KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its five female and five male finalists for the 2022-23 Ken B. Jones Award, presented by Summit Pointe Financial Group.

The Ken B. Jones Award recognizes the Association’s top female and male student-athletes from the academic year.

The 2022-23 female finalist are Morgan Brasser from Fort Hays State, Auna Childress from Pittsburg State, Mackenzie Dimarco from Emporia State, Sydni Hawkins from Missouri Western and Madi Wulfekotter from Central Missouri.

The 2022-23 male finalist are Dalton Abney from Central Oklahoma, Ryan McCully from Northeastern State, Matthew Oglesby from Pittsburg State, Ryan Stanley from Fort Hays State and Luke Stuckey from Nebraska Kearney.

Finalist were selected from female and male nominations at various MIAA member schools. A 15-member committee comprised of one administrator from each full-member MIAA institution and the conference office ranked each candidate based on excellence in three categories: Athletic Achievement during the 2022-23 academic year, Career Academic Achievements, and Community/Campus Service during the 2022-23 academic year.

The finalists will be recognized at the 2023 MIAA Awards Celebration presented by Husch Blackwell on Tuesday, June 6 in the Music Hall at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Mo. The 2022-23 female and male Ken B. Jones winners will be announced during the event as well.

Reservations for the 2023 MIAA Awards Celebration can be made by completing the form, available here.

Below is a list of the 2022-23 Ken B. Jones finalists as well as more information on the Ken B. Jones award. To see a complete list of the award’s past recipients, click here.

  2022-23 FEMALE FINALISTS  
Morgan Brasser | Women’s Golf – Fort Hays State
Morgan Brasser is a junior women’s golfer from Andale, Kan. She was crowned the Association’s 2022-23 Golfer of the Year after leading the MIAA with a personal best single season shot average of 75.8. She captured three individual titles throughout the 2022-23 season and had eight top-10 finishes overall. She also tied the Tigers’ school record for lowest round of 69, twice. Brasser, now a three-time All-MIAA golfer, also earned All-Central Region honors from the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) and qualified for the Central Region Championship tournament for the third consecutive season. Off the course, Brasser is earning her degree in health and human performance and owns an impressive cumulative grade point average of 3.91. She is an Academic All-District and Academic All-American student-athlete and has earned the MIAA Scholar Athlete honor all three seasons. Brasser is also an active member of the Fort Hays State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She also designed the first-ever FHSU Golf Clinic and spends time teaching junior golfers the game.

Auna Childress | Women’s Track & Field – Pittsburg State
Auna Childress is a junior on the Gorillas track and field team from Lawrence, Kan. Childress captured an individual national title in the women’s triple jump at the 2023 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships and is currently the No. 1 seed in the triple jump heading into the 2023 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships. She was crowned a two-time MIAA champion, winning the triple jump event at both the Association’s indoor and outdoor championships. She also earned All-MIAA honors with a third-place finish in the long jump at both the in the indoor and outdoor championships. Childress has set two all-time records at Pittsburg State. Her outdoor triple jump distance of 43-8 is the top mark in Division II history and her indoor mark of 43-6 is the No. 3 mark in Division II history. A multiple-year member as a MIAA Scholar Athlete, Childress owns a 3.82 cumulative grade point average as a nursing major. She’s also committed to over 100 hours of volunteer service to the Salvation Army and also serves as a volunteer coach for area high school students.

Mackenzie Dimarco | Women’s Soccer – Emporia State
Mackenzie Dimarco is a senior women’s soccer student-athlete from Pleasant Hill, Mo. Dimarco was named a two-time All-American for the 2022 season and was a unanimous First Team All-MIAA selection at forward. She led the league in goals, shots, shots on goal and points while ranking second in game-winning goals. Her 23 goals on the season set a new MIAA record record and led all of Division II. Dimarco also became the first player in MIAA history to score hat tricks in back-to-back matches. Her name is all over the Hornets’ record book as she led the program in career goals, points, shots attempted, shots on goal, goals per game and points per game. Majoring in rehabilitation with a cumulated grade point average of 3.78, Dimarco is an All-American on and off the field. Dimarco has been named an Academic All-American, an Academic All-District performer and has named a MIAA Scholar Athlete three times in her career. She is an active member in Emporia State’s SAAC and also spends time as a youth soccer coach.

