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Previous OVC Scholar-Athlete Award Winners

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The Ohio Valley Conference has selected six individuals to receive its prestigious Scholar-Athlete Award for 2020-21. The award is the highest individual honor that can be earned by OVC student-athletes and is given annually to three men and three women student-athletes for their accomplishments in both the classroom and athletic arena, and because of their leadership qualities.

Eastern Illinois senior cross country and track runner Jaime Marcos was one of the three OVC Male student-athletes selected.  Marcos earned first team All-OVC honors lat season in cross country and was a member of the Panthers OVC Indoor Track Championship team.  He becomes the 11th EIU men's student-athlete to win the award and 18th overall Panther.   Joe Caputo from EIU football won the award last year while Riley McInerney was the last EIU cross country / track team member to win the award in 2016-17.
 
The six winners were selected from a group of 18 finalists by a vote of OVC Faculty Athletics Representatives. Honorees must have performed athletically with distinction, earned at least a 3.5 grade-point average and conducted themselves in a manner which has brought credit to the student-athlete, his or her institution, intercollegiate athletics and the OVC. The award is based on academic and athletic criteria/accomplishments achieved during the 2019-20 school year.
 
The 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete winners are: Jaime Marcos of Eastern Illinois (cross country/track & field), Olivia Lohmeier of Morehead State (volleyball), Joe Muschong of Morehead State (golf), Fabienne Schmidt of Austin Peay (tennis), Ali Verzani of Tennessee Tech (volleyball) and Zack Woodard of Jacksonville State (football).

Jaime Marcos – Marcos is a distance runner with the Eastern Illinois cross country and track and field programs. A year ago he earned first-team All-OVC honors by placing seventh at the OVC Championship and would go on to place 68th at the NCAA Midwest Championships. He was part of the 2020 OVC Indoor Track Championship squad (participating in the 3K and 5K events) and the 2019 OVC Outdoor Track Championship team (placing fifth in the 10K). In the classroom he has a 3.93 grade point average in kinesiology, sport and recreation with a minor in health promotion. Marcos has earned multiple OVC Academic Medal of Honor awards, is a six-time EIU Dean's List selection, earned numerous academic scholarship awards, including the University Honors award. He is active with the EIU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and Executive Board Member with the Phi Alpha Eta honorary fraternity and President of the Physical Education Club. Among his various volunteer activities is working with the Charleston Food Pantry.

Olivia Lohmeier – Lohmeier is an outside hitter and team captain with the Morehead State volleyball team. A year ago she was a first-team All-OVC selection, an AVCA All-Midwest pick and an honorable mention All-American by VolleyballMag.com. During the year she was seventh nationally in points (620.) and eighth in kills (564). That came one year after she was named the OVC Player of the Year. She also competes with the MSU beach volleyball program. In the classroom she has a 3.94 grade point average in business information systems.  A year ago she was honored as the MSU College of Business and Technology Outstanding Computer Information Systems Student of the Year. She has earned multiple OVC Academic Medal of Honors and been a multi-year selection to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll and MSU Dean's List. She is part of the Leadership Team for the Eagles Volleyball program, a member of Athletes in Action (AIA) and volunteered with numerous events including Better Life Church, College Night, Freshman Move-In and various youth clinics.
 
Joe Muschong – Muschong is in his fourth year with the Morehead State men's golf team. He earned All-OVC honors last season, after recording a 71.8 stroke average in 21 rounds and recording a pair of top five finishes. That included a round of 64 at the Elon Phoenix Invitational, the lowest round by an Eagle since 2014. In the classroom Muschong carries a 3.93 grade point average in sport management with a minor in general business. He was selected as a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-American Scholar a season ago and has earned multiple OVC Academic Medal of Honors in addition to being an OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll and College of Business and Technology Dean's List member. He is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and volunteers with numerous junior golf programs in addition to working with the MSU SAAC Shop With a Cop program.

Fabienne Schmidt – Schmidt is a fourth-year member of the Austin Peay women's tennis team. In her three previous years she has recorded a career 57-12 singles and 48-15 doubles mark. Last season she played in the No.1 singles position and earned OVC Player of the Week honors in a season interrupted by the pandemic. In 2018-19 she was a member of the undefeated OVC regular season and tournament champions and earned second-team All-OVC honors. That came a season after being named the OVC Freshman of the Year. Schmidt had a perfect 4.0 grade point average in marketing with a minor in management. She has been a three-time OVC Academic Medal of Honor recipient, an ITA Scholar-Athlete, an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sport Scholar and named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll and APSU Dean's List. She is a member of the Austin Peay Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the Athletic Academic Committee, the Athletic Mentoring Program and Govs Grow. She has been involved in numerous volunteer activities including Read Across America, Buddy Ball, Breast Cancer Awareness Run, Rise Up Academy, a volunteer at Burt Elementary School and working at tennis clinics.
 
Ali Verzani – Verzani is an outside hitter on the Tennessee Tech volleyball program. A year ago she earned first-team All-OVC honors after ranking third in the OVC and 96th nationally in kills per set and third in the OVC and 89th nationally in points per set. During her time with the Golden Eagles, the team has jumped 75 spots in the RPI and the team's winning Conference record a year ago was the first for the program in the league since 2014. In the classroom she compiled a 4.0 grade point average in completing her degree in business administration with a minor in healthcare informatics; she is currently working on her Master's in Business Administration (MBA) where she has also recorded a 4.0 GPA. She earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor and been named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the TTU Athletic Directors Honor Roll. She was selected for the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum, is a member of the TTU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the OVC SAAC, the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and is an academic tutor for English, economics, finance, accounting and biology courses. She is also a member of the Chi Alpha Campus Ministry, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and volunteered at local elementary schools, the Cookeville Rescue Mission and assisted with the Putnam County tornado clean-up.

Zack Woodard – Woodard is a starting linebacker for the Jacksonville State football team. Last year he earned second-team All-OVC honors after recording the fourth-most tackles in the OVC (96) and adding seven tackles for loss, an interception, recovering a fumble and defending five passes. In the classroom he has a 3.87 grade point average in accounting. He has named to the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team, the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll, the JSU President's List and Dean's List. He is a member of the JSU Accounting Club, a member of the Beta Alpha Psi honor society and had an internship with SaveFirst Impact America. He has served as a children's mentor, the AOII Gamecock Give Back-Pack initiative and assisted with the JSU tornado recovery cleanup.
 
Other nominees for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Jacob Abbott of Eastern Kentucky (baseball), Evan Davis of Belmont (golf), Quinn Eaton of Murray State (golf), Julie Garst of Belmont (soccer), Emily Holten of Southeast Missouri (soccer), Bailey Hubbard of Eastern Kentucky (golf), Jessica Kinder of Murray State (track & field), Tavin Kilpatrick of Tennessee Tech (football), Jack McDonald of Austin Peay (football), Greta Romei of Jacksonville State (track & field), Taylor Steele of Eastern Illinois (basketball) and Jack Story of UT Martin (golf).