Chris Adams, Ivy McKee Honored with MAC Medal of Excellence

CLEVELAND, Ohio - - Ball State men's tennis player Chris Adams and track & field sprinter Ivy McKee were named as Mid-American Conference Medal of Excellence Award winners for the 2020-21 academic year. 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 league's 12 member institutions.

"The individuals selected for the Medal of Excellence have distinguished themselves academically, athletically, and through demonstrated service and leadership, said MAC Commissioner, Jon A. Steinbrecher. "These men and women have earned this award by putting in long hours of dedication, perseverance and hard work. I congratulate those selected and thank them for their contributions to their institution and the Conference."

Adams graduated from Ball State this spring with a 4.0 grade point average as an accounting major. A 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-American At-Large Third Team honoree, Adams is also a three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar Athlete. On the court, Adams earned Second Team All-MAC honors for his play in 2021 and has been honored as MAC Singles Player of the Week and on the MAC Doubles Team of the Week numerous times over his four-year career. He finished his playing career with a 52-43 singles record and a 52-37 mark in doubles play. He primarily played on the top court for doubles throughout his career and on court three in singles.

McKee graduated from Ball State this spring with a 3.69 grade point average as an exercise science major with a minor in Spanish. A five-time career Academic All-MAC selection, McKee finished her career at the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Championships as a member of the 4x100m relay. The quartet turned in a historic effort at the meet, with a program-record time of 45.14 which is also the second-fastest time in MAC history. A five-time career race winner, McKee was a Second Team All-MAC honoree in 2019 for her effort on the 4x100m relay. In 2021, she ranked sixth in the MAC in both the indoor 60m and 200m, while ranking 10th in the 100m and 12th in the 200m during the outdoor campaign.

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. Selection of the recipients was made by each MAC institution.

2021 Medal of Excellence Award Winners

Akron:
Loren Christian Jackson, Men's Basketball, Chicago, Ill. (Victory Rock Prep)
Taylor Sharrits, Volleyball, Concord, Ohio (Lake Catholic)

Ball State:
Chris Adams, Tennis, Port Huron, Mich. (Port Huron Northern)
Ivy McKee, Track and Field, Columbus, Ohio (Gahanna Lincoln)

Bowling Green:
Chris Sullivan, Men's Soccer, Naperville, Ill. (North/Illinois Galaxy)
Madison McCoy, Softball, Washington, Ill. (Washington)

Buffalo:
Jack Klenk, Football, Pittsford, N.Y. (Pittsford Sutherland)
Hanna Hall, Women's Basketball, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Lincoln Prep)

Central Michigan:
Bernhard Raimann, Football, Steinbrunn, Austria (Delton-Kellogg)
Brianna Hart, Lacrosse, South Bend, Ind. (Saint Joseph)

Eastern Michigan:
Michael Monahan, Baseball, Saline, Mich. (Saline)
Graysen Simmons, Track and Field, Huber Heights, Ohio (Wayne)

Kent State:
Ben Carew, Baseball, Appleton, Wisc. (Kimberly)
Kennadie Goth, Softball, Shelby, Ohio (Shelby)

Miami:
Sean Torpy, Cross Country/Track and Field, Orland Park, Ill. (Carl Sandburg)
Abigail Huser, Volleyball, Westfield, Ind. (Westfield)

Northern Illinois:
Mason Kauffman, Wrestling, Stratford, Wis. (Stratford)
Zoie Schroeder, Gymnastics, Champlin, Minn. (Champlin Park)

Ohio:
Ben Vander Plas, Men's Basketball, Ripon, Wis. (Ripon)
Ashleigh Kitrell, Track and Field, Oakland, Neb. (Oakland Craig Senior)

Toledo:
Chris Meyers, Baseball, Miamisburg, Ohio (Miamisburg)
Emma Sampson, Swimming & Diving, Mount Sterling, Ohio (Madison-Plains)

Western Michigan:
Jannik Opitz, Tennis, Hildesheim, Germany (Josephinum Hildesheim)
Rachel Bontrager, Volleyball, Valparaiso, Ind. (Valparaiso)

Ball State University Athletics

Chris Adams, Ivy McKee Honored with MAC Medal of Excellence

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