Adams, who recently finished in eighth place in the 184-pound weight class at the NCAA Division III wrestling tournament, will enter the seminary when he completes his M.B.A. studies this spring. 

Adams, enrolled in the five-year B.A./M.B.A. program at John Carroll, worked two internships during his undergraduate studies, but never felt comfortable in the business environment. Being active in his faith, he was immediately attracted to the thought of being a priest.

It was something Adams felt was right. 

“I’ve gone through the business school at John Carroll for five years and I’ve had a couple internships, and I just didn’t feel any satisfaction,” Adams said. “I talked with my parents, friends and pastor and I just made the decision that this was the path I wanted to take. At this point, it’s God’s calling for me.”

Adams was able to use a fifth year of eligibility to come back and wrestle for the Blue Streaks, and he didn’t disappoint. He won an OAC title and, after two previous trips to the national championship meet that ended in disappointment, won All-American honors for finishing eighth in his weight class.

It was a special moment for Adams. 

“It was a real big honor for me. I felt that it was a goal of mine for a long time, and it eluded me two times before. It was a great thing for me – having my family out there and having all the coaches out there who have been with me along the way,” he said.  

As for holding off on the seminary, Adams felt he had too much unfinished business at John Carroll to drop everything and join the seminary. 

“I wanted to finish what I started here at John Carroll,” Adams said. “Now that I’ve done that, I can move on to the seminary. It [the M.B.A. degree] will be a good thing for me because it gives me a unique skill-set for later on in life, especially if I run my own parish.”

While an undergrad at John Carroll, Adams was active in many organizations. He was a member of the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi while also serving as a member of the finance association. 

He also played varsity football for the Blue Streaks, and on top of that, Adams worked at WJCU for two years.

Currently, Adams works for the wrestling team doctor, Dr. Dariush Saghati, a neurosurgeon in Parma, billing patients and scheduling appointments at Parma Neurology. 

When he graduates in May, Adams will leave quite a void that members of the wrestling team will struggle to fill. 

“The most important part of having him as a teammate was the way he led by example,” said senior Travis Hammer. “He was always giving 100 percent in practice. He’d do anything for anybody on the team. He’s always nice to everybody, and treats people like equals.” 

Adams is originally from Livonia, Mich. He completed his undergraduate degree with majors in both economics and finance, with a Chinese minor.

Despite having only one individual winner, the Blue Streaks were able to finish a solid fourth out of the six teams competing

Heidelberg University, using first place finishes from three competitors, won its fifth straight team title, defeating runner-up Mount Union. Heidelberg finished with  101 points, well ahead of the Purple Raiders who finished with 89.5 points. 

Ohio Northern University finished third with 71 points, and the Blue Streaks racked up 48.5 for the fourth place finish. 

The lone individual champion for the Blue Streaks was senior Ben Adams. Adams, from Livonia, Mich., won his third consecutive individual title at the 184-pound level, defeating Heidelberg’s Ed Bizorik 9-2. 

As a result of the victory, Adams will advance to the Division III Championships, held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, starting March 5. 

Adams was pleased with the result, and credits his success over the past four years to the help of family, teammates and coaches. 

“I’ve been really blessed with a great coaching staff and great guys around me,” Adams said. “There were a lot of times where it was difficult to get through a tough match or tournament, but there were always coaches and teammates there to help. These guys really pushed me to be the best.”

Freshman David Malkus at 141 pounds, sophomore Connor Suba at 149 pounds, sophomore Sean Gill at 165 pounds, and senior Alec Barker 285 pounds rounded out the placing for the Blue Streaks.

Suba took eventual champion Richie Clark of Mount Union to the limit, and defeated top-seeded Mick Letcher of Ohio Northern en route to a third place finish. 

Malkus defeated Wilmington’s Tim Brown for his third place finish. 

Gill beat Korey Leonhard of Baldwin-Wallace College for third place, while Barker, who entered the tournament unseeded, beat Justin Southwick of ONU. 

Adams was pleased with the team’s effort. 

“It’s definitely been an up and down season,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations in terms of having people healthy and fielding a full and strong lineup. To come out and give an effort like that is special.”

