Ohio Northern earns USILA Academic Team Award; Four Polar Bears named USILA Scholar All-America

By Tim Glon

| 2024 USILA Academic Team Award (.pdf) | 2024 USILA Scholar All-America Award (.pdf) |

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's lacrosse team earned the Academic Team Award from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association for 2024.

Fifth-year senior Cole Zaferakis (Liverpool, N.Y.) and seniors John Lynn (Cincinnati/Sycamore), Bennett Michel (Perrysburg) and Ben Wilson (Dublin/Bishop Watterson) were named a USILA Scholar All-Americans, marking the fifth time in the past six years that a Polar Bear has won the honor.

It is the third time that ONU has received the team award.

Zaferakis is a three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree and has started 74 career games in goal.

He holds many school records, including a 48-25 record and 591 saves in his career.

Lynn is a two-time All-OAC award winner and was named Academic All-OAC this spring.

In 54 career starts in the midfield, Lynn scored 55 goals, dished out 36 assists and 91 career points.

Michel is a three-time Academic All-OAC honoree at midfield.

In 63 career games, he scored two goals, had six assists and had eight points. He also had 75 ground balls.

Wilson played in 54 games in his four-year career in the midfield.

He finished with three assists, 43 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers.

The foursome now join former Ohio Northern standouts Brian Dalidowicz (2022), Joe O'Connell (2021), Cameron Marous (2020) and Jackson Pfister (2019) to have won the award.

The Polar Bears posted their ninth consecutive winning season in the nine-year history of the program in 2024 with a 13-6 overall mark. ONU was third in the OAC with a 7-2 record under ninth-year head coach Nat St. Laurent.