NOTE: The GLVC contributed portions of this release.
(LEBANON, Ill., June 19)—McKendree University had 34 student-athletes recognized by the Great Lakes Valley Conference Wednesday with the Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award.
The Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award is presented annually to student-athletes who achieve a perfect 4.0 grade-point average over the course of the entire 2018-19 academic year. The honor is named after Brother James Gaffney, FSC, former president of Lewis University for over 27 years and a two-term Chair of the GLVC Council of Presidents.
"This is another significant achievement for our student-athletes," said
Chuck Brueggemann, director of athletics at McKendree. "To watch them maintain the balance of working hard both academically and athletically and earning this recognition is a tremendous source of pride not only for me, but for the entire University. Their dedication to being a true student-athlete defines the fact they are working toward the ultimate goal of earning a college degree."
McKendree has produced at least 30 Brother Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award honorees in each of the past two years. The Bearcat athletic programs accounted for 37 recipients during the 2017-18 academic year. Of the 14 full-time GLVC members in the league in 2018-19, McKendree had the second-highest number of Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award recipients.
The GLVC has seen a significant rise in perfect 4.0 GPAs over the last five years. After seeing 114 student-athletes with unblemished marks during the 2013-14 academic season, and 118 in 2014-15, the total spiked 52 percent to 179 in 2015-16, and then 54 percent to 275 recipients in 2016-17. After jumping to a record 298 student-athletes across 15 full-time member institutions a year ago, the league maintained its impressive position with 292 honorees from 14 full-time schools in the recently-completed academic year.
The list of McKendree recipients of the 2018-19 Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award is below:
Hayden Schaefer (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon), Baseball
Evan Spears (Eureka, MO/Eureka), Baseball
Trevor White (Highland, IL/Highland), Men's Cross Country/Track and Field
Blake Benoist (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West), Football
Jeffery Brown, Jr. (Fairview Heights, IL/Belleville East), Football
Caleb Shipley (Centralia, IL/Centralia), Football
Monte Wolke (Sigel, IL/Cumberland), Football/Men's Track and Field
Corben Zanger (Aviston, IL/Breese Central), Men's Golf
Matthew Moran (Perryville, MO/Perryville High School), Men's Soccer
Jenna Krause (Seymour, WI/Seymour), Women's Basketball
Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South), Women's Basketball
Madelyn Tepe (Venedy, IL/), Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Kiley Reeder (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville), Women's Golf
Hope Rueter (Nashville, IL/Nashville), Women's Golf
Margaret Schnoeker (Okawville, IL/Okawville), Women's Golf
Kailey Anderson (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West), Women's Soccer
Emma Dering (Hazelwood, MO/Duchesne), Women's Soccer
Jessica Hoffman (Belleville, IL/Althoff Catholic High School), Women's Soccer
Sydnie Markowski (Foristell, Mo/Wentzville Holt), Women's Soccer
Madyson Mossman (St. Louis, MO/Ursuline Academy), Women's Soccer
Amanda Williams (Rochester, IL/Rochester), Women's Soccer
Samantha Cameron (Dix, Ill./Centralia, Ill.), Softball
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest), Softball
Ashleigh McKinley (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge High School), Softball
Hannah Murphy (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt North), Softball
Megan Radae (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville), Softball
Shelby Summer (Washington, IL/Washington), Softball
Hallie Dixon (Jeffersonville, IN/Jeffersonville High School), Women's Swimming and Diving
Meredith Geyer (Germantown, TN/Germantown High School), Women's Swimming and Diving
Sydney Rey (Columbia, IL/Columbia High School), Women's Swimming and Diving
Kirby Smith (Des Arc, AK/Des Arc), Women's Track and Field
Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon), Volleyball
Kelly Voss (St. Rose, IL/Mater Dei), Volleyball
Alissa Zeitelhack (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West), Volleyball
