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BAY CITY, Mich. – The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announces the recipients of the Spring 2014 Meijer Commissioner’s Awards. The awards, sponsored by Meijer, Incorporated, are presented after the Fall, Winter, and Spring athletic seasons to six female and six male student-athletes that excel both in the classroom and on the fields of play. All grade-point averages are based on a 4.0 scale.
The six female student-athletes to receive the Spring 2014 Meijer Commissioner’s Award are: Anna Rudd of Ferris State, Miranda Cleary of Grand Valley State University, Ashriel West of Lake Erie, Taylor Thomas of Ohio Dominican, Madison Pines of Northwood, and Stephanie Foster of Walsh.
The six male student-athletes to receive the Spring 2014 Meijer Commissioner’s Awards are: Ethan Barnes, Tendo Lukwago, and Jeremy Wilk, all from Grand Valley State University, Logan Gray from Malone, Jean Menard from Northwood, and Lucas Johnson from Ferris State.
“It is with great pleasure that I offer congratulations on behalf of the GLIAC to our 12 award winners,” stated GLIAC Commissioner Dell Robinson. “The accomplishments of the 12 student-athletes are a shining example of the future leaders and individuals who serve as change agents on our campuses. I would like thank Meijer for their continued support that allows the GLIAC to honor our top student-athletes.”
The following are biographies of the Spring 2014 GLIAC Commissioner’s Award recipients:
This is the second time Ferris State senior track and field and
cross country runner Anna Rudd (Leslie, Mich.) has
earned this award. She is a NCAA Division II Women’s outdoor
track All-American in the 10,000 meters (placed
fifth). She also competed at the outdoor national championships
this year in the 5,000 meters (10th). Rudd broke the facility
record and topped national-qualifying mark by winning the 3,000
meters at the GLIAC Indoor Track Championships this season, and was
honored with GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team during indoor &
outdoor seasons. The senior received 2014 Capital One Academic
All-District First Team honors and also earned NCAA Division II
Women’s Indoor & Outdoor Track All-America accolades. She
was named to USTFCCCA All-Region & All-America teams for
second-straight year. She is the second-ever women’s track
and field national champion in school history, and has been awarded
the 2013-14 Bulldog of the Year Award for outstanding female
athlete, while also being named to the 2013 Capital One Academic
All-America Team. Rudd had a 3.80 grade point as a Nursing - B.S.N.
major.
Senior Miranda Cleary (Howell, Mich.) of Grand
Valley State University had an exceptional season for the Lakers
softball team. Cleary won the GLIAC ‘triple crown’,
leading all conference players in batting average (.433), home runs
(11) and RBI (57). She finished second in the GLIAC in on-base
percentage (.497) and slugging percentage (.716). Cleary played in
(and started) 44 games for the second straight season – and
third time in her career – she started every game in which
she played. The senior was selected to the Daktronics All-America
First Team, the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America Second
Team, the NFCA All-Midwest Region First Team, and the GLIAC First
Team. Cleary had a 3.62 GPA as an Exercise Science major.
Lake Erie senior Ashriel West (Jamesville, N.Y.)
was tabbed the GLIAC Lacrosse Attacker of the Year while also
earning GLIAC First-Team honors and the 2014 Lake Erie College
Scholar Athlete of the Year. During the 2014 season, she tallied 60
points, 47 goals, 13 helpers, 66 draw controls, 44 ground balls,
and caused 21 turnovers. West finished her career with 217 points,
155 goals, 62 assist, 139 ground balls, 223 draw controls, 60
caused turnovers while playing in 69 games with 67 starts. She has
made the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team twice and was named to
the All-GLIAC First Team in 2014. West earned a 3.89 GPA as an
Early Childhood Education major.
Junior softball player Taylor Thomas (Bellville,
Ohio) put forth her best season as a Panther as she was
selected to the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District Team,
voted as the GLIAC Player of the Year, earned First Team All-GLIAC,
and First Team All-Region by NFCA and Daktronics honors. Thomas
helped Panthers win GLIAC regular season title, finishing as GLIAC
Tournament runner up, and make first NCAA postseason in school
history. This past season, the junior had a .386 batting average
while hitting 10 homeruns, 17 doubles, and batted in 38 RBI. She
had an on base percentage of .465, a slugging percentage of .661,
scored 35 runs and swiped seven bases. Thomas also drew more walks
(24) than striking out (21).
