INDIANAPOLIS – Six student-athletes, representing six Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) institutions, have been named 2019 GLVC Fall Scholar-Athletes of the Year, it was announced by the Conference office on Thursday. 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.
The selections included University of Indianapolis’ Lauren Bailey (women’s cross country), Maryville University’s Iwan Webster (men’s soccer), McKendree University’s Zoe Brochu (women’s soccer), Missouri S&T’s Deshawn Jones (football), Rockhurst University’s Karli Reichert (volleyball), and University of Southern Indiana’s Austin Nolan (men’s cross country). Nolan is a three-time distinguished honoree, Jones and Reichert have won twice, and the other two are being awarded this accolade for the first time.
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: Nolan is a three-time winner and makes this the sixth time Southern Indiana men’s cross country has won GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year after Chase Broughton was selected in 2016 and Johnnie Guy earned the honor for both the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The two-time GLVC Champion is also the fifth USI runner to earn the Scholar-Athlete of the Year laurel all-time, as Jesse Davis was the 2004 winner and Brendan Devine was chosen in 2011. The senior is also just the third men’s cross country runner in league history to earn three nods, as Lewis’ Arturo Cabral won in 1999, 2000, and 2001, while Drury’s Jamie Villa Zapatero did so in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Earlier in the season, the Evansville, Indiana, native was named GLVC Runner of the Week on Oct. 1 and went on to place fifth at the GLVC Championship meet in an 8,000-meter time of 25:29.60, which was the second fastest among the USI squad and earned him All-GLVC laurels. His efforts also helped the Screaming Eagles win the team title to extend their league record to 15 consecutive crowns. Nolan later finished 99th at the NCAA Championships, again as the USI’s second-place finisher, to help the team place 21st out of 34. Nolan’s 3.92 overall grade point average was bolstered this past Fall by a perfect 4.00 semester mark, as he majors in both accounting & professional services and finance with a minor in management and sports & business studies.
Women’s Cross Country: As a public health education & promotion major, carrying a 3.62 cumulative GPA after a 3.64 Fall clip, Bailey has excelled both in the classroom and on the cross country course where she was the runner-up at this year’s GLVC Championship meet and UIndy’s top finisher. With her 21:11.93 on the 6,000-meter Angel Mounds course in Evansville, Ind., the senior captured All-GLVC merits and led the Greyhounds to a third-place team finish. The junior later placed third overall at the NCAA Midwest Regional in a 6k time of 20:51.9 to garner All-Region accolades, and followed with a 20:27.9 to finish in a GLVC-best ninth place at the NCAA Championships for All-American status. Additionally, the Westfield, Ind., product won a Runner of the Week award on Oct. 15. Bailey is also the first-ever UIndy runner to be named GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the sport.
Football: Jones becomes a two-time GLVC Scholar-Athlete and registers S&T’s third honoree in the sport, as he won first in 2017 and Bo Brooks was last year’s selection. The senior was voted to the First Team this past season for his third All-GLVC nod while earning an unblemished 4.00 GPA during the semester. The biological sciences major used that mark to improve his overall GPA to 3.55 and helped the Miners on the field to a 7-4 overall record with a 4-3 league clip. The running back closed out his senior season as the all-time leading rusher in school history with 3,493 rushing yards and 39 rushing touchdowns – which is also an S&T career record. He ranked third in the Conference in rushing with a team-high 831 yards and 11 touchdowns during 2019 and added nine receptions for 69 yards and a TD to accumulate 900 all-purpose yards, which ranked second on the team. In addition to his All-GLVC award, Jones garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America for the third time in his career. He’s also a Dean’s List member, three-time Academic All-GLVC pick, three-time recipient of S&T’s Joe Mooney Distinguished Student Award, and a member of the Phi Sigma biological sciences honor society.
Men’s Soccer: A psychology major, maintaining a 3.85 overall GPA, Webster was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District and United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America teams in 2019. Athletically, he was voted the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year and an All-GLVC First Team member, also winning first-team United Soccer Coaches and D2CCA All-Midwest Region merits before being named a D2CCA third-team All-American. The centerback started all 23 matches for the 17-4-2 Saints, seeing 2,049 minutes of action and helping Maryville record a program-record 12 shutouts. Additionally, Maryville was second in the league with 15 goals allowed for a 0.64 goals against average, which ranked first in the loop and fourth in all of Division II. He was recognized as the GLVC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16 and anchored a backline throughout the season that helped the Saints to an 11-2-2 Conference record and the No. 3 seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament, where the squad fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Bellarmine, 2-1. The native of Liverpool, Merseyside, helped lead Maryville to the NCAA Regional quarterfinals, as the team finished the season ranked ninth in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll. No other Maryville player has been named a GLVC Scholar-Athlete in the sport, while only three other Saints in any sport have been recognized as such.
Women's Soccer: Brochu becomes McKendree’s first-ever GLVC Scholar-Athlete in the sport and is just the fifth overall for the school. She boosted her 3.52 cumulative GPA after registering a 3.68 in the Fall while studying sociology. During the 2019 season, the goalkeeper helped the Bearcats to a 16-4-3 record, starting all 26 games and setting a program record for shutouts with 13. In Conference action, McKendree went 11-2-2 and earned the Regular Season title and No. 1 seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament. The Bearcats advanced to the title tilt and drew even at 0-0 with Southern Indiana through double overtime but lost out on the trophy in penalty kicks, 4-3. They went on to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Midwest Regional as the No. 5 seed. The senior won her second-straight GLVC Defensive Player of the Year accolade after leading the Conference in save percentage (.888) and was also named to the First Team. In addition to her GLVC postseason honors, the Ajax, Ontario, native was named a United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region first-teamer and then a second-team Scholar All-American.
Volleyball: With a cumulative GPA of 3.99 after a perfect 2019 at 4.0, studying communication sciences and disorders, Reichert repeats as GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and makes this the fourth time Rockhurst has had an honoree in the sport, as Whitney Kostal was a two-time winner in 2013 and 2015. This past fall, the senior was named the GLVC Player of the Year and a first-team All-GLVC honoree. The outside hitter racked up a GLVC-best 529 kills to go with the second-most total attacks (1,146) and points per set (4.31). Her mark for kills was fourth in NCAA Division II, while Rockhurst led the nation in total kills and was sixth in hitting percentage. Not only did she excel offensively, she also tallied 399 digs and posted 17 double-doubles on the year in 41 matches. The Kansas City, Missouri, native also picked up laurels from the AVCA as an All-Midwest Region and All-American team member. Additionally, on Oct. 28 and Nov. 11, she was chosen as the Baden GLVC Offensive Player of the Week while being distinguished as a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-American at the end of the season. The Hawks went 33-8 overall and 13-2 in GLVC play to earn the Regular Season title and No. 1 seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament, where they went on to repeat as champions. That momentum carried over into the NCAA Midwest Regional where they captured their third crown in five years, which eventually led to a deep run in the national championship event before falling in the NCAA Semifinals.
2019 GLVC FALL SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Men's Cross Country: Austin Nolan, Southern Indiana
Women's Cross Country: Lauren Bailey, Indianapolis
Football: Deshawn Jones, Missouri S&T
Men's Soccer: Iwan Webster, Maryville
Women's Soccer: Zoe Brochu, McKendree
Volleyball: Karli Reichert, Rockhurst