In the NAIA, the fall sports regular season has officially wrapped up.

And the Doane Tigers placed at least two athletes on each list of All-GPAC Honorees in each of the six major fall sports, the conference unveiled this month. Let’s take you through a roundup of each of the Tiger teams’ fall sports conference awards winners. 

 

WOMEN’S SOCCER  

Five Tigers earn 2024 All-GPAC status 

Headlined by First Team honors for McKenna Rathbun and Virginia Johnson, a total of five Doane Tigers were featured on the 2024 Women’s Soccer All-GPAC Teams, the conference announced this month.  

Doane women’s soccer finished the 2024 campaign with an overall mark of 7-8-4, including a strong 5-2-4 record in conference play. The Tigers were the #6 seed in the GPAC Tournament but fell 3-0 in the quarterfinal round against #3-seed Dordt, typically one of the strongest programs in the conference. Still, the team’s overall win percentage of .474 matches their mark from 2022, which is now tied for the team’s best since the 2012 campaign. 

McKenna Rathbun was Doane’s offensive engine all season long, leading the team with ten goals and finishing second on the team with three assists. Her goal total ranked sixth in the GPAC, helping her become the first Tiger since 2015 to score double-digit goals. The junior midfielder from Lincoln was also the first Tiger since 2015 to be named First Team All-GPAC.  

Joining her on the top team was goalkeeper Virginia Johnson. The sophomore from Lenexa, Kansas wasn’t the team’s top goalie all season long, but she stood out when she was between the sticks, posting a 1.00 goals against average herself and helping the team post the same mark for the season, second-best among all league teams. Johnson is the first Tiger goalkeeper in program history to be named to the GPAC’s First Team.  

Anchoring the back line in front of Johnson this fall was defender Payton Cooley, the top defender on a Tiger defense that conceded only eight goals in league play and authored six shutouts in nine league games. The redshirt senior from Omaha was an Honorable Mention selection last season and upped her game to Second Team status this year.  

Doane’s two Honorable Mention All-GPAC selections this season  were Brooklyn Mercurio and Gisselle Martinez. Mercurio, a senior from Tucson, Arizona, started all 19 games as an outside back while Martinez, a junior from Poway, California, started all 19 games in the midfield. Both players are earning All-Conference recognition for the first time.  

Star Dordt forward Karinna Tel was named the GPAC Offensive Player of the Year, while Hastings defender Megan Lampe was named the GPAC Defensive Player of the Year. The Broncos were the league’s #1 seed and the tournament champions under the direction of Coach of the Year Jade Ovendale.  

 

MEN’S SOCCER

Madden headlines Doane’s honors with GPAC First Team selection 

Standout forward Ameer Madden was awarded First Team All-GPAC honors, the conference this month. He was one of the three Doane Tigers selected to the 2024 GPAC Men’s Soccer postseason squads.  

Doane finished the season with an overall record of 5-9-2, including a 3-7-0 mark in GPAC play. The team did go 5-2-1 in home games this season and finished ninth in the league, just outside of the eight-team field that qualifies for the GPAC Tournament.  

And Madden was the team’s offensive engine all season long. The senior forward from Toronto paced the Tigers with eight goals – two of which came in the season finale against Mount Marty – and six assists, including two game-winning goals – all three of those marks were tops on the team. After earning Honorable Mention honors last year, he was selected to the GPAC’s First Team as a midfielder this season. 

Joining Madden on the GPAC’s postseason honors list were fellow upperclassmen attackers Hugo Dos Santos and Guillem Colom. Madden was the Tigers’ figurehead on offense but these other two were core contributors on that end of the field as well: Dos Santos, a senior from Rio de Janeiro, scored four goals with one assist while Colom, a senior from Barcelona, added three goals. Both were named Honorable Mention All-GPAC for the 2024 season.  

Midland’s Hugo Garcia-Rosado Duran was the league’s leader in goals and was named the GPAC Offensive Player of the Year, while Concordia defender Iker Casanova was named Defensive Player of the Year. Morningside was the #1 seed in the conference tournament and Tom Maxon was named Coach of the Year, but #5-seed Hastings won all three postseason games via shutout to earn the tournament title and secure an automatic berth into the NAIA Tournament.  