Earning her second Commissioner’s Award, Northwood
University senior Madison Pines (Troy, Mich.), was
a 2014 National Qualifier in the 1500 meter run in 2014. She owns
the school record in the 600 and mile and was
selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team. Pines earned the
NCAA Elite 89 award at the Indoor Championships, which is given to
the competitor with the highest overall GPA at the event, which was
the second time she has earned the honor. The senior was also a
six-time NCAA Division II Track and Field Championship qualifier.
As an undergraduate, Pines earned a 4.0 GPA in Accounting and a
3.94 GPA as a graduate student.
Walsh senior Stephanie Foster (Lodi, Ohio)
finished her superb career with a third-place finish in the 2014
Division II National Championships to become a two-time NCAA
All-American. Her final height cleared was 4.10 meters (13-5
¼). She was named Walsh’s Female Athlete of the Year
for the second time in three years. Foster became Walsh
University’s first NCAA All-American after she finished
fourth in the pole vault at the Division II Indoor Track and Field
National Championships. Foster’s finish gave Walsh four
points in the team scoring. Foster finished tied with two other
vaulters for fourth-place honors. After being given a pass when the
bar was set at 3.55 meters, Foster cleared her first attempt at
3.70 meters, or 12 feet 1 inch. A Physical Therapy major, Foster
earned a 3.77 GPA.
Grand Valley State redshirt sophomore Ethan Barnes
(Caledonia, Mich.) came in fifth place at the NCAA
Division II Outdoor Championships with a season-best time of
1:49.58. He finished in fourth place at the GLIAC Outdoor Track
& Field Championships with a time of 1:51.11. As a member of
the 4x800-meter relay team, he helped guide the Lakers to a
first-place finish at the EIU Big Blue Classic & Neil Moore
Multi’s with a time of 7:42.95. Barnes earned USTFCCCA
All-American honors in the 800-meter run, and was a GLIAC Outdoor
Track & Field Champion (team). At the NCAA Division II National
Championship, he helped the Lakers to a seventh-place finish. He
was selected to the Capital One Academic All-District Team in 2014.
Barnes, an Integrated Science/Education major, earned a 3.86
GPA.
Fellow teammate of Barnes, redshirt senior Tendo Lukwago
(Farmington Hills, Mich.) earned USTFCCCA All-American
honors in the triple jump. Lukwago finished in eighth place in the
triple jump (15.36 meters, GVSU record) at the NCAA Division II
Outdoor Championships, and took second place in the triple jump
(14.68 meters) at the GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field
Championships. Lukwago earned a 3.58 GPA as a Finance/Business
Economics major.
Grand Valley State University redshirt senior Jeremy Wilk
(Wood Dale, Ill.) took sixth place at the NCAA Division II
Outdoor Championships in the 800-meter run with a career-best time
of 1:49.60. Wilk won the 800-meter at the GVSU Last Chance Meet
with a 1:51.59. Wilk earned USTFCCCA All-American honors in the
800-meter run. He was a Capital One Academic All-District selection
as well as a GLIAC Academic Excellence honoree. Wilk is a
Marketing/Finance major who earned a 3.69 GPA.
Malone senior Logan Gray (Gnadenhutten, Ohio) was
a 2014 NCAA Division II Capital One Academic All-America First Team
selection as well an All-GLIAC Second Team honoree. He led the
Pioneers in batting average (.379), at bats (169), hits (64),
doubles (17), and RBI with 32. Gray also led the team in both
slugging percentage and on-base percentage with .503 and .448
respectively. Gray earned a 3.85 GPA as Chemistry major.
Senior Jean Menard (Amboise, France) from
Northwood University was 14-5 in singles, all from the No. 1
position. In GLIAC play, he went 7-2 in singles and 10-1 in doubles
matches. Overall, he owned a 19-4 record in No. 1 doubles. Menard
was selected to the GLIAC First Team and led the Timberwolves to
both the GLIAC regular season and tournament titles. He helped
Northwood reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 this past
spring, while earning a 3.58 GPA as an International Business
major.
Ferris State University junior Lucas Johnson (Morenci,
Mich.) was a 2014 indoor and outdoor track and field
national provisional qualifier. Johnson moved into second place on
the school’s all-time chart in the hammer throw during the
outdoor season. His top performance traveled 185-9 while he also
posted the team’s top performance in the weight throw during
the indoor campaign (54-4 ¾). Johnson ranks third all-time
in school history in the indoor weight throw (55-3 ¾). He
was a multiple-year letterwinner and a two-time GLIAC Indoor &
Outdoor Track & Field All-Academic Excellence Team member.
Johnson earned a 3.85 GPA in Welding Engineering Technology.
