As announced by the Great Midwest Athletic Conference on Tuesday (Oct. 14) afternoon, three Ashland University student-athletes are the latest Athletes of the Week in their respective sports – senior punter
Jaden Cook (football special teams), senior diver
Joey Lenczyk (men's swimming and diving) and sophomore swimmer
Yasmim Tomita (women's swimming and diving).
Cook, in now-No. 22 Ashland football's 38-14 Homecoming win vs. Thomas More on Saturday (Oct. 11) afternoon, averaged 45.2 yards on six punts, with three of those boots landing inside the Saints' 20-yard line. Cook had a net punting average of 40.2 on the day, and three of his kicks went for more than 50 yards.
The Eagles, 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the Great Midwest and tied for the first in the league with Findlay, will take a four-game winning streak into a conference game on Saturday (Oct. 18) at noon at Ohio Dominican (3-2, 2-2).
To open 2025-26 at the Oberlin Early Invite on Friday (Oct. 10) and Saturday, Lenczyk won both the event's men's 1-meter (238.45 points) and 3-meter (248.60) diving. Tomita was an individual champion in both the women's 100-yard backstroke (57.69 seconds) and women's 200 back (2:06.89), was part of the winning women's 200 medley relay in 1:49.05 and the second-place women's 800 free in 8:12.70, and was fifth in the women's 200 individual medley (2:16.85).
Ashland's men's and women's swimming and diving teams will go to Findlay for a dual at 5 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 17).
2025-26 ASHLAND UNIVERSITY GREAT MIDWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
SEPT. 8 – Ravin Morgan (volleyball),
Michael Shimek (football),
Nate Slater (men's cross country),
Tom Woodward (men's soccer).
SEPT. 15 – none
SEPT. 22 – Dani Hicks (women's soccer),
Mark Pillar (men's golf).
SEPT. 29 – Cameron Blair (football),
Damien Johnson Jr. (football).
OCT. 6 – none
OCT. 14 – Jaden Cook (football),
Joey Lenczyk (men's swimming and diving),
Yasmim Tomita (women's swimming and diving).