The effort got particularly better as the day wore on.

“We had a lot of guys perform well in the finals round. We actually had a great finals round,” Adams said. “We had a lot of third and fourth place finishes, and those helped.”

Although he will be moving on after graduation, Adams was optimistic about the future of the Blue Streak wrestling team.  

“We have a lot of young guys and people should be really excited about the future of John Carroll wrestling. I think these young guys will carry on the tradition well.”

The John Carroll University wrestling team, featuring a younger lineup, had a solid showing this past weekend as they finished 19th of 30 teams competing at the Pete Willson Invitational. It was held by Wheaton College in Naperville, Ill.

The Blue Streaks had a chance to place high after day one with seven competitors in the hunt for a top-eight finish. It helped that senior Ben Adams was challenging for a title in the 184-pound bracket.

After day one, the Blue Streaks were 11th, ahead of Ohio Athletic Conference rivals Ohio Northern  University and Mount Union College.

In the end, and that’s really all that matters, Adams was the only Blue Streak that would place, finishing fifth. Junior Greg Stolfer finished 2-2 in the 125-pound bracket.

Freshman David Malkus, who was unseeded, finished the tournament 3-2 in the 141-pound bracket. Sophomore Connor Suba at 149 pounds, junior Jim Nemunaitis at 197 pounds and senior Alec Barker at 285 pounds all finished at 2-2.

Senior Travis Hammer was disappointed that his team couldn’t finish stronger, but was encouraged by the team’s high points total from an event that had a lot of talent.

“I think we’re able to build on this going forward,” Hammer said. “We had a lot of guys wrestle pretty well.”

Hammer thinks the team will be ready for the OAC Championships, which are coming up in less than two weeks.

“We’re getting closer to where we need to be,” he said. “Once we get everybody healthy, we’ll be ready to go.”

The OAC Championships will be held at Mount Union on Feb. 10.

Editor’s Note: Full details from Tuesday’s match against Heidelberg College were not immediately available before this edition of The Carroll News went to print. Log on to jcusports.com for details of the match.

SWIMMING & DIVING

The John Carroll University men’s and women’s swimming and diving team both scored wins over crosstown rival Baldwin-Wallace College on Jan. 30, with the men’s team winning 127-116, and the women’s team edging out the Yellow Jackets 146-65.

On the men’s side, sophomores Blake Pinchot, Alex Vereshchagin, Eric Davis and Jim Ranallo all claimed relay titles and then went on to win individual events as well.

Junior Nick Grady and freshman Drew Edson also scored individual victories.

Sophomore Stanton Kochanek qualified for the NCAA championships by recording a 477.61 in the three-meter dive, narrowly losing to B-W’s Todd Reichart. Reichart finished 14th in the country in that event at last year’s Division III National Championships.

Grady, one of the more experienced swimmers on the team, was excited by his team’s progress.

“I think our team is the strongest it’s been the entire year,” he said. “We have everybody healthy and we’re getting more focused on the OACs.”

The women’s team won in a more convincing fashion, with a Blue Streak finishing in both first and second place in each of the first five events.

Seniors Desiree Hagan and Liana Sved, both swimming in their final meet of their collegiate careers, finished first and second respectively, in the 100-meter Fly.

TRACK & FIELD 

Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the OAC Relays this past weekend, with different results.

On the men’s side, the Blue Streaks finished fifth with 74 points, 40 points behind winner Ohio Northern.

Individually, the Blue Streaks were strongest in the field events, particularly the long jump.

Junior Bryan Wideman led a trio of Blue Streaks that had top-10 finishes in the event by placing fourth in the long jump, leaping over 21 feet and six inches.

Freshman Mike Minjock finished sixth and senior RK Glover placed seventh respectively, each clearing 20 feet and 10 inches. Glover also recorded a fifth-place finish in the triple jump.

Rounding out the field events, sophomore Mike Hlatky tied for second in the long jump, and junior Lou Galiano finished sixth in the shot put with a throw just shy of 45 feet.

Freshmen Billy Zaccardelli and Anthony Colbert, junior Denny Love and sophomore Drew Krainz finished third in the 4×200 relay with a time of 1:33.84.

