McKendree University Earns Two Great Lakes Valley James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Awards and Students Earn Individual Awards

The McKendree University men's basketball and women's bowling teams were named Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award winners.

The GLVC renamed its annual sportsmanship award in 2016 after Spalding, who is referenced as one of the league's two "Founding Fathers" and for his longtime service at Bellarmine. Spalding was first a basketball student-athlete at Bellarmine, who later returned to serve his alma mater as assistant basketball coach (1957-66), head basketball coach (1966-71), men's cross country/track coach (1961-75), men's tennis coach (1961-62), and men's golf coach (1967-69), before being elevated to director of athletics (1971-94).

Individually, 15 male and 15 female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior, were named 2020-21 James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Individual Award winners. Jaimie Omalla, a sophomore track and field athlete from Tororo, Uganda, and Rebecca Hagerman, a sophomore women's bowler from Loves Park, Ill., were recognized from McKendree University. Each institution - through the head coach - names one award honoree in each sport sponsored, then selects one male and one female student-athlete from its season-long list of honorees to be named as James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Individual Award winners.

In addition to Omalla and Hagerman, 19 other student-athletes were honored by McKendree, including:
Riley Bishop, Fr., Grayslake, Ill./Warren Township, Women's Cross Country
Brooke Boatman, Jr., Troy, Ill./O'Fallon Township, Women's Golf
Devin Caswell, Jr., New Athens, Ill./New Athens, Men's Cross Country
Jacob Donaldson, Sr., Effingham, Ill./Effingham, Men's Basketball
Daniel Filipek, R.-Sr., Warrenton, Mo./Warrenton, Men's Wrestling
Kaelyn Froebe, R.-So., Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln, Women's Basketball
Kenneth Glidden, Jr., George Town, Cayman Islands/Stingray Swim Club, Men's Swimming & Diving
Regan Gubera, Fr., Jamestown, Ind., Women's Swimming & Diving
Sarah Hardin, Sr., Pacific, Mo./Eureka, Women's Lacrosse
Emily Kettering, So., Bloomington, Ill., Normal Community West, Women's Tennis
Danielle Knutson, Sr., Maryville, Ill./Collinsville, Women's Soccer
Caitlyn Lowry, Gr., St. Louis, Mo./Notre Dame, Softball
Lauren McCurley, Fr., Troy, Ill./Triad, Women's Volleyball
Devon Myles, Jr., Chicago, Ill./Westinghouse College Prep, Football
Brett Niedzwiecki, Sr., Collinsville, Ill./Collinsville, Men's Soccer
Will Postlethwaite, Sr., Carlisle, U.K./William Howard School, Men's Golf
Julappagari Reddy, So., Dubai, United Arab Emirates/CBSE School Nationals, Men's Tennis
Jared Timmermann, Gr., New Baden, Ill./Wesclin, Baseball
Kayla Tirey, Jr., Collinsville, Ill./Collinsville, Women's Track and Field