The Spartan Club, comprised of Case Institute of Technology (CIT), Western Reserve University (WRU) and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) alumni, parents of current students, faculty and staff, and friends of the University, is aimed at helping foster and honor the proud tradition of athletics at the University, while also supporting the current student-athletes. For more information on the Spartan Club, and to help support its purpose by becoming a member, CLICK HERE.
Case Western Reserve University senior John Drumm, a swimmer on the men's swimming and diving team, and senior Claire Kozma, a swimmer on the women's swimming and diving team, have been named the Spartan Club Athletes of the Week for their performances this past week.
Drumm won an event, recorded two NCAA B Cut times, and set a school record at the Total Performance Invite hosted by Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, last weekend. Drumm started his weekend by besting his own school record in the 500 Free, placing fourth in 4:27.53. The time, which met the B Cut standard, currently ranks third in Division III. Later in the week, he won the 200 Fly with a NCAA B Cut time of 1:47.69, which also is the third fastest in the country. Drumm also placed sixth in the 200 Free with a time of 1:40.07 and helped the Spartans placed in the top six in the 800 Free Relay (fourth), 400 Medley Relay (fifth), and 400 Free Relay (sixth). Overall, CWRU placed fourth out of seven teams at the invite with 1120.5 points.
Kozma recorded four NCAA B Cut times at the Total Performance Invite hosted by Kenyon College last weekend. Individually, Kozma swam faster than the NCAA B mark in the 100 Free (50.89) and 100 Fly (55.32) which were both season best times. She was also a member of the 200 Free Relay that finished third in 1:34.09 and the 400 Free Relay that finished fourth in 3:28.34. Kozma ranks eighth in Division III in the 100 Free and seventh in the 100 Fly with her times from last weekend, and the CWRU relays have the seventh-fastest times in the countries in both events. The Spartans finished fifth out of seven teams at the invite with 795 points.
The CWRU swimming and diving teams will be off from intercollegiate competition until the spring semester, resuming their schedule with a dual meet at SUNY Geneseo on Saturday, January 17 at 1 p.m.
The Spartan Club Athletes of the Week are selected by the CWRU Department of Athletics each Monday, based on their performance during the previous week of competition.
Honorable Mentions:
Senior wrestler Art Martinez (wrestling) won his second bracket of the season at the BW Invitational hosted by Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, on Saturday. Martinez, competing in the 133-pound bracket, went 4-0 with two pins and one technical fall. He started the day with an 18-1 technical fall over Manchester's Joshua Marlin in 2:09 and advanced to the semifinal with a pin of Owen Caracciolo from Saint Vincent in just 1:20. Martinez followed with a pin of Nasir Christion of Manchester in 4:04 and prevailed by major decision, 14-4, over Albion's Cade Odrobina in the final. Martinez entered the weekend ranked 14th nationally and third regionally in the weight class and improved to 11-1 this season with the four wins. The Spartans placed third overall at the invitational, with 151.5 points.
After a week off from intercollegiate competition, the Spartans will return to Berea for three duals on Saturday, December 5 with the team facing UNC Pembroke at 4 p.m., 20th-ranked Baldwin Wallace at 5:30 p.m., and Wilmington at 7 p.m.
Sophomore Donovan Crowley (men's cross country) was the Spartans' top finisher at the 2025 NCAA Division III Championships in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Saturday. Crowley narrowly missed out on All-America honors (awarded to the top-40 finishers), placing 42nd out of 291 finishers in a time of 24:44.5 in the men's 8K race. It was the best individual finish by a CWRU men's runner at the NCAA Championship since Sam Merriman placed 11th in 2017. It also marked a 22.3-second improvement on his previous personal-best time and was the first time in his career that he had broken the 25-minute mark in a race.
First-year Francesca Taracila (women's cross country) made the first NCAA Championship appearance of her career, placing 74th out of 290 finishers in the women's 6K race. Taracila crossed the finish line in a time of 22:35.9, the second-best time of her career and just 7.1 seconds away from her career-best mark. Taracila was the seventh-fastest first-year runner (out of 45 total) to finish the race.
Senior guard/forward Emily Plachta (women's basketball) led all Spartans last week with 14.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game over a pair of contests. Plachta finished the week shooting 31.0% (9-of-29) overall, 20.0% (2-of-10) from three-point range, and 66.7% (8-of-12) from the free throw line, while adding two assists, four blocks, and four steals. Plachta finished a 59-54 loss at Capital on Wednesday with the first double-double of her career, scoring 14 points and collecting a career-high 12 rebounds. She shot four-of-18 overall in the game and made six-of-10 free throw attempts, while picking up a pair of blocks and one steal defensively. In a 91-50 win over Thiel at home on Saturday, she scored 14 points on a five-of-11 shooting effort (including two-for-five from behind the three-point line) and added two assists, two blocks, and three steals. Plachta leads all Spartans this season with 17.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. The Spartans have opened their 2025-26 campaign with a 4-1 overall record.
The Spartans will have a quick turnaround, heading to Bethany, West Virginia, on Tuesday, November 25, to face the Bethany College Bison. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
First-year forward Alex Vincent (men's basketball) led the Spartans with 13.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game over a pair of contests at the Great Lakes Invitational over the weekend in Washington, Pennsylvania. Vincent finished the weekend shooting 58.8% (10-of-17) from the floor and made all six of his free throw attempts, while adding four assists, two blocks, and two steals. He scored 14 points on a four-of-seven shooting effort from the floor and six-of-six shooting from the free throw line in a 70-69 loss to Washington & Jefferson on Friday, collecting six rebounds with an assist and two steals. He followed that by leading the team with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 75-59 loss to Trinity (Texas) on Saturday, making six-of-10 shots with three assists and two blocks. Through the team's first six games of the season, Vincent is averaging a team-leading 12.3 points per game on 66.7% shooting from the floor with 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game. The Spartans ended the week with a 3-3 record for the 2025-26 season.
The Spartans will return home to Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland to host Saint Vincent College on Sunday, November 30, at 2 p.m.
2025-26 Spartan Club Athletes of the Week:
Sept. 2: Jacob Slater (men's cross country) & Jamie Goldfarb (women's soccer)
Sept. 8: Mitchell Fein (men's soccer) & Maggie Farra (women's soccer)
Sept. 15: Bradley Winter (men's soccer) & Ceci Dapino (women's soccer)
Sept. 22: Daniel King (football) & Halina Tompkins (women's cross country)
Sept. 29: Sam DeTillio (football) & Kalli Wall (volleyball)
Oct. 6: Osi Chukwuocha (football) & Ceci Dapino (women's soccer)
Oct. 13: Kalli Wall (volleyball) & Claire Kozma (women's swimming and diving)
Oct. 20: Jacob Slater (men's cross country) & Halina Tompkins (women's cross country)
Oct. 27: Bradley Winter (men's soccer) & Ellie Palaian (women's soccer)
Nov. 3: Art Martinez (wrestling) & Sohalya Rawlins (women's swimming and diving)
Nov. 10: Thomas Wagner (wrestling) & Emily Plachta (women's basketball)
Nov. 18: Jacob Slater (men's cross country) & Kalli Wall (volleyball)
Nov. 24: John Drumm (men's swimming and diving) & Claire Kozma (women's swimming and diving)