Love and Zaccardelli then excelled individually, finishing fourth and fifth respectively, in the 55-meter hurdle race.

The Blue Streaks women’s track team struggled on the day. Their best relay finish was a pair of fifth-place finishes.

Individually, freshman Maureen Creighton placed sixth in the 55-meter dash, while senior Emily Tillmaand took sixth in the 5,000-meter run.

The women lost 1-0 Friday at Capital and the men lost Saturday afternoon’s contest 4-0 at Shula Stadium. The women’s team also fell to Allegheny College, 4-1, on Sept. 30.

The two losses dropped the JCU women’s team to 2-8-1 overall, and 0-1-0 in conference play. The men’s loss, just their second of the year at home, dropped their record to 6-4-2 overall, and 0-1-0 in the OAC.

JCU’s women’s soccer team faced their first challenge at home on Wednesday against Allegheny College. The Blue Streaks quickly fell behind when the Gators scored three goals in the first 20 minutes.

Sophomore Rachel Grdina scored off a pass from freshman Amanda Buxton to record the lone Blue Streak goal. It was only the fifth time Allegheny has allowed a goal through 10 games this season.

In Friday’s OAC opener, the Blue Streaks played better, but suffered the same result, losing a tough game on the road.

Junior goalkeeper Molly Gradowski made seven saves for the Blue Streaks, who faced 27 shots from the Crusaders. The Blue Streaks only managed 10 shots.

On the men’s side, Saturday’s game against Capital saw the most goals allowed by the Blue Streaks in one game this season. Two of Capital’s four goals were scored by Steven McCarthy, who has already totaled an eye-popping 16 tallies on the year.

Senior defender Steve Rock, who has been battling an elbow injury the past few weeks, said he’s not worried about the opening loss.

“We’ve been banged up. Everybody on this team knows what we’re capable of when we’re at full strength,” Rock said. “I think we’ve just got to be patient and keep playing hard.”

Rock was optimistic that the results will turn once the Blue Streaks finally have a healthy cast.

“I’m really proud of the way we’ve battled and once the OAC tournament rolls around, I think we’ll be healthy,” he said.

The men’s team will play on the road at Marietta College on Saturday and will host Heidelberg College at 4 p.m. Oct. 14. The women’s team will host Marietta College tomorrow at 4 p.m. and then go on the road to Tiffin, Ohio to battle Heidelberg next Tuesday night.

That makes three significant injuries for the Blue Streaks during the month of September as senior Jeff Kosek broke his leg in the second game of the season. Oddly enough, the three are roommates.

“It honestly feels like a curse is on our team right now,” Rock said. “At the same time, we’ve got people who are stepping up and the level of play isn’t dropping. It’s definitely disheartening. I’ve never been a part of a team that’s had this kind of luck before.”

Freshman Jerry Rubino, left, and the rest of the Blue Streaks will try to steady the ship until the banged-up team returns to full strength.

Rock and DeMarchi are expected to be back by the Oct. 3 home game against Capital University.

The Blue Streaks defeated Case Western 2-0 Wednesday, with juniors David Hickey and Andrew Fatigati scoring a goal each. Junior Mike Telzrow, getting his first career start, played spectacularly, recording six saves.

“It’s a big win for us because it’s a cross-town rival,” said Rock. “Our senior class also hadn’t beat them, so that was really nice as well.”

In the OAC-MIAA Tournament held at Ohio Northern University last weekend, the Blue Streaks downed Trine University 2-0. Junior Kyle Buxman and sophomore Corey Rider scored, with Telzrow recording his second shut-out in as many games.

Saturday brought a sloppier game, ending in a 0-0 tie and including 51 fouls and nine cards. The bright side was Telzrow, recording another shut-out. He has yet to allow a goal in his first three starts.

“He’s 3-0 now against three good teams, and he’s playing with a lot of confidence,” said Rock. “He’s proving he can pick up the starting job.”

The man he is replacing agrees. “He’s been playing great,” said DeMarchi of his replacement. “I’m really proud of him.”

On the women’s side of the ball, the Blue Streaks lost a heartbreaker on Sept. 15, falling to Westminster College by a score of 2-1.

