Former Trojan sparks Wildcats

Jonny Marlin has wasted little time making an impact on the Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team.

He’s actually wasted no time at all.

Less than a dozen games into his first season as the Wildcats’ starting point guard, the former Center Grove standout is the top playmaker for the top-ranked NAIA Division II Wildcats.

A 5-foot-10 junior, Marlin has team-leading averages of

15.3 points and 7.3 assists per game and is averaging nearly

two steals per game.

He’s also shooting 54 percent from the field; 85 percent from the foul line; and a team-best

65 percent (13 of 20) from

3-point range.

A transfer student from Indiana University, Marlin has started every game for the defending national champion Wildcats and is — as evidenced by his production on the nation’s No. 1 team — already one of the best players in NAIA Division II.

Marlin, the Daily Journal’s 2011 Player of the Year, began his career at IPFW, then transferred to IU as a walk-on. He played in

18 games for the Hoosiers last season before transferring to

the Wildcats.

Indiana Wesleyan is 13-0 and is ranked No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week in the national poll.

All-State honors

When the AP All-State Football Teams were recently announced, yours truly neglected to note the honorable mention selections of two exceptionally worthy players from Franklin Community High School in a story showcasing local athletes.

Overlooked in the Class 5A fine print were the names of senior Jake Stevenson and Chad Williams, who were first-team members of the Daily Journal All-County Team. Both had monster seasons for the Grizzly Cubs.

Stevenson, a senior running back, was the county’s second-leading rusher with 1,699 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Williams, a senior linebacker, was the county’s fourth-leading tackler with 115, including 76 solos.

The Daily Journal, and especially yours truly, regrets the oversights.

Cubs hire softball coach

In its search for a new varsity softball coach, Franklin Community High School didn’t have to look far.

The right person happened to be right in town.

Lisa Whitlow-Hill, a Franklin College graduate and former softball player for the Grizzlies, is the Grizzly Cubs’ new head coach.

A longtime softball enthusiast, she began playing in elementary school and continued through high school. She succeeds Joe Paszek, who stepped down last season after guiding the Cubs to a 17-10 record and a Class 4A sectional championship.

“We are excited for Lisa to join our coaching family and look forward to Lisa accomplishing great things with our softball program” Franklin athletics director John Regas said.

Whitlow-Hill has been with Johnson County Special Services since 2005 as a program support teacher. She assists special education teachers in Franklin.

“I have loved the game of softball for over 40 years, as a player, coach and fan of the game,” she said. “ I am so excited to be a leader in shaping young women into lifelong learners, community volunteers and better softball players.”

Whitlow-Hill and her spouse, Cathy, have six children: Abby, Lindy, Kyle, Kayla, Kevin, and Katie. They also have eight grandchildren ranging in age from 18 months to 8 years old.

FC soccer player earns league honor

Austin Fundenberger, a junior forward on the Franklin College men’s soccer team, has been named a second-team All-Great Lakes Region selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Recently selected the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Most Valuable Player, Fundenberger scored six goals in league matches, including three game-winners. He tallied three in the Grizzlies’ 4-0 win at regular-season HCAC champion Transylvania.

For the season, Fundenberger had nine goals for the Grizzlies, who finished 8-7-3 overall and 5-2-2 in the HCAC.