College Notebook: Northmor's Kyle Kegley reaches 1,000 points

An area basketball product recently achieved a milestone.

Northmor grad Kyle Kegley, a 6-foot-9 senior forward on the men's team at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, reached the 1,000 point total for his career.

In 22 games for the Cougars (12-12, 5-9 in the Crossroads Conference), he has started 19 of them, averaging 29.3 minutes. He is putting up 17.3 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, 39 percent on 3-pointers and 83 percent from the foul line. He adds 10.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.

In a recent 108-90 win over Bethel, Kegley scored 24 points. He also returned from injury in late January and immediately produced 13 points and 10 boards in a 79-59 win over Spring Arbor.

Ethan Bell

A sophomore men's basketball guard at Ohio Northern, the River Valley grad has made 13 starts in 21 games, averaging 5.7 points on 40 percent shooting overall and 42 percent shooting from three. He adds 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the Polar Bears (9-12, 5-9 in the Ohio Athletic Conference).

Bell has handed out five assists in four different games, grabbed eight rebounds against Clarkson, came up with four steals at Wilmington and scored 12 points against Marietta and 10 against Suffolk.

Maddie Fitzpatrick

The junior guard on the women's basketball team at Bluffton has started all 20 games for the Beavers (12-8, 5-7 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference). The Mount Gilead grad produces 6.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 34 percent shooting from the arc and 79 percent shooting from the foul line.

Fitzpatrick has enjoyed six double-figure scoring games with highs of 17 points twice. She hauled in 12 rebounds against Mount St. Joseph and had five assists against Heidelberg.

Kyla Columber

A freshman teammate of Fitzpatrick, the Pleasant grad had an all-timer of a game earlier this season when she dropped 26 points on Defiance, going 9 of 10 from the field and 8 of 9 on 3-pointers in just 17 minutes of an 81-46 victory. Because of that outing, she was named HCAC Player of the Week for setting Bluffton's single-game 3-point record.

Columber averages 12 minutes off the bench, putting up four points with a rebound and an assist per game. She's shooting 38 percent from the arc. In the game with Mount St. Joseph, Columber had four assists, while against Adrian she had three steals.

Sage Brannon

The senior guard from Cardington is wrapping up her women's basketball career at Mount Vernon Nazarene (11-14, 6-9).

With 18 starts in 25 games, playing 26 minutes a night, she is averaging 10.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals. She is shooting 42 percent overall and 72 percent on free throws.

Freshman Hannah Logan of River Valley is also on the MVNU roster.

Beth Hardwick

A freshman guard at Kentucky Christian (12-11), an NAIA school, the Cardington grad has made 19 starts in 23 games, averaging 11.3 minutes, 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in the Appalachian Athletic Conference.

Nick Manning

The River Valley alumnus is a sophomore member of the University of Northwestern Ohio men's bowling team in Lima and is helping the Racers to the top of the standings in the Ohio Bowling Conference series at the Columbus Square Bowling Palace.

The Racers have won three of the four tournaments and finished second in the other. In the third OBC, Manning posted a 181-247-247-178-199 1,052 to finish fourth overall and lead the team with a 210.4 average. In the last OBC meeting, he shot a 916 for 51st, a 183.2 average.

Otterbein Wrestlers

Austin Amens, a junior from Northmor, wrestles at 157 pounds for Otterbein. He has a 15-6 record and 3-2 mark in the OAC, recording four pins, one technical fall and four major decisions this season. Isaiah Fisher is a freshman from Mount Gilead who is 6-6 with four pins at 285 pounds.

Payne Ratliff

A freshman distance runner at Otterbein, the Marion Harding grad is producing in indoor track. He won the mile in 4:27.73 at the Otterbein Snowglobe Invitational, took second in the 800 meters in 1:58.15 at the Otterbein Invitational, was fourth on the 4x400 relay in 3:38.91 at the Otterbein Invitational and was 12th in the 3,000 meters in 9:11.27 at the Muskie Meet No. 3.

Brennin Beechum

The freshman from Harding ran his first collegiate indoor track race at Appalachian State, finishing seventh in the 400 meters in 52.41 at the Mondo College Invitational.

Tiffany Hix

The freshman from Elgin is making a mark on the women's indoor track program at Wittenberg. Hix won the pole vault at the Fighting Scots Invitational with a 9-foot, 10-inch vault. She was runner-up with a college career-best 10-6 at the Muskie Meet No. 1, took third at 10-1.5 at the Wittenberg Steemer Showcase and was fifth at 10-1.25 at the Cedarville Collegiate Indoor Invitational. Also at Cedarville, Hix was seventh in the long jump at 15-7.5.

Anyone with information on other area college athletes who are competing this winter, please reach out to the Marion Star's Rob McCurdy at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, Twitter @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: College Notebook: Northmor's Kyle Kegley reaches 1,000 points