GLIAC recognizes Spring 2020 Commissioner's Award Winners

Posted: Jun 24, 2020

GLIAC – The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the recipients of the Spring 2020 GLIAC Commissioner’s Awards on Wednesday (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: Alexa Flores (Davenport) Allyson Faulkner (Ferris State) Sarah Beulla (Grand Valley St.), Brooke Henning (Grand Valley St.), Bryanna Kressler (Wayne State), Rainey Psenicka (Wayne State)

The six male honorees are: Nick Zak (Ashland) Jacob Buchberger (Davenport) Cam Lippoldt (Northwood), Kyle Ziegler (Northwood), Grant Haefner (Wayne State), Niklas Karcz (Wayne State)

Women

Alexa Flores, Davenport Softball

Sr., 3.85 GPA, Sports Management

Alexa Flores was among the GLIAC's top 10 in multiple offensive categories including triples with three (T1st), an .800 slugging percentage (2nd), doubles with five (T2nd), a .483 on-base percentage (7th), home runs with three (T7th), a .400 batting average (T8th), RBIs with 13 (T8th), and hits with 20 (T9th). Flores had already racked up seven multi-hit games and went eight for her last 16 (.500 batting average) in the team's final five games including a walkoff two-run home run against Western Oregon on Feb. 29.

Allyson Faulkner, Ferris State Track & Field

Sr., 3.99 GPA, Political Science

Ferris State University's Allyson Faulkner ranked among FSU's top women's track and field standouts this past year and has been highly-active in a number of campus organizations, including serving as the Student Government President. The three-time GLIAC All-Academic Team honoree posted the squad's top time in the 200 meters and the long jump during the indoor campaign this year and competed in seven different indoor competitions prior to the cancellation of the season. A regular in the FSU lineup, she's held several major leadership roles on campus such as being the Vice President of the Ferris Forensics Team and treasurer of the Student Alumni Gold Club along with President of the Panhellenic Council. This year, she was nominated for the Bulldogs' prestigious Willie Bouyer Leadership Award and also has received a Newman Civic Fellowship for demonstrating an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. The political science major has a near-perfect grade point average and has competed in a multitude of different events on the track in her collegiate career to date.

Sarah Beulla, Grand Valley State Track & Field

Sr., 3.64 GPA, Public and Nonprofit Administration

Sarah Beulla helped lead the Laker women to capture the 21st consecutive GLIAC Indoor Championship. The Frankenmuth, Mich. native collected her fifth career GLIAC first-place finish by capturing a gold medal in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:44.47. A Public and Nonprofit Administration major with a 3.644 GPA, Beulla qualified for the 2020 NCAA DII Indoor National Championships in the 4x400m relay and DMR. After collecting USTFCCCA All-Region and All-American honors in the 4x400m relay and DMR, Beulla boasts an impressive five All-American honors throughout her career. The Lakers were ranked No. 1 in the final USTFCCCA National Rating Index prior to the cancellation of the 2020 Indoor Nationals.

Brooke Henning, Grand Valley State Softball

Jr., 4.00 GPA, Biomedical Sciences

Grand Valley State junior outfielder Brooke Henning has earned the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Commissioner’s Award for the spring of 2020. Henning started all 16 games for the Lakers in 2020, who went 13-3 and had rattled off 11 straight wins before the season abruptly ended. She hit .275 with three home runs, five extra-base hits and 12 RBI. Henning carries a 4.00 cumulative GPA in Biomedical Sciences and was the winner of the prestigious Elite 90 Award at last year’s College World Series. Henning was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection this season and is a two-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence team member.

Henning is one of six female athletes to earn Commissioner’s Awards for the spring of 2020 and one of two from Grand Valley State. This accolade usually blends cumulative GPA and athletic performance for a particular season but, due to the curtailed 2020 campaign, encompassed career accomplishments on the field accompanied by the cumulative GPA. Student-athletes are nominated for this award and voted on by athletic communications staffs across the 12 GLIAC schools.

Bryanna Kressler, Wayne State Softball

Sr., 3.65 GPA, Kinesiology

Bryanna Kressler (Kitchener, Ont. / St. Mary’s), a junior member of the Wayne State University softball program, is a GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipient for the 2020 spring sports season.

