Graceland University

Joe Lupton '23 returns to The Hill after a successful weekend at the 66th Annual NAIA Men's Wrestling Championship. Lupton placed 6th overall and earned the esteemed All-American status.

David Toese '23 returns to The Hill after a successful weekend at the 66th Annual NAIA Men's Wrestling Championship. Toese placed 8th overall and earned the esteemed All-American status.

Freshman Spyridon Kalentzis '26 from Corfu, Greece, is flying to Toronto, Canada, to compete in the 2023 World Rowing Indoor Championship.

Last week, the American Football Coaches Association announced the 2022 NAIA Coaches' All-America Teams. Graceland University's Gerald Monroe was selected for Second Team Offense.

Michael Millslagle will represent the USA at the FISU (International University Sports Federation) America Games held in Merida, Mexico.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced honorees in addition to over 11,000 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes and over 2,000 NAIA Scholar Teams as a part of its annual NAIA National Awards Day. This year, Graceland University's Peyton Anderson was named a 2021-22 NAIA National Award; A.O. Duer Scholarship Award Winner. Named in honor of the NAIA's former executive secretary, who served the association for 26 years, the A.O. Duer Scholarship Award has been annually presented since 1967 to a male and female junior student-athlete in any sport who has excelled in scholarship, character, and citizenship.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University Women's Basketball student-athletes among the 2021 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) officially announced Graceland student-athletes among the qualifiers for the 2021 NAIA Wrestling National Championships. The 64th annual event takes place March 5-6 at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas. Graceland Wrestling Head Coach Zack Mullins commented, "I'm very proud of what this team was able to accomplish this weekend! We've come a long way over the years in building the program the right way and it has manifested into a group of guys that buy in to hard work, commitment and family. This year's motto has been 'Stronger Together!' so we are all excited to continue this journey at nationals together." The allocations each conference/grouping received to the 2021 NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championships were determined by a three-year average of a conference's all-American honors and national tournament qualifiers. Each conference determined how to distribute their allocated berths to the national tournament.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University men's basketball student-athlete Nick Coleman among the 2021 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

Graceland University Men's Track's Cameron Johnson was named the NAIA Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week Feb. 3. Student-athletes are evaluated at the national level on their performance during the week prior to the announcement. Each NAIA awardee is selected from a pool of conference and Association of Independent Institution's award winners. Johnson has won the 55-meter and 200-meter events in two consecutive meets. Last week, he won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.46 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.68 seconds, leading to his recognition as the Heart of America Athletic Conference Men's Track Athlete of the Week. Graceland Athletic Director Brady McKillip commented, "On behalf of the entire athletic department, we are very proud of Cameron and his accomplishments so far this season in such a trying year. Congrats to Cam on this award; it is well-deserved."

Graceland University Men's Track's Cameron Johnson was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Men's Track Athlete of the Week Monday, Feb. 1, for the second week in a row. The senior sprinter from Houston, Texas, repeated his success from last week with two first-place finishes at the weekend home meet. Johnson won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.46 seconds. He also came away with another first-place finish in the 200-meter dash, posting a time of 22.68 seconds. That makes four consecutive victories over the past two weeks in both of Johnson's sprinting events. Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Graceland University Men's Track's Cameron Johnson was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Men's Track Athlete of the Week Monday, Jan. 25. The senior sprinter from Houston, Texas, won two of the three events he competed in during last Friday's Graceland Indoor Winter Series meet. He placed first in both the 55m dash and the 200m dash. In the 55m dash, Johnson ran a 6.51 and completed the 200m dash in 22.87 seconds. Track and field head coach Sheena James commented, "I'm so proud of Cam. He leads by example and works hard to maximize his potential. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of this indoor season pans out for him. There are great things ahead for Cam!" In addition to winning two of the events in Friday's indoor meet, Cameron also helped Graceland to a 2nd place finish in the men's 4x400m relay. Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University football student-athletes among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University women's soccer student-athlete Charlyann Pizzarello among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University women's volleyball student-athletes among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University men's soccer student-athletes among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University cross country student-athletes among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches. Racers who finished in the top 10 in the Heart conference meet earned all-conference honors, and those who finished number 11-15 received honorable mention recognition.

