UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) announced its 2022 All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year Awards. Saginaw Valley State University had four student-athletes earn the honor, as they were nominated by the Cardinals Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Chris Winter for their achievements in the weight room, classroom, and their respective sport.
Peyton Gerstacker of SVSU volleyball was named NSCA All-American. This past fall she appeared in all 27 matches for the Cardinals and was named Honorable Mention All-GLIAC. She recorded 883 assists during the season and 281 digs. Gerstacker also had 15 service aces for the Cardinals.
"Peyton has served as a leader and member of the volleyball for the past four years. She has achieved personal bests in all training performance indicators during her senior season which is an indicator of her work ethic and commitment to improving her athleticism. She has been a model of leadership and served as an example for many of our younger female student-athletes at SVSU. Competitively Peyton has run the offense for SVSU volleyball for just over a year transitioning from the libero position to the setter position earning All-Conference Honorable Mention honors last season. Academically Peyton maintains a GPA above a 3.3 average and truly is the complete student-athlete."-Coach Chris Winter.
From the Cardinal football program, Nick Whiteside was named NSCA All-American. The junior defensive back was named GLIAC Defensive Back of the Year and earned First Team All-GLIAC honors this past fall, as well as earning NCAA AP Division II Second Team All-American honors.
"Nick Whiteside has been a consummate leader in strength and conditioning and on the football field. He lead a defense that at one time was ranked first in the country in takeaways. Nick was named to the NCAA Division II Second-Team All-American List. In his summer offseason training, he broke every prior PR, specifically broad jumping 10'5", Power Cleaning 315, Back Squatting 455 and running approximately 22 mph in the flying 10 yd sprint. Nick completely changed his body composition in 2021 from a 6'3, 195lb corner to playing the position this season at 210lbs and finishing as one of the best man coverage corners in the country. His buy-in and energy about training have been contagious among other members of the program and he has led with character and integrity. Nick is also a phenomenal student in the classroom as he purses an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology holding a GPA above 3.3. It was my pleasure to recommend Nick Whiteside for the NSCA All-American Award."-Coach Winter.
James Toohey of SVSU men's basketball earned the NSCA All-American award. The Canberra, Australia native recently concluded his career playing in 133 games and not missing a single one, ranking first all-time in games played with the program. Toohey also ended his career as a Cardinal with a career 86.2% free-throw percentage, ranking first all-time in program history.
"James has been a member of the men's basketball program at SVSU since 2017. James has been in and out of the starting line-up throughout his career, finishing this season in the starting line-up leading the team in 3pt percentage, and capturing the GLIAC South Division Championship. James has been a weight room leader throughout his career finishing this year with personal bests in clean, squat, bench, and vertical jump. James has modeled consistency, character, and discipline every year for his teammates and has served as a great leader during his tenure. Additionally, James has maintained a cumulative GPA exceeding 3.5 and will complete both his bachelor's and MBA in just under 6 years. He is very deserving of this award."-Coach Winter.
Lastly, Maddie Maloney of the SVSU women's basketball program was named NSCA All-American. She earned Second Team All-GLIAC honors for the second straight year. The senior guard averaged 11.3 points and shot 42,9 percent from 3-point range this past season. Her 3-point shooting percentage ranked third in the GLIAC, and she also surpassed 1,000 career points in the Cardinals' victory over Davenport on Feb. 24.
"Maddie Maloney is the model of NSCA All-American! She has been a four-year starter at the point guard position achieving her 1,000th point during her senior season. Additionally, she has led her team to one of their best starts and very successful seasons. Maddie leads in the weight room at an extremely high level. She has is a consistent worker and winner in everything she does. Maddie earned Second Team All-GLIAC in 2020-21 and again earned Second Team All-GLIAC this year. Maddie also has earned Strength and Conditioning athlete of the month awards on several occasions due to her personal achievements in training. Maddie is also extremely successful in the classroom maintaining an average GPA well above 3.5. It is a pleasure to nominate Maddie Maloney for NSCA All-American."-Coach Winter.
