2022 State Farm Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet award winners

Posted on June 22, 2022
It was the first banquet since 2019 due to COVID. (Facebook/State Farm Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet)

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – Student athletes, coaches and teams from around the area were recognized Tuesday night during the 13th annual State Farm Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet.

It was the first banquet since 2019 due to COVID. Over 100 people attended the event at The Chateau Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington.

Speakers during the event included Caleb Busick, representing Special Olympics Illinois and Stephanie (Brown) Brokaw, a graduate of Tri-Valley High School. Stephanie attended the University of Arkansas where she was a 12-time NCAA qualifier and eight-time NCAA All-American.

  • Coach of the Year – Female sports: Kelsey Mueller, Normal West volleyball
  • Coach of the Year – Male sports: John Schippert, Cornerstone basketball
  • Female Team of the Year: U-High Track and Field
  • Male Team of the Year: Central Catholic soccer
  • Female Scholar Athlete of the Year: Taylor Nowaskie, Olympia
  • Male Scholar Athlete of the Year: Tyler Dwinal, Normal Community
  • Female Athlete of the Year: Avery Hernandez, Normal West
  • Male Athlete of the Year: Jack Weltha, Bloomington
  • Special Olympics Female Athlete of the Year: Abigail Knudson
  • Special Olympics Male Athlete of the Year: Thomas Knudson
  • Good Neighbor Award: Bloomington Baseball, Illinois High School Shrine Game, State Farm Holiday Classic

Jordyn Cannon from El Paso-Gridley, Matthew Wingate from Calvary Christian Academy and Normal Community’s Tyler Dwinal were recipients of the State Farm Holiday Classic scholarship program.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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