The University of Illinois Springfield Athletics Department held its annual Night of Stars Atheltics Banquet on Monday evening. The evening recognized the best moments in Prairie Stars Athletics for the 2023-24 school year, and gave student-athletes an opportunity to celebrate the year with their teammates. Playback of the Night of Stars is available on the GLVC Sports Network.
Major Awards
Eleven major awards were given to top candidates for athletics performance, academic achievements, or their overall contribution to UIS Athletics.
Senior Scholar Student-Athletes
This award goes to the top graduating senior who has participated in UIS athletics for at least three academic years and has attained the highest cumulative GPA among all seniors.
Male Senior Scholar Student-Athletes - Clark Morgan and Cort Ross
Female Senior Scholar Student-Athlete - Jordan Serrahn
Iron Stars (Strength and Conditioning Award)
Iron Stars are selected by Coach Ryan Johnson for commitment to improving and getting better every day in the weight room. The Iron Star Award was created to recognize athletes that always put in the work.
Male Iron Star - Matthew Lapsley
According to Director of Strength and Conditioning Ryan Johnson, "Two words that describe Matthew's approach to training are discipline and commitment. Matthew has an unmatched drive to be his best and to make his team the best. There are very few people that would run outside in a parking lot in December in New Hampshire just to ensure he got his training in, but Matthew is that person. Matthew has always done more work than what is required, done it at a high level, and has also tried to hold his teammates to his same standards. Thank you, Matthew, for your dedication to maximizing your potential."
Female Iron Star - Sina Skjelstad
According to Ryan Johnson, "Sina is a worker. The best compliment I can give her is that you know exactly what you are getting from her every training session. I know that Sina is going to put the required work in to be healthy and to maximize her potential whether I am coaching all of her reps or not. This is evident by the way she approached her training not only during the school year, but also during the summer and holiday break time periods. Sina trains in a very quiet, workmanlike manner so some may not notice her effort and intensity. I notice it and am very appreciative of your dedication and commitment to your performance training."
Rookies of the Year
The Male and Female Rookie of the Year awards are nominated by coaches and voted on by the athletics staff. These awards are given to the athletes that made the most immediate impact on their teams in their first year as a collegiate athlete. This award considers the impact they made inside their own team as well as how they performed inside the conference.
MALE NOMINEES
Johnny Wendling, Baseball
Joey Karlesky, Cross Country & Track
Khalil Ross, Basketball
Kai Van-Roon, Tennis
Jake Baldin, Golf
MaleRookie of the Year - Johnny Wendling
The freshman has come into the team and made an instant impact. He currently has
a .276 batting average and .446 on base percentage in 34 games played, starting 32 of
those contests. Johnny has totaled 27 hits, 16 runs scored, 21 RBIs, and hit a home run
against Missouri S&T.
FEMALE NOMINEES
Alexis Carroll, Softball
Marissa Roggensack, Cross Country & Track
Kayla Rice, Basketball
Shariah Gailes, Basketball
Carolyne Mathenia, Soccer
Lillian Gottman, Golf
Niamh Grogan, Tennis
Gabriella Ricci, Volleybal
Female Rookie of the Year - Shariah Gailes
The freshman stepped up and made a huge impact as the season progressed, earning
herself GLVC All-Freshman Team honors. She averaged 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds
during the season. Shariah put her name into the history books when she set a new
school record for single-game points with 37 against Indianapolis, also tying a program
record of 12 field goals made
Athletes of the Year
The Male and Female Athlete of the Year Awards were voted on by the athletics
staff and was given to the player who excelled to the highest degree in their respective
sport. New in 2023-24, any athlete who was named the Jimmy John's Athlete of the Month was added to the Athlete of the Year ballot.
MALE NOMINEES
Mark Kattula, Baseball
Brant Vanaman, Baseball
Cort Ross, Cross Country & Track
Andrea Scapolo, Soccer
Adrian Adames, Soccer
Max Tweddle, Soccer
Jordan Rice, Basketball
Jacob Hanna, Basketball
Alex Seibal, Golf
Ivan Esguerra, Tennis
Male Athlete of the Year - Adrian Adames
The graduate student anchored the Men's Soccer defensive unit as they were the NCAA statistical champions in goals against average and shutout percentage. Adames was named to the D2CCA All-American Second Team, to the First Team All-Conference, and was the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year. He played over 1800 minutes for the Prairie
Stars this season and scored six goals to lead the team.
FEMALE NOMINEES
Ella Brinkley, Softball
Sierra Cenek, Soccer
Madelyn Miller, Cross Country & Track
Jessenia Lawson, Basketball
Elaine Grant, Golf
Eirini Glynou, Volleyball
Carmen Llopis Fabra, Tennis
Female Athlete of the Year - Jessenia Lawson
The junior led the Women's Basketball team to the 5th seed in conference play and
qualification for the GLVC Tournament, only for the second time in school history.
Jessenia was named a First Team All-Conference member for her efforts, just the
second women's basketball athlete to achieve this honor in school history. Jessenia
was the fifth-best scorer in the GLVC with 17.2 points per game, while leading the
conference in steals with 78. She also recorded seven double-doubles on the season.
Chancellor's Prairie Star of the Year
This award, first introduced in 2022-23, was voted on by the athletics staff and was given to the athlete who demonstrated exemplary sportsmanship, leadership, and citizenship not only in Athletics but on the UIS campus and in community outreach. Chancellor Gooch presented the award to the top candidate at the banquet.
