Blazer News

Six Fall Student-Athletes Named to All-MAC Commonwealth Teams

Clay Smith, junior, men’s soccer, first team

Smith earned his second career All-MAC Commonwealth award. He was second in the MAC Commonwealth in goals (11) and points (27) while ranking fourth in assists (5). He also set the Hood record for most consecutive matches with a goal (8). He is among Hood’s all-time leaders in career points (64) and goals (28)

Payton Belella, senior, women’s volleyball, second team

Belella extended her Hood career assist record (3,570) and ranked second in the MAC Commonwealth for assists this season (808). She is among Hood’s alltime leader in digs (1,039), and set a career high this season for aces in a single game (11).

Ricky Salgado, freshman, men’s soccer, second team

Salgado set Hood’s freshman record for assists (7) and ranked fourth in the MAC Commonwealth in assists. He tallied assists in his first three career matches.

Elena Zinaich, senior, women’s volleyball, second team

Zinaich holds the Hood records for career kills (1,397), career points (1,666) and career hitting percentage (.281). She led the MAC Commonwealth in kills this season (342), and she tied Hood’s single-match record for kills (28). She also ranks among Hood’s career leaders in blocks (232).

Jayden Barrick, senior, field hockey, honorable mention

Barrick set Hood records for defensive saves in a season (26) and in a career (52). She led all NCAA players, regardless of division, in defensive saves.

Elisa Botten, senior, women’s soccer, honorable mention

Botten set career highs in goals (3), assists (4) and points (10). She tied for the team lead in assists and ranked third on the Blazers in goals and points.

New Coaches Named for Field Hockey, Cross Country, Track and Field, Tennis, Women’s Golf

Ann Andrews, field hockey coach, comes to the Blazers after a successful six-year run at Severna Park High School in Maryland where her teams won Maryland 4A state championships three years in a row from 2013 to 2015. She was a two-time coach of the year via the Washington Post and earned similar honors from the Baltimore Sun and Capital Gazette.

Chris Benassi, cross country and track and field coach, was previously assistant coach at Nova Southeastern in Florida where he helped coach the Shark women to the first Peach Belt Conference Championship in school history and produced 22 individual conference track and field champions and 23 NCAA Division II Championship qualifiers.

Thomas Chatfield, MBA’18, interim women’s golf coach, has been an athletic trainer at Hood since 2014. Prior to Hood, he was head athletic trainer and assistant athletic director at St. Maria Goretti High School in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he also taught physical education and health.

Blaine Davies, tennis coach, previously was assistant coach at Division I Coppin State University and at Division II Fayetteville State University. He has also been a recreation programs assistant for the U.S. Tennis Association in the Mid-Atlantic Region since 2018, responsible for managing after-school programs in Howard and Anne Arundel counties. Davies is also the head tennis professional at Sparrows Point and on the professional staff at West Winds Tennis and Fitness.

Prachar Named to United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30

Women’s soccer coach Conor Prachar ’12 was selected to the United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30 class. The class features 15 men and 15 women selected from a pool of nearly 400 applicants. He is one of 16 college coaches in the class, with the remainder coming from the high school and youth coaching ranks.

Prachar is in his third year as the head coach of women’s soccer. An active member of the local and regional coaching community, he currently coaches with FC Frederick and the Maryland State Olympic Development Program.

Launched in 2013, the United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30 Program is a year-long opportunity in which members receive an educational scholarship for coaching programs. In addition, members of the 30 Under 30 Program are matched with a mentor dedicated to fostering their growth in the game and expanding their coaching network.

Casey Earns Academic Awards

Luke Casey ’18 earned accolades in summer 2018 for his academic and athletic performance during his 2017-18 senior basketball season. He was named to the Academic All-Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court.

Casey graduated in May with a double major in mathematics and economics, a concentration in international economics and a minor in business administration.

In his senior season, he was fourth in the MAC Commonwealth in rebounds (7.7 per game) and seventh in blocked shots (0.7 per game). Casey recorded four double-doubles and tallied eight games of 10 or more rebounds.

