The Albion College Britons have navigated a season of triumphs and challenges, with each team overcoming adversity in its own way. From record-breaking performances such as the first-ever women’s wrestling dual, to athletes rebounding from injuries, dedication has been on display throughout the fall.
Football
The Football team currently holds a 6-3 record this season, with their latest game taking place on Saturday against the University of Olivet at Sprankel-Sprandel stadium. Albion won, ending with a score of 49-14.
Albion’s Head Football Coach, Travis Rundle, said the season has had some good team performances.
“Their win at Trine was a big win coming out, getting back at them after they beat us the previous year,” Rundle said.
Rundle added that when the team played Bluffton and brought out the ‘94 championship team, they “put out a big win there.”
Rundle said the team handed Adrian College their first loss of the season during Homecoming.
“They were undefeated at the time of that game,” Rundle said. “The guys did a good job, came in strong the first half.”.
Belleville junior and receiver Cameron Moore said the Briton’s Homecoming game against Adrian went well.
“We could’ve finished better but even without that, we kept pounding it. I had 120 yards offense and a touchdown,” Moore said.“Other guys stepped up, made plays, it was a real fun game like always on Homecoming.”
Women’s Volleyball
Since August, the Women’s Volleyball team has been navigating a busy schedule, with their first four games played back-to-back. Their current record stands at 8-21, and their latest win was Nov. 9 against Adrian College, with a score of 3-2.
Head Coach Kristin Slamer-de St. Aubin said via email “the team spent September figuring out our new identity and offense after graduating a very talented senior group.”
Men’s Soccer
The Men’s Soccer team has a record of 3-6-5. They won on Nov. 2 against Adrian College, and the last game they played, against Trine University, ended in a tie.
Head Soccer Coach Wytse Molenaar said the season is at its “tail end.”
“We had a two-game stretch where we out-shot our opponents, 41-3, we only tied or lost two games which was against all statistics,” Molenaar said.
Molenaar added that the team has had some tough wins, like their win against Olivet University, a team the Britons have tied with in several past games.
“Our last win was the most significant to move on in the conference tournament,” Molenaar said.
Molenaar said the energy for their senior day on Oct. 29 was both happy and sad.
“Those guys have shown that when you stick it out together, good things can happen,” Molenaar said. “We’re gonna miss them in the spring.”
Women’s Wrestling
The Women’s Wrestling team kicked off their season on Nov. 1 against John Carroll University and won 50-0. Albion College’s first-ever women’s dual was Nov. 6 in the Kresge gymnasium against Tiffin University, ending in a loss of 24-25.
Albion College didn’t have a women’s wrestling program until 2020. Adam Mills, head coach and founder of Albion’s current wrestling teams, established the women’s team when he reinstated the men’s team.
Grand Haven junior and Women’s Wrestling Team Captain Lynsey Light said “Men’s and women’s condition together, practice together, lift together and push ourselves and our mindsets.”
Being a women’s wrestling team comes with a lot of anxiety, but “this year I don’t see as much anxiety on our faces,” Light said. “I think we’re ready to do something big, we’re always pursuing our next goal, that’s why I love it so much.”
Men’s Wrestling
The Men’s Wrestling team also began its season on Nov. 1 against John Carroll with a win of 38-3. The team’s latest game was Saturday against Wabash College, and they won 25-14.
South Lyon senior Maxwell Honiss said they won 19 out of 20 matches and performed well.
“Owen Mcdaniel, Bode Brown, Jayla Oberst, CJ Krum and I are part of that first class, we’ve built this program up, and we wrestle national duals this year,” Honiss said. “A lot of others are ranked in the region and the country; we’re building a powerhouse program.”
The wrestling team wrestles national duals, invitation-only tournaments for the best teams within divisions one, two and three.
Honiss is ranked 15 in the nation, while Belleville sophomore Demond Harrison is ranked 6. Honiss said six or seven other members are also ranked regionally, all before they stepped on the mat for this season.
The Gist
As the season nears its end for many Albion sports teams, others prepare to return in the spring. With only a few weeks left in the semester, it’s up to the Britons to close the season on their terms.
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