 

CROSS COUNTRY 

Doane men finish second; eight total Tigers earn postseason honors 

To earn cross country All-Conference honors, a runner must place inside the Top 15 at the conference championship race. On the women's side, two Tiger women earned that distinction at the GPAC Championships this month: junior Calla Wittland of Bennington placed 7th with a time of 23:35.9, and Murray native Danie Parriott was just behind in 8th with a time of 23:37.8. 

And on the men's side, Doane finished second at the GPAC Championships with six Tigers placing inside in the top 15 and earning All-Conference honors. Emmanuel Yego led the pack with a fourth-place finish and a time of 25:59.9, followed closely by Thomas Oliver in fifth at 26:04.7. Also placing in the top 15 were Michael Grigsby (11th), Porter Bickley (12th), Nelson Ruto (13th) and Jayden Wall (15th). Doane would go on to finish 20th at the NAIA championship meet last week. 

 

VOLLEYBALL

Doane’s Carpenter, Zeier earn Honorable Mention honors 

A pair of Doane Tigers were named to the 2024 Volleyball All-GPAC teams, the conference announced this month: sophomore setter Camdyn Carpenter and senior libero Grace Zeier were both named to the conference’s Honorable Mention team.  

Doane volleyball finished the season with an overall mark of 9-20, including a 4-12 record in conference play. The Tigers finished tied for tenth in the overall GPAC standings.  

An experienced player in her first year with Doane, Grace Zeier was the Tigers’ starting libero all year and accordingly led the team in digs with an average of 4.43 per set, which ranked eighth in the conference. The senior from Billings, Montana concludes her college career with nearly 2,000 digs.  

Camdyn Carpenter is in her second year as Doane’s primary setter, and accordingly led the team in assists with an average of 7.03 per set, which ranked fourth in the league. The Henderson, Nevada native actually tallied more assists in fewer sets last year, but earned Honorable Mention All-GPAC honors for her achievements this season.  

NAIA conferences typically hand out a ton of postseason volleyball individual awards, and the GPAC is no different. Northwestern standout outside hitter Jazlin Douma was named the GPAC Player of the Year; her teammate, middle blocker Zavyr Metzger, shared Defensive Player of the Year honors with Hastings libero Miriam Miller; Dakota Wesleyan sophomore Kayleigh Hybertson was named Setter of the Year; Midland outside Brooklynn Snyder was named Freshman of the Year; and Concordia outside Ashley Keck was named Attacker of the Year.  

Under the direction of GPAC Coach of the Year Kyle Van Den Bosch, Northwestern won every match in league play this season and then swept through the conference tournament, outlasting #2-seed Concordia in five sets to win the postseason title as well.  

 

FOOTBALL 

Five Doane Tigers earn six total GPAC postseason honors 

Kelen Meyer concluded yet another excellent campaign with First Team All-GPAC kudos as a punter, headlining a class of five Doane Tigers to win a total of six spots on the 2024 Football All-GPAC Teams, as announced by the league this month.  

“Five guys receiving six awards was huge for us is our first season as coaches, first for me as the head coach. It’s us showing improvement [from last season] in another area as a program, and continuing to develop young men on and off the field,” head coach Jonathan Johnson said in our final Doane Coach Conversation of the season last week.  

Doane concluded the 2024 season with an overall record of 3-8, including a 3-7 mark in conference play. Under the first year of a new coaching staff, the Tigers exceeded last season’s win total by one, a major benchmark for the new staff, aided by a literal last-second win over Mount Marty in the season finale.  

Kelen Meyer has once again proven himself to be one of the best specialists in not only the GPAC, but the NAIA. He began his career at Nebraska but over the last few years has emerged as arguably the Tigers’ best player at any position, and he lived up to that billing this year, earning First Team All-GPAC honors as a punter as well as Second Team All-GPAC honors as a kicker. If there was an award for kickoff specialist, he would have likely been in contention for that, as well.  