A multi-sport student-athlete as a member of the track and field team, Casey also holds the school record in the decathlon (5,144 points) and high jump (5-11.25) outdoors.

The Academic All-MAC teams recognize the top student-athletes in the classroom and on the field. The MAC sports information directors nominate and vote on the Academic All-MAC teams, giving 50 percent weight to both academic success and athletic success.

The NABC Honors Court recognizes junior or senior student-athletes on varsity teams for academic work, requiring at least a 3.2 GPA.

BLAZER SPOTLIGHT

Grayson Zubradt ’19

GRAYSON ZUBRADT, senior lacrosse player from Elmhurst, Illinois, is an integrated marketing communication major, a dean’s list student and a MAC Academic Honor Roll member.

He came to Hood in large part because of the recruitment effort by lacrosse head coach Brad Barber and former assistant coach Mike Russo.

“They went out of their way at tournaments to have one-on-one conversations with me,” said Zubradt. “While the majority of other colleges felt like they were cutting and pasting recruiting emails from templates they sent to other players, Coach Barber and Coach Russo made an effort to pay attention to small details.”

During his college decision-making process, he was impressed with Hood’s personal touch.

“Hood separated itself from some of the bigger schools where it felt as if I was just another student visiting. When I went to visit Hood, it felt like home.”

After arriving at Hood, Zubradt avoided the common first-year homesick feelings and credited that to the close-knit environment of his teammates.

“I didn’t just enter into a new team or a new school, but instead I was adopted by a family of amazing guys who cared for each other more than I can fathom,” he said.

“Hood separated itself from some of the bigger schools where it felt as if I was just another student visiting ...”

On the field as a first-year student, Zubradt earned MAC Commonwealth Co-Rookie of the Year after scoring 35 goals. As a sophomore, he set Hood’s single-season record with 52 goals and 60 points, and he became the first player in school history to score 10 goals in a game. In spring 2018, Hood finished 8-7 for the first winning season in the program’s history. Zubradt enters his senior year with career records in goals (129) and points (155).

“I had a great group of mentors during my freshman and sophomore years who helped me shift from the high school to the college game,” he said. “We wouldn’t be where we are without the brotherhood and the foundation that the alumni created for this team.”

Payton Belella ’19

PAYTON BELELLA, volleyball player from Smithsburg, Maryland, graduated in January with a major in biology.

A dean’s list student, she was named to the MAC Fall Academic Honor Roll three consecutive seasons. She is also a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma student-athlete honor society and the Beta Beta Beta biology honor society. She plans to earn her master’s degree in secondary education and hopes to become a biology and chemistry teacher at the high school level.

“Having family members who attended Hood in the past has given me such an amazing connection to the school ...”

She is one of five members of her family to attend Hood College.

“Having family members who attended Hood in the past has given me such an amazing connection to the school and to those family members,” Belella said. “From the moment I stepped on Hood’s campus, it already felt like home after hearing stories of my family members’ experiences.”

Belella has grown up on the volleyball court, and she knew her college needed to have an excellent volleyball program, along with a good fit academically and socially.

“Hood was where I knew I wanted to go,” she said. “Growing up in a gym created this need to be out on the court. I knew I wanted to be able to step in and make a difference and most of all, play the game I love. Hood gave me all of those things.”

Her freshman year, the team doubled its win total from the previous year and made the MAC Commonwealth tournament for the first time. Belella was named all-conference and set the single-season assist record (1,065).

“That year was huge for Hood volleyball,” Belella recalled. “I remember traveling to these schools in our conference and hearing my upperclassmen teammates say, ‘Wow we’ve never beaten that team before.’ That really put into perspective just how much of an impact we made that season.”

Belella’s 3,570 assists are more than any other two Blazers combined for a career. She has the top four single-season assist totals and nine of the top 10 single-match performances. She is also third in digs (1,039) and seventh in service aces (180), helping the Blazers to 64 wins in four seasons.