Posted June 13, 2007
Awards by the MIAA to the outstanding senior athletes from its member schools during the 2006-07 school year have been announced by Commissioner David Neilson.
Lisa Winkle of Calvin College has been presented the Sheila Wallace Kovalchik Scholar-Athlete Award while Josh Brehm of Alma College has received the Albert H. Deal Scholar-Athlete Award.
“The selection committees have chosen two exceptional scholar-athletes from an outstanding group of candidates,” said Commissioner Neilson.
The awards recognize senior class athletes who have excelled in academics and athletics and displayed outstanding leadership qualities. The awards honor two former MIAA commissioners, Albert Deal (1971-91) and Sheila Wallace Kovalchik (1991-2002).
This year’s awards recognize two students who excelled on a national level as well as in the MIAA. Each was named the national Division III player of the year in their sport, Winkle in basketball and Brehm in football.
A graduate of Grand Rapids South Christian High School, Winkle was a standout two-sport athlete, basketball and in track and field. In basketball, she finished her career as Calvin’s all-time leading scorer (1,722 points) and rebounder (1,034 rebounds). The only four-time first team All-MIAA selection in MIAA women’s basketball history, Winkle was a two-time MIAA MVP and was named a Kodak All-American as a senior. She also led the team to a pair of MIAA titles, three trips to the NCAA III tournament and two visits to the national quarterfinals. She was twice named an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American and as a senior was presented the prestigious Jostens Trophy, an award that honors basketball and academic excellence as well as service in the community.
In track and field, she was a three-time All-MIAA selection, including a three-time league champion in the long jump. She was a part of four MIAA championship teams as well as three national runner-up squads. She finished her track and field career as a 10-time NCAA III All-American. Winkle was graduated from Calvin with a degree in secondary education and mathematics while carrying a 3.96 grade point average. This was recently named the 2006 Michigan Female College Athlete of the Year by the Detroit Athletic Club.
Hailing from Ithaca, Mich., Brehm led NCAA Division III football in three categories: total offense (4,084), passing yards (3,448) and passing yards per game (344.8). The MIAA’s 2006 most valuable offensive player, he set an NCAA record with 288 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, and set the NCAA Division III record with 10 consecutive games of 300 yards of total offense or more. He participated in the East Coast Bowl completing 20 of 28 passing for 240 yards, one touchdown and added another on the ground.
Brehm is the holder of 15 school records including passing yards (10,706), pass completions (919) and touchdown passes (85). A two-time All-MIAA first team selection, he collected 12,247 career yards of total offense and was honored as the MIAA offensive player of the week seven times over his career.
Brehm was the 2006 recipient of the Gagliardi Trophy, awarded annually to the best player in Division III football for excellence in academics, athletics and community service.
In addition to his expertise and agility on the football field, Brehm, a double major in business and psychology, had a 3.78 GPA. He had three consecutive semesters with a 4.0 GPA and has been awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. This past year, he was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team. An active member of Alma’s Students in Free Enterprise, Brehm dedicated countless hours of service in area schools. His many activities at Alma College included spearheading a fundraising effort in memory of Joe Nelson, a fellow football player, who tragically died in a car accident.
Other candidates for the Kovalchik award were Abby Sikora of Adrian, Emily Stocker of Albion, Kelsey Krull of Alma, Lisa Smith of Hope, Elizabeth Garlow of Kalamazoo, Stephanie Smith of Olivet, Anne Cusack of Saint Mary’s and Rainbow Bednarski of Tri-State.
Other candidates for the Deal award were Ryan Sulek of Adrian, Jason Bowman of Albion, Tim Finnegan of Calvin, Ryan TerLouw of Hope, Chris Werme of Kalamazoo, Ananta Fetters of Olivet, and Adam Garvin of Tri-State.