Kressler played every inning of all 15 games in 2020 at shortstop and batted third in every contest. She led the squad in RBI (15), stolen bases (2), multiple-hit games (6), multiple-RBI games (5), two-out RBI (6) and fielding assists (35), while ranking second in at bats (54), runs (12), hits (18), doubles (4), home runs (4) and total bases (34). She had at least one hit in 12 of the 15 games.

In her WSU career, Kressler has started all 123 games played and will enter 2021 ranked eighth in school history in slugging percentage (.507), 12th in batting average (.354) and 14th in doubles (37).

She was voted to the 2019 D2CCA All-Midwest Region Second Team after batting .368 during the regular-season with 16 doubles and a team-leading 43 RBI. Kressler was selected to the All-GLIAC Second Team as an outfielder after leading all conference outfielders with nine assists (second place had five assists). She started all 59 games a year ago and batted third in every contest. Kressler was among the national leaders in doubles (18) and toughest to strikeout (6 SO in 210 plate appearances).

The 2018 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, Kressler was also a First Team All-GLIAC selection as a rookie after hitting .372 in league play. She led the squad with 14 two-hit games and 17 multiple-hit affairs, along with nine game-winning RBI.

Academically, the Kinesiology major maintains a 3.65 cumulative GPA and has been on the academic honor roll all six semesters, including five terms on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+).

Rainey Psenicka, Wayne State Softball

Jr., 3.98 GPA, Kinesiology

Rainey Psenicka (Guelph, Ont. / Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic), a junior member of the Wayne State University softball program, is a GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipient for the 2020 spring sports season.

Psenicka played every inning of every game in 2020 at second base and batted second in every contest. She was second on the squad with three multiple-RBI contests. Psenicka tied for the team best with an eight-game hitting streak along with a squad best nine-game on-base streak. She led the team in sac bunts (5), while ranking second in walks (5) and fielding assists (30), and third in both hits (13) and RBI (9). Psenicka reached base safely in 12 of the 15 games.

In her WSU career, Psenicka has played in all 123 contests, making 122 starts. The two-time Honorable Mention All-GLIAC selection has more walks (23) than strikeouts (15). She is a two-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree as well as a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District nominee.

In 2019, Psenicka started all 59 games, playing every inning of every game at second baseman. She batted leadoff 57 times and tallied 21 multiple-hit games, which ranked second on the squad. Psenicka posted a 13-game hitting streak (20-49, .408) and began the season with a 16-game on-base streak.

As a freshman in 2018, she played in all 49 games, starting 48 times. Psenicka batted either first or second in every game. She led the GLIAC and was 12th nationally in sac bunts (16) per game (0.33) and tied-for-second on the team with 14 multiple-hit games, including three three-hit affairs.

Academically, the Kinesiology major maintains a 3.98 cumulative GPA and has been on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) all six terms, including five semesters with a 4.00 term GPA.

Men

Nick Zak, Ashland Track and Field

Sr., 3.83 GPA, MBA

Throughout his career, Zak has been one of the top throwers in the country. He is a three-time All-American. At the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships he was third in the weight throw. In 2018 he was fourth at outdoor nationals in the hammer throw. At the 2017 indoor national championships he placed sixth in the weight throw. Zak had qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships and was ranked fifth in the country in the weight throw and 16^th in the shot put. Zak was one of the leaders for the AU men’s team which won the team national championship indoors and outdoors in 2018-19. The senior was a third team CoSIDA Academic All-America in 2019. He owns a 3.83 grade point average and is working on his MBA.

Jacob Buchberger, Davenport Baseball

Sr., 3.78 GPA, Medical Case Management

Jacob Buchberger earned First-Team Academic All-America in NCAA Division II for the second-straight season. Buchberger is the only student-athlete to be named First Team in consecutive years on this year's list. He is also one of just four student-athletes who are repeat performers from 2019. This season, Buchberger was batting .525 with six home runs and 32 RBI. He was also 2-0 on the mound with a 2.81 ERA in 16 innings. His .415 career batting average is tops at DU and he also ranks first in slugging percentage (.702), second in on-base percentage (.491), second in triples (11), second in home runs (20), and fourth in runs scored (133). Monday, June 15, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Cam Lippoldt, Northwood Golf

Sr., 3.75 GPA, Finance

Cam Lippoldt led the Northwood golf team to a record-breaking season. He finished the year with a 72.3 scoring average, the lowest in school history. He had four top-five finishes in five events, highlighted by winning the Motor City Invitational. For his efforts, Lippoldt was named First Team All-GLIAC.

