Six Wayne State College student-athletes have received the prestigious NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic Award with Distinction. This award goes to senior student-athletes who have maintained a GPA of 3.75 or higher.
 
The six students are Andrea DeSimone (cross country and track & field), Nicholas Fly (cross country and track & field), Alyssa Frauendorfer (volleyball), Corbin Lehn (cross country and track & field), Joey Lenihan (baseball) and Michaela Mestl (volleyball).
 
Wayne State College Athletic Director Mike Powicki applauded all six individuals.
 
“Thank you for your hard work, dedication, perseverance and success. Thank you for representing WSC the way you have these past four years,” Powicki said.
 
The Myles Brand award is named after the late former president of the NCAA and has been around for four years, Powicki said.
 
Wayne State has a rich history of recipients of the Myles Brand Award, with 14 student-athletes receiving the honors last year.
 
“Last year we had the most recipients in the Northern Sun Conference. The year before we had 10. This year we have a slightly smaller graduating class, but six is still a great number,” Powicki said.
 
He expects WSC student-athletes to continue with their success in the classroom.
 
“The academic rigors of maintaining eligibility as an NCAA Division II student-athlete continue to get more demanding,” Powicki said.  “Therefore, student-athletes will need to continue to achieve a certain level of academic progress in order to compete.
 
“Our student-athletes are very driven, self-motivated individuals, so those who are also high academic achievers tend to have that drive as an inherent attribute.”
 
Head baseball Coach Alex Koch had praise for his starting closer, Joey Lenihan, who made the list.
 
“We have many kids who do a good job in the classroom and on the field. Joey takes it to the next level,” Koch said. “He is the closer on the baseball team and takes pride in what he does on the mound.
 
“Our expectations are high for everyone on the team academically so when they get rewarded for doing so it makes a coach feel good in what they are teaching.”
 
In all, the NSIC had 139 student-athletes receive the award. The students will receive a certificate and a wrist watch from the NSIC for their dedication and hard work.