INDIANAPOLIS – Seven student-athletes representing five Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) institutions have been named as 2015 GLVC Fall Scholar-Athletes of the Year, it was announced by the Conference office on Wednesday. Recipients were honored for their efforts both in the classroom and competition in the sports of men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball.
Both the University of Indianapolis and the University of Southern Indiana garnered two honorees, while Bellarmine University, McKendree University and Rockhurst University each earned one selection. The Indianapolis selections include
Hayden Janney (football) and
Jacob Meyer (men’s soccer), while both USI selections were from the men’s and women’s cross country teams in
Johnnie Guy and
Emily Roberts, respectively. Bellarmine’s honoree was
Mary Beth Gorham (women’s soccer), and a tie for the volleyball recipient went to McKendree’s
Arela Williams and Rockhurst’s
Whitney Kostal.
The league selects one student-athlete in each Conference sport to be designated the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award is based upon athletic accomplishments, both team and individual, and academic performance in the season upon which the award is based. Each Conference member has the opportunity to nominate one individual from its team for the award. Nominees must have a cumulative grade point average that meets Academic All-America standards (3.30), and freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible for the award. The voting is completed by each member institution's Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR).
Men’s Cross Country:
Guy becomes a back-to-back GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in cross country after being selected last year as well. He is also just the third USI runner to earn the Scholar-Athlete of the Year laurel all-time, as Jesse Davis was the 2004 winner and Brendan Devine was selected in 2011. The senior had a stellar final season in which he won the GLVC Championship meet and thus earned All-GLVC and GLVC Runner of the Year accolades. His performance also led the Screaming Eagles to a league-best 11th consecutive Championship title. He was an NCAA All-Midwest Region selection after finishing 22nd during regionals and a NCAA All-American with his 23rd-place finish in the national meet, during the fall of 2015. Guy is on track to be named an Academic All-GLVC honoree and will be in the running for his third-straight Academic All-American honor, to be announced later in the year. He currently holds a 3.63 overall GPA as an Engineering major.
Women’s Cross Country:
Roberts has not only excelled in the classroom as an Exercise Science major, carrying a 3.81 cumulative GPA as a sophomore, but the Southern Indiana runner has already made a name for herself on the course. She finished second at the GLVC Championships this past season to earn All-GLVC distinction before finishing fifth at both the NCAA Midwest Regional and NCAA Nationals, which earned her recognition as an All-Midwest Region and All-America runner. She is on pace to be named to the Academic All-GLVC team and is the Screaming Eagles’ record holder in the 6,000-meter with a time of 20:13.30, having finished as the top USI runner in all seven meets during the fall of 2015. This is the fifth time a USI women’s cross country runner has been named GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Football: A three-time All-GLVC first-team honoree and soon-to-be four-time Academic All-GLVC selection,
Janney has led the Indianapolis offensive line at left tackle for the last three seasons, starting 35 consecutive games. In the fall of 2015, he was named to the All-GLVC First Team for the third year in a row and also earned Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Super Region 4 First Team. He led the Greyhounds to their league-record fourth GLVC football crown and third NCAA playoff berth in four years with a 10-2 overall mark, boasting a perfect 8-0 league record. On top of that, Janney anchored the offensive line unit that helped UIndy rank second in Division II in fewest tackles for a loss allowed per game and sixth in fewest sacks allowed per game. He and his crew also opened holes to allow a 1,000-yard rusher set the school record for most rushing touchdowns in a season and also featured a 3,000-yard passer to go along with a 1,000-year rusher for the first time ever in the same season. Janney now carries on the tradition that was set by former Hound Klay Feichter, who was named the football GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year the first three years the honor was awarded in the sport (2012, 2013, 2014).
