The Athlete of the Week this week is sophomore lacrosse player, Tyler McKelvie.  The attacker was an instrumental part of the Owl’s season-opening upset over eleventh-seeded Western New England Tuesday, February 25.  The Acton, Massachusetts native started the Owls’ season off on a good foot by scoring the game’s first goal just a minute and 14 seconds into the match. McKelvie scored two more goals in the second quarter to give the Owls a solid 6-2 lead going into halftime.  McKelvie scored again in the third and broke a 9-9 tie in the fourth, with his fifth goal of the day, which gave the Owls a lead they would never  give up.  McKelvie followed that game up with a three goal performance less than a week later in a loss at Rensselaer.  As a freshman last year, McKelvie started all 17 games and led the team with 34 goals.  If the first two games are any indication, McKelvie should only build off of his stellar first year.

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Our first runner-up this week is senior runner Ryan Widzgowski. Competing at the New England Open and Masters Championships against competition from different divisions, Widzgowski came within .4 seconds of setting a new Keene State College record in the mile.  It was Widzgowski’s personal best and it was good for fourth overall. Widzgowski then teamed up with fellow KSC runners Devin Sanford, Eric Dietz and James Sturgis-Cox to break a school record in relay that was set earlier this year.  Now only one meet separates the Owls from the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, which Widzgowski will compete in.

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Our second runner-up this week is  sophomore center Nate Howard.  Howard was the lone bright spot in the team’s final game of the season—an 81-68 loss at UMass Dartmouth.  Although the team shot just 34.8 percent for the night, Howard hit half of his 12 shots and led the team with 16 points.  Howard also filled the box score with six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.  Unfortunately, the effort was not enough to avoid a first round loss in the Little Eastern Conference tournament. As the six seed, the Owls weren’t expected to make much of a splash, but the young squad will have many more chances to leave their mark on the league in coming years.

Zach Winn can be contacted at zwinn@keene-equinox.com