NOMINEES
Anna Schurz, Women's Soccer
Ramsey Armstrong, Softball
Emma Leahy, Women's XC/Track
Chancellor's Prairie Star of the Year - Anna Schurz
The sophomore is an Environmental Studies major with both Chemistry and
Biology minors. She is a student leader in Christian Student Fellowship on campus.
Anna is also on the Green Fee Committee, works at the Cox Child Care Center, and
works for Campus Recreation where she leads outdoor adventure trips and supervises
intramurals. She also plays a major role on the women's soccer team, as she started
every game this past Fall and played over 1400 minutes.
Orion's Belt
The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) organized a team competition among all UIS athletic teams to vie for the "Orion's Belt". The purpose of this competition is to engage all teams in activities that support the GLVC SAAC challenge, SAAC-sponsored events, and volunteer activities led by the teams themselves.
Inaugural Orion's Belt Team Champion - Baseball
Friend of Athletics - Presented by the Director of Athletics
This new award is dedicated to recognizing someone who goes above and beyond in supporting the Prairie Stars.
Inaugural Friend of Athletics - Michael Taylor of Office of Electronic Media (OEM) at UIS
Graduating Student Athlete Recognition
Graduating student-athletes were honored with their Athletics stoles and gathered on stage for a group photo.
2022-23 Team Award Winners
Each team has a MVP and Star Spirit Award winner. MVPs, selected by the team's head coach, are players who lead their team in performance, attitude, dedication, and teamwork throughout the season and consistently performed on a high level. Star Spirit student-athletes were selected by their teammates for being encouraging, motivating teammates who bring dedication and a positive attitude to their team. Star Spirit Award recipients are athletes who helped build the culture and spirit of UIS Athletics.
Volleyball
MVP - Eirini Glynou
Star Spirit - Marta Pérez-Tapia
Baseball
MVP - Mark Kattula
Star Spirit - Jacob Newman
Softball
MVP - Ella Brinkley
Star Spirit - Ramsey Armstrong
Men's Basketball
MVP - Jordan Rice
Star Spirit - Jason Bergstrom
Women's Basketball
MVP - Liz Uhl
Star Spirit - Ella Mann
Men's Tennis
MVP - Ivan Esguerra
Star Spirit - Matthew Lapsley
Women's Tennis
MVP - Franca Bucco
Star Spirit - Piper Schrepferman
Men's Track & Field
MVP - Cort Ross
Star Spirit - Noah Tegeler
Women's Track & Field
MVP - Madelyn Miller
Star Spirit - Kali Gaden
Men's Golf
MVP - Alex Seibal
Star Spirit - Daniel Edwards
Women's Golf
MVP - Elaine Grant
Star Spirit - Ira Joshi
Men's Soccer
MVP - Lucas Harris
Star Spirit - Andrea Scapolo
Women's Soccer
MVP - Sierra Cenek
Star Spirit - Claire Sever
Men's Cross Country
MVP - Cort Ross
Star Spirit - Zach Panek
Women's Cross Country
MVP - Madelyn Miller
Star Spirit - Marissa Roggensack
Best Moments of the Year
The UIS women's soccer team beat the conference-leading Drury Panthers in a
1-0 shutout in early October as Madison Grandys scored on the eventual GLVC
Goalkeeper of the year.
On October 21st, cross country runner Cort Ross raced to first place at the GLVC
Championships. UIS men's cross country has now shut out all GLVC opponents from
claiming the individual title for four consecutive years. For the women's team, Madelyn
Miller was the first All-GLVC cross country runner from UIS since the 2021 season.
UIS men's soccer defeated the Lewis Flyers on their turf to solidify the regular
season championship on October 27th. The Prairie Stars won on a lone goal from Drew
Keller to become GLVC regular season champions for the first time in program history.
On January 11th, the Men's Basketball team was able to pick up a big win at
home against an Upper Iowa team that was receiving votes in the national poll. The
Prairie Stars scored 46 second-half points with four players finishing in double figures.
On January 27th, Jessenia Lawson and Liz Uhl led the UIS women's basketball
team to the program's first-ever victory against the nationally-recognized Drury Panthers.
In February, Breanna Chandler broke a four-year drought of All-GLVC honors for
women's indoor track and field.
Over spring break, the UIS Softball team went 7-3 while in Florida to continue
their hot start to the spring 2024 season.
Alex Seibal earned his first collegiate win at the Lindenwood Invitational on
March 12, shooting a 205 over the three-day tournament. Elaine Grant finished in third
place at the GLVC Women's Golf Championship to earn the first All-GLVC honors of her
career the following weekend.
The weekend of March 28, the Baseball team swept Missouri S&T in a series
that featured the Stars scoring 68 runs and hitting 15 home runs in the four game series
which featured two walk-off wins.
The UIS tennis team saw a handful of upsets in matches against the Indianapolis
Greyhounds mid-season: #71-ranked Carmen Llopis Fabra defeated the #28-ranked
singles player, unranked Prairie Star Ivan Esguerra defeated the #39-ranked singles
player, and the men's doubles pairing of Ivan Esguerra and Lin En Tan defeated the
#22-ranked men's doubles pairing in NCAA Division II
WE ARE STARS
