Scheele named one of 10 national finalists for Jostens Award
MADISON, Wis. -- Edgewood College women's basketball player Megan Scheele has been named one of 10 national finalists for the Jostens Trophy, honoring the outstanding Division III women's basketball player of the year. The Jostens Trophy, awarded by the Salem (Va.) Rotary Club, considers basketball ability, academic prowess and community service in selecting their annual recipient.

Scheele, a junior from New Glarus, is having one of the greatest seasons in Edgewood College history, having already broken her own single season records in points and rebounds. She is currently fifth in the nation and leads the Northern Athletics Conference in scoring average at 22.1 points per game. Scheele is also second in the league in rebounding with 10.8 boards per game. Last week, Scheele moved into second place on the all-time Edgewood College scoring list with 1,481 points.

Scheele, an elementary education major, is an outstanding performer off the court as well, boasting a 3.89 grade point average. She has spent time this year working as a peer mentor in Edgewood College's Cutting Edge program, which gives developmentally disabled college-age students the opportunity to attend college classes and experience campus life.

The list of finalists will be forwarded to the 32-person national selection committee, which will complete the selection process by picking the two Jostens Trophy winners, one man and one woman. The winner will be honored in Salem, Virginia on March 20 at the Salem Civic Center, the site of the NCