Erin Wagner, Dalton Tjong named Polar Bear of the Month winners for November

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — Juniors Erin Wagner (Massillon/Perry) and Dalton Tjong (Cumming, Ga./West Forsyth) have been selected as the Ohio Northern athletic department's Polar Bear of the Month award winners for November.

The award is given monthly to the student-athletes who best represent Ohio Northern University inside and outside of athletics within their given sport and season.

Wagner, a right-side hitter on the volleyball team, recorded 55 kills with just nine errors on 120 attempts for a .383 hitting percentage in four November games.

She led the team with 14 kills in a win over Denison and added a team-high 13 kills in a loss to Wittenberg to end the regular season.

Wagner led the way with 19 kills while hitting .457 in ONU's 3-1 win over John Carroll in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals and had a team-best nine kills in the semifinal loss at Otterbein. For her efforts, she was selected to the All-OAC Tournament Team.

Following the season, Wagner earned AVCA All-Region 7 First Team and All-America Honorable Mention recognition in addition to All-OAC First Team honors.

The biology major also succeeded off the court, earning Academic All-OAC and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District recognition.

Now a two-time All-Region and All-OAC honoree, Wagner led the OAC in hitting percentage (.336), ranked second in kills per set (3.46), fourth in total kills (360) and 11th in blocks (71) in 27 games in 2023.

In 74 career games, she has 799 kills, 170 blocks and 119 digs, and her .307 hitting percentage is seventh-best in program history.

This marks Wagner's second Polar Bear of the Month accolade, as she also earned it as a sophomore in September 2022.

Tjong, a defensive back on the football team, put together a strong close to his junior season, posting a combined 30 tackles in two November games. The mechanical engineering major had 15 tackles (2 solo, 13 assisted) in a 49-6 win over Otterbein and added 15 more tackles (4 solo, 11 assisted) in a 38-14 victory at Wilmington.

He tallied double-digit tackles in seven of ONU's 10 games in 2023, including a career-high 21 in the season-opener against Alma (Mich.) to fall just two shy of the program's single-game record.

After the season, Tjong was named to the All-OAC First Team and D3football.com All-Region 4 First Team.

Tjong tied for second nationally in NCAA Division III in total tackles with 122 (50 solo, 72 assisted) while adding 2.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions in 2023. Now a two-time All-OAC selection, he led the OAC and was 11th nationally with 110 tackles in 2022.

In 29 career games, Tjong has 291 total tackles, which ranks seventh in program history, to go with 5.5 tackles for loss, six interceptions, two forced fumbles and 12 pass breakups.

2023-24 Polar Bear of the Month Honorees