Men’s Soccer: A Biology major, carrying a 3.79 overall GPA,
Meyer was a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America All-District Region IV honoree as well as a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American this past fall. He finished the 2015 season with a GLVC-leading 10 goals and also tallied the second most points (22) and game-winning goals (5) – a mark that was 14th in the nation – while being named to the All-GLVC First Team, National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) All-Midwest Region First Team and D2CCA All-Midwest Region Second Team. Despite exiting the GLVC Championship Tournament in the semifinals after penalty kicks, Meyer’s efforts helped the Greyhounds advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. The senior started 17 of 20 games as UIndy went 12-5-3 overall and 11-3-2 in league play and was also part of a team that set a new program record with 12 shutouts and led the Conference with a 0.66 goals against average. Meyer is the third Hound to be named GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the sport and first since Brian Fishback was recognized back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008.
Women's Soccer:
Gorham becomes Bellarmine’s second GLVC Scholar-Athlete in the sport after Taylor Gamm was the Fall 2014 recipient, and she is the seventh fall sport Knight to be selected all-time. The junior raked in the accolades in 2015, earning nods as NSCAA First Team All-America, NSCAA and D2CCA First Team All-Midwest Region, First Team All-GLVC and GLVC Offensive Player of the Year. Academically, she was named a first-team Scholar All-American by the NSCAA, which is awarded to just 12 student-athletes from both Division I and II programs, and she has been an Academic All-GLVC honoree every season she’s played. Helping her achieve those postseason laurels included a single-season program record for points (33) and goals (13) and being one assist (7) shy of tying the single-season program record (8). She also led the league in game-winning goals (7), was second in points and goals and fifth in assists. Additionally, those efforts spurred the Knights to a historical season, including posting the most overall wins, setting a new record for GLVC winning percentage, tying the most GLVC wins mark and winning the program’s first regular season league title, all while advancing to the first ever NCAA Tournament Round of 16. Bellarmine finished the season 17-3-2 with a 12-1-2 league record. In the classroom, Gorham studies Design, Arts & Technology and Communications and bumped up her cumulative GPA to a 3.77 after a stellar 3.89 fall semester mark.
Volleyball: With a fall semester GPA of 3.72 and a cumulative clip at 3.69 in Exercise and Sports Performance,
Williams earns GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades for McKendree, the school’s first in the sport and second ever in any sport as John Steppe was the Bearcats’ first as the Winter/Spring 2013 men’s basketball honoree. In the fall of 2014, Williams was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year and just a year later in her sophomore season she earned the GLVC Player of the Year award in 2015. Following that initial postseason honor, the outside hitter was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) DII honorable mention All-American as well as AVCA and D2CCA All-Midwest Region First Team, and she is projected to be an Academic All-GLVC honoree. During the season, Williams started all 33 matches for the Bearcats and led the squad to a 22-11 overall mark while 15-3 in league play, advancing to the semifinal contest of the GLVC Championship Tournament. Her stats included a team-best 458 kills, 31 service aces and 451 digs and added five matches with at least 20 kills. Her kills mark was second best in the GLVC while her points scored ranked fifth in the loop.
Volleyball: Rockhurst had unparalleled success during the fall 2015 season thanks to the help of
Kostal, who averaged 11.26 assists – a GLVC best and 13th in NCAA – 2.19 digs, 1.06 points, 0.72 blocks and 0.55 kills per set through 38 matches. Of those 38 contests, the senior started in every single one, aiding in a perfect 18-0 league record while the team went 34-4 overall. The setter earned AVCA All-America honorable mention honors, AVCA All-Midwest Region laurels, D2CCA All-Midwest Region First Team recognition, and was named to the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team. Kostal also was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team, CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team and the RU Dean’s List. All of those distinctions came as the Hawks advanced through the NCAA Tournament, making an appearance in the national quarterfinals. During all of that success, the senior maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA to improve her cumulative mark to 3.94 in Exercise Science.
2015 GLVC FALL SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Men's Cross Country: Johnnie Guy, Southern Indiana
Women's Cross Country: Emily Roberts, Southern Indiana
Football: Hayden Janney, Indianapolis
Men's Soccer: Jacob Meyer, Indianapolis
Women's Soccer: Mary Beth Gorham, Bellarmine
Volleyball: Arela Williams, McKendree & Whitney Kostal, Rockhurst