Defiance College Athletics announces winners of the 2026 Swarm Awards

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College Athletic Department and the Purple and Gold Club hosted its annual Swarm Awards year-end athletics banquet at the Karl H. Weaner Center on Saturday evening to honor the accomplishments of DC's student-athletes and their teams.

The year-end Swarm Awards celebrate excellence in a variety of forms by commending the athletic, academic, and community involvement of student-athletes. There were also awards presented to staff and community members for their support of the Yellow Jackets throughout the academic year. Awards were nominated and voted on by the athletic department, the Purple and Gold Club, and the Student-Athlete Leadership Team. New this year was Alumni Varsity D honoring it's four Alumni Head Coaches of the Year in Jeff Sever, Eric Sprague, Tim Held, and Rick Weaver.

This year's festivities saw 13 different programs represented in the major awards with Women's Volleyball and Softball leading the way with five and four total awards, respectively. Freshman powerlifter Mikayla Twum (Troy, Mich./Athens) was honored with the Duane Hocking Award for female athlete of the year. Senior football player Dominic Harris (Detroit, Mich./Southeastern) was named male athlete of the year with the Marv Hohenberger Award. Women's Volleyball held on to Team of the Year and the coveted Buzz Award went to Cooper Sloan (Cherryville, N.C./Cherryville) for the second straight year.

The full list of awards presented at the Swarm Awards are listed below.

Duane Hocking Award (Female Athlete of the Year)
Awarded to an outstanding female athlete for her performance during the current academic year.
Winner: Mikayla Twum (Powerlifting)
Twum helped put the new powerlifting team in the national spotlight with multiple records. She started the year with three straight podiums and won meets in Wisconsin and Pittsburgh to qualify for the USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals in Louisiana, where she finished second place in her class by lifting nearly 1100 pounds. Her 501-pound deadlift at Collegiate Nationals set American, Regional, and State records for her classification.

Marv Hohenberger Award (Male Athlete of the Year)
Awarded to an outstanding male athlete for his performance during the current academic year.
Winner: Dominic Harris (Football)
Harris had a decorated senior season, earning his third all-conference award and an All-American nod. He led the Yellow Jackets' defense with 55 total tackles, 16.5 of which were tackles for loss as the 2nd-most in the conference. His 8.5 sacks were 7th in the nation, bringing his career total to 19.5 sacks to move up to 7th for a career in program history. Most notably, Harris was named a Third Team All-American by the NAIA and American Football Coaches Association to become DC's first All-American since 2021.

Team of the Year
Presented to the Team adjudged to be the best in the current academic year.
Winner: Women's Volleyball
To date, the Women's Volleyball team is the only program to secure a conference tournament bid, which they did for the second straight season. The Jackets tied a program record for conference wins in a season, beat a ranked opponent for the first time since rejoining the NAIA, compiled the team's longest winning streak in over a decade (9 in a row), and had the best winning percentage among Defiance teams in 2025-26.

The Buzz Award
Awarded to any student or student-athlete for his/her attitude during athletic contests and events to promote an atmosphere of respect, enthusiasm, pride, and school spirit.
Winner: Cooper Sloan (Football and Men's Golf)
In addition to his involvement in football and men's golf, he serves as the vice president of the Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) and is a consistent, enthusiastic presence at home sporting events. Sloan is now a two-time Buzz Award recipient.

Purple and Gold Distinguished Female Athlete Award
Awarded to an outstanding female senior athlete for the current academic year based on the individual's contribution to her team over the course of their career with the program, campus, and community.
Winner: Ali Mowen (Women's Basketball and Softball)
Mowen is a 4-year dual athlete in basketball and softball, earning academic honors for every season of competition. She compiled 103 3-pointers in 103 career basketball games and also surpassed the 150 games played threshold in softball with well over 100 hits. This season, Mowen is enjoying a career year at the plate and in the field as she nears DC's career top-10 totals for runs scored, walks, games played, and assists.

Purple and Gold Distinguished Male Athlete Award
Awarded to an outstanding male senior athlete for the current academic year based on the individual's contribution to his team over the course of their career with the program, campus, and community.
Winner: Quinn Holtzapple (Men's Soccer)
Serving as a captain on the soccer team, Quinn has started every game of his career as a defender. After being part of a conference tournament team as a freshman, he's helped lead the program through the NAIA transition. He has scored 5 career goals from his defensive position, including 2 last fall as a senior that propelled the Yellow Jackets to the program's first NAIA victory.

