Ohio Wesleyan Takes Early Lead In 2011-12 NCAC All-Sports Race

2011-12 NCAC All-Sports Fall Update

Ohio Wesleyan won one outright championship and finished tied for first in another to take the lead in the race for the 2011-12 North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports championship.

The Battling Bishops captured the men's soccer title outright for the fourth-consecutive year and shared the women's soccer championship with Allegheny. The Bishops also posted top-three finishes in men's cross country (third) and women's cross country (second). OWU also finished in a three-way tie for fourth in football to go along with a sixth-place tie in field hockey and an eighth-place tie in volleyball to earn 49.5 points and a three-and-a-half point lead over second-place DePauw
(46.0) in the race for the coveted Dennis M. Collins All-Sports Trophy. The Tigers posted top-five finishes in all six NCAC-sponsored sports this fall, including the school's first-ever NCAC title with a tie for first in field hockey.

Denison (41.5), which tied for the team title in field hockey, is four-and-a-half points behind the Tigers in third place, women's soccer co-champion Allegheny (40.0) placed fourth, while Wittenberg (39.0) and Wooster (39.0) sit in a fifth-place tie. Wittenberg logged its best finish in volleyball as the Tigers captured their sixth-consecutive league title, while Wooster finished third in women's soccer and tied for third in both field hockey and volleyball. Rounding out places seven through 10 in the all-sports standings are Kenyon (37.0), Oberlin (34.5), Hiram (25.0) and Wabash (23.5). Oberlin earned its third-consecutive league title in women's cross country, while Wabash captured the NCAC crown in men's cross country and football.

The All-Sports champion earns the Dennis M. Collins All-Sports Trophy, given annually to the school that performs the best across the NCAC's 23 sports. Ten points are awarded for a first-place finish, nine for a second, eight for a third, and so on. Men's and women's performances are combined, exemplifying the North Coast's commitment to equity and balance among programs. Wooster won three of the first four All-Sports championships, interrupted only by Denison in year two. Ohio Wesleyan followed with a six-year run leading to titles by Wooster (twice), Wittenberg (once), Denison (nine), OWU (twice), a tie between Denison and OWU in 2009, Wittenberg in 2010 and finally Denison's title last year. 

Ohio Wesleyan leads the way with 131 team championships during the NCAC's 28 playing seasons. Denison is next with 117 titles, followed by Allegheny (107), Kenyon (96) , Wittenberg (74), Wooster (72), Oberlin (11), Wabash (10), Hiram (2) and DePauw (1).