GLIAC – The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the recipients of the Spring 2019 GLIAC Commissioner’s Awards on Monday (June 24). The awards 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 recipients are: Sarah Beulla (Grand Valley St.), Liz Bloch (Michigan Tech), Allison Dorr (Saginaw Valley St.), Shannon Flaherty (Grand Valley St.), Carly Shisler (Grand Valley St.), Mallory Teunissen (Davenport)
The six male honorees are: Hunter Brown (Wayne State), Jacob Buchberger (Davenport), Sebastien Lescoulie (Grand Valley St.), Alex Scott (Grand Valley St.), Steward Sell (Ferris St.), Kyle Ziegler (Northwood),
Women
Sarah Beulla, Grand Valley State Track & Field
Sr., 3.58 GPA, Public and Nonprofit Administration
Grand Valley State sprinter Sarah Beulla (Frankenmuth, Mich.) ran her best season on the track this past outdoor season as she earned All-America honors as a member of the 4x100-meter and the 4x400-meter relay teams, and conference titles in the 400-meter dash and a member of both the 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.
At the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Beulla, helped the 4x100m to a sixth-place finish with a time of 46.94, and then the 4x400m to a seventh-place finish with a time of 3:42.35. At the GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Laker senior was crowned the 400m dash champion after she crossed the finish line at 55.54, and then helped the 4x100m (: 46.32) and the 4x400m (3:41.31) relays to conference titles. Beulla also clocked in the second-fastest time in the GLIAC and the Midwest Region in the 400m.
The three-time All-American and five-time conference champion held a 3.58 GPA as a Public and Nonprofit Administration major and has tallied up six GLIAC academic honors in her career during the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Liz Bloch, Michigan Tech Track & Field
Sr., 3.87 GPA, Engineering
Michigan Tech track & field star Liz Bloch is a senior distance runner from St. Clair Shores, Michigan. The school record holder in the 800-meter run and the 1500-meter run, Bloch earned two All-America honors at the 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. Bloch earned first team all-America honors with a time of 4:37.75 to finish fifth in the 1500m, and she earned second team all-America honors with a time of 2:13.50 to finish 11th in the 800m preliminary.
The two-time GLIAC outdoor 1500m champion was a two-time GLIAC Academic Award winner and was named All-Academic Excellence for the 2019 spring season. She was also named the team most-valuable player for the women’s track team, and was a member of several Michigan Tech track & field squads that earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team recognition.
Allison Dorr, Saginaw Valley State Track & Field
Sr., 3.92 GPA, Exercise Science
SVSU senior distance runner Allison Dorr (Birch Run, Mich.) capped-off her Cardinal career with an All-America showing in the 10,000-meter run at the 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships. Dorr, who was a cross country All-American this past fall as well, finished eighth in the race with a time of 38:05.52.
Dorr competed on the national championships stage in both the indoor and outdoor track & field seasons, as well as in cross country in her final year and in 2016. She has earned a pair of USTFCCCA national academic awards and has had four top-three podium finishes in GLIAC Championships for her track career.
Shannon Flaherty, Grand Valley State Softball
Sr., 3.93 GPA, Exercise Science
Grand Valley State shortstop Shannon Flaherty (Tinley Park, Ill.) was an integral part of a Laker team that finished the 2019 season with a 51-10 overall record, a 24-6 conference record, and the program's fourth appearance in the NCAA DII College Softball World Series. Additionally, she helped the Lakers defend their GLIAC regular season and tournament titles and was honored on the All-GLIAC First Team for her efforts.
She finished the season with a .341 batting average, 59 hits – including seven doubles, five home runs, and four triples – 40 RBI’s and 44 runs scored. She also ranked fourth on the team with a .527 slugging percentage and reached base at a .405 clip. Off the field, she was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District First Team and her third straight GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team. Her tireless work ethic and talent on the field is highlighted by the fact that she failed to miss a single start in her entire career, playing in all 221 possible games since her freshman season four years ago.