As a team Northwood set a school-record for team scoring average (297.6) and was ranked 10th in the Midwest Region. Over their final three events of the year, the Timberwolves had a trio of top-three finishes and had a scoring average of 294.1.

A three-time All-GLIAC Academic Excellence honoree, Lippoldt graduated from Northwood with a degree in Finance with a 3.753 GPA.

Kyle Ziegler, Northwood Baseball

Sr., 3.96 GPA, Finance

Northwood senior Kyle Ziegler has now claimed two GLIAC Commissioners Awards in his career. He was a four-year starter for the baseball program at shortstop and second base. For his career, Ziegler batted .274 with nine home runs and 86 RBIs. He ranks seventh in NU history with 32 doubles.

A finance major from South Lyon, Mich., Ziegler currently sports a 3.96 grade point average. He recently was awarded the Goetz Family Men’s Academic Athlete of the Year at Northwood in 2020, given to the senior student-athlete who excelled in their career both on the field and in the classroom

In his career, Northwood went gone 122-60 (.670), won two GLIAC Championships and GLIAC Tournament Championships while reaching the NCAA Tournament three times.

Grant Haefner, Wayne State

Sr., 3.68 GPA, Management

Grant Haefner (Berkley, Mich. / Bloomfield Hills), who was a senior on the Wayne State University men's golf team, is a GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipient for the 2020 spring sports season.

During the 2019-20 academic year, Haefner played all 14 rounds with a personal-best scoring average of 72.35 to earn First Team All-GLIAC recognition. He had a low round of 68 among his three rounds under par, along with four par rounds.

Haefner notched five top-10 results in six fall 2019 tournaments, which included a pair of runner-up results at HawksHead and Northwood, plus a top-20 finish. He helped the Warriors to the No. 1 ranking in the Midwest Region according to the NCAA Poll released in February and No. 25 in the nation according to the GCAA in February.

In his WSU career, Haefner played 80 rounds in four years (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20) with a 75.02 career scoring average. He earned All-GLIAC recognition three times (Second Team in 2018, Honorable Mention in 2019, and First Team in 2020). Haefner participated in the NCAA Super Regionals in both 2018 and 2019 and had 12 top-10 results in his career.

A three-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team selection, Haefner was a 2018-19 Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar. He was also a member of the WSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and participated in the WSU Student Leadership Council.

Academically, the Management major maintains a 3.68 cumulative GPA and has been on the academic honor roll all eight semesters, including seven terms on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+).

Niklas Karcz, Wayne State

Jr., 3.73 GPA, Management

Wayne State University men’s tennis junior Niklas Karcz (Bottrop, Germany) is a GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipient for the 2020 spring sports season.

Karcz finished the 2019-20 season ranked fourth in doubles and ninth in singles in the Midwest Region according to the ITA. He was selected NCAA Division II UTR/ITA National Player of the Month for September after winning four straight matches at the ITA Midwest Regionals to play in the semifinals. Karcz also received Toledo Rocket Invitational All-Tournament Team recognition. In the spring, he notched a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) victory over No. 5-Saint Leo.

A year ago (2018-19), Karcz was voted GLIAC Player of the Year and was selected to the All-GLIAC First Team after going undefeated (8-0) in the conference at No. 1 singles, while tallying an overall singles record of 21-6. He compiled a 7-1 mark in league doubles matches and had an overall record of 23-2 at No. 2 doubles. In addition, he was named ITA Midwest Region Player to Watch after finishing the year ranked sixth in singles in the Midwest Region.

He was a First Team All-GLIAC selection as a freshman after being ranked 33rd nationally (fifth in the Midwest Region) in doubles.

Karcz ranks sixth in school history in career singles wins (52) after just two-plus seasons (2017-18, 2018-19-, 2019-20) and has a 47-23 career doubles record. His 23 doubles wins in 2018-19 is tied-for-fourth most in program history.

A two-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team selection, Karcz has been an ITA Scholar-Athlete honoree each of his first two seasons at WSU.

Academically, the Management major maintains a 3.73 cumulative GPA and has been on the academic honor roll five semesters, including four terms on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+).