portillo held ninth place.

In women's basketball, senior Toni Grace wrapped up her career on a high note despite an overall challenging season for her team. Grace surpassed 1,300 career points on February 3 against Ferris State and concluded her time at Davenport sixth all-time with 1,394 points. Freshman Lillee Gustafson also made her mark by setting a single-game school record with 19 rebounds against Parkside on January 29 and finishing with an average of 7.9 rebounds per game—the fourth-best in a season.

The men's basketball team ended their season strongly by advancing through the GLIAC Tournament and making their debut appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Chris Rollins and Jarrin Randall were acknowledged as All-GLIAC performers; Rollins received first-team honors for the third consecutive year and was named to the All-Defensive Team for four straight seasons. Randall earned second-team recognition and excelled during postseason play. Rollins finished his career third all-time in assists (405) and steals (217), fourth in made free throws (352), and three-pointers made (174). Randall completed his first full season scoring a personal best of 37 points against Northern Michigan on January 20, tying for third-most points scored in a single game at DU. He concluded his career shooting .420 from three-point range—third all-time at DU—and made 118 three-pointers over just 49 games.

The women's bowling team experienced a revival during the season. Highlights included Karine Bouchard being selected for Team Canada for international competitions, Kasey Eaton receiving Honorable Mention All-American honors, and Omani Morales being named MVP of the Great Lakes Bowling Conference.