Senior midfielder Caitlyn Walton, the team’s leading scorer, scored the lone goal for the Blue Streaks.

Last Friday, the Blue Streaks returned to their winning ways when they knocked off Oberlin College, 2-1. Juniors Aleks Quenneville and Valerie Korb each scored a goal for the Blue Streaks.

After each team split time with the ball in each other’s end, Quenneville eventually gave JCU the lead with her first goal of the season.

Just seconds before the end of the first half, Caroline McGraw collided with the Oberlin goalkeeper. When the ball squirted away, Korb was there to hammer it home and give JCU a 2-0 lead and some breathing room going into the half.

Up next for the women’s team is Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh on Saturday. The men’s team will also head east to Pennsylvania on Saturday to take on Misericordia University.

Behind the electrifying play of senior Jeff Kosek, the Blue Streaks defeated Malone University on Sept. 1 to open their season at Don Shula Stadium, winning 6-0. The defense, lead by senior Steve Rock, played superbly, allowing only one shot to be peppered at senior goalkeeper Matt DeMarchi. Life was good for DeMarchi, who saved the lone shot to earn his first shutout of the season.

“They [the defense] played great,” said DeMarchi. “We knew coming into the season that our defense would be our identity. To see this many goals scored the first two games is just a plus.”

“Our offense was clicking on all cylinders,” said Rock. “It was good to see.”

While Kosek chipped in three goals, freshman Thor Eriksen, junior Andew Fatigati and sophomore Ben Vietmeier also got tallies in the goal scoring column. 

Three days later, the scoring continued in bunches, as JCU defeated Saginaw Valley State University 5-0. 

Sophomore Corey Rider led the Blue Streaks with two goals against the Cardinals, who compete at the NCAA’s Division II level.

Junior Brendan McCreary, senior Joshuah Tatro and Eriksen also found the back of the net for the Blue Streaks. 

The game wasn’t a complete success though, as Kosek suffered a broken tibia and will be out for the remainder of his senior season.

Rock is confident that the injury to Kosek won’t hinder the team from achieving the ultimate goal that the team set in the preseason: to win the Ohio Athletic Conference title. 

“His loss will definitely be felt,” Rock said of the senior leader. “He’s a huge part of the offense, but hopefully the other guys will pick up the slack.”

As far as losing their top returning scorer from a season ago, it won’t be used as an excuse, Rock said.

“Good teams don’t use these kinds of losses as excuses. I’m sure the other guys are ready to step up and make plays.”

Meanwhile, the women’s team got off to a rough start this season. After losing a tough overtime match against Hiram College in their home opener, it was on to western New York for the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Rachel Miller Tournament.

In their opening game in western New York, JCU was turned back 5-1 by SUNY Cortland. Sophomore Rachel Grdina scored the lone goal for the Blue Streaks. 

“Cortland is a good team, and we knew that coming in,” said senior midfielder Sarah DiPalma. “It was 0-0 at half, and they came out and got two quick goals. We just needed to simply play better.”

Up next for both the men’s and women’s team is this weekend’s third annual ‘Carroll Classic,’ hosted within the friendly confines of Don Shula Stadium.

Four men’s teams and four women’s teams will do battle in University Heights, with all eight matches having pre-determined opponents.

The men’s team will play Transylvania University on Friday at 7 p.m. and Hiram College on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The women’s team will play Grove City College on Friday at 1 p.m. and Case Western Reserve University on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Both John Carroll teams will have their Saturday games broadcast on tape delay by SportsTime Ohio.

According to DiPalma, it’s important for the women’s team to come out strong.

“We definitely need to play a complete game. I’m confident the home-field advantage will help us,” said Rock. “We always seem to play our best in the Carroll Classic.” 

That is evidenced by last year’s performance which saw the men’s and women’s team combined to go 4-0 while outscoring their opponents 21-1.

The men’s team easily disposed of Culver-Stockton College 5-1, and then knocked off Anderson University by a score of 3-0.

The women’s team knocked off Culver-Stockton 12-0, setting a school record for goals scored in a game. The Blue Streaks came back the next day and knocked off Olivet College in a 1-0 contest.