WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
GAMBIER, Ohio –Thursday brought plenty of good preseason news for the 2024 Kenyon College men’s lacrosse team. While earning a No. 24 national rank from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), the Owls also had three players named preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse.
Last season, the Owls racked up a 15-3 record and reached national ranks as high as No. 23 from the USILA and No. 19 from USA Lacrosse Magazine. The team set a program record for wins in a season, claimed a share of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season championship and made an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the fifth time in program history.
Individually, Rollins Heath, Thomas Nelson and Adam Hall were among the honorable mention picks on Inside Lacrosse’s 2024 Preseason All-America Team.
Heath, a junior midfielder, was a 2023 USILA All-American, an Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) All-Region award winner and an All-NCAC first team honoree. During the 2023 season, he scored 21 goals and served up 21 assists in 18 games played. His point total (42) was third best on the team. He also contributed 33 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers.
Nelson, now a junior, was one of the best face-off men in all of NCAA Division III one season ago. His win percentage (.732) led the nation and his ground ball total (183) and ground ball average (10.1 per game) were Kenyon single-season records. At season’s end he garnered All-America honors from the USILA and from USA Lacrosse Magazine. Additionally, he made the IMLCA All-Region Team, as well as the All-NCAC Team.
Hall, the Owls goalkeeper, made an immediate impact in 2023, his first collegiate season. He started all 18 games, made 189 saves and had a .570 save percentage as well as a 9.13 goals against average. He, too, earned a spot on last season’s All-NCAC team.
Heath, Nelson, Hall and the rest of the Owls will get the upcoming 2024 schedule underway at home against Transylvania University on Saturday, February 17.
