Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Student-Athletes Martin and McCullough Earn MAC Medal of Excellence
5/24/2024 9:30:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Gymnastics, General
The award is presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from each of the 12 conference member institutions
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - Eastern Michigan University student-athletes Kyle Martin of the men's track and field program and Anna Grace McCullough of the gymnastics program were announced as the school's recipients of the 2024 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Medal of Excellence Award, the league office announced Friday, May 24.
The medal of excellence is presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 Conference member institutions.
"The recipients of the Medal of Excellence have excelled in academics, athletics, and have shown remarkable service and leadership," said MAC Commissioner, Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher. "These individuals have achieved this honor through their commitment, resilience, and diligent effort. I applaud those chosen and express gratitude for their contributions to their institutions and the Conference."
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 cumulative grade-point average, exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service. Selection of the recipients was made by each MAC institution.
A five-year veteran on the men's track & field squad, Martin (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ann Arbor Huron) was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) earlier this year, becoming the first EMU athlete to earn the fellowship, and fifth overall individual from the university. Not only does he excel off the track, but on the track as well as he has served three seasons as the sprints captain, while garnering six Academic All-MAC honors in his time in the green and white.
In the summer of 2023, Martin hosted his second annual "School of Green" event, a community service, educational, park clean-up, and networking event all wrapped into one with the primary goal of educating local communities about the various creatures in their neighborhoods. The event featured live animal demonstrations, hands-on activities, and arts/crafts, as well as civic engagement led by numerous programs and organizations from around the state of Michigan.
Martin also recently earned the Dr. L. David Mech National Wolf Fellowship, which will take him to the University of Idaho for the summer of 2024 to study wolf populations.
He has built an extensive portfolio throughout his time at Eastern, as Martin won EMU's Glenna Frank Miller Collegiate Award for Leadership, served as a lead student fellow in the Honors College, participated on the executive committee of the Sierra Club Huron Valley Group, and worked with the Huron River Watershed Council (HWRC) to develop the School of Green.
Martin will begin pursuing his Ph.D. in natural resources with a concentration in wildlife management and a focus on qualitative organismal ecology at Idaho beginning this summer.
A senior leader on the gymnastics team, McCullough (Birmingham, Ala./Briarwood Christian) finished her final competitive season on a high note, coming back from a serious injury from her previous year. The Birmingham native appeared in eight meets for the Green and White, highlighted by a season-high 9.850 score on her floor routine at the Bowling Green Quad-Meet, Feb. 11.
In celebration of her leadership and teammate mentality, McCullough was selected as the EMU Gymnastics Teammate of the Year, while also being recognized as one of this year's Julia Lombardi Leadership Award recipients at the 2023 Ypsi's Award Show, held by the EMU athletic department.
A three-time Academic All-MAC honoree, McCullough walked across the stage April 27, graduating with a 3.88 cumulative GPA in exercise science.
2024 Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron:
Hunter Garretson, Men's Track & Field, AYA Integrated Match, 4.0 GPA
Madelyn Gatrall, Women's Swimming and Diving, Speech-Language & Pathology, 3.72 GPA
Ball State:
Decker Scheffler, Baseball, Teaching & Physical Education, 3.98 GPA
Avery Fenchel, Women's Soccer, Pre-Dental Preparation, 3.97 GPA
Bowling Green:
Logan Bell, Baseball, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering Technology, 3.89 GPA
Petra Indrova, Volleyball, Master in Business Administration, 3.82 GPA
Buffalo:
Scilla Benussi, Women's Track & Field, Computer Engineering and Mathematics, 3.959 GPA
Finn Macnamara, Men's Tennis, Biomedical Engineering, 3.968 GPA
Central Michigan:
Nicholas Dardas, Baseball, General Management, Personal Finance & Finance, 3.76 GPA
Abbey Tolmie, Softball, Exercise Science, 4.0 GPA
Eastern Michigan:
Kyle Martin, Men's Track & Field, BS in Environmental Science, Minor in Biology & Zoology, 3.67 GPA
Anna Grace McCullough, Gymnastics, BS in Exercise Science, 3.88 GPA
Kent State:
Josh Johnson, Baseball, Masters in Sports Administration, 4.0 GPA
Grace Luther, Women's Track & Field, Masters in Sport Admin and MBA, 3.75 GPA
Miami:
Cam Kirk, Football, BA in Biology Pre-Med Studies, 3.84 GPA
Kate Kobayashi, Softball, BS in Marketing with Sports Management Minor, 3.72 GPA
NIU:
Colin Summerhill, Baseball, Business Administration, 3.59 GPA
Emily Romancew, Women's Golf, Mechanical Engineering, 3.76 GPA
Ohio:
Xander Karagosian, Football, Finance/Minor Sports Management, 3.40 GPA
Katelyn Whittle, Field Hockey, MBA Sports Administration, 3.934 GPA
Toledo:
Pawit Sornlaksup, Men's Tennis, BA of Business Administration in Information Systems, 3.756 GPA
Sophia Wiard, Women's Basketball, BA of Business Admin. in Finance/MBA Finance, 3.918 GPA
Western Michigan:
Ben George, Men's Tennis, Business Analytics/General Business, 3.96 GPA
Payton Murphy, Gymnastics, Nursing, 3.98 GPA
The medal of excellence is presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 Conference member institutions.
