Heintschel and Palazeti Earn MAC Medal of Excellence Award
May 31, 2018 | Football, General, Soccer
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Ball State student-athletes Alyssa Heintschel (soccer) and Vinnie Palazeti (football) were two of 23 Mid-American Conference (MAC) student-athletes who were presented the Medal of Excellence Award during Wednesday evening's Honors Dinner Ceremony at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel as part of the MAC Spring Meetings.
The Medal of Excellence is an award presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 conference member institutions.
"The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service," said MAC Commissioner, Jon A. Steinbrecher. "We congratulate all of our Medal of Excellence Award winners."
Heintschel, a two-time Academic All-American, capped her career last fall as the winningest keeper in school history with 35 career victories. Her 0.77 goals against average over the past four years also set a school record and ranks third in Mid-American Conference annals.The three-year team captain from Oregon, Ohio, graduated earlier this month with a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in chemistry.
Palazeti, a native of Owosso, Michigan, played left guard, left tackle and right tackle for the Cardinals last fall. A 2017 team captain and third team All-MAC honoree, he tallied 28 career starts on the Ball State offensive line. Palazeti was a four-time Academic All-MAC selection and graduated from Ball State in December with a 3.648 GPA in professional selling.
To be honored with the Medal of Excellence Award, student-athletes had to participate on the varsity level in a conference sponsored sport and shown evidence of academic success with a minimum 3.50 accumulative grade-point average, exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service. Each MAC institution was responsible for the selection of its recipients.
2018 MAC Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron: Zach Guiser (football); Jackie Siefring (women's track & field)
Ball State: Vinnie Palazeti (football); Alyssa Heintschel (women's soccer)
Bowling Green: Kohl Taberner (men's cross country); Aspen Searle (softball)
Buffalo: Tim Roberts (football); Liisa Ups (women's basketball)
Central Michigan: Joe Ostman (football); Kathryn Clements (women's gymnastics)
Eastern Michigan: Luke DeVenney (baseball); Kendall Valentin (women's gymnastics)
Kent State: Mason Mamarella (baseball); Samantha Tollerud (women's track & field)
Miami: Katie Tomasic (women's volleyball)
Northern Illinois: Drew Donnally (men's soccer); Kedisha Dallas (women's track & field)
Ohio: Bradley Miller (men's cross country); Emma Ryan (women's track & field)
Toledo: Sam Shutes (baseball); Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott (women's basketball)
Western Michigan: Brandon Bye (men's soccer); Maria Jaramillo (women's soccer)
The Medal of Excellence is an award presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 conference member institutions.
"The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service," said MAC Commissioner, Jon A. Steinbrecher. "We congratulate all of our Medal of Excellence Award winners."
Heintschel, a two-time Academic All-American, capped her career last fall as the winningest keeper in school history with 35 career victories. Her 0.77 goals against average over the past four years also set a school record and ranks third in Mid-American Conference annals.The three-year team captain from Oregon, Ohio, graduated earlier this month with a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in chemistry.
Palazeti, a native of Owosso, Michigan, played left guard, left tackle and right tackle for the Cardinals last fall. A 2017 team captain and third team All-MAC honoree, he tallied 28 career starts on the Ball State offensive line. Palazeti was a four-time Academic All-MAC selection and graduated from Ball State in December with a 3.648 GPA in professional selling.
To be honored with the Medal of Excellence Award, student-athletes had to participate on the varsity level in a conference sponsored sport and shown evidence of academic success with a minimum 3.50 accumulative grade-point average, exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service. Each MAC institution was responsible for the selection of its recipients.
2018 MAC Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron: Zach Guiser (football); Jackie Siefring (women's track & field)
Ball State: Vinnie Palazeti (football); Alyssa Heintschel (women's soccer)
Bowling Green: Kohl Taberner (men's cross country); Aspen Searle (softball)
Buffalo: Tim Roberts (football); Liisa Ups (women's basketball)
Central Michigan: Joe Ostman (football); Kathryn Clements (women's gymnastics)
Eastern Michigan: Luke DeVenney (baseball); Kendall Valentin (women's gymnastics)
Kent State: Mason Mamarella (baseball); Samantha Tollerud (women's track & field)
Miami: Katie Tomasic (women's volleyball)
Northern Illinois: Drew Donnally (men's soccer); Kedisha Dallas (women's track & field)
Ohio: Bradley Miller (men's cross country); Emma Ryan (women's track & field)
Toledo: Sam Shutes (baseball); Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott (women's basketball)
Western Michigan: Brandon Bye (men's soccer); Maria Jaramillo (women's soccer)
Players Mentioned
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