NOTE: The GLVC contributed portions of this release.
(LEBANON, Ill., June 20)—McKendree University placed a total of 27 student-athletes Thursday on the list of recipients for the 2018-19 Great Lakes Valley Conference Council of Presidents' Academic Excellence Award.
To earn the GLVC Council of Presidents' Academic Excellence Award, a student-athlete must have exhausted his or her eligibility in the intercollegiate sport in which they participated and maintained a minimum 3.5 grade-point average throughout their academic career. In addition, the student-athlete must have competed in the GLVC for a minimum of two years and completed 96 credit hours. Recipients of the GLVC Council of Presidents' Academic Excellence Award can only earn the distinguished honor one time in his or her career.
"This is a fitting way to bring GLVC Academic Awards Week at McKendree to a close," said
Chuck Brueggemann, director of athletics at McKendree. "These are the student-athletes who have learned what it means to be a student-athlete from the time they set foot on campus, watching the example set before them. In turn, they are the ones who have become the leaders both on and off the field. We honor them and thank them for the standard they have set for our athletic department."
This is the fifth consecutive year that McKendree has placed at least 20 student-athletes on the GLVC Council of Presidents' Academic Excellence Award list. The Bearcats had a record 32 honorees back in 2016-17, while 29 more earned the honor last year. McKendree also had 28 honorees in 2014-15 and 21 recipients in 2015-16.
Of the 316 student-athletes across the 14 GLVC member institutions recognized for this year's honor, there were a total of 13 honorees from eight institutions who met the highest standard of academic excellence by concluding their collegiate careers with an unblemished 4.0 cumulative GPA. McKendree accounted for two of those honorees:
Blake Benoist (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) from the Bearcats' football team and
Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) from the McKendree women's volleyball program.
Thursday's announcement marked the fourth time more than 300 honorees have been recognized since the award was first inaugurated by the GLVC in 2010. A total of 350 student-athletes from 15 member institutions earned the honor last year, while league records of 353 and 355 from 16 schools were set in 2014-15 and 2016-16, respectively.
The complete list of McKendree's 2018-19 recipients for the GLVC Council of Presidents' Academic Excellence Award are below:
Andrew Aydt (Wildwood, MO/Eureka), Baseball
Adam Cox (Louisville, IL/North Clay), Baseball
Ryan Moore (Evansville, IN/Central), Baseball
Lens-Harly Louis (Montreal, Quebec, Canada/Florida Air Academy), Men's Basketball
Trevor White (Highland, IL/Highland), Men's Cross Country/Track and Field
Blake Benoist (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West), Football
Cole Foster (Columbia, IL/Columbia), Football
John Lechtenberg (Ottawa, IL/Marquette Academy), Football
Tobias Lanner (Gothenburg, Sweden/Katrinelundsgymnasiet), Men's Golf
Brayden Polansky (Troy, IL/Triad), Men's Golf
Luke Schlichting (Perryville, MO/Perryville High School), Men's Soccer
Justin Sweeney (Belleville, IL/Belleville West), Men's Soccer
Monte Wolke (Sigel, IL/Cumberland), Football/Men's Track and Field
Isaiah Kemper (Evansville, Ind./Central), Wrestling
Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South), Women's Basketball
Peyton Ali (Noblesville, IN/Noblesville), Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Quincy McSweeney (Eureka, IL/Eureka), Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Rachel Ford (Trenton, IL/Wesclin), Women's Soccer
Emma Dering (Hazelwood, MO/Duchesne), Women's Soccer
Sydnie Markowski (Foristell, Mo/Wentzville Holt), Women's Soccer
Amanda Williams (Rochester, IL/Rochester), Women's Soccer
Samantha Cameron (Dix, Ill./Centralia, Ill.), Softball
Megan Radae (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville), Softball
Sara Radae (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville), Softball
Kirby Smith (Des Arc, AK/Des Arc), Women's Track and Field
Baily Craig (Aurora, NE/Giltner), Volleyball
Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon), Volleyball
