BAY CITY, Mich. -- Hillsdale's Emily Oren and Ferris State's Jason Vander Laan have been selected as recipients of the 2015-16 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. The winners were chosen from the 18 male and female GLIAC Commissioner's Award honorees from the 2015-16 academic year showcasing the top student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom.
Emily Oren - Track & Field/Cross Country - Hillsdale College
An economics major, Hillsdale's Emily Oren is a nine-time NCAA Division II national champion in indoor and outdoor track & field. She recently captured national championships in the 1,500 meters and the 3,000 meter steeplechase and was the top individual scorer at the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships with 26 points.
The native of Holland, Michigan, set an Olympic qualifying time and the NCAA Division II track & field record with a time of 9:50.54 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the 2016 GLIAC Championship meet. She is also the NCAA Division II record holder in the mile with a time of 4:45.2.
Oren was recently named the 2016 Division II Honda Women's Athlete of the Year for women's track & field. She is a three-time USTFCCCA Women's Track Athlete of the Year honoree, as well as being selected the GLIAC Women's Track Athlete of the Year for the last three consecutive years. Oren was also selected as the recipient of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year award for Division II women's track & field/cross country.
Oren's tremendous senior campaign started during cross country season last fall, when Oren won the USTFCCCA National Runner of the Week award while leading her team to a No. 1 ranking in the Division II poll, a first for any Hillsdale College team. Led by Oren's conference and regional individual championships, the Chargers finished second in each of those respective meets. Hillsdale would go on to place third at the NCAA Division II championships, taking the first step on its road to becoming the NCAA Women's Program of the Year.
The 2015-16 indoor track season also saw Hillsdale earn a No. 1 national ranking, with Oren taking in even more awards. She was the national champion in the mile and 3000 meter run, while also anchoring her second straight national title-winning distance medley relay team. Her three national championships in distance events at one NCAA meet was unprecedented. The Chargers were national runner-ups for the second year in a row
The outdoor season saw a fitting final act to Oren's incredible career. At the 2016 GLIAC Outdoor Championships, she set an all-time Division II record in the steeplechase with a time of 9:50.54, which met this year's Olympic standard. She'd go on to triple at the NCAA outdoor championships, capturing two more titles, in the steeplechase and the 1500 before finishing third in the 5000 meter run. She piled up 26 points by herself, which would have ranked her 10th among all teams at the meet.
Jason Vander Laan - Football - Ferris State University
Talented senior quarterback Jason Vander Laan officially capped off one of the most historic collegiate football careers in history by being chosen as the recipient of the 2015 Harlon Hill Trophy presented to NCAA Division II's Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive year. Vander Laan, now an undrafted free agent signee with the New York Jets, is the 2015-16 GLIAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year.
The standout signal caller became only the fourth player ever in the history of Division II football to receive the coveted award twice and the first since current NFL standout Danny Woodhead in 2006 and 2007. It also marked the first time ever a player from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and the state of Michigan received the honor for a second time as past GLIAC winners Curt Anes (2002) and current Detroit Lions tailback Joique Bell (2009) each attained one of the most recognized awards in collegiate sports only once in their respective careers.
As a senior last fall, Vander Laan became the greatest rushing quarterback in NCAA college football history at any level, concluding his career with 5,953 total yards on the ground. He also became the first player in NCAA history to top 1,000 yards rushing and passing for four consecutive seasons. The four-year starting quarterback finished with more than 14,000 yards of total offense and ranks as the GLIAC's all-time leader in career yardage while setting numerous other school and league marks. His 81 career rushing TD's are the second-most by a QB in the history of college football and represent the most in NCAA Division II history.
The senior signal caller led the Bulldogs to a cumulative 37-9 overall mark, two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, two NCAA playoff appearances and back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons as the Ferris State quarterback. The two-time GLIAC Player of the Year and three-time All-American finished his senior campaign passing for 2,625 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 1,542 yards and 24 more scores. Behind Vander Laan's play as the signal caller, Ferris State again ranked among the nation's top offensive units, ranking among the top 10 this fall in total offense, scoring offense and rushing.
Along with being the Harlon Hill Trophy recipient, he has also been chosen as the 2015 Division II Conference Commissioners Association National Offensive Player of the Year for the second time and named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America First Team for the second-straight year since the season concluded. The NCAA Division II National Scholar-Athlete of the Year was tabbed as the 2015 CoSIDA Division II Football Academic All-American of the Year for his efforts in the classroom and was one of 12 finalists for the Campbell Trophy, which is also known as the Academic Heisman of college football, while becoming a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete. This week, he was tabbed as the nation's top small college quarterback outside of the Division I level by being chosen to the Associated Press Little All-America First Team for the second year in a row.
Vander Laan helped the Bulldogs finish with an 11-1 overall record for the second-straight year this past season. FSU captured the school's second GLIAC Championship in a row while capping off back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons. The Bulldogs won their last 25 consecutive regular-season games with Vander Laan at the offensive controls and posted the school's first NCAA Playoff victory in 19 years during the 2015 season. In his final two seasons, the Bulldogs won 22 of their 24 games overall.
Click to view previous GLIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipients
