Sarah Poltrack of Evansville (women's cross country and track); Ali Quillen of Valparaiso (women's soccer); Sara Rhine of Drake (women's basketball); and Nathanael Seaberg of Drake (men's soccer) have been named 2020 Missouri Valley Conference postgraduate scholarship winners as announced by Commissioner Doug Elgin. The Missouri Valley Conference Faculty Athletics Representatives Committee voted to award postgraduate scholarships to the four student-athletes, due to their exemplary academic and athletic performances. Each will receive a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship from the Conference.
Release (PDF)
Poltrack, a native of Batesville, Ind., ran distance and middle distance for the Evansville women's track squad and also ran cross country at UE. She earned student-athlete academic honors and was on the Dean's List all four years, completing her undergraduate degree with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average while majoring in pre-physical therapy, public health. While at Evansville, she served as a member of the student-athlete advisory committee and faculty senate athletics committee and was active in volunteer activities, including work at the Cincinnati V.A. Hospital and with Habitat for Humanity. Poltrack is looking to attend VCU to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy.
Quillen (Beavercreek, Ohio) earned Second Team All-MVC recognition and All-Tournament Team accolades for her work on Valpo’s back line in 2019. The senior capped a career during which she has been a rock on defense, starting all but two matches over her four years in the Valpo uniform. In the classroom, Quillen graduated with a 3.96 grade point average as an exercise science major, with a minor in biology. She has received the Valpo Outstanding Student-Athlete Award each of the past three years and has earned Valpo Presidential Academic Honors all three years as well. Quillen also has been honored with the MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award each of the last two years. She is pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy.
This past winter Seaberg was named one of 11 members on the CoSIDA Academic All-American team. A native of Moline, Ill., Seaberg holds a 4.0 GPA as a health sciences major. Prior to collecting Academic All-American honors, Seaberg earned a spot on the Academic All-Region team and he also received MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team recognition this year. In addition to his success in the classroom, Seaberg excelled on the field. He logged 853 minutes while appearing in all 18 games and making nine starts. He scored a goal in Drake's 4-3 win over UNLV on Sept. 6 and tallied an assist against Valparaiso on Oct. 23. He is enrolled at the University of Iowa and will pursuing a degree in physical therapy. while pursuing his PhD in Rehabilitation Science.
Rhine was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, including back-to-back first team honors the past two seasons. She was the first-ever three-time recipient of the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, and was selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team three times. Rhine finished her career with 2,186 points and 999 rebounds and is second all-time at Drake in career field goal percentage at 61.3. She was a four-time All-MVC selection, including being selected to the first team each of the past three seasons. Rhine, who graduated with her bachelor's degree in elementary education with a 4.0 grade point average, is currently enrolled in Drake's master of counseling program and holds a 4.0 GPA in it. During her time at Drake, she was part of more than 5,000 community service hours completed by the women's basketball program.
To be eligible for consideration, recipients must have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.40, participated with distinction in a Missouri Valley Conference championship sport for at least two seasons at the nominating institution and must graduate from their institutions within 18 months following selection at the spring meetings of the Faculty Athletics Representative Committee.
Also, the recipients must be accepted for postgraduate studies at an institution of higher learning at the time of receipt of the scholarship. And, the recipients must have completed eligibility for participation in intercollegiate athletics in the academic year in which nominated.