IWU's Sprague, Stephens Earn CCIW Academic Honors
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Senior Melinda Sprague and junior Mike Stephens are the Illinois Wesleyan fall sport winners of the Jack Swartz Award, presented by the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
A cross country runner, Sprague (Ballwin, Mo., Parkway West HS) is a mathematics major with a 3.73 grade-point average. She was a Division III All-American as she finished 33rd in the NCAA championships in November. The first IWU woman ever to qualify for the national meet, Sprague was 15th among those runners not competing with a full team. She earlier finished second in the CCIW championship meet and was 10th in the NCAA Regional.
A defensive end in football, Stephens (Orland Park, Providence Catholic HS) has a 3.73 grade-point average as an international business major. A first team all-CCIW selection, he was named to the third team of the all-North Region squad. The Titans' "Most Valuable Defensive Player" in 2005, Stephens made 43 total tackles, including 29 solo, and had nine quarterback sacks for -42 in yardage. He also blocked three kicks, broke up three passes, forced three fumbles and recovered a fumble.
The honor, named after the former CCIW commissioner and long-time Wheaton College coach and athletic director, goes to one male and one female athlete at each of the eight CCIW member institutions.
Under the criteria established by the league last spring, the winners must carry a GPA of at least a 3.50 and have played in one of the fall sports (football, volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's cross country, women's cross country, women's tennis or women's golf). In addition, they must have earned a letter in one of those sports during the past season and have been enrolled as a full-time student for at least one year.
Academic All-Conference
A total of 48 Illinois Wesleyan student athletes, including Sprague and Stephens, were named to the academic all-conference team in the CCIW for the fall. In order to earn academic all-conference recognition, the honorees have to have a minimum 3.30 GPA, earn a varsity letter during the past season and be enrolled in the institution for at least one year.
| NAME | YR. | SPORT | HOMETOWN (HS) | GPA | MAJOR |
| Megan Byrne | Jr. | Cross Country | Des Plaines, Ill. (Maine West HS) | 3.50 | Elementary Education |
| Liz Chandler | Jr. | Cross Country | Petersburg, Ill. (Athens HS) | 3.55 | Political Science |
| Tracy Felton | Sr. | Cross Country | Sammamish, Wash, (Cherry Creek HS) | 3.59 | Elementary Education |
| Mary Kate Gergel | Jr. | Cross Country | Glenwood, Ill. (Marian Catholic HS) | 3.37 | English |
| Jenny Nichols | So. | Cross Country | Normal, Ill. (West HS) | 3.44 | Psychology |
| Melinda Sprague | Sr. | Cross Country | Ballwin, Mo. (Parkway West HS) | 3.73 | Mathematics |
| Ashley Higginson | Sr. | Women's Golf | Pekin, Ill. (HS) | 3.35 | Elementary Education |
| Andrea Johanns | Jr. | Women's Golf | Farmer City, Ill. (Blue Ridge HS) | 3.83 | Accounting |
| Kristi Katz | So. | Women's Golf | Park Ridge, Ill. (Maine South HS) | 3.84 | Political Science (Pre-Law) |
| Alison Mayer | Jr. | Women's Golf | Glenview, Ill. (Glenbrook South HS) | 3.79 | History, Secondary Education |
| Taylor Paskell | So. | Women's Golf | Phoenix, Ariz. (Desert Vista HS) | 3.72 | Psychology |
| Bridget Schott | Jr. | Women's Golf | Sterling, Ill. (HS) | 3.35 | History |
