CLEVELAND, OH – 87 MSUM Dragons student-athletes, including three wrestlers, have received the Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) Academic Achievement Award. The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 14th year, is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level.
In total, there were a record-breaking 16,262 student-athletes from 188 institutions recognized for the 2020-21 Academic Achievement Awards. This is the most student-athletes being recognized since the inception of the award’s program.
Three Dragon wrestlers are among the honorees – freshman 197-pounder Samuel Grove, sophomore heavyweight Jaden Oestern, and junior 157-pounder Ryan Stenson.
“It is incredible to think that our athletes excelled in the classroom despite having to deal with the many stressors associated with COVID-19. To see once again that a record-breaking number of students are recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award is simply astonishing,” said Dr. Bren Stevens, Vice President for Athletics at the University of Charleston and current D2 ADA President. “I am extraordinarily impressed by the efforts of our member institutions to ensure that they provide special recognitions for their respective athletes, as they are certainly deserving.”
In order for a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the athletics director of the Division II institution must be a current dues-paying member of the D2 ADA.
Also, the student-athlete must:
- Have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale
- Have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college-level work
- Have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year
- Given the vast experiences institutions have had this year when it comes to participation, all athletes who meet bullet point items 1 and 2 are still eligible as long as they were still an active member of the roster during this academic year
Here is a list of the 87 MSUM Dragons student-athletes who received the award:
- WRESTLING: Samuel Grove, Jaden Oestern, Ryan Stenson
- MEN’S BASKETBALL: Gavin Baumgartner, Jacob Beeninga, Wyatt Hanson, Bryce Irsfeld, Jacob Mertens
- WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Peyton Boom, Lauren Fech, Nicole Herbranson, Sarah Jacobson, Brooklyn Liegel, Mariah McKeever, Natalie Steichen, Emma Thuringer
- MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK & FIELD: Braxton Bruer, Colton Cook, Samuel Gebhart, Connor Hayes, Clay Jackson, Benjamin Oie, Logan Spooner
- WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK & FIELD: Caleigh Anderson, Jensen Bloom, Josie Glaser, Megan Kucera, Steena Larsen, Tessa Schroeder, Rachel Schumacher, Sophia Sowada, Andrea Wells, Lakyla Yazzie
- FOOTBALL: Jack Antonson, Ryan Bieberdorf, Logan Bruce, Troy Casperson, James Eggert, Ethan Gerbig, Phillip Hagen, Samuel Harris, Jared Kallenbach, Michael McClanahan, Tyson Powell, Ryan Riedel, Zachary Stelzer
- GOLF: Madison Braun, Danielle Dokken, Callie Krause, Meghan McBride, Jill Safranski
- SOCCER: Jalyn Bauer, Carly Gamrath, Mckenzie Ickert, Callyn Johnson, Dayla Miller, Tomomi Nishihara, Jensen Odegaard, Jacie Osier, Lauren Phillips, Megan Pump, Allison Tharp, Jacqueline Wetteland, Jennifer Wickman
- SOFTBALL: Rebecca Berth, Emma Dummer, Samantha Gjerde, Elizabeth Johnson, Jordanne McNeilly, Kaiya Sundeen, Kiley Washnieski, Shay Weber
- SWIMMING & DIVING: Alexis Bray, Katie Kaminski, Katelyn Lee, Kathryn MacGregor, Kaytlyn Salter, Julia Wallace, Katelin Winter
- TENNIS: Julia Geske, Mikaela Griechen, Miranda Griechen, Rachel Nguyen, Lorissa Yuen
- VOLLEYBALL: Elise Bakke, Morgan Cleveland, Katelyn Selensky
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