Moraine Valley Community College student-athletes not only demonstrated their athletic skills, but also their intelligence in the classroom this past year. Among hundreds of students in the conference, 36 were named Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) All-Academic Athletes of the Year and 32 freshmen were named All-Conference Freshmen Academic Athletes of the Year.
To earn the ISCC distinction, students must have earned a 3.0 GPA or higher after completing at least 48 credit hours while participating in one of the college's 12 sports. The athletes selected are baseball players Michael Dudek (Reavis), Niles Gall (Richards), Matthew O'Shaughnessy (Reavis), Johnathan Runquist (Shepard), Andrew Tenison (Sandburg); basketball players Vito Calace (Brother Rice), Zion Fortune (St. Laurence), Erin Greenfield (Sandburg), Alexis Langellier (Lockport), Nicole Poole (Sandburg); golfer Paul Douglas (Peotone); runner Victoria Granz (Richards); soccer players Marcos Ambriz (Argo), Omar Barragan (Reavis), Madi Davis (Lockport), Anna Kois (Stagg), Reighza Lacaya (Argo), Lauren Pikulski (Lockport), Xochiquetzal Torres (Argo), Vasili Vouris (Sandburg); softball players Angela Abrand (Richards), Donna Booe (Reavis), Karly Krown (Stagg), Mariah Martinez (Shepard), Morgan Moran (Stagg), Darcee Nichols (Lockport); tennis players Ban Alobaidi (Thornton Fractional South), Tim Flynn (Marist), Mateusz Marusarz (Oak Lawn), Luis Pinal (Marist), Seth Yaeger (Lockport), Brooke Zielke (Shepard); and volleyball players Amanda Bulow (Oak Lawn), Taylor Bulow (Oak Lawn), Maddison Fogarty (Queen of Peace), Lauren Gausselin (Sandburg).
Davis and Flynn also were awarded the Dick Durrant Sophomore Academic Athlete of the Year Award for their high GPAs in the ISCC. Davis earned a 4.0 and Flynn had a 3.94.
The All-Conference Freshmen Academic Athletes completed at least 24 credit hours with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Moraine Valley recipients are baseball players Zachary Czub (Lemont), Nick Easton (Lincoln-Way East), Patrick Hayes (Brother Rice), Jose Marban (Tinley Park), Alex Martinez (Lockport), Brett Renken (Richards), Scott Richards (Sandburg), Christopher Villafuerte (Richards); basketball players Chelsea Cross (Plainfield North), Kaeli Ford (Lockport), Nathan Purcell (Lincoln-Way Central); golfer Patrick Clifton (Sandburg); runners Yasmeen Abuhayyeh (Stagg), Jaime Funk (Sandburg), Carlos Galvan (Argo), Adali Haro (Eisenhower), Nicole Pannitto (Andrew); soccer players Gisselle Almazan (Eisenhower), Connor Baker (Sandburg), Jocelyn Estrada (Eisenhower), Hyoungwoo Kim (Japan), Jenifer Latoza (Lockport), Ixchel Salgado (Shepard), Allison Schaar (Schaumburg), Juan Valencia (Hubbard); softball players Francesca Beggs (Argo), Alexa Leighton (Providence), Zoe Supanich (Sandburg); tennis players Julie Andrist (Oak Lawn), Trisha Meyers (Stagg), Elizabeth Newton (Richards), Jakub Zolnik (Shepard); and volleyball player Brianna Knezz (Lincoln-Way West).
"We couldn't be more proud of the academic achievements and excellent work by our student-athletes. They represent Moraine Valley and our conference well. Balancing school and sports is always a challenge and balancing act for these students, but they worked hard to excel in both. Our Athletics staff also should be recognized for helping our student-athletes stay on track, and I'm grateful to have this team," said Bill Finn, Moraine Valley Athletics director.