INDIANAPOLIS – University of Indianapolis sophomore Graham McAree has been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Men's Golf Player of the Year, it was announced by the Conference office on Tuesday. Bellarmine University newcomer James Inman and University of Missouri-St. Louis head coach Troy Halterman were voted as GLVC Freshman and Coach of the Year, respectively, while four individuals completed the 10-member All-Conference team.
McAree finished first at the GLVC Championships with a 54-hole score of 211 (75-70-66), which was just one stroke better than the runner-up. In match play, the Greyhounds fell to UMSL 4-1 to claim runner-up honors as a team. Prior to beginning competition at last week's NCAA Midwest/Central Super Regional, McAree was selected by the 14 league coaches based on his 71.3 season average over 27 rounds that included the Conference championship. The 2015 GLVC Freshman of the Year had two other event wins, including medalist honors at Ohio Dominican with cards of 71-67—138 and a share of first at the AMFAM Invite (74-70—144). He also had top-10 finishes in all but one event and shot six rounds in the 60s, including two of 66 at the Conference meet and a school-record 64 at the Butler Invitational. McAree was named a 2016 Jack Nicklaus Division II Player of the Year Award semifinalist and leads the nation among all three NCAA divisions in par-3 scoring average (2.92). McAree has a national ranking of 14, a regional ranking of 2 and finished the season as the best golfer in the GLVC and was voted the league’s April Player of the Month. The Fishers, Indiana, native is the ninth UIndy men’s golfer selected as GLVC Player of the Year, while this is the 12th time a Hound has won and first since Aaron Monson in 2012.
Inman is the third Knight newcomer to garner GLVC Freshman of the Year accolades, joining Nick Gerch, who won the inaugural award in 1996, and the 2010 honoree Brian Ratterman. The product of Louisville, Kentucky, carded a 75 stroke average in 22 rounds prior to competing in NCAA Super Regional competition last week, highlighted by a runner-place finish (69-72-71—212) in stroke play at the GLVC Championship at 4-under par – just one of six sub-par scores. Inman achieved a third-place performance at the AMFAM Invite earlier this spring with a 147 (75-72), and his score counted for Bellarmine in every single round played.
Halterman led his Tritons to their second-straight GLVC Championship title this season as the team began match play with a 4-1 semifinal win over University of Illinois Springfield before besting the previous back-to-back champs UIndy by the same score in the finals later that afternoon. As the Midwest’s top seed, Halterman guided the team to its 11th NCAA Regional berth and fifth in the last six years. This honor is the third for Halterman, having also been voted GLVC Coach of the Year last season and for the first time in 2011. In addition to his own recognition, the seventh-year leader also mentored four All-GLVC performers in freshman James Henderson, sophomore Markus Lindberg, junior Julien de Poyen, and senior Colby Yates. All four Tritons carded top-15 finishes at the league’s Championship tournament, including Henderson’s team-best tie for third at 213 (75-68-70). He was one of only 10 players to shoot below 70 in at least one round. Henderson and de Poyen garnered All-GLVC honors based on their top-5 finish at the postseason event, while Lindberg and Yates made their way onto the list by a vote of the league coaches.
Along with McAree, Inman, Henderson and de Poyen, Bellarmine sophomore DJ Vogt and Lewis University senior Alex Thode were All-GLVC honorees based on their top-five finish at the league event, while four others earned All-Conference laurels after a vote of the coaches. Joining Lindberg and Yates as coaches’ choice were UIS junior Talon Supak and McKendree University sophomore Keenai Sampson. In addition, Supak took medalist honors at the NCAA Super Regional event last week with a 70-71-77—218 to advance as an individual to the national event in Denver, Colorado.
The league also recognized 14 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced in May.
A complete list of All-GLVC performers and major postseason award winners can be found below.
2016 ALL-GLVC MEN’S GOLF POSTSEASON AWARDS
James Inman, Fr., BU
DJ Vogt, So., BU
Talon Supak, Jr., UIS
Graham McAree, So., UINDY
Alex Thode, Sr., LEWIS
Keenai Sampson, So., MCK
Julien de Poyen, Jr., UMSL
James Henderson, Fr., UMSL
Markus Lindberg, So., UMSL
Colby Yates, Sr., UMSL
2016 GLVC Player of the Year: Graham McAree, So., Indianapolis
2016 GLVC Freshman of the Year: James Inman, Fr., Bellarmine
2016 GLVC Coach of the Year: Troy Halterman, Missouri-St. Louis
2016 JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP NOMINEES
Lucas Jones, BU
Zach Tate, DU
Kent Gregory, UIS
Andrew VanAelst, UINDY
Austin Buente, LEWIS
Brad Patz, MU
Evan Franklin, MCK
Julien de Poyen, UMSL
Lewis Blyth, QU
Alex Graf, RU
Blake Hoover, SJC
Trevor Grant, USI
Zach Haman, UWP
Collin Kasitz, WJC