"The recipients of the Medal of Excellence have excelled in academics, athletics, and have shown remarkable service and leadership," said MAC Commissioner, Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher. "These individuals have achieved this honor through their commitment, resilience, and diligent effort. I applaud those chosen and express gratitude for their contributions to their institutions and the Conference."
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 cumulative grade-point average, exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service. Selection of the recipients was made by each MAC institution.
A five-year veteran on the men's track & field squad, Martin (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ann Arbor Huron) was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) earlier this year, becoming the first EMU athlete to earn the fellowship, and fifth overall individual from the university. Not only does he excel off the track, but on the track as well as he has served three seasons as the sprints captain, while garnering six Academic All-MAC honors in his time in the green and white.
In the summer of 2023, Martin hosted his second annual "School of Green" event, a community service, educational, park clean-up, and networking event all wrapped into one with the primary goal of educating local communities about the various creatures in their neighborhoods. The event featured live animal demonstrations, hands-on activities, and arts/crafts, as well as civic engagement led by numerous programs and organizations from around the state of Michigan.
Martin also recently earned the Dr. L. David Mech National Wolf Fellowship, which will take him to the University of Idaho for the summer of 2024 to study wolf populations.
He has built an extensive portfolio throughout his time at Eastern, as Martin won EMU's Glenna Frank Miller Collegiate Award for Leadership, served as a lead student fellow in the Honors College, participated on the executive committee of the Sierra Club Huron Valley Group, and worked with the Huron River Watershed Council (HWRC) to develop the School of Green.
Martin will begin pursuing his Ph.D. in natural resources with a concentration in wildlife management and a focus on qualitative organismal ecology at Idaho beginning this summer.
A senior leader on the gymnastics team, McCullough (Birmingham, Ala./Briarwood Christian) finished her final competitive season on a high note, coming back from a serious injury from her previous year. The Birmingham native appeared in eight meets for the Green and White, highlighted by a season-high 9.850 score on her floor routine at the Bowling Green Quad-Meet, Feb. 11.
In celebration of her leadership and teammate mentality, McCullough was selected as the EMU Gymnastics Teammate of the Year, while also being recognized as one of this year's Julia Lombardi Leadership Award recipients at the 2023 Ypsi's Award Show, held by the EMU athletic department.
A three-time Academic All-MAC honoree, McCullough walked across the stage April 27, graduating with a 3.88 cumulative GPA in exercise science.
2024 Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron:
Hunter Garretson, Men's Track & Field, AYA Integrated Match, 4.0 GPA
Madelyn Gatrall, Women's Swimming and Diving, Speech-Language & Pathology, 3.72 GPA
Ball State:
Decker Scheffler, Baseball, Teaching & Physical Education, 3.98 GPA
Avery Fenchel, Women's Soccer, Pre-Dental Preparation, 3.97 GPA
Bowling Green:
Logan Bell, Baseball, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering Technology, 3.89 GPA
Petra Indrova, Volleyball, Master in Business Administration, 3.82 GPA
Buffalo:
Scilla Benussi, Women's Track & Field, Computer Engineering and Mathematics, 3.959 GPA
Finn Macnamara, Men's Tennis, Biomedical Engineering, 3.968 GPA
Central Michigan:
Nicholas Dardas, Baseball, General Management, Personal Finance & Finance, 3.76 GPA
Abbey Tolmie, Softball, Exercise Science, 4.0 GPA
Eastern Michigan:
Kyle Martin, Men's Track & Field, BS in Environmental Science, Minor in Biology & Zoology, 3.67 GPA
Anna Grace McCullough, Gymnastics, BS in Exercise Science, 3.88 GPA
Kent State:
Josh Johnson, Baseball, Masters in Sports Administration, 4.0 GPA
Grace Luther, Women's Track & Field, Masters in Sport Admin and MBA, 3.75 GPA
Miami:
Cam Kirk, Football, BA in Biology Pre-Med Studies, 3.84 GPA
Kate Kobayashi, Softball, BS in Marketing with Sports Management Minor, 3.72 GPA
NIU:
Colin Summerhill, Baseball, Business Administration, 3.59 GPA
Emily Romancew, Women's Golf, Mechanical Engineering, 3.76 GPA
Ohio:
Xander Karagosian, Football, Finance/Minor Sports Management, 3.40 GPA
Katelyn Whittle, Field Hockey, MBA Sports Administration, 3.934 GPA
Toledo:
Pawit Sornlaksup, Men's Tennis, BA of Business Administration in Information Systems, 3.756 GPA
Sophia Wiard, Women's Basketball, BA of Business Admin. in Finance/MBA Finance, 3.918 GPA
Western Michigan:
Ben George, Men's Tennis, Business Analytics/General Business, 3.96 GPA
Payton Murphy, Gymnastics, Nursing, 3.98 GPA
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Track & Field
AA
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