The junior from Ord led the NAIA in punt average for a few weeks and ultimately finished third nationally, and first in the GPAC, with a final average of 44.3 yards per punt. He also placed 28 punts inside his opponents’ 20-yard line, the highest total of any punter in the NAIA, to earn First Team All-GPAC honors.  

In addition, Meyer was a steady force at kicker, earning Second Team honors there. He made eight of his 15 field goal attempts this year, with a season long of 52, and most of his misses were either from 45 yards out or further or were blocked. He was also a perfect 14-for-14 on PATs, and now over three seasons with Doane he has made nearly as many career field goals (35) as extra points (37).  

“He’ll have an opportunity to be an All-American this year with his punting average,” said Johnson. “He did an exceptional job.” Johnson has called Meyer a “luxury to have” and “the best college kicker he’s ever been around” - high praise, indeed.  

Joining Meyer on the Second Team All-Conference list among special teamers was long snapper Matthew Arent. The redshirt-senior from Corona, California returned to the team this year to fill this often-unheralded role and excelled, earning this distinction as one of the three best at his position in the league. 

“He was a fifth-year senior and came back to long snap for us off a knee injury, fought through a lot of things this offseason and he ends up Second Team this season – he accepted his role, and did a great job,” Johnson said.  

Doane’s final Second Team honoree for the 2024 campaign was linebacker Jarrett Boggs. The junior from Fremont was a stable force in the Tigers’ second level all season long, leading the team with 86 total tackles (7.8 per game), tied for sixth in the conference, along with three sacks, nine tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and an interception. Boggs was a First Team selection last year and followed that up with another excellent campaign.  

“He’s been the model of consistency for us all year long,” Johnson said. “He improved his totals from the year before, which is good. We’re proud of him for the way he improved and moved forward as a captain this year, and he’ll be a senior and will be back next season.” 

A strong sign for the future of Tiger football, Doane placed two freshmen on the Honorable Mention tier of talent: safety Andrew Brown and quarterback Sam Hartman. A true freshman from Omaha, Brown wasn’t a starter at the beginning of the year but seized firm control of a starting role a couple of games in, quickly becoming one of the Tigers’ top contributors on defense. His 55 total tackles ranked fourth on the team, and his eight pass breakups tied for sixth in the conference. A probable standout in Doane’s upcoming track season, Brown had a chance to earn an honor as a return specialist as well.  

“For a freshman, that’s a heck of a season, especially considering he did not start the first two games – otherwise, those numbers could have been even better for him,” Johnson said. “We’re excited to see what he’s going to do, going over to run track, indoor and outdoor – he's going to be doing hurdles and sprints and possibly relays, he’ll be a guy for the GPAC to look at in that area as well. A phenomenal athlete and a young man we’re very excited about moving forward.” 

After not getting much production from the role a year ago, Doane held a true competition for the title of starting quarterback during fall camp this year. In his first year with the team, Hartman won that role only a couple of weeks before the season opener against Graceland and never gave it up: the freshman from Grand Island finished as one of only five quarterbacks to appear anywhere on the GPAC’s postseason list, a sign of how highly regarded he was after only one season in the role. Hartman’s 1,932 passing yards in only ten games was the fourth highest total in the league, and the most by a Doane signal caller since 2018.  

“We’re extremely proud of him and the foundation that we’ve laid, and the fact that we’ve got more time with him to continue to get better, and to lay the foundation for what we’re doing going forward. Bright future in front of him as a freshman,” Johnson said. 

Star Morningside quarterback Zack Chevalier, one of the leaders in passing yards in any level of college football this season, not just the NAIA, was named the GPAC Offensive Player of the Year, while new Northwestern linebacker Parker Fryar was named GPAC Defensive Player of the Year. The Mustangs, under the direction of GPAC Coach of the Year Steve Ryan, were once again the league’s regular season champions with a mark of 10-0 in league play (10-1 overall); Morningside and Northwestern were the only two league teams to qualify for the 2024 NAIA Football Championship series, with both Concordia and Dordt left on the outside.