| Megan Teschner | Sr. | Women's Golf | Barrington, Ill. (HS) | 3.82 | Math, Secondary Education |
| Ashley Goergen | Jr. | Women's Soccer | Geneva, Ill. (HS) | 3.48 | Psychology |
| Taryn Hegi | So. | Women's Soccer | Wheaton, Ill. (North HS) | 3.96 | Psychology |
| Brittany Kirkpatrick | Sr. | Women's Soccer | Lakeville, Minn. (HS) | 3.68 | Business, Economics |
| Katie Korder | Jr. | Women's Soccer | Urbana, Ill. (HS) | 3.75 | Elementary Education |
| Jennifer LaBrenz | Sr. | Women's Soccer | Kalamazoo, Mich. (Central HS) | 3.91 | Religion |
| Eileen Ouska | Jr. | Women's Soccer | Skokie, Ill. (Niles West HS) | 3.57 | Accounting |
| Debbie Bartell | Sr. | Women's Tennis | Wheaton, Ill. (Glenbard West HS) | 3.44 | Accounting |
| Michelle Donnelly | Jr. | Women's Tennis | Metamora, Ill. (HS) | 3.59 | Accounting |
| Lindsey Irwin | Sr. | Women's Tennis | Belleville, Ill. (West HS) | 3.97 | Spanish, Secondary Education |
| Sarah Rusch | So. | Women's Tennis | Naperville, Ill. (Neuqua Valley HS) | 3.37 | Biology (Pre-Med) |
| Kristina Sawyer | Jr. | Women's Tennis | Batavia, Ill. (HS) | 3.72 | Biology, Spanish |
| Molly May | Sr. | Volleyball | Mt. Prospect, Ill. (Prospect HS) | 3.59 | Spanish, Secondary Education |
| Jenna Passananti | So. | Volleyball | Western Springs, Ill. (Lyons Township HS) | 3.55 | Spanish, Elem. Education |
| Ashley Reed | So. | Volleyball | Lemont, Ill. (HS) | 3.36 | Business Administration |
| Jaclyn Verticchio | Jr. | Volleyball | Jacksonville, Ill. (HS) | 3.54 | Psychology, Education |
| MEN ATHLETES | |||||
| Lane Coonrod | So. | Cross Country | Quincy, Ill. (HS) | 3.78 | Mathematics |
| Tony Reinhart | Sr. | Cross Country | Tuscola, Ill. (HS) | 3.62 | Political Science, History |
| Adam Wentland | So. | Cross Country | Hawthorne Woods, Ill. (Lake Zurich HS) | 3.93 | Philosophy, Accounting |
| Adam Bohr | Jr. | Football | North Aurora, Ill. (Aurora Central Catholic HS) | 3.93 | Accounting |
| Marcus Dunlop | So. | Football | Maywood, Ill. (Proviso East HS) | 3.95 | Economics, Business |
| Eric Esch | Jr. | Football | Bloomington, Ill. (HS) | 3.44 | Business |
| Tyler Ferber | So. | Football | Fairmont, Ill. (Jamaica HS) | 3.40 | Chemistry |
| Brandin Heidbreder | Jr. | Football | Lincoln, Ill. (HS) | 3.37 | Economics, Risk Management |
| Timothy Irvin | Sr. | Football | Addison, Ill. (Trail HS) | 3.45 | Accounting |
| Kevin Maliszewski | Sr. | Football | Glen Garbon, Ill. (Edwardsville HS) | 3.56 | Accounting |
| Michael Stephens | Jr. | Football | Orland Park, Ill. (Providence Catholic HS) | 3.73 | International Business |
| Dustin Summers | So. | Football | Homer Glen, Ill. (Providence Catholic HS) | 3.35 | Business |
| Colin Aubin | So. | Men's Soccer | Orland Park, Ill. (Sandburg HS) | 3.72 | English |
| Kevin Hegi | Sr. | Men's Soccer | Wheaton, Ill. (North HS) | 3.94 | Psychology, Religion |
| Ikenna Odinaka | So. | Men's Soccer | Odogbolu Ogniy, Nigeria | 4.00 | Physics |
| Mark Opal | Jr. | Men's Soccer | Wheaton, Ill. (Benet Academy) | 3.54 | Psychology (Pre-Med) |
| Stephen Perona | Jr. | Men's Soccer | Western Springs, Ill. (Lyons Township HS) | 3.30 | Business |
| Andrew Schmitz | Jr. | Men's Soccer | Arlington Heights, Ill. (Hersey HS) | 3.51 | Public Accounting |
| Bradley Shearn | Jr. | Men's Soccer | Wheeling, Ill. (Buffalo Grove HS) | 3.58 | Accounting |
| Ryan Smith | Sr. | Men's Soccer | Decatur, Ill. (Eisenhower HS) | 3.51 | Physics |