GLIAC – The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the recipients of the Winter 2020 GLIAC Commissioner’s Awards on Friday (April 3). 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: Cassidy Boensch (Grand Valley St.) Lauren Huebner (Saginaw Valley St.), Jodi Johnson (Ashland), Elli Kimes (Grand Valley St.) Sara Loomis (Ashland), Cassidy Trotter (Michigan Tech)
The six male honorees are: Mortiz Bartels (Grand Valley St.), Sam Black (Saginaw Valley St.), Ryan Katulski (Wayne State), Drew Noble (Ashland) Alexander Porter (Grand Valley St.) Bret Romanzak (Ashland)
Women
Cassidy Boensch, Grand Valley State Basketball
Sr., 3.90 GPA, Biochemistry
Grand Valley State senior center Cassidy Boensch has earned back-to-back GLIAC Commissioner’s Awards after putting together an impressive final season in a Laker uniform. The Au. Gres, Mich. native was recently named a D2CCA Second Team All-American, the first All-American honor at GVSU since 2011, while also earning WBCA Honorable Mention All-American. Supporting a 3.9 GPA, Boensch was named CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year last month, becoming the eighth Laker student-athlete to win the prestigious award. The senior center also earned back-to-back GLIAC Player of the Year awards after averaging 19.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game in addition to back-to-back All-GLIAC First Team and GLIAC All-Defensive Team laurels. A three-time member of the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team, Boensch finished her career in Allendale as the all-time leading shot-blocker in program history (295), while ranking second in rebounds (989), second in field goal percentage (58.7%), third in points (1,826), and fourth in field goals made (714).
Lauren Huebner, Saginaw Valley State Track & Field
Sr., 4.0 GPA, Occupational Therapy
Lauren Huebner earns her second straight GLIAC Winter Commissioner’s Award after posting another solid season for the Cardinals. The 2020 NCAA Division II Outdoor Champion in the heptathlon and two-time All-American was set to compete in two events at the 2020 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, ranking 9th in the pentathlon and part of the 1,600 Meter Relay team that entered the championships ranked 12th. Huebner was a part of the DMR team that claimed the 2020 Indoor title, adding second place finishes in the 60 hurdles and 1,600 relay. She was third in the long jump as well. Lauren claimed GLIAC titles in the 100 and 400 hurdles at the 2019 GLIAC Outdoor Championships as well, earning her the GLIAC Track Athlete of the Meet and High Point Athlete of the Meet honors.
Jodi Johnson, Ashland Basketball
Sr., 3.88 GPA, Supply Chain Management
For Ashland University senior guard Jodi Johnson, this is her second GLIAC Commissioner’s Award. She joins Andi Daugherty and Laina Snyder as Eagle women’s basketball players who have earned a pair of GLIAC Commissioner’s Awards.
In 2019-20, Johnson averaged 16.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals this season, while shooting 57.5 percent from the field, 50.9 percent from 3-point range and 83.8 percent from the free-throw line. She is a Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) first-team All-America and Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) second-team All-America, and her other 2019-20 honors include first-team D2CCA all-region, second-team College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America, 2020 GLIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, first-team All-GLIAC, All-GLIAC Defensive Team, CoSIDA Academic All-District and four GLIAC South Division Player of the Week citations.
Johnson sports a 3.88 cumulative grade-point average as a Supply Chain Management major.
Elli Kimes, Grand Valley State Track & Field
Jr., 3.82 GPA, Allied Health Sciences
Elli Kimes helped lead the Laker women to capture the 21st consecutive GLIAC Indoor Championship. The junior from Cashmere, Wash. garnered her third GLIAC Indoor first-place finish in the pole vault with a clear of 4.21m, the best of her career. An allied health sciences major, Kimes holds a cumulative 3.829 GPA and owns one GLIAC All-Academic Excellence honor. Kimes was named the GLIAC Field Athlete of the Week following the GVSU Mike Lints Alumni Open where she took second place with a clear of 4.00m. Additionally, Kimes was crowned the 2020 Big Meet champion with a height of 4.03m. Throughout her career, Kimes has been named the GLIAC Outdoor Champion twice, the 2019 NCAA DII Indoor Championship Runner-Up and holds four USTFCCCA All-American honors. This season, Kimes qualified for the 2020 NCAA DII National Championships and earned USTFCCCA All-Region accolades.
Sara Loomis, Ashland Basketball
Sr., 3.80 GPA, Integrated Science Education (Grades 7 -12)
Ashland University senior forward Sara Loomis has earned her first GLIAC Commissioner’s Award.
Loomis went for 16.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks shots per game in 2019-20, while making 53.7 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from the 3-point line and 87.4 percent from the charity stripe. She earned third-team Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-America honors, as well as first-team D2CCA all-region, All-GLIAC Tournament team, first-team All-GLIAC, All-GLIAC Defensive Team, and GLIAC South Division Player of the Week three times.
Loomis has a 3.80 cumulative grade-point average as an Early Childhood Education Intervention Specialist major.
Cassidy Trotter, Michigan Tech Basketball
Jr., 4.00 GPA, Biological Sciences
Cassidy Trotter, a native of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, led Tech in scoring thanks to a 12.3 points per game average. Trotter earned Second Team All-GLIAC accolades this past season and was a Second Team All-GLIAC and All-Defensive Team selection following the 2018-19 campaign. Trotter received GLIAC North Division Player of the Week honors in week six of this year. Trotter ranked fourth in the conference in free throw shooting percentage (85.1%), sixth in assists per game (3.7), and tied for first in steals per game (2.8). Trotter recorded a new single game career high of 25 points against Ashland on January 4. She pulled down a career best 10 rebounds at Purdue Northwest January 11, and matched a career high of seven steals at home against Northern Michigan December 15. In the classroom, Trotter landed on the on GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team for the second consecutive season. Trotter is a Biological Sciences major.
Men
Moritz Bartels, Grand Valley St. Swimming & Diving
Jr., 3.54 GPA, Business Management
Grand Valley State junior Mortiz Bartels, who claimed the 2019 CSCAA Collegiate Open Water National Championship and guided GVSU to the team title, is a 2020 GLIAC Commissioner’s Award honoree. Bartels, who sports a 3.54 GPA in Business Management, was a key figure in the Lakers’ claiming a sixth consecutive GLIAC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship. Bartels placed fifth at the GLIAC Championships in the 1650 free in a time of 15:49.49, sixth in the 1000 free in a time of 9:29.54 and 13th in the 500 free in a time of 4:39.7. Bartels qualified to swim at the 2020 NCAA Championships in the distance free events for the nationally-ranked Lakers. During his career Bartels has placed among the top five seven times in distance free events at the GLIAC Championships. Moritz is a two-time GLIAC All-Excellence honoree.
Sam Black, Saginaw Valley St. Track & Field
Sr., 4.00 GPA, Master’s of Public Administration
Sam Black earns his first GLIAC Commissioner’s Award after a stellar senior campaign for the Cardinals. Black qualified for the 2020 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in two different events, as he was the No. 6 ranked performer in the heptathlon and the No. 10 ranked athlete in the high jump. The two-time All-American, two-time GLIAC Field Athlete of the Meet and two-time GLIAC champion in the decathlon was named the 2020 GLIAC Field Athlete of the Year following the 2020 Indoor Championships. At this year’s GLIAC Indoor Championships, Black was third in the high jump, fourth in the 60 hurdles, 1,600 relay and long jump. He added a fifth place showing in the pole vault and DMR as well to register top-five showing in all six events.
Ryan Katulski, Wayne State Swimming & Diving
Sr., 3.75 GPA, Accounting
Wayne State University senior swimmer Ryan Katulski (Novi, Mich.) is a recipient of the GLIAC Commissioner's Award for the second consecutive year becoming the 11th two-time recipient from WSU.
Katulski earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades on the first day of the 2020 NCAA Championships and was slated to earn three more All-America honors before the championships were canceled.
At the 2020 GLIAC Championships, Katulski was a five-time All-League swimmer (two First Team Relays, two Second Team Relays, and one Third Team Individual). He led off the winning 200 free relay, which met NCAA standards and swam the final leg of the first-place 400 free relay. Katulski anchored both the second-place 200 medley relay and the runner-up 400 medley relay. Individually, he earned a third-place finish in the 50 free and also placed fifth in the 100 free.
In 2019, Katulski was a five-time All-American at the 2019 NCAA Swimming and Diving national championships helping the Warriors to a fourth-place team finish. Katulski's four First Team All-American certificates a year ago came as he anchored two second-place NCAA relays (200 medley and 400 medley); led off the second-place 200 free relay; and led off the third-place 400 free relay. He finished 11th in the 50 free to earn Honorable Mention All-American recognition.
The two-year team co-captain was a four-time GLIAC Champion in 2019 as a member of the 200 medley relay (for the second straight year), the 400 medley relay, the 400 free relay and the 50 free (for the second consecutive season). Katulski was third in the 100 free and was a member of the runner-up 200 free relay.
Academically, the Accounting major has earned a spot on the academic honor roll all seven semesters, including five terms on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+).
Drew Noble, Ashland
Sr., 3.77 GPA, Accounting
Senior center Drew Noble is the first Ashland University men’s basketball player to win a GLIAC Commissioner’s Award since Brett Bartlett in 2008. Noble is a three-time All-GLIAC standout and was a first team selection the last two seasons. The Louisville, Ohio native finished the season ranked seventh in the league in scoring (16.0), 10th in rebounding (6.7), eighth in field goal percentage (53.3) and third in free throws (122). Noble was named to the NABC All-District first team as a junior and is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. He ranks 11th on Ashland’s all-time scoring list with 1,486 points and sixth in total rebounds with 693. Noble carries a 3.77 GPA as an accounting major.
Alexander Porter, Grand Valley St. Track & Field
Jr., 3.98 GPA, Computer Science
Alexander Porter helped lead the Laker men to capture the third consecutive GLIAC Indoor Championship and the 19th in 21 seasons. The junior from Grand Rapids, Mich. landed a second-place podium finish at the GLIAC Indoor Championships in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:13.61. A computer science major, Porter holds an impressive 3.988 cumulative GPA and owns two GLIAC All-Excellence team honors. Porter posted a season-best 200m time of 23.21 seconds at the GVSU Big Meet Saturday, good for fourth place. Porter qualified for the 2020 NCAA Division II National Championships as part of the 4x400m relay team and garnered USTFCCCA All-Region honors.
Bret Romanzak, Ashland Wrestling
Sr., 3.77 GPA, Finance
Redshirt-senior Bret Romanzak is the first wrestler in Ashland University history to earn a GLIAC Commissioner’s Award. Romanzak won the NCAA Division II national championship at 165 pounds in 2018 and bounced back from a devastating injury in the first bout of the 2019 national championships to go 30-3 this season. He was undefeated in the Super Region Three tournament at 174 pounds to win the title. The Forest, Va. Native ranks third on Ashland’s all-time wins list with 119 victories and has three 30-win seasons. He qualified for nationals all four seasons. Romanzak has a 3.77 GPA as a finance major.
