Illini Athletes Take Part In The Oskees Experience

Illinois Athletics - Mallory Mizuki, Zeke Clark Spirit Award Winners

May 4, 2021 | Baseball, Football, General, Golf, Men's Basketball, Men's Gymnastics, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Golf, Women's Gymnastics, Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling, Men's Golf, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field, Men's Track & Field

News

CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – Fighting Illini student-athletes wrapped up the 2020-21 school year by attending The Oskees Experience on Tuesday evening at State Farm Center.

The traditional Oskees program was modified this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Teams arrived at staggered times throughout the evening and walked through the concourse in small groups, stopping at various stations for awards and presentations.

Teams made an orange carpet entrance and were greeted by Director of Athletics Josh Whitman. They stopped at a photo station in the Traditions club before embarking on the path around the arena which began with the presentation of team and individual academic awards and the inaugural humanitarian awards.

Following a stop in the Orange Krush club for video participation, they continued to the announcement of the spirit award finalists and recipients and winners of the the student-athlete development team competition award.

In the west lobby first-year athletes were given their letterwinner jackets while seniors received a graduation gift. Student-athletes then penned notes to supporters of the program at a gratitude station and voted for the top male and female performances of the season.

After an introduction to the Varsity "I" Association and receiving more Illini gear, the evening concluded with a viewing of the all-sports highlight video shown on the videoboard at center court.

The following award winners and honorees were recognized at The Oskees Experience:

Fighting Illini Outstanding Team GPA Awards

Highest cumulative grade point average for a team over the last two semesters

» Women's Golf - 3.94 GPA
» Men's Cross Country & Men's Tennis - 3.57 GPA

Outstanding Scholar-Athlete Award Winners

Female and male student-athletes with the highest grade-point average in each class of school

   » Sophomores Katie Hohe, Track & Field, psychology, Josie Frazier, Tennis, business, Jess Streepy, Track & Field, Spanish & Erin Young, Swim & Dive, speech and hearing sciences
   » Sophomores Nate Cotroneo, Wrestling, agribusiness markets and management & Ryan O'Hara, baseball, accountancy
   » Junior Diana Brown, Volleyball, molecular and cellular biology
   » Junior Connor Artman, Track & Field, finance
   » Seniors Reena Sulkar, Golf, master of business administration & Kylie Noonan, Gymnastics, marketing and information systems
   » Senior Zach Griffith, Basketball, kinesiology

Student-Athlete Development Team Competition Award

Recognizing the team most committed to growing in the four categories: Unify (community engagement), Develop (personal/team development), Inspire (Illini pride), Achieve (academic or athletic)

» Softball and Women's Track & Field

Fighting Illini Spirit Award Winners | Award History

Student-athlete who best exemplifies the spirit, courage, effort and dedication of the Fighting Illini

» Mallory Mizuki, Gymnastics
» Zeke Clark, Tennis

Fighting Illini Female Spirit Award Finalists

   » Madeline Bruce – Cross Country
   » Mallory Mizuki – Gymnastics
   » Elizabeth Cablk – Soccer
   » Morgan Scivally – Softball
   » Abigail Cabush – Swim & Dive
   » Asuka Kawai – Tennis
   » Felicia Phillips – Track & Field

Fighting Illini Male Spirit Award Finalists

   » Nathan Lavender – Baseball
   » Trent Frazier – Basketball
   » Irwin Loud – Cross Country
   » Sean Coghlan – Football
   » Zeke Clark – Tennis
» Jason Shannon – Track & Field
   » Jake Reicin – Wrestling