Mattoon, IL-(Effingham Radio)-Lake Land College and Laker Athletics are proud to share the many team and individual athletic accomplishments from the 2022-2023 academic year.
“The many accomplishments of our student athletes reflect the outstanding young men and women who participate in athletics at Lake Land College, the strong commitment of our coaches and athletic staff to focus on student success both in the classroom and in their sport, and the contributions of faculty and staff across the college who support student athletes in learning and accomplishing their goals,” Vice President for Student Services Valerie Lynch said. ”I would like to thank the coaches, faculty, and staff for their contributions to the success of our student athletes and to congratulate all of the student athletes for a great year.”
The athletic accomplishments include:
2023 NJCAA Academic Team (must have a team GPA of 3.00 or higher):
- Softball
- Volleyball
- Women’s Basketball
- Baseball
2023 NJCAA All-Academic First Team (athletes with 24 credits hours with 4.00 GPA):
| Name | Hometown | Sport |
| Nate Lacy | Neoga, IL | Baseball |
| Jude Sullivan | Paris, IL | Baseball |
| Kendall Matthews | Paris, IL | Softball |
| Olivia Niemerg | Teutopolis, IL | Women’s Basketball |
| Taylor Orris | Sullivan, IL | Women’s Basketball |
2023 NJCAA All-Academic Second Team (athletes with 24 credit hours with 3.80-3.99 GPA):
| Name | Hometown | Sport |
| Collyn Ballard | Louisville, IL | Baseball |
| Brock Barton | Belleville, IL | Baseball |
| Gavin Gonzalez | Mattoon, IL | Baseball |
| Christopher Seropian | Chicago, IL | Baseball |
| Peter Stewart | Ortonville, MI | Baseball |
| Aaron Davis | Cincinnati, OH | Men’s Basketball |
| Devon Patrick | Casey, IL | Volleyball |
| Lexie Niebrugge | Sigel, IL | Women’s Basketball |
| Alexa Miller | Cadwell, IL | Women’s Basketball |
| Kylee Phillips | Neoga, IL | Women’s Basketball |
2023 NJCAA All-Academic Third Team (athletes with 24 credit hours with 3.60-3.79 GPA):
| Name | Hometown | Sport |
| Nathan Jendraszkiewicz | Aurora, IL | Baseball |
| Logan Wombels | Bloomington, IL | Baseball |
| Johnny Close | Mattoon, IL | Men’s Basketball |
| Jordan Donato | Nashville, IL | Softball |
| Serenity Shemwell | Gracey, KY | Softball |
| Brianna Hewing | Mode, IL | Volleyball |
| Avery Fearday | Sigel, IL | Women’s Basketball |
| Marissa Russo | Tuscola, IL | Women’s Basketball |
| Isabella Hardiek | Teutopolis, IL | Women’s Basketball |
Accumulative GPA of all athletes (131) for the 2022-2023 academic year: 3.14
Top three accumulative GPAs by team:
- Women’s Basketball – 3.68
- Volleyball – 3.34
- Cheer – 3.16
Total number of athletes achieving a 3.0 or higher GPA for the 2022-2023 academic year: 83 of 131
Season records by sport:
- Softball: 50-12
- Women’s Basketball: 25-7
- Men’s Basketball: 17-15
- Volleyball: 18-18
- Baseball: 23-34
Volleyball
Team Honors:
- NJCAA Academic Team
- Qualified for the District Tournament
Individual Honors and Awards:
| NJCAA Division One All-Region 24 | ||
| Name | Hometown | Team |
| Madison Watret | Waverly, IL | 1st Team |
| Brianna Hewing | Mode, IL | 2nd Team |
| Additional Awards | |
| Great Rivers Athletic Conference All-Conference Team | Madison Watret |
Women’s Basketball
Team Honors:
- NJCAA Academic Team
- Midwest Athletic Conference Champion
- Region 24 Runner Up
Individual Honors and Awards:
| NJCAA Division Two All-Region 24 | |
| Name | Hometown |
| Olivia Niemerg | Teutopolis, IL |
| Lexie Niebrugge | Sigel, IL |
| Tayler Barry | Newman, IL |
| Midwest Athletic Conference All-Conference | |
| Name | Hometown |
| Olivia Niemerg | Teutopolis, IL |
| Lexie Niebrugge | Sigel, IL |
| Katelyn Littleton | Paris, IL |
Men’s Basketball
Individual Honors and Awards:
| NJCAA Division One All-Region 24 | |
| Name | Hometown |
| Amar Kuljuhovic | Waterloo, IA |
| Johnny Close | Mattoon, IL |
| Additional Awards | |
| Great Rivers Athletic Conference All-Conference | Amar Kuljuhovic |
Softball
Team Honors
- NJCAA Academic Team
- Great Rivers Athletic Conference Champion
- Region 24 Runner Up
Individual Honors and Awards
| Great Rivers Athletic Conference Team | ||
| Name | Hometown | Team |
| Eva Richardson | Casey, IL | 1st Team |
| Ashlyn Hicks | Marion, KY | 1st Team |
| Deanna Read | South Bend, IN | 1st Team |
| Serenity Shemwell | Gracey, KY | 1st Team |
| Mackayla Denney | Perth, Australia | 2nd Team |
| Bryanna French | Centralia, IL | 2nd Team |
| NJCAA Division One All-Region 24 | ||
| Name | Hometown | Team |
| Eva Richardson | Casey, IL | 1st Team |
| Ashlyn Hicks | Marion, KY | 1st Team |
| Deanna Reed | South Bend, IN | 1st Team |
| Serenity Shemwell | Gracey, KY | 1st Team |
| Mackayla Denny | Perth, Australia | 1st Team |
| Bryanna French | Centralia, IL | 2nd Team |
| NJCAA Division One Region 24 Tournament Team | |
| Name | Hometown |
| Eva Richardson | Casey, IL |
| Mackayla Denney | Perth, Australia |
| Serenity Shemwell | Gracey, KY |
| Bryanna French | Centralia, IL |
| Additional Awards | |
| Great Rivers Athletic Conference Player of the Year | Eva Richardson |
| NJCAA Division One Region Player of the Year | Eva Richardson |
| Great Rivers Athletic Conference Coach of the Year | Coach Gregory Nelson (Mattoon) |
| NJCAA Division One Region 24 Coach of the Year | Coach Nelson |
| NFCA All Midwest Team | Eva Richardson |
| NFCA All American Team | Eva Richardson (1st Team) |
| NJCAA Division One All American | Eva Richardson (3rd Team) |
Baseball
Team Honors:
- NJCAA Academic Team
- Region 24 Runner Up
Individual Honors and Awards:
| Great Rivers Athletic Conference Team | |
| Name | Hometown |
| Liam McKillip | Chicago, IL |
| NJCAA Division One Region 24 Gold Glove | |
| Name | Hometown |
| Cameron Nagel | Lemont, IL |
| Ben Benoit | Elgin, IL |
Comments