Graceland University Men's Soccer's Abraham De Anda was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week. De Anda picked up an assist in the Yellowjackets' win at Park University earlier in the week and scored two goals in their win Friday night over Evangel University. On the season, De Anda now has four goals and an assist for 9 total points in Graceland's 10 matches thus far. In their match at Evangel, De Anda had a season-high in total points (4), goals (2), shots (5) and shots on goal (4). Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Graceland University Men's Soccer's Pedelson Finda was named Heart Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week by the Heart of America Athletic Conference Monday, Sept. 28. Head coach Bryan Courtney said, "Pedelson worked really hard this offseason with no guarantees that we would even be able to play. I am very happy to see his diligence and hard work pay off for himself as well as our team." Finda commented, "I'm beyond blessed to receive this honor in one of the best conferences in the NAIA. This award is a result of hard work, dedication, passion and love for the game. Although this was an individual award, I wouldn't be able to accomplish without the endless support and camaraderie from my coach and teammates. We are one family that prevails together, win or lose. Therefore, this is not my award, this is ours!" Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Graceland University Men's Cross Country's Dillon Grover was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week Monday, Oct. 26. Grover has consistently improved throughout the year and has been one of the Heart's top runners all season. This weekend tabbed Grover's third top-ten finish of the fall. He placed fifth to open the season at the Viking Invitiational, won the Yellowjacket Invite, then earned third last week ahead of this recognition. Grover set a personal record at 25:30.36 this weekend and posted the fastest time in the Heart this fall. He helped the Graceland men's team to a fourth-place finish out of the nine competing teams in the Mustang XC Jamboree. Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Two Graceland University golf student-athletes were named Heart Golfer of the week by the Heart of America Athletic Conference Monday, Sept. 14. Freshman Isabelle O'Brien was named Female Golfer of the Week, and senior Jordan Lester was named Male Golfer of the Week. The pair of Graceland golfers turned in a solid performance from the team's first competition of the 2020 season at the Mount Mercy Invitational Sept. 12-13. Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Graceland University Men's Soccer's Liam Smith was named Heart Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week by the Heart of America Athletic Conference Monday, Sept. 7. Head men's soccer coach Bryan Courtney commented, "Liam was a steady presence in net all game. It is nice to have him back and fully healthy to begin this season." Smith posted a clean sheet in goal for Graceland to help lead them to a 2-0 win in their season opener over Ottawa University Saturday, Sept. 5. He was in goal the entire 90 minutes of the match and had six saves. Coach Courtney added, "We are looking forward to seeing the positive impact that Liam brings to the team this season with his physical ability and leadership qualities. He is athletic and technically sound in the goal, but equally important is his quality of character. He is always positive and encouraging and sets a great example for his teammates." Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Graceland University Men's Soccer's Dylan Fox has been named the Heart of America Athletic Conference's nominee for the annual Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character Award. The award recognizes one student-athlete who excels academically and athletically, and embraces the core values of Champions of Character. Fox, a defender on the soccer team, saw action in 15 games last season and was selected as a Freeman Award recipient for Graceland in October. The five-time president's list selection is currently triple majoring in computer science and information technology, mathematics and data science. Fox also served as a House President, an Academic Student Council representative and a member of Graceland's Association of Student-Athletes during the 2019-20 academic year. The national winner for the Walker Award will be announced publicly during the NAIA National Awards Day in September.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference named Graceland University Wrestling student-athletes among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) named Graceland University competitive dance student-athletes among the 2020 All-American selections. To achieve NAIA All-America or honorable mention status, student-athletes participate in a tryout judged by officials, and All-Americans are determined by the scores. The Competative Cheer and Dance Coaches Association officers then confirm the list of scores and athletes. The very first NAIA competitive dance All-American teams were announced in 2017.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference named Graceland University Women's Basketball student-athletes among the 2020 All Heart of America Athletic Conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference named Graceland University Men's Basketball student-athletes among the 2020 All-Conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

Graceland University Cheer's Kalie Whitehall was recognized as an All-American for the NAIA National Competitve Cheer list as an honorable-mention selection. To achieve NAIA All-America or honorable mention status, student-athletes participate in a tryout judged by officials, and All-Americans are determined by the scores. The Competative Cheer and Dance Coaches Association officers then confirm the list of scores and athletes. The very first NAIA competitive dance All-American teams were announced in 2017.

Graceland University Track and Field's Suzie Guerrero qualified for nationals in the pole vault with her first-place finish at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships, with a vault of 3.42 meters. The mark earned her the B standard nationally in the pole vault.

Graceland University junior 165-pound wrestler Drew Sams was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Wrester of the Week Monday, Feb. 3. The former Oskaloosa High graduate earned the award after his 4-0 performance Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Sioux City Dave Edmonds Open. Sams, currently ranked #13 in the 165-pound weight class nationally, won his first match during the match by major decision and followed that up with a pin in the first period of his second match. After another win in his third match, he advanced to the next round matched up against a DI opponent from the University of Nebraska. Sams was successful in the match, winning by disqualification late, to solidify his undefeated record on the weekend. Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.