McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team has achieved notable recognition with three players being named Scholar All-Americans by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). The players, fifth-year Gage Black and seniors Sam Weinberg and Sam Skelton, were acknowledged on July 1. Additionally, the university's team received the USILA Team Academic Award.

Illinois Wesleyan had the highest number of selections in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, tying for seventh-most across Division III. The university was one of five conference schools to receive the team award alongside Carroll, Carthage, Elmhurst, and North Central.

To be nominated as a Scholar All-American, a student-athlete must be a senior with a grade point average of at least 3.0 and have earned all-conference accolades. The nominees are then evaluated by the organization's Scholar All-American committee.

Gage Black served as a two-year captain for his team and was recognized as a First Team All-CCIW performer. He accumulated 46 points through 37 goals and nine assists, along with 23 ground balls and two caused turnovers. Black holds the program record for career man-up goals at 36 and ranks second all-time with 184 career goals.

Sam Weinberg ranked third on his team with 29 goals scored and added 11 assists for a total of 40 points in the season. He also contributed 34 ground balls and ten caused turnovers, earning him Second Team All-CCIW honors at attack.

Sam Skelton played in all 17 games as a First Team All-CCIW honoree, leading his team with 29 caused turnovers. He collected 50 ground balls, scored four goals, and provided two assists during the year. Skelton finished his career ranked fourth on the program's single-season caused turnover list with 30.

The Titans concluded their season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 14-3. They maintained an undefeated CCIW schedule (4-0) for seven consecutive seasons to secure the regular season title before winning their seventh CCIW Tournament Championship against Elmhurst University with a score of 16-13. Illinois Wesleyan led its conference with nine student-athletes receiving All-CCIW honors while Zach Iannucci was named CCIW Coach of the Year for the fourth time.

In its twelve seasons, IWU has made seven NCAA postseason appearances including reaching the Elite Eight in 2021. The Titans ended their season ranked nationally in several categories: they were 21st in ground balls per game (40.35), 35th in caused turnovers per game (11.65), and their scoring offense was ranked 29th nationally at an average of 14.88 points per game.