INDIANAPOLIS – Six student-athletes from four different Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) schools have been named 2021 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 University of Southern Indiana and University of Indianapolis each had two recipients with Southwest Baptist University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis rounding out the list with one honoree each. Southern Indiana’s
Noah Hufnagel (men’s cross country) and
Jennifer Comastri (women’s cross country) represented the Screaming Eagles,
Dana Youssef (women’s soccer) and
Dimitrios Karousos (men’s soccer) from Indianapolis were honored for their efforts this season, and Southwest Baptist’s
Cooper Callis (football) and Missouri-St. Louis’
Charlotte Richards (volleyball) rounded out the fall honorees for the 2021 season.
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 GLVC 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).
Football: Callis is the first-ever Scholar-Athlete of the Year in any sport for Southwest Baptist, which joined the league back in the fall of 2019. He led the GLVC in seven passing categories this fall, while leading the nation in passing yards per game (337.5) and total offense (340.8) as well. The junior quarterback is a two-time GLVC Offensive Player of the Year and was named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 list. Callis reset numerous program records this past season, as he now holds season records for most passing yards (3,712), passing touchdowns (35), completion percentage (69.2%), and passing yards per game (337.5) while also holding single-game records for passing yards in a game (512) on his way to being a Harlon Hill Trophy nominee. In the classroom, Callis achieved a 3.5 cumulative GPA while pursuing his MBA, he graduated Cum Laude with a degree in business (3.58 GPA).
Men’s Cross Country: Hufnagel capped off his junior campaign earning All-America honors at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships where he finished 17th (30:50.5). Awarded GLVC Runner of the Week twice this past year, the junior from Santa Claus, Ind., placed second at the 8K GLVC Championships (23:56.4) before going on to the NCAA Midwest Region Championships where he ran a personal best 30:12.2 in the 10K for fourth place. A 3.88 semester GPA gives Hufnagel a 3.65 cumulative GPA while studying kinesiology (physical education).
Women’s Cross Country: Comastri is the second Screaming Eagle to be named Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the fall season. The GLVC Runner of the Year went on to win the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Cross Country crown (20:25.5) where she was named Midwest Runner of the Year just weeks after winning the GLVC title (21:11.3) and helping lead the Screaming Eagles to a first-place finish in the GLVC. Pursuing her Master of health administration in leadership at USI, the Indianapolis native accomplished a perfect 4.0 GPA last semester to bring her cumulative GPA to 3.92.
Men’s Soccer: Karousos was instrumental in the Greyhounds punching their ticket to their second-consecutive NCAA Semifinal appearance this past season after winning both the GLVC regular season and Tournament titles. The senior from Greece led the GLVC in four goalkeeping categories, including shutouts where he and UIndy posted nine, which ranked eighth nationally. His goals against average (.680) also led the league and ranked eighth in the country. The other two categories Karousos paced the league in goalie minutes played (1,851:39) and save percentage (0.79). The postseason awards came in steadily for the Greyhound keeper, earning All-GLVC laurels before going on to being named first-team All-Region by D2CCA and second-team All-Region by the United Soccer Coaches. Postseason awards for Karousos did not just come for his efforts on the field, but in the classroom as well, the physics major earned CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America honors after posting a 3.9 GPA last semester with a cumulative GPA of 3.81.
Women’s Soccer: UIndy’s second Scholar-Athlete of the Year coming from the other Greyhound soccer program is Dana Youssef, who caps off a decorated career with another GLVC award to her credit. She successfully defended her GLVC Defensive Player of the Year title from the 2020-21 spring season with another this fall to go along with her three All-GLVC honors from her time at UIndy. Conference awards were not the only ones that came in for the senior from Germany, as she also collected first-team All-Region honors from the D2CCA and United Soccer Coaches while garnering third-team All-America laurels from the D2CCA. Youssef boasts a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA in the classroom and earned her degree in molecular biology. Youssef was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District and earned All-America recognition this fall.
Volleyball: Richards has won back-to-back GLVC Volleyball Player of the Year awards and now has Scholar-Athlete of the Year on her resume, as well. The senior outside hitter helped lead the Tritons to an appearance in the GLVC title match and the NCAA Tournament just a season ago, accumulating a 25-9 record and starting in all 34 games. Richards led the nation in total kills (569) and total attacks (1,704) while also leading the league in points (615) on her way to being named AVCA first-team All-American and D2CCA first-team All-American. Majoring in supply chain management at UMSL, Richards finished the semester with a 3.95 GPA and was a recipient of the Coonrod Scholarship, graduating Summa Cum Laude.