{"id":2339,"date":"2026-09-04T10:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T10:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2026\/09\/04\/2026-09-04-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T01:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T01:04:12","slug":"2026-09-04-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2026\/09\/04\/2026-09-04-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheeler leads Wolverines to\u00a0watch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Matthew Purucker<\/a> \u00b7 Editor-in-Chief<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Noah
Noah Wheeler runs with the ball. (Curt Equi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is not an exaggeration to say Noah Wheeler was excellent on the field for the Grove City College football team last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The junior cornerback flew around the secondary, locking down opposing wide receivers game in and game out. Wheeler had four interceptions, critical in a defense that had 26 total, the most among all NCAA Division III teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we say play fast, there\u2019s guys who truly understand what we\u2019re trying to do. They just know our system,\u201d Grove City football coach Andrew DiDonato said. \u201cFree, though, is that they are allowed to be creative within that system. So, they know their assignment, but they also have a feel for the game. \u2026 And then they play full. They play with joy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wheeler began his sophomore season with an electric performance. His two interceptions, including a game-changing pick-six to start the second half, propelled Grove City to a first-week upset at Cortland, the 2023 national champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd Noah Wheeler plays fast, full and free, and that\u2019s why he\u2019s such a special player,\u201d DiDonato said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wheeler\u2019s return of a blocked field goal for a touchdown against Waynesburg during the homecoming game also solidified a crucial victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the D3football.com preseason All-American\u2019s excellence extends beyond playing football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone sees his contributions on the field, the interceptions, but he\u2019s a spiritual leader for us,\u201d DiDonato said. \u201cHe\u2019s strong in his faith. He\u2019s strong academically. Socially, the guys love him. So, I just say this: he\u2019s not only a model on the field; he\u2019s a model of all four parts of our vision, and that\u2019s what makes him special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men\u2019s Soccer: Noah Gray<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then-junior midfielder Noah Gray scored 14 goals and tallied seven assists to lead Grove City to claim its second-ever PAC Men\u2019s Soccer title, its first since 2005.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gray received PAC Offensive Player of the Year and United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-American second-team honors for his efforts and may be the focal point of the Wolverine attack once again in his senior season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gray has 24 career goals, eight of which were game winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s Soccer: Tori Stevenson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior midfielder Tori Stevenson has been a critical piece of Grove City\u2019s attack for the last three years, including a 16-goal junior season that earned her the PAC Offensive Player of the Year award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevenson powered the Wolverines to their third straight conference championship last season, and the 2025 USC All-Region honoree will seek another strong year in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe (is) very productive in terms of goal scoring but also in terms of creating a lot of things for us offensively,\u201d Grove City women\u2019s soccer coach Melissa Lamie said in an athletic department video Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> Stevenson scored three goals and assisted another in Grove City\u2019s 4-4 tie against Penn State-Behrend Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s Volleyball: Sarah Hart<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior outside hitter Sarah Hart recorded a team-high 388 kills (3.56 kills per set) in her first year with the team. Hart was essential in Grove City\u2019s first PAC Women\u2019s Volleyball title win since 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hart also earned All-PAC First Team and PAC All-Tournament Team honors and led conference outside hitters with a .292 hitting percentage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is not an exaggeration to say Noah Wheeler was excellent on the field for the Grove City College football team last season. The junior cornerback flew around the secondary, locking down<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":2282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[195,200,199,11,201,205],"tags":[91,252,162,24,249,261],"class_list":["post-2339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-mens-soccer","category-soccer","category-sports","category-womens-soccer","category-womens-volleyball","tag-matthew-purucker","tag-mens-soccer","tag-issue-2026-09-04","tag-sports","tag-womens-soccer","tag-womens-volleyball"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-09-04-28-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch-1.jpg",1158,945,false],"thumbnail":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-09-04-28-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch-1.jpg",150,122,false],"medium":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-09-04-28-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch-1.jpg",300,245,false],"medium_large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-09-04-28-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch-1.jpg",768,627,false],"large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-09-04-28-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch-1.jpg",1024,836,false],"1536x1536":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-09-04-28-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch-1.jpg",1158,945,false],"2048x2048":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-09-04-28-wheeler-leads-wolverines-to-watch-1.jpg",1158,945,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ian Schartner","author_link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/author\/schartnerij23\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"It is not an exaggeration to say Noah Wheeler was excellent on the field for the Grove City College football team last season. The junior cornerback flew around the secondary, locking down","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2339"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2978,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2339\/revisions\/2978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}