Purple & Gold Inspirational Leadership Award
Presented to any student-athlete who demonstrates leadership, team commitment, and inspires others through their dedication on and off the field/court (based on overall contribution, not performance).
Winner: Tevin Lewis-Johnson (Football)
In addition to a running back on the football team, the Chicago native is a McMaster Scholar and RA. He is also a student leader for DC's Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle and has played an influential role in inviting teammates, classmates and friends to huddle meetings, some of which saw nearly 70 DC students in attendance this year. Last week, he was recognized at the annual Buckeye Border FCA Champions Dinner.

Female Newcomer of the Year
Awarded to any freshman or first-year transfer who in a given year makes a notable impact on the success of their team.
Winner: Madelyn Hopper (Softball)
The freshman from Montpelier has made a two-way impact for the Yellow Jackets, hitting over .300 as an outfielder and has a team-leading 5 wins as a pitcher. She tossed a complete-game shutout in Florida and put together an 8-inning win followed by a 2-hitter to earn conference pitcher of the week.

Male Newcomer of the Year
Awarded to any freshman or first-year transfer who in a given year makes a notable impact on the success of their team.
Winner: Jesse Brown (Men's Track and Field)
Brown has posted top-5 marks in program history in the high jump during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. He also has 5 event victories this season with 3 in a row to start the outdoor campaign.

Female Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
Awarded to any athlete who in a given year improves her performance dramatically or otherwise becomes well-recognized.
Winner: Taighen Zipfel (Softball)
As a pitcher, her ERA has been sliced in half while pitching twice as many innings compared to her freshman year. Zipfel also stood in the circle for victories over ranked Indiana Tech and conference contender UNOH.

Male Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
Awarded to any athlete who in a given year improves his performance dramatically or otherwise becomes well-recognized.
Winner: Xavier Wilson (Men's Track and Field)
After a redshirt season as a freshman, Wilson came on to the scene this year and made an immediate impact, winning 4 straight 60-meter events and 3 more indoor 200-meter races to qualify for nationals. In the outdoor campaign, he has 4 more event wins and now owns 5 school records across both seasons.

Female Individual Performance of the Year
Presented to the athlete adjudged to have, in a single play or game, completed the best performance.
Winner: Chaney Brodbeck (Women's Volleyball)
Brodbeck's 26 kills against Rochester Christian were just one away from the program record that has stood for nearly 20 years. Ten of those kills were in the fourth set alone, and she also set a school record with 82 total attacks in the contest. She also had 17 digs with a pair of blocks defensively to rack up 28.5 total points in the match.

Male Individual Performance of the Year
Presented to the athlete adjudged to have, in a single play or game, completed the best performance.
Winner: Evan Angstmann (Men's Basketball)
Angstmann's 11 3-pointers crushed DC's single-game 3-point record of 8 during a thrilling comeback win over Washington Adventist in the Purple and Gold Tournament. His 39 points in the game were the most by a DC player since 2017.

AAUW Scholar-Athlete Award
Female letterwinner with the highest GPA following at least four completed semesters. 
Winners: Kirsten Vanisacker (Women's Volleyball), 4.0 GPA

Gene Geren Academic Award
Male letterwinner with the highest GPA following at least four completed semesters.
Winners: Quinn Holtzapple (Men's Soccer), 4.0 GPA

Team GPA Award (Individual Sport)
Presented to the team whose members have embodied academic achievement and excellence in the classroom with the highest GPA.
Winner: Women's Golf, 3.64 GPA

Team GPA Award (Team Sport)
Presented to the team whose members have embodied academic achievement and excellence in the classroom with the highest GPA.
Winner: Women's Volleyball, 3.78 GPA

Faculty/Staff Fan of the Year
Awarded to any Defiance College faculty or staff member for his or her unwavering support of the Defiance College student-athlete experience.
Winner: Htut Zar

Team Community Impact Award
Presented to the team that displayed heightened involvement and service on and off campus.
Winner: Softball

SALT Head Coach of the Year
Awarded to the DC head coach who best embodied and encouraged excellence on and off the field.
Winner: Shane Gardner

Phyllis J. Snyder Fan Appreciation Award
Presented to a deserving fan for their loyalty, dedication and commitment to Defiance College athletics.
Winner: Amy and Hans Zipfel

Best Media Day Photo
Awarded to the team that staged the most creative individual or group pose during their media day session.
Winner: Men's Wrestling

Team Sportsmanship Award
Awarded to the team that displayed exemplary attitude toward teammates, opponents, and officials during competition, practice, and campus life.
Winner: Women's Volleyball

The Purple and Gold Club Inc. was founded in the early 1970s by Defiance community members who wanted to provide extra support for DC student-athletes. Since its inception, the club has continually grown and continues to provide both financial assistance and personal support for the entire athletic department.

-JACKETS-