Sydni Hawkins | Softball – Missouri Western
Sydni Hawkins a senior infielder on the Griffon softball team from Wichita, Kan. She was named the MIAA Player of the Year for the 2023 season – the second time in her career earning the Association’s highest honor. Hawkins led the league in hits (77) and owned a MIAA-best batting average of .443. She also led the league in doubles (19) and tied for second in triples (5) and ranked among the league’s top-five scorers with 47 runs scored on the season. In her final season, Hawkins broke five all-time Griffon records to rank at the top of Missouri Western’s career lists with 294 total hits, 62 career doubles and 191 career runs while owning the program’s top career on-base percentage of .461 and the top career batting average of .409. Off the field, Hawkins graduated with her bachelor’s degree in management with human resources concentration while owned a 3.52 cumulative grade point average in undergrade. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in business administration from Missouri Western. She’s been named a three-time MIAA Scholar Athlete and earned Academic All-America honors in the 2022 season. Hawkins is also an active member of the Griffons SAAC and has over 30 hours of mentoring youth members in the Choices and Decisions Mentoring Program.

Madi Wulfekotter | Women’s Track & Field – Central Missouri
Madi Wulfekotter is a redshirt senior on the Jennies track and field team from Odessa, Mo. Wulfekotter was a two-time MIAA runner-up in the pole vault at both the MIAA’s Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the 2022-23 season. She owns the Central Missouri school record in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault. Her indoor height of 4.26 meters (13 feet, 11.75 inches) ranks sixth all-time in Division II history while her outdoor height of 4.31 meters (14 feet, 1.75 inches) ranks seventh all-time in Division II history. She will be entering the pole vault competition at the 2023 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships as the No. 1 seed. In the classroom, Wulfekotter graduated from Central Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a 3.85 cumulated grade point average. She currently perusing her master’s in elementary education and owned a perfect 4.0 GPA. Wulfekotter is also an active member on Central Missouri’s Literacy Team, has multiple hours as a classroom volunteer, acts as a freshman mentor and study hall leader, and spends time as a volunteer coach.
 
  2022-23 MALE FINALISTS  
Dalton Abney | Wrestling – Central Oklahoma
Dalton Abney is a senior on the Bronchos wrestling team from Tulsa, Okla. He captured his second individual national title at 197 pounds at the 2023 NCAA Division II Wrestling National Championships, helping Central Oklahoma to the team title as well. Abney owned a record of 23-2 this season, totaled 11 bonus-point wins and took home three individuals titles. Off the mat, Abney is pursuing a degree in kinesiology with emphasis in exercise and fitness management. He’s been named a Division II Scholar All-American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and has been a member of the MIAA’s Academic Honor Roll. Abney also participates in campus leadership activities such as the Student Mobilization Organization, the Kinesiology Club and volunteers his time at his local church.

Ryan McCully | Men’s Soccer – Northeastern State
Ryan McCully is a senior defender on the RiverHawks men’s soccer team from Wichita, Kan. McCully was a First Team All-GAC/MIAA defender selection after helping lead Northeastern State to a league-best eight shutouts in the 2022 season. He also totaled seven goals and three assists on the season and tied for the GAC/MIAA lead with three game-winning goals. McCully was also named a First Team All-Region Selection from the United Soccer Coaches and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). Off the field, McCully owns a perfect 4.00 cumulated grade point average as a finance and accounting major. He became Northeastern State’s only men’s soccer player to be named a three-time Academic All-American from by the College Sports Communicators and was named the GAC/MIAA Elite Scholar Athlete in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. McCully also served as the RiverHawks SAAC President, helping organize the “Truck or Treat” event which was a prior selection for the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence.

