Kent State WR Dante Cephas earns MAC football honor after busting loose against Ohio
Kent State junior wide receiver Dante Cephas was an obvious choice for Mid-American Conference East Division offensive player of the week after his record-setting performance last Saturday.
Cephas set a program record with 246 yards receiving in the Golden Flashes’ 31-24 overtime victory over Ohio University at Dix Stadium. The record was previously set by Eugene Baker in 1997. Cephas finished with 13 receptions, which is the high mark in the FBS this season along with his receiving yardage.
Cephas triggered Kent State’s comeback from a late seven-point deficit. In the final seven minutes of regulation and overtime, Cephas caught five passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.
Cephas and fellow wideout Devontez Walker, who caught six passes for a career-high 107 yards, became the first 200-yard/100-yard single-game receiving tandem in school history.
Softball: Handley joins Kent State coaching staff
Lexie Handley has joined the Kent State softball coaching staff as a volunteer assistant. The Mogadore native and former St. Vincent-St. Mary High School star will work with the Flashes’ pitchers.
Handley started her collegiate playing career at Akron and was named the 2017 MAC freshman of the year after throwing seven shutouts. She then transferred to Auburn, winning 11 games over three seasons before ending her career by earning 22 wins and setting school records with 24 complete games and 271 strikeouts while playing for Ohio State in 2022.
Handley recently completed her first season of professional ball, helping Saronno Softball capture the Women's Softball European Cup Winners Cup A and Italian National Championship titles.
Volleyball: Kent State earns first MAC win
Kent State’s volleyball team (10-5, 1-3) earned its first MAC victory of the season on Saturday, a 3-1 triumph over host Miami.
Freshman Mia Soerensen led a balanced Flashes attack with 11 kills, followed by senior Savannah Matthews with eight kills and freshman Mackenzie McGuire and graduate student Danie Tyson with seven each. Graduate student Erin Gardner had a match-high 20 digs, and freshman Sadie Wright totaled a career-high four blocks.
Cross country: Ba, Farley continue to shine for Kent State
Sophomore Baidy Ba and junior Joe Farley continued their strong cross country 2022 seasons last Saturday in Louisville, Ky.
Ba placed 10th in the 8K Gold race with a time of 23:41, finishing ahead of defending MAC champion Baldvin Magnusson of Eastern Michigan. Farley took 27th with a time of 24:05.1
The Flashes finished eighth out of 31 schools overall, defeating Power Five entries Louisville, Auburn, Clemson and Georgia.
Field hockey: Strunk's OT goal lifts Kent State past Ohio
Freshman Patricia Strunk’s second goal of the day in the seventh minute of overtime kept Kent State’s field hockey team perfect in MAC play with a 4-3 victory over host Ohio University last Friday.
Senior Larissa Balachick recorded a pair of assists, the second coming on Strunk’s game-winning goal. The Flashes (5-5, 3-0) extended their winning streak against the Bobcats to 10 games.
Baseball: Lauer finishes MLB season on hot streak
Former Kent State All-American pitcher Eric Lauer tossed six hitless innings in his final start of 2022 for the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, a 3-0 victory over Arizona.
Lauer closed the season by throwing 11 shutout innings in his last two starts, allowing one hit and four walks while striking out 16. The 27-year-old left-hander finished the season 11-7 with a 3.69 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 158⅔ innings.
Lauer pitched this season on a one-year, $2.43 million contract, and is now a free agent.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Dante Cephas of Kent State named MAC football player of the week
