GRANVILLE, Ohio (April 1, 2024) – Denison University hosted the 13th Annual James T. Glerum '82 Top-50 Scholar-Athlete Honors Celebration on Monday, April 1, at the Mitchell Center in Granville. The event recognizes the top-50 Denison student-athletes of sophomore standing or higher based on grade point average. They are invited to the banquet, along with a Denison faculty member of their choosing.

The banquet is named in honor of James T. Glerum, a 1982 graduate and member of the Big Red men's basketball team. During the event, each top-50 honoree is recognized with their invited faculty member, who is called to give a short introduction meant to illustrate the off-field aspects of student-athletes.

This year's top-50 class is listed below, and we are also thrilled to announce our special award winners for 2023-24.

Senior Kate Griffin (women's golf) earned the James T. Glerum Jr. '82 Presidential Award, which goes to a senior who has displayed superior athletic and academic accomplishments in addition to service that goes above and beyond to the University. Griffin, who is a Health, exercise and sport studies (HESS) major from Colorado Springs, Colorado, is also the founding board member and vice-chair Crossover for Change, showcasing the true meaning of service through sport. Crossover for Change is a non-profit organization whose mission is to "foster confidence, empowerment and leadership for young women in Uganda through sport." Crossover for Change was founded by a group of young athletes from Colorado Springs high schools and evolved out of a love of sports and basketball, a connection in Uganda and a desire to impact the lives of young girls and empower them through sport. Due to gendered expectations in Uganda, young girls find it challenging to remain in school or pursue a career, and their exposure to life lessons through sport are limited. This group of Colorado girls through Crossover for Change aspires to reverse this trend by promoting leadership and life lesson through sport education and enhancing self-esteem and confidence for young women at two schools in Uganda. On the golf course, Griffin is a two-time First-Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference player (2021-22, 2022-23) and was named to the 2022-23 Women's Golf Coaches Association All-Region Team after finishing as the individual runner-up at the NCAC Tournament and placing 64th in her first appearance at the NCAA Division III Championship. She has helped the Big Red women's golf team capture the NCAC Championship in each of her two years since transferring from Colorado State University and has been a member of the WGCA All-American Scholar Team in both of those years as well (2021-22, 2022-23). She is a member of Denison's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (DSAAC) and is a Docent in the Office of Admissions on campus.

Annually, the North Coast Athletic Conference honors one male and one female as the recipient of the NCAC Scholar-Athlete Awards. This is awarded to a senior student-athlete who boasts a minimum GPA of 3.50 and has contributed significantly to the accomplishments of their team. This year's honorees were Ellie Reiser (women's soccer) and Jack Nimesheim (football). 

Reiser is a global commerce major with a minor in Spanish from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. She is a two-time Second-Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference player as a midfielder (2021, 2023). She started in all 19 matches for the Big Red this past season, scored a goal during her Senior Day win over Kenyon, tied for 18th in the NCAC with two assists, and was a United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Region selection while also earning a spot on the NCAC All-Tournament Team. Reiser helped the Big Red win an NCAC Regular-Season Championship in 2021, followed by back-to-back NCAC Tournament Championships in 2022 and 2023. She finished her senior season earning Third-Team All-Ohio honors for the second time in her career (2021, 2023) while also being named First-Team Academic All-Ohio and being selected to the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Team. She will be a three-time Denison Top-50 Scholar-Athlete this year. On campus, Rieser is a member of the Delta Gamma sorority, Denison's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (DSAAC), and the Denison Edge Student Advisory Group. She is also a Global Ambassador and Student Intern for the Center for Global Programs and was a Global Commerce Academic Fellow and Community Leader for 2023-24.

Nimesheim is a journalism major from Northfield, Illinois, who was named a Third-Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection this season. Nimesheim started in all 10 games for the second season in a row, this time at the Sam position (OLB/Nickel), and finished second on the Big Red with 70 tackles. He was fifth on the squad with 4.5 tackles for loss and was one of three players with two interceptions. Nimesheim finishes his career at Denison with 125 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, four interceptions, four pass breakups and one fumble recovery. A two-time member of the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Team (2022, 2023), this is Nimesheim's first year being recognized as a Denison Top-50 Scholar-Athlete. Nimesheim is a Co-host for Denison UNCUT's DIG Deep Podcast and is the Editor of Denison UNCUT's UNTOLD Blog. He is also a freelance journalist with over 50 bylines for the Columbus Dispatch and 20 for U.S. News & World Report. Lastly, Nimesheim has served as a teacher's assistant for a Denison course called "Literary Nonfiction" in 2022, and he taught a winter accelerator course during the extended Covid Winter Break in 2020-21.

The Lynn Schweizer Award, named in honor of Denison's Hall of Fame coach and administrator, recognizes the highest-ranking senior varsity female scholar-athlete, by GPA. This year's honoree was Cara Bodary from the Big Red women's cross country and track & field teams. Bodary is a psychology major from New Boston, Michigan, who in addition to now being a three-time Denison Top-50 Scholar-Athlete, received the Ted Barclay Top-Five Award in both 2022 and 2023. On the cross country course this season, Bodary led the Big Red in five of seven races, was 31st at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship with a time of 24:43.4, and was 98th at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Championship with a career-best 6K time of 23:07.2. At the 2024 NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, Bodary helped the Big Red distance medley relay team to an all-conference finish in third place and was fifth in the mile with a time of 5:24.46. At Denison, Bodary is an Anderson Scholarship for Excellence in Science recipient and is a member of the Sigma Chi Honor Society, Psi Chi International Honor Society and the Phi Society Chapter.

The highest-ranking senior varsity male scholar-athlete, in terms of GPA, earns the Dr. Larry Scheiderer Award, named in honor of the former Denison athletic director. This year's award went to Nadeem Jones from the Big Red tennis team. Jones is a studio art and chemistry double major from Charleston, West Virginia, who in addition to now being a three-time Denison Top-50 Scholar-Athlete, received the Ted Barclay Top-Five Award in both 2022 and 2023. Jones was also named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete in each of his first three seasons on the tennis court (2020-21, 2021-22 & 2022-23). He works as a head tutor for the Academic Resource Center (ARC) at Denison, is the managing editor for The Synapse Magazine on campus, is a member of the Academic Integrity Board, and earned the Osborne Scholarship. This Fall for the Big Red men's tennis team, Jones was 8-2 in singles 4-3 in doubles.

The Student-Athlete Diversity and Inclusion Award, which recognizes senior student-athletes who have promoted and demonstrated excellence and leadership in inclusion, diversity, antiracism and equity work within athletics, was won by men's tennis seniors Andy Mackler and Nadeem Jones for their work in creating the De-Stress Tennis Fest. Nan Carney-DeBord said, "The 'team' of Andy Mackler & Nadeem Jones developed the idea of a campus wide initiative to allow our community to 'de-stress'. They began the De-Stress Fest through the platform of tennis to allow faculty, staff, and non-varsity tennis students to come together on an afternoon to learn skills and drills in an environment of 'play'. Research suggests that movement and play are fundamental to our mental health. They also celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Title IX in the second year of the initiative and always were intentional in encouraging a wide range of people to join in the fun. We are grateful for their forward thinking to enhance the lives of the entire Denison Community."

The Town & Gown Award is presented to the Granville community member who has supported Denison in extraordinary ways over the last year. This year's recipient was current North Coast Athletic Conference Execute Director Keri Alexander Luchowski. Nan Carney-DeBord said, "The Town/Gown Award goes to an individual or organization who has gone above and beyond to show their support for Denison's athletic programs and to Denison's athletes. Keri Luchowski has done just that. In her role of Executive Director of the North Coast Athletic Conference, Keri has also accomplished this support for every institution in the NCAC. She is a transformational leader in the NCAA Division III, the quintessential division of the NCAA."

The Alumni Recognition Award was presented to Denison's Director of Family Engagement and the Denison Professional Network, Julie Tucker '09. Julie recently moved from Denison's Division of Student Life to the Division of Institutional Advancement to fill the newly created director of family engagement and the Denison Professional Network position. Julie is no stranger to Big Red Athletics as she can be seen in the stands and on the sidelines almost every week cheering on student-athletes, teams, and coaches. Her enthusiasm is contagious and her support unwavering. Since graduating from Dension in 2009, she has dedicated her time, energy, and talents to improving the lives of all members of the Denison community. She leads family engagement, creating opportunities to engage parents and families in the Denison community. She also creates opportunities for alumni to leverage their Denison network for their ongoing professional growth and development. In her past role as Associate Vice President for Student Life at Denison, she led the design of the Hoaglin Wellness Center and developed the cross-institutional strategy for student well-being, and also launched the Red Frame Lab, our center for design thinking, entrepreneurship and innovation. Julie has done a tremendous job of supporting Big Red Athletics and student-athletes, regardless of her title. Julie has been, and continues to be, integral in helping Denison athletics achieve its goals through her work in family and alumni engagement.

The Ted Barclay Top-Five Awards are given to individuals who represent the Denison athletic department in a positive manner through their ability and scholarship. It is named in honor of Ted Barclay, who spent 35 years at Denison as a professor, as a coach of six different Big Red varsity programs, and as the director of men's athletics for 12 years. Of this year's honorees, two are repeat winners. They are Connor Brown (men's swimming & diving) and Nikki Barnas (women's swimming & diving). First-time recipients included Christian Narcelles (men's swimming & diving), Gavin Jones (men's swimming & diving) and Maddie Goodman (women's basketball).
 
2023-24 Denison Top-50 Scholar-Athletes:

NAME	YR	SPORT	MAJOR
Eli Aronson #	Jr.	Baseball	Data Analytics
Nikki Barnas !	Sr.	Women's Swimming & Diving	Communication
Annelise Bentley	So.	Women's Track & Field	Psychology
Cara Bodary !	Sr.	Women's Cross Country, Track & Field	Psychology
Connor Brown #	Jr.	Men's Swimming & Diving	Financial Economics
Nina Casingal	So.	Field Hockey	Economics
Amber Croonquist #	Jr.	Women's Swimming & Diving	Biology
Will Cunningham !	Sr.	Men's Cross Country, Track & Field	Economics
Oliver DiCerbo	So.	Men's Cross Country, Track & Field	Biology
Tyler Distenfeld #	Jr.	Men's Swimming & Diving	Biology
Phoebe Ferguson	So.	Women's Swimming & Diving	Health, Exercise, & Sport Studies
Max Fishbein	So.	Baseball	Data Analytics
Morgan Gilmore #	Jr.	Women's Golf	Biology & Spanish
Maddie Goodman #	Jr.	Women's Basketball	Biochemistry
Colin Gramley	Jr.	Men's Tennis	Financial Economics
Ethan Green	So.	Men's Tennis	Financial Economics
Kate Griffin	Sr.	Women's Golf	Health, Exercise, & Sport Studies
Abigail Hano ^	Sr.	Field Hockey	Global Health
Emily Harris	So.	Women's Swimming & Diving	Financial Economics
Audrey Hughes #	Jr.	Women's Lacrosse	Psychology
Natalie Isberg	So.	Women's Fencing	English & Journalism
Cailey Johns #	Jr.	Volleyball	Psychology and Environmental Studies
Kerstyn Johnson #	Jr.	Women's Swimming & Diving	Health, Exercise, & Sport Studies & Theatre
Gavin Jones #	Jr.	Men's Swimming & Diving	Economics & Communication
Nadeem Jones !	Sr.	Men's Tennis	Studio Art & Chemistry
Alice Kempf	So.	Volleyball	Communication
Grace Lukens	So.	Women's Fencing	English Literature & Dance
Elizabeth Lyon #	Jr.	Women's Golf	Biochemistry
Colin MacLean #	Jr.	Men's Lacrosse	Financial Economics
Ellie Martin	So.	Volleyball	Psychology
Jordyn Maurer	So.	Softball	Data Analytics
Lu-Si Minnich	So	Women's Swimming & Diving	Financial Economics
Christian Narcelles #	Jr.	Men's Swimming & Diving	Biochemistry
Cian Nicholas	So.	Men's Lacrosse	Economics
Jack Nimesheim	Sr.	Football	Journalism
Tomer Ozmo	Jr.	Men's Tennis	Computer Science
Maja Palmroos #	Jr.	Women's Swimming & Diving	Data Analytics & Mathematics
John Platt #	Jr.	Men's Cross Country, Track & Field	Data Analytics
Amy Pollack !	Sr.	Women's Track & Field	Psychology & Health, Exercise, & Sport Studies
Emma Pritchett #	Jr.	Women's Swimming & Diving	Journalism
Ellie Reiser !	Sr.	Women's Soccer	Global Commerce
Lauren Richner #	Jr.	Women's Swimming & Diving	Global Health & Spanish
Sam Secrest @	5th.	Football	Philosophy, Politics & Economics
Sydney Silverstein #	Jr.	Softball	Psychology & Health, Exercise, & Sport Studies
Sophia Sobota !	Sr.	Volleyball	Anthropology & Sociology
Sarah Sollinger	So.	Women's Soccer	Journalism
Erik Sundgren	So	Baseball	Mathematics
PJ Suppes	So.	Baseball	Politics, Philosophy, and Economics
Drue Thielking	So.	Women's Swimming & Diving	Biochemistry
Elijah Van Farowe	So.	Men's Cross Country, Track & Field	Politics and Public Affairs
George Wang	So.	Men's Swimming & Diving	Physics
Jess Zittel	So.	Women's Basketball	Health, Exercise, & Sport Studies & Biology

 
# 2022-23 Top-50 Scholar-Athlete
^ 2021-22 Top-50 Scholar-Athlete
! 2021-22 & 2022-23 Top-50 Scholar-Athlete
@ 2020-21, 2021-22 & 2022-23 Top-50 Scholar-Athlete