Wayne State volleyball player Megan Gebhardt and men’s track and field athlete Derek Lahm were named Northern Sun Conference Women’s and Men’s Honor Student-Athlete Award Winners, according to the league office.
Each NSIC institution nominates one male and one female student-athlete for the Britton and Kelly Awards. The nominees must meet criteria that includes a grade-point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale, evidence of academic excellence beyond the minimum grade point average (scholarship prizes and other academic recognition), evidence of participation in the life of the institution and evidence of participation in at least two-thirds of the varsity events of the individual’s primary sport.
Gebhardt, a graduate student business administration and finance major from Norfolk, is the Wildcat female honoree for a second straight year. She maintains a 4.0 grade point average and earned her bachelor’s degree in just three years while playing volleyball at Wayne State.
This season, Gebhardt started all 31 matches at setter for the Wildcats and ranked seventh in the NSIC with 9.60 assists per set. She also averaged 1.99 digs and 0.51 blocks per set with six double-doubles. Gebhardt was named CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-American and is a three-time NSIC All-Academic Team recipient.
Off the court, Gebhardt volunteers with the Wayne Green Team, WSC Student Food Pantry and Mercy Meals, rakes leaves through the Cup of Grace and visits nursing homes with Wildcat teammates. Other volunteer work includes Faith Regional Health Services Gift Shop, Highway 35 cleanup, coaching youth volleyball teams and clinics in Wayne, Wakefield and Norfolk, gift wrapping in Wakefield and working with the second grade class at Wayne Elementary School.
Lahm, a senior track and field athlete from Columbus, is the Wildcat male selection this year thanks to a 3.916 grade-point average majoring in chemistry and health sciences. This season, Lahm was the NSIC indoor champion in the long jump (23-8 1/2) and also earned All-NSIC honors with a second place finish in the heptathlon with 5,063 points. In the outdoor season, he already set a new school record in the long jump with a leap of 24-7 1/4 at the Fort Hays State Invite on March 30.
During his time at Wayne State, Lahm has set four new school records (decathlon, long jump, 400 and 1,600 relays) and he is a five-time All-NSIC selection and two-time USTFCCCA All-Region honoree in the decathlon.
Academically, Lahm is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American earning third-team honors last season (2017) and in 2015 as a sophomore. He is a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Blue Key Service Fraternity and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.
Off the track, Lahm has served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee for three years and has been vice president the last two, worked with the WSC Newman Center and FOCUS missionaries along with SAAC activities that include Trick or Treat Canned Food Drive, Wayne Backpack Program, Make-a-Wish Pass the Bucket and It’s On Us/Fill the Hill Day.
Gebhardt and Lahm will also be honored as the Wayne State Bob Cunningham Scholar Athletes of the Year.
