Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — June
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Seventy-three University of Iowa student-athletes have named Big Ten Conference Distinguished Scholars, it was announced Tuesday by the league office.
Among the Iowa honorees, 18 maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during the 2017-18 academic term, including:
Talia Buss (women’s track & field)
Summer Campbell (women’s swimming & diving)
Ben Colin (men’s swimming & diving)
Hannah Drkulec (soccer)
Gage Eller (men’s track & field)
Kaleigh Haus (soccer)
Kaelynn Heiberg (rowing)
Jess Janota (volleyball)
Andy Jatis (men’s track & field)
Meghan Lavelle (women’s swimming & diving)
Carly Millerd (rowing)
Melissa Progar (field hockey)
Andrea Shine (cross country/track & field)
Amy Smith (women’s track & field)
Isabella Solaroli (field hockey)
Karson Sommer (cross country/track & field)
Jon Wisnieski (football)
Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. The recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution and have a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school.
The Big Ten recognized 1,143 student-athletes in 38 different sports as Distinguished Scholars, including 190 who maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA during the previous academic term.
Women’s Basketball (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Kathleen Doyle – So. – Journalism & Mass Communications/Spanish – LaGrange Park, Ill.
Men’s Cross Country (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Karson Sommer – So. – Electrical Engineering/Mathematics – Bettendorf, Iowa
Women’s Cross Country (6)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Marta Gonzalez – Sr. – Marketing – Merida, Spain
Elizabeth Niedert – Jr. – Biomedical Engineering – Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Lauren Opatrny – Jr. – Human Physiology – McHenry, Ill.
Andrea Shine – Jr. – English – Crystal Lake, Ill.
Madison Waymire – Sr. – Sport & Recreation Management – Grimes, Iowa
Lindsay Welker – So. – Sport & Recreation Management – Terre Haute, Ind.
Field Hockey (4)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Riley Kniptash – Jr. – Environmental Science – St. Louis, Mo.
Melissa Progar – Sr. – Human Physiology – Yorktown, Va.
Isabella Solaroli – So. – Biomedical Engineering – Yorktown, Va.
Leslie Speight – So. – Biology – Poquoson, Va.
Football (6)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Jake Gervase – Sr. – Finance & Management – Davenport, Iowa
Parker Hesse – Sr. – Leisure Studies – Waukon, Iowa
Anthony Nelson – So. – Accounting – Urbandale, Iowa
Ryan Schmidt – Jr. – Finance – Marion, Iowa
Nate Wieting – Jr. – Human Physiology – Rockford, Ill.
Jon Wisnieski – Sr. – Leisure Studies – West Des Moines, Iowa
Men’s Golf (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Jack Simpson – So. – Business – Aurora, Ontario
Women’s Golf (3)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Sophie Liu – So. – Business Analytics & Information Systems – Vancouver, B.C.
Shawn Rennegarbe – Sr. – Biomedical Engineering – Addieville, Ill.
Elisa Suarez – Sr. – Finance – Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
Men’s Gymnastics (2)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Austin Hodges – Sr. – Human Physiology – Lincolnshire, Ill.
Josh Zeal – So. – Biomedical Engineering – Buffalo Grove, Ill.
Women’s Gymnastics (3)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Misty-Jade Carlson – Jr. – Art/Journalism & Mass Communications – Portland, Ore.
Rose Piorkowski – Sr. – Sociology – Panama City, Fla.
Charlotte Sullivan – So. – Elementary Education – Christchurch, New Zealand
Rowing (8)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Danielle Bender – Sr. – Teaching & Learning – Bellevue, Iowa
Rachel Canon – Jr. – Speech & Hearing Science – Ames, Iowa
Kaelynn Heiberg – Sr. – Sociology/Ethics & Public Policy – Minnetonka, Minn.
Gemma Kerr – Sr. – Journalism & Mass Communications – Victoria, B.C, Canada
Carly Millerd – Jr. – International Relations – Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Marija Pritchard – Jr. – Religious Studies & Biology – Ankeny, Iowa
Megan Sprengeler – Jr. – Journalism & Mass Communications/Sports Studies – Walford, Iowa
Taylor West – So. – Sport & Recreation Management – Iowa City, Iowa
Women’s Soccer (6)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Sydney Blitchok – So. – Journalism & Mass Communications – Grandville, Mich.
Hannah Drkulec – So. – Biomedical Engineering – Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Claire Graves – So. – Human Physiology – Noblesville, Ind.
Kaleigh Haus – So. – Biomedical Engineering – Des Moines, Iowa
Morgan Kemerling – Jr. – Human Physiology – Aurora, Ill.
Laura Lainson – Sr. – Journalism & Mass Communications/Sports Studies – Huntington Beach, Calif.
Softball (1)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Angela Schmiederer – Sr. – Psychology and Social Studies Education – Prospect Heights, Ill.
Men’s Swimming & Diving (2)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Colter Allen – Sr. – Finance & Asian Language & Literature – Zimmerman, Minn.
Ben Colin – Jr. – Journalism & Mass Communications/Sports Studies – Dubuque, Iowa
Women’s Swimming & Diving (7)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Summer Campbell – Sr. – Industrial Engineering – Fort Worth, Texas
Jo Jekel – Sr. – Mechanical Engineering – Madison, Wis.
Meghan Lavelle – Sr. – Art – Chicago, Ill.
Amy Lenderink – So. – Psychology – Parker, Colo.
Morgan Rafferty – Sr. – Mathematics – West Des Moines, Iowa
Mekenna Scheitlin – Sr. – Mechanical Engineering – South Barrington, Ill.
Jacintha Thomas – Jr. – Human Physiology – Iowa City, Iowa
Women’s Tennis (3)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Montana Crawford – Sr. – Music and Music Education – Rockwood, Ontario
Zoe Douglas – Sr. – Sport & Recreation Management – Papworth Everard, England
Adrienne Jensen – Sr. – Psychology – Iowa City, Iowa
Men’s Track & Field (4)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Gage Eller – Jr. – Enterprise Leadership – Ames, Iowa
Andy Jatis – Jr. – Pharmacy – Homer Glen, Ill.
Carter Lilly – Sr. – Human Physiology – Sioux City, Iowa
Karson Sommer – So. – Electrical Engineering – Bettendorf, Iowa
Women’s Track & Field (10)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Talia Buss – So. – Elementary Education – Waukee, Iowa
Marta Gonzalez – Sr. – Marketing – Merida, Spain
Jenny Kimbro – So. – Art – Catlin, Ill.
Kara Misel – Sr. – Biochemistry – Solon, Iowa
Elizabeth Niedert – Jr. – Biomedical Engineering – Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Lauren Opatrny – Jr. – Human Physiology – McHenry, Ill.
Andrea Shine – Jr. – English – Crystal Lake, Ill.
Amy Smith – Sr. – Nursing – Wheaton, Ill.
Madison Waymire – Sr. – Sport & Recreation Management – Grimes, Iowa
Lindsay Welker – So. – Sport & Recreation Management – Terre Haute, Ind.
Volleyball (3)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Emily Bushman – So. – Finance and Marketing – Naperville, Ill.
Jess Janota – Sr. – Speech & Hearing Science – Concord, Ohio
Molly Kelly – Jr. – International Studies, Spanish, and Religious Studies – West Liberty, Iowa
Wrestling (2)
Name – Year – Major – Hometown
Phillip Laux – Sr. – Management – Brighton, Iowa
Aaron Meyer – Jr. – Health & Human Physiology – Pleasant Hill, Iowa
BOLD ITALICIZED names indicate student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA.
