First Place: Mary Dolensky, Women’s Rugby

Mary Dolensky is a senior nutrition major and a second-year player on the Kent State Women’s Rugby team. She started playing in her junior year, as a winger and fullback, and wishes she had found the sport earlier.

She has officially been named Fusion Magazine’s 2026 Best Queer Athlete. 

“I feel very honored to have been nominated for Best Queer Athlete,” she said. “It means a lot to me to be given the opportunity to not only be representation for other queer athletes, but to also represent my team and sport.”

Rugby provides a community where everyone can be themself, Dolensky said. This is one of the things that makes the sport so special to her. 

Dolensky’s biggest inspiration is her teammates, who push her to be the best version of herself.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that they will always have my back as I have theirs, and I’m truly so fortunate to get to play rugby and hang out with them every day,” she said.

Is rugby a gay sport? OutSports reports that there were 54 openly gay players in the Women’s Rugby World Cup last year, and many athletes say the sport has helped them be more accepting of their queer identity. 

“I know it sounds cliché, but surrounding myself with the loving and welcoming individuals of Kent State Women’s Rugby, and the rugby community as a whole, has allowed me to become more secure and confident in my own identity than I have ever been,” Dolensky said.

Second Place: Jaden Millin, Dance and Cheer

Jaden Millin, a sophomore dance major, takes second place. Currently a cheerleader on Kent State’s gameday team, he will be competing with the dance team at Nationals in the coming weeks. 

“I feel incredibly honored and proud to be represented and nominated for this type of award,” he said. “I feel like I’m being recognized for my hard work athletically, but also I’m able to be a great representative for my community and my individuality as well.”

Being a dancer and cheerleader has helped him embrace his identity because the sports are reliant on self-expression and performance.

His identity, he says, has made his performance in the sport what it is today. 

“I’m a firm believer in like, be yourself and everything else will follow suit,” Millin said. “I kind of stuck with that, especially now that I’ve matured.”

That belief has helped him find his truth. 

What inspires him to keep going as an athlete is his circle of support. 

“It keeps me going, whether that’s my parents who have always taught me to be myself and express myself individually,” he said. “Or even my coaches or mentors who have shaped me into who I am today.”

He says another inspiration is the younger generation of athletes, because he wants to be a good representative and good role model for them to give them what he might not have been able to have. 

Third Place: Lola Frenchko, Women’s Rugby

Lola Frenchko is a senior studio art major on the Kent State Women’s Rugby team. She comes in third place for Best Queer Athlete. 

Frenchko has been playing rugby for six years as a forward. 

“I’m incredibly honored to have been nominated for Best Queer Athlete, which to me means validation and visibility,” Frenchko said. “Being recognized for my athletic performance and as sapphic representation within a space that has historically been dominated by straight men feels especially meaningful.” 

She joined her high school’s rugby team when she was 16 and closeted. The rugby environment, which she says is deeply inclusive with LGBTQ+ identities, changed everything for her. 

The community gave her “a sense of safety and freedom that I hadn’t experienced before.”

Rugby requires you to take up space, use your voice, and act with confidence; this aspect pushed her to grow and push past some of her shyness. 

“Now, the sisterhood I’ve found through rugby is one of the most meaningful parts of my identity,” she said. “The relationships I’ve built with my teammates extend far beyond the game. Being surrounded by people who celebrate each other so openly has made me feel complete in a way I never could have known I was missing.”

Her biggest inspirations are the professional rugby players who challenge the expectations of what female athletes are “supposed” to look like. 

Ilona Maher wears lipstick, Georgia Evans wears bows and Asia Hogan-Rochester wears glitter on the field.

“These women have shown me that embracing femininity, queerness and individuality is not a contradiction to strength, but an extension of it,” Frenchko said.

She says she carries their energy on game days because she feels at her best when she’s confident. 

Frenchko says the nomination for Best Queer Athlete reminds her “that showing up authentically matters and can create space for others to feel accepted and included, too.”