Matthew Oglesby | Men’s Cross Country/Men’s Track & Field – Pittsburg State
Matthew Oglesby is a junior distance runner for the Gorillas from Galena, Kan. He claimed All-America honors for the 2022 cross country season with a 38th-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships. He also garnered All-MIAA and All-Central Region honors for his 2022 season. On the track, Oglesby was the Association’s runner-up in the 5,000-meter run at the 2023 MIAA Indoor Championships, helping the Gorillas take home the team title. He also set the all-time Pittsburg State record in the 10,000 meters (29:37.17) and ranks second all-time in Pittsburg State history in the indoor 3,000 meters and indoor 5,000 meters. In the classroom, Olgesby has been a multiple-year member on the MIAA Academic Roll and named a MIAA Scholar Athlete. He’s also been named an Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators and has received All-Region and National Academic honors from the United States Track and Field aand Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Oglesby has also served as a Culture Leader and an Empowered Youth Leader for a local church, and volunteers for races and events hosted by the the university and the city of Pittsburg.

Ryan Stanley | Men’s Track & Field – Fort Hays State
Ryan Stanley is a senior on the Tigers track and field team from Bennington, Kan. After earning All-America honors at the 2023 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships, Stanley is now a seven-time All-America performer. He was crowned the Association’s individual champion in the pole vault (17 feet, 5 inches) at the 2023 MIAA Outdoor Championships, which now makes him a two-time MIAA champion after winning the Indoor title in 2022. Stanley currently owns the third-best mark in NCAA Division II for the 2023 outdoor season (17 feet, 7 inches) entering the 2023 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships later this month. His outdoor height is also now the Fort Hays State school record. In the classroom, Stanley has been named an Academic All-American as a business administration major in undergrad with an impressive 3.95 cumulative grade point average. He's also been a four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic Award recipient, a three-time MIAA Academic Excellence award honoree and a five-time MIAA Scholar Athlete. Stanley currently serves as the Fort Hays State University Student Body President, helping with SGA’s Big Event for the third straight year by working with Bethesda Place, a home for disabled adults. He's also participated in Higher Education Day for the third straight year, advocating for Higher Education in Topeka, served as a volunteer guest speaker at Hays Middle School Leadership Conference, served as the VIP ambassador with the Office of the President and more. 

Luke Stuckey | Men’s Cross Country/Men’s Track & Field – Nebraska Kearney
Luke Stuckey is a fifth-year senior on the Lopers cross country and track and field team from McCool Junction, Neb. He earned All-American status this year in cross country with a 36th-place finish at the 2022 national championships. He was also named a two-time All-American from the 2023 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships with a third-place finish in the mile and an eighth-place finish in the distance medley relay. He will enter the 2023 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships as the No. 13 seed in the 1,500-meter run. Stuckey won the MIAA indoor title in the mile and was the runner up in the 1,500-meter run. He also set the mile school-record with a time of 4:04.95. Stuckey has also earned USTFCCA All-Region and All-MIAA honors in each season. He just graduated with honors with a degree in medical biology. He’s also volunteered his time with several organizations including Habitat For Humanity, the Salvation Army, Crane River Theatre, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and worked at the State High School and UNK High School cross/track meets.

About the Ken B. Jones Award:
The Ken B. Jones award is named after the MIAA's first full-time commissioner and recognizes the conference's top Female and Male Student-Athlete. Mr. Jones was appointed league commissioner in 1981 and the inaugural award, in his honor, began in the 1993-94 academic year.

Each institution may nominate one female and one male student-athlete. The nominees must have completed at least their junior season of athletics eligibility by June 1 of the academic year of nomination. A nominee must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade-point average through the previous full semester term through February 1 of the academic year of nomination at the certifying member institution.

A 15-member committee comprised of one administrator from each MIAA institution and the conference office ranks each candidate based on excellence in three categories: Athletic Achievement in that academic year, Career Academic Achievements and Community/Campus Service during the Academic Year. The committee announces its five finalists 14 days before naming its winner at the annual MIAA Awards Celebration.