College notes: Ohio State’s Olney selected in the Major League Rugby draft
After rugby wing and fullback Christian Olney tore an ACL his senior year at Carroll High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he sat out his first year of eligibility at Ohio State, uncertain about his mental and physical stamina to play.
Last week and three years after returning to the field, Olney was selected 27th overall, the first pick of the third and final round of the Major League Rugby draft, by the New Orleans Gold.
"I thought my collegiate career was over, that it was out of the question,” Olney said. “In high school there wasn't any clarity on a pro future or stability or support for (rugby) players. But by my senior year at OSU, we’ve seen it grow and MLR is more than just a passing tide of pro leagues. It looks like it's' here to stay."
Olney is the second Ohio State player to be drafted into MLR (Spencer Kruger in 2020, Boston) after helping the Buckeyes to a 9-2 record in 2021 and OSU's first Big Ten Championship. The Buckeyes qualified to play in the Rugby 7's Collegiate championship in Atlanta, where they went 1-1-2 in the opening rounds and lost to Santa Clara in the knockout bowl round.
At the combine, Olney placed third in the vertical jump (37.25 inches) and fifth in the 40-yard dash (4.827 seconds).
"A lot of different teams reached out before the draft, which made me confident, but with so few picks and so few rounds, it’s more based on team needs, not how good you are,” he said. “I was really lucky a team I was most familiar with did end up picking me."
Area athletes sign NIL agreements
Three former Columbus area athletes have joined the name, image and likeness fray, signing endorsement deals.
Illinois volleyball players Raina Terry (Highland) and Diana Brown (DeSales) signed NIL deals with NextName, which sell digital collectibles, or non-fungible tokens.
Toledo softball player Lauren Erickson (Dublin Scioto) signed an NIL agreement with The Apple Truck, a regional fresh-apple delivery service based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Terry was a three-time All-Ohio first-team selection and two-time Central District player of the year honoree while helping the Fighting Scots make their first Final Four appearance in 2016 and earning a state runner-up finish in 2019.
Brown was twice named to the All-Ohio first-team and earned co-Central District player of the year in 2015 and 2017. The Stallions reached the state final four in 2014.
Erickson was second on Rockets last season with 31 RBIs, including a program-record six in one game against Northern Illinois. She was named All-District and Scioto’s team MVP (.426 average) in 2018.
OSU’s Richard Jones named Saluki T&F Director
Richard Jones, a former seven-time Big Ten champion and a four-time All-American with Ohio State, was named the Director of the Saluki Track & Field and Cross Country program at Southern Illinois University. Jones spent four seasons as an assistant coach at SIU and was named interim head coach in June 2022.
Prior to SIU, Jones spent five seasons as an Ohio State assistant, helping coach the Buckeyes' sprinters, winners of 15 Big 10 titles and 46 All-Big 10 nominations. He also coached the Hartley girls track team to two state titles (2009, 2011) and two runner-up finishes (2008, 2010).
As an athlete, Jones won a national title with Ohio State's 1,600 outdoor relay team in 1993 and served as captain of the 1996 Guyanese Olympic Team, where he held the Guyanese national record in the 400-meter dash for nearly 18 years.
Balcom named ODU women’s basketball coach
Former Vanderbilt standout coach Melanie Balcom was named Ohio Dominican women’s basketball coach after serving one year as an assistant with the Panthers. Balcom amassed a 310-149 record with Vanderbilt, the most wins in school history. She guided Vanderbilt to 12 NCAA Tournaments, including four Sweet Sixteen appearances between 2002 and 2016.
She also spent seven seasons as coach at Xavier (135-78) and took the Musketeers to the 2001 Elite Eight round, setting a program record with 31 wins.
Balcom began her coaching career at Ashland, where she compiled a 28-26 record over two seasons.
St. Charles’ Muszynski turning pro overseas
Belmont men's basketball graduate Nick Muszynski signed a contract with Enea Astoria Bydgoszcz, a pro team in Poland. Muszynski, a 6-11 center, ranked 11th among all active frontcourt players scoring 1,886 points and is one of nine NCAA players over the past 30 years with at least 1,800 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists and 200 blocked shots.
At St. Charles, Muszynski averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots his senior season, shooting 59 percent from the floor. He was named 2017 Ohio Honorable Mention All-State and twice named Associated Press Ohio All-District and All-Columbus Metro.
Oberlin’s baseball coach Abrahamowicz dies
Longtime Oberlin College baseball coach Adrian Abrahamowicz, who retired after the 2022 season, passed away Sunday after a battle with cancer. Abrahamowicz was named head coach in 2011 and the Yeomen made the NCAC Tournament in 2013, 2015 and 2017, winning a program-best 23 times in 2017. In 2015, he guided the Yeomen to three victories at the Division III NCAA Regionals, becoming the only Oberlin coach to accomplish that feat. He was 51 years old.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: College notes: Ohio State's Olney selected in Major League Rugby draft
