Aeilts, Pence, Sebby, Del Fava Highlight Top Winners at The Reggies

NORMAL, Ill. – Joe Aeilts and Courtney Pence were named Illinois State's Athletes of the Year, while Michael Sebby and Kate Del Fava were named Scholar-Athletes of the Year, Sunday night at The Reggies, as Illinois State celebrated the success of its student-athletes during the 2018-19 academic year at the annual academic excellence awards ceremony, sponsored by State Farm.
 
Aeilts, a standout member of Illinois State's 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship team and MVC Joe Carter Player of the Year, was named the Milt Weisbecker Male Athlete of the Year. The Jill Hutchison Female Athlete of the Year honor went to Pence, who became the Redbird volleyball program's first repeat AVCA All-American, earning back-to-back honorable mentions in 2017 and 2018. 
 
Sebby, representing Illinois State's baseball team, was named the Doug Collins Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Del Fava, a member of Illinois State's soccer team and a 2019-20 Illinois State Bone Scholar recipient, was chosen as the Linda Herman Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
Other event winners Sunday night included Gabrielle Cooke of the gymnastics team, who earned the Impact Award, which is given to a student-athlete who embodies a commitment to excellence. Women's track and field student-athlete Sydney Laufenberg was honored with the Good Neighbor Award, which is presented to a student-athlete exemplifying commitment to excellence in academics, service and personal conduct.
 
Jordan Wilkerson of the men's track and field team, earned the Dr. Jim Johnson Phoenix Award, recognizing a student-athlete who has overcome academic challenges and made consistent academic progress at Illinois State.
 
Sunday's awards were presented by members of the administrative staff at Illinois State, including University President Dr. Larry Dietz and Director of Athletics Larry Lyons.
 
Illinois State student-athletes posted a combined grade-point average of 3.24 during the Fall 2018 semester, and set a departmental record of a 3.31 GPA in the Spring 2019 semester. A total of 295 student-athletes were named to the AFNI Honor Roll during the Fall 2018 semester, while 294 earned the recognition during the Spring 2019 semester.
 
In addition to their commitment to excellence in the classroom, Illinois State student-athletes provided over 3,000 hours of community service during the 2018-19 academic year.
 
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