GLIAC -- Grand Valley State's Cassidy Boensch and Ferris State's Travis Russell have been selected as recipients of the 2019-20 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. The winners, awarded annually to one male and one female, were chosen from the 18 male and female GLIAC Commissioner's Award honorees throughout the 2019-20 academic year showcasing the top student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom.
Cassidy Boensch | Women's Basketball | Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State senior women's basketball standout Cassidy Boensch has been named the 2020 GLIAC Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year it was announced by the league office.
Boensch concluded her time with the Lakers as one of the most prolific players in program history statistically, while also garnering honors at the conference, regional and national levels during her illustrious career. Boensch graduated this spring with a degree in Biomedical Sciences and carried a 3.92 cumulative grade point average.
“Cassidy is extremely deserving of this honor and is a great representative of the Grand Valley State, the GLIAC and women’s basketball,” said head coach Mike Williams. “Cassidy excelled on the court as one of the best players in Division II women’s basketball, but she also was able to get it done in the classroom as a model student-athlete and was a great teammate.”
Boensch, who guided the Lakers to a 28-3 record and a fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019-20, averaged 19.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game as a senior. She was named the GLIAC Player of the Week five times during the 2019-20 campaign and led the GLIAC in rebounding (288), blocked shots (102), free-throws made (140) and double-doubles (14), while ranking second in points per game (19.9) and field goal percentage (58.0%). In addition, Cassidy finished her career as the GVSU all-time leader in blocked shots (295), ranked second in career rebounds (989) and field goal percentage (58.7%), third in points (1,826) and fourth in field goals made (714). Grand Valley State was 107-22 overall during her career, including 69-12 GLIAC mark.
Boensch tallied a decorated senior season that garnered; NCAA Women of the Year nomination, CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year , D2CCA All-American, WBCA All-American, D2CCA First Team All-Midwest Region, GLIAC Player of the Year, All-GLIAC First Team, and GLIAC All-Defensive Team.
Travis Russell | Football | Ferris State University
Ferris State University football's Travis Russell (Grand Rapids/West Catholic) wrapped up his collegiate career by leading FSU to the NCAA Division II National Semifinals last fall.
A 2020 Wooden Citizenship Cup National Semifinalist, Russell returned for his senior campaign this past fall after graduating from FSU and became the Bulldogs' starting quarterback and team leader on its run to a third D2 National Semifinal appearance in the past four years.
The senior standout compiled a 13-2 mark as a starter for FSU in his career and helped FSU to a 62-8 record in his five seasons in the program. The four-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree was the NCAA's Elite 90 Award recipient for holding the highest grade point average in the 2018 national championship game and was highly-involved in various community service initiatives and organizations in his collegiate career, including taking part in two different spring break mission trips to South Carolina to serve people whose homes had been destroyed due to hurricanes. He was a two-time nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team and was a GLIAC Commissioner's Award honoree for excellence both on and off the field.
"Travis is extremely deserving of this award and has been an outstanding representative of our program both on and off the field throughout his collegiate career," said FSU head coach Tony Annese. "He was as good of a person as there was in college football and returned for his senior year this past fall after graduating because he cared so much and wanted to be around his teammates one more year. We're elated to see him recognized and he's a very deserving person."
This past fall, Russell was also a candidate for the 2019 Campbell Trophy awarded to the nation's top football scholar-athlete and tabbed as a National Football Foundation (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society member. He completed 86 of 160 passes for 1,503 yards and six scores while running for nearly 300 yards and three TD's in his senior campaign. He was also previously chosen as the recipient of the GLIAC's Jack H. McAvoy Award, which is presented annually to a GLIAC football player who best combines outstanding character and leadership on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Off the field, he was also a member of the Newman Center catholic outreach group, active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and participated in "March Is Reading Month" at local elementary schools the past four years in addition to his other civic activities. Russell also assisted with "Angels In Action" serving children who are hungry.
This summer, Russell became the seventh-ever Bulldog Football student-athlete in school history to receive the school’s prestigious Willie Bouyer Leadership Award.
Click to view previous GLIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipients
