NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) announced the winners of the Merle Chapman Leadership Award on Tuesday.
The Merle Chapman Leadership award, which began during the 2002-03 academic year, is named after the long time football coach/athletics director at Millikin University and the second commissioner of the CCIW. Chapman served in that capacity from 1997-2002.
This award identifies the student-athletes from CCIW-sponsored sports that best exemplify the traits that Chapman displayed and encouraged during his three-plus decades of service as teacher, coach and mentor to the athletes, coaches and administrators of the CCIW. Those traits are loyalty, enthusiasm, leadership, sportsmanship, and a commitment to academic, athletic and personal excellence.
Each school picked a male and female winner from its institution and the winners were honored on Tuesday, April 15 at the CCIW’s SAAC leadership workshop and luncheon.
2013-14 CCIW Merle Chapman Award Winners
Augustana
Chaney Tambling (SR, Dwight, Ill./H.S.) – Women’s Basketball/Softball
D.J. Lawlor (SR, Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) – Soccer
Carthage
Sarah Wodnik (SR, Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) – Swimming
Eric Bernard (SR, Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South) – Track & Field/Cross Country
Elmhurst
Sam Szarmach (SR, St. Charles, Ill./East) – Volleyball
Austin Haas (SR, Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol) – Soccer
Illinois Wesleyan
Lexi Baltes (SR, St. Charles, Ill./East) – Basketball
Matt La Londe (SR, Downers Grove, Ill./South) – Soccer
Millikin
Brittany Czaplicki (SR, Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) – Basketball
Eric Whitaker (SR, Shumway, Ill./Effingham) – Football
North Central
Amy Gerald (SO, Orland Hills, Ill./Andrew) – Soccer
Nathan Segel (JR, Cutler Bay, Fla./Miami Pametto) – Wrestling
North Park
Kristin Gibbs (SR, Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) – Soccer
David Anderson (SO, Grayslake, Ill./North) – Track & Field
Wheaton
Sarah Ray (SR, Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) – Tennis
Matt McCrary (SR, Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) – Wrestling
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2012-13 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,400 academic all-conference recipients, 15 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans, 30 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, 68 all-Americans and one national championship team.