Ferris State Dominates Fall Listing Of GLIAC Commissioner's Award Honorees For Excellence
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Big Rapids, Mich. - The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the recipients of the Fall 2019 GLIAC Commissioner's Awards on Wednesday (January 29) and five of the 12 individuals recognized were Ferris State University student-athletes.
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: Allyson Cappel (Ferris State) Bri Rogers (Ferris State) Katie Etelamaki (Ferris State) Hanna Groeber (Grand Valley St.) Cecilia Steinwascher (Grand Valley St.) and Laura De Marchi (Michigan Tech)
The six male honorees are: Clay Shreve (Ashland), Sam Heyboer (Ferris State), Travis Russell (Ferris State), Tyler Bradfield (Grand Valley St.), Kyle Toth (Wayne State) and Leki Prpa (Parkside).
FSU's five honorees were the most of any school in the conference and the Bulldogs were one of only two schools with multiple individals selected.
Below are writeups on each of Ferris State's five honorees:
Allyson Cappel:
Ferris State University senior outside hitter Allyson Cappel became the Bulldogs' first-ever four-time All-American this past fall as she was tabbed as a consensus first-team honoree by both the American Volleyball Coaches Association and the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association. She added to her impressive list of accomplishments by being tabbed as a 2019 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American. Cappel was also chosen as the GLIAC Player of the Year for the third-straight season after guiding FSU to the program's sixth-straight league regular-season championship. This season, Cappel tallied a team-leading 460 kills along with 343 digs, 37 blocks and 35 aces as FSU's most versatile weapon. She was also chosen as both the AVCA and the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) Regional Player of the Year this season. Cappel led the Bulldogs to a 25-6 overall record and FSU also won a sixth consecutive GLIAC Tournament Championship. Ferris State made its ninth consecutive and 24th all-time NCAA Division II Tournament appearance. This year, Cappel received GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honors for the fourth year in a row.
Bri Rogers:
Ferris State University junior midfielder Bri Rogers garnered 2019 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Scholar All-American honors for the Bulldogs. Rogers was also chosen as a All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) First Team pick this year. In addition, she went on to claim United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region honors on the field as a first-team pick while also earning Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) All-Region accolades and GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honors this year. Rogers appeared in all 20 games and totaled 18 points on six goals and six assists as FSU's third-leading scorer this season. She also notched a game-winner and had two penalty kick goals for the Bulldogs. The junior standout was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. The three-time All-GLIAC pick helped the Bulldogs compile a 13-5-2 overall record under first-year head coach Greg Henson while placing in the top four in the GLIAC with a 5-3-1 league record. Along with the top four league finish, the Bulldogs also reached the GLIAC Tournament for the 10th consecutive year and earned the right to host a quarterfinal-round home contest.
Katie Etelamaki:
Ferris State University women's cross country runner Katie Etelamaki earned All-America honors for the second consecutive year at the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships. Etelamaki competed individually at the national championships, posting a 23-second personal best and notching the second-fastest time in school history in Sacramento. A senior, Etelamaki was among six individual qualifiers selected to compete in the national championships from the Midwest Region. This season, Etelamaki earned all-region recognition with an 11th-place individual finish in a time of 21:18.8 in the D2 Midwest Regional Championships on the 6K course at Angel Mounds in Evansville, Ind. She placed fifth at the GLIAC Championships in leading FSU. The two-time cross country All-American also claimed 2019 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field All-America recognition. Etelamaki garnered GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honors for the fourth consecutive year and attained All-GLIAC accolades for the third year in a row.
Travis Russell:
Ferris State University senior quarterback Travis Russell led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division II National Semifinals for the third time in four years this past fall. The 2019 recipient of the GLIAC's Jack H. McAvoy Award for outstanding character and leadership, Russell returned for his senior campaign after graduating last spring and became the Bulldogs' starting QB during their postseason run. The senior standout compiled a 13-2 mark as a starter for FSU in his career and helped FSU to a 62-8 record in his five seasons in the program. The four-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree was the NCAA's Elite 90 Award recipient for holding the highest grade point average in the 2018 national championship game and was highly-involved in various community service initiatives and organizations in his collegiate career, including taking part in two different spring break mission trips to South Carolina to serve people whose homes had been destroyed due to hurricanes. He was a two-time nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team and was a national semifinalist this year for the Wooden Cup presented to the nation's top performer on and off the field. He was also a candidate for the 2019 Campbell Trophy awarded to the nation's top football scholar-athlete. This year, he completed 86 of 160 passes for 1,503 yards and six scores while running for nearly 300 yards and three TD's.
Sam Heyboer:
As a starting linebacker for the Bulldogs, Heyboer helped lead FSU to the national semifinals this past fall for the third time in four years. He started all 13 games and had a team-high 70 tackles for one of the nation's top defensive units. The Grand Rapids native was an all-region honoree for the second-straight year and claimed All-GLIAC First Team accolades along with GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team recognition. Heyboer's played helped FSU win a second consecutive GLIAC Championship and he became a four-time letterwinner and league all-academic team pick. A 2018 D2 All-American, Heyboer served as a team captain and was involved in the program's community service efforts. The two-time All-GLIAC pick helped FSU to the national quarterfinals or beyond for the fourth-straight year and compiled 29 solo tackles and 41 assisted hits this year with seven tackles for loss and two sacks. His play helped the Bulldog defense rank first in the country in passing efficiency defense this past fall.