In her career, she committed just 43 errors at the top defensive position on the field compared to 364 assists and 262 putouts as she finished with a .936 fielding percentage. She ranks seventh in program history in the assists category and ninth with 14 double plays turned. Flaherty was also named to All-GLIAC Honorable Mention as a freshman and sophomore.
Carly Shisler, Grand Valley State Lacrosse
Sr., 3.95 GPA, Marketing
Carly Shisler culminated a standout career on and off the field with a stellar senior campaign. Shisler finished her academic career with a cumulative 3.95 GPA to earn her degree in marketing while also earning first team All-GLIAC and IWLCA All-Region honors as well as GLIAC Midfielder of the Year.
She scored 66 goals and dished another 22 assists for 88 points on the season and twice earned GLIAC Player of the Week honors, one defensive and one offensive. Her 93 draw controls set the GVSU all-time single-season record while also causing 24 turnovers and scooping 43 ground balls. She was aselected to play in the IWLCA Senior All-Star Game following the season.
This will be an exclamation point on a four-year career that sees the Naperville, Ill., native littered all over the GVSU record books. Tied for the most games ever played at GVSU (73), she ranks third in career points (188) and goals (145) while finishing one draw control shy of the all-time record (203) while also ranking sixth in caused turnovers (53).
Mallory Teunissen, Davenport Softball
Sr., 3.91 GPA, Human Resource Management
Mallory Teunissen, a senior pitcher from Dorr, Mich., made the All-GLIAC First Team for the second straight year. She becomes the only player in DU softball history thus far to earn multiple All-GLIAC First Team awards. Teunissen was stellar in the circle throughout her senior campaign. She finished the 2019 season with an ERA of 2.93, went 17-9, pitched 21 complete games and struck out 148 batters. Her ERA was the seventh-best in the GLIAC this year, her 148 strikeouts and 17 wins were third best.
Teunissen was a fantastic starting pitcher for Davenport over her four years. She ended her career with the following numbers: an ERA of 2.08, a record of 82-29 in 122 appearances, 92 complete games and 668 strikeouts. She holds the top mark in DU softball history in fewest walks allowed per seven innings with 1.70 and is second in most shutouts with 26 and strikeouts with 668. She is also third in ERA with a 2.08. Teunissen was also named to the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society as one of just three student-athletes at DU this season.
Men
Hunter Brown, Wayne State Baseball
Jr., 3.63 GPA, Public Relations
Hunter Brown (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) extended his outstanding season on and off the diamond with the addition of a GLIAC Spring Commissioner's Award as announced by the league. The fifth-round draft pick of the Houston Astros was a consensus All-American and First Team Google Cloud Academic All-American. The Public Relations major carries a 3.63 cumulative GPA, including a perfect 4.0 this past semester.
He was an all-American as chosen by the D2CCA (First Team), ABCA/Rawlings (Second Team) and NCBWA (Third Team) this past season. Brown is the first athletic all-American in program history since Michael Wiseman in 2011 and the 14th in the 79 years of baseball at Wayne State University. The last pitcher to earn All-America accolades was Anthony Bass in 2008. Brown was named Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year by the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the D2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA).
Brown is the first Warrior to earn a regional pitcher of the year award since Bass in 2008 and the first to win the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year award since Justin Mazur in 2010. In addition, he was a first team all-region selection by all three of those aforementioned organizations.
He finished his junior year making 14 appearances on the mound this season, going 9-0 with a 2.21 earned run average. Brown struck out 114 batters in 85.3 innings pitched, while holding the opposition to a .203 batting average. The right-hander tallied three shutouts and led the GLIAC in ERA, strikeouts, hits allowed per nine innings (6.54) and games started. He ranked second in wins and complete games, while being a three-time GLIAC Pitcher of the Week.
Jacob Buchberger, Davenport Baseball
Jr., 3.84 GPA, Medical Case Management
Jacob Buchberger, a junior from Montague, Mich., had one of the best offensive seasons in Davenport history in 2019. He batted .429 with 78 hits in 182 at-bats. He also contributed 54 runs, 12 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, and 40 RBI. Buchberger slugged .659 and posted a .498 on-base percentage. He drew 22 walks and was hit four times. He also stole 22 bases in 25 tries and fielded at a .917 clip.
Buchberger tied the single-season record in batting average while also finishing fifth in slugging and fourth in on-base percentage. He was named CoSIDA Academic First Team All-American in Division II, earned GLIAC Player of the Year honors and was a Third Team All-American in three different organizations (ABCA, NCBWA, D2CCA).
Sebastien Lescoulie, Grand Valley State Tennis
Sr., 3.91 GPA, International Relations
Senior Sebastien Lescoulie (Chamonix, France) led the GVSU men's tennis team to the NCAA postseason for the fourth straight year as he finished his final season with GLIAC First-Team honors for the third consecutive year. Playing from the top of the singles and doubles lineups during dual matches, he went 18-4 from No. 1 singles, including a 6-2 record against GLIAC opponents, and finished with an 11-11 doubles record, that included a 4-4 GLIAC record. In tournaments, the Laker senior went 8-2 in singles, as he was the only player from the GLIAC who advanced to the semifinals during the ITA Midwest Region Tennis Tournament. In doubles competition during tournaments he also posted a 6-1 record. Overall, he finished the year with a 43-18 overall record, which included a 26-6 singles record and a 17-12 record in doubles.
Over his career, Lescoulie held an overall career record of 167-76, which ranks third all-time in program history. He went 85-32 in singles, which is tied second all-time in program wins. He is fourth all-time in doubles wins with a 82-44 record.
Lescoulie was a three-time ITA Scholar Athlete and GLIAC Academic Excellence honoree.
Alex Scott, Grand Valley State Golf
Sr., 3.60 GPA, Supply Chain Management
Grand Valley State golfer Alex Scott (Traverse City, Mich.) wrapped up his stellar career in Allendale as one of the most decorated golfers in program history, both on the course and in the classroom. After winning the 2018-19 GLIAC Tournament, he was honored as the back-to-back GLIAC Men’s Golfer of the Year and helped lead the Lakers to their first NCAA DII National Tournament appearance since the 2007-08 season. At the national tournament, he finished tied for sixth place individually and tied the program record for lowest round with a 65 during the second day of competition.
Now a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree, Scott graduated with a 3.60 GPA in Supply Chain Management to earn his second Commissioners Award. On the course, he was named to the DII PING All-Midwest Region First Team and became the first player in program history to be named to the Arnold Palmer Cup Team. As a junior, he became the first Laker to earn DII PING First Team All-America status and was one of just five golfers to be named a finalist for the DII Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year award.
Scott leaves GVSU as a three-time All-GLIAC First Team honoree, the program record holder with four tournament wins in a single season, and the top two finishes in the national tournament in program history.
Steward Sell, Ferris State Tennis
Sr., 3.71 GPA, Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement
Ferris State's Steward Sell (Kalamazoo, Mich.) led the Bulldog men's tennis squad to its fourth consecutive NCAA Division II regional final as a senior this past year. The squad's top player, Sell posted a 12-7 mark in doubles action and helped lead FSU to a GLIAC runner-up finish as a senior. A four-year letterwinner, Sell guided FSU to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances along with three conference championships in his collegiate career.
This year, he earned All-GLIAC honors for the fourth consecutive campaign and was also named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team for the third year in a row. The Bulldogs won 20 matches or more in three of his four seasons as a collegiate player. He claimed the GLIAC Commissioner's Award for the second year in a row.
Kyle Ziegler, Northwood Baseball
Jr., 3.96 GPA, Finance
Northwood junior Kyle Ziegler has been a three-year starter for the baseball program at shortstop and second base. This season, he batted .307 with four home runs and 36 RBIs. Ziegler finished the year ranked fifth in the GLIAC in stolen bases (14). For his career, he has batted .286 with nine home runs and 83 RBIs. Ziegler ranks eighth in NU history with 31 doubles.
A finance major from South Lyon, Mich., Ziegler currently sports a 3.96 grade point average.
In his career, Northwood has gone 117-50 (.701), won two GLIAC Championships and GLIAC Tournament Championships and reached the NCAA Tournament three times.
