College sports: 9 from Elmira-Corning made big impact during spring season

The spring 2022 college sports campaign included significant contributions from athletes from the Elmira-Corning area, highlighted by a national championship and numerous conference awards.

One athlete was notably missed. Corning-Painted Post alumna Lindsey Butler, the indoor national champion in the 800-meter run for Virginia Tech in the winter, was sidelined with a stress fracture in her foot. She dealt with pain from the injury in winning the national title.

A look at nine area graduates who had impactful spring seasons.

Logan McNaney, Maryland men's lacrosse

Corning native Logan McNaney starred at goalie for the University of Maryland during their run to the fourth NCAA title in program history, earning NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors and coming up with 17 saves in a 9-7 victory over Cornell in the championship game. McNaney had 61 saves total in four NCAA games.

The junior made nine saves in the Terrapins' 17-7 win over Rutgers in the Big East championship. Maryland finished with an 18-0 record and won its second national title under head coach John Tillman, a 1987 graduate of Corning West High School.

"Growing up and seeing all the other teams do what they did (in NCAA Tournaments) and then going out there and doing it ourselves is pretty special to me," McNaney said after the national championship game.

McNaney, who attended Corning-Painted Post High School before transferring to Salisbury School in Connecticut, received honorable mention on the USA Lacrosse, Inside Lacrosse and United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-America teams this season. He ranked third nationally in goals-against average (8.43) and save percentage (.597).

Tillman, head coach at Maryland since 2011, was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the third time this season. He was ACC Coach of the Year in 2014.

Alli Richmond, Binghamton University softball

Horseheads graduate Alli Richmond capped her breakout season with the Binghamton University softball team by earning Eastern College Athletic Conference all-star honors and being named to the All-America East all-conference first team. She also earned America East all-academic team honors.

Richmond, an infielder, finished the season ranked 19th in Division I with an average of 0.33 doubles per game. She batted .303 this season with six home runs, 15 doubles, a triple and 27 RBIs. She tied for the team lead in homers (6), led the Bearcats in doubles (15) and RBIs (27), and was No. 2 on the team with a .303 batting average.

She earned her bachelor's degree this spring and plans to return to Binghamton next year to play while pursuing a master's degree.

Grace Vondracek, Corning CC softball

Odessa-Montour graduate Grace Vondracek was named NJCAA Division III Softball Player of the Year after helping the Red Barons advance to the national championship game for the second year in a row.

Vondracek led NJCAA Division III softball with a .626 batting average and a .683 on-base percentage. She was also tops in the nation with 97 hits, including nine homers, 17 doubles and three triples.

"Grace Vondracek is the most naturally athletic student-athlete I have ever had in the Corning program," CCC coach Stacy Johnson said in a press release. "Hitting .626 in a 48-game season is no small task. This kid is so unique in the fact she can beat you with her feet or her bat. I've never had a player that can drop a bunt down and beat it out easily and then step up to the plate and knock the ball out of the park in her next at-bat."

Vondracek, an infielder, received NJCAA Division III first-team All-America honors for the second season in a row. Elmira High grad Lexi Wood, last year's National Player of the Year for CCC, joined Vondracek on the first team. Corning's Emma Loomis, a Horseheads grad, was also a first-team All-American.

Ben Terwilliger, East Carolina baseball

East Carolina's run to an NCAA Super Regional in baseball included a key contribution from Corning-Painted Post graduate Ben Terwilliger.

The right-handed pitcher made 27 relief appearances and posted a 2-0 record with a 3.86 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 35 innings to help East Carolina to a 46-21 record. Terwilliger shared the team lead with five saves.

The University of Texas beat East Carolina, two games to one, to win the Super Regional in Greenville, North Carolina. East Carolina won the first game, 13-7, before Texas rebounded with wins of 9-8 and 11-1 to advance to the College World Series.

East Carolina won the Greenville Regional with a 13-4 victory over Coastal Carolina. Terwilliger pitched three scoreless innings in the clincher, allowing one hit and striking out four. He entered the game in the sixth with East Carolina up 4-2. A seven-run seventh helped put the win away.

Before coming to East Carolina, Terwilliger pitched for two seasons each at the University of Maine and Barry University (Florida). He earned second-team all-region and All-Sunshine State Conference honors at Barry.

Aidan Olmstead, Loyola men's lacrosse

Corning-Painted Post graduate Aidan Olmstead was a repeat selection as Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year at Loyola University Maryland.

He became the second player in program history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-American honors when he was chosen to the second team. Olmstead was tabbed for Scholar All-America honors from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.

Olmstead, a senior attack, completed his undergraduate studies at Loyola with a 3.926 grade-point average. He earned his master's degree this year with a 3.98 GPA.

Olmstead earned All-Patriot League second-team honors this season. He topped Loyola in points with 54 and assists with 31. He became the third player in program history to have at least 100 goals and 100 assists. He ranks third on the program's all-time scoring list with 224 points, which puts him seventh in Patriot League history.

Sarah Coon, Virginia softball

Elmira High alumna Sarah Coon made a splash in her first season of Atlantic Coast Conference softball, earning selection to the ACC All-Freshman team for her play at the University of Virginia.

She also earned a spot on the ACC All-Academic softball team.

Coon, a third baseman who played catcher for the Express, led Virginia with a .291 batting average and ranked third on the team with eight home runs. Her 36 RBIs were second for the Cavaliers and she smacked 11 doubles and drew a team-high 26 walks as part of a .429 on-base percentage.

Virginia finished with a 28-26 record, the most wins for the Cavaliers since 2010.

Laura Bennett, LeMoyne softball

Laura Bennett, who pitched Corning to a state title in earning New York Class AA Player of the Year honors in 2019, was a second-team Northeast-10 all-conference selection this spring for the Le Moyne College softball team.

Bennett, a sophomore, posted a 13-10 record and 2.16 ERA this season. She struck out 187 batters in 149 innings. Her ERA in conference play was 1.77 and her season included six shutouts.

Last year Bennett was named to the Northeast-10 all-conference third team.

Avery Snyder, Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse

Horseheads graduate Avery Snyder started all but one game this season for the Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team and ranked among the top scorers for Chanticleers.

Snyder registered 11 goals and six assists. Her 17 points tied for seventh on the team. The sophomore registered three goals in a 22-10 victory over William & Mary to match her career high from her freshman season.

Frank Wayman, UMass Lowell baseball

Horseheads High graduate Frank Wayman was a key part of UMass Lowell's run to the America East championship game. The River Hawks finished with a 28-30 record and advanced to their first America East final. They lost, 7-1, to Binghamton University.

Wayman, a junior infielder, collected two doubles and drove in two runs to help UMass Lowell advance to the title game with a 13-8 victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology. Earlier in the tournament, Wayman went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs in a 9-7 win over Maine. He had a two-hit game against Binghamton in an 8-5 tournament setback.

For the season, Wayman made 11 starts and batted .250 (15-for-60) with five doubles and nine RBIs.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: 9 from Elmira-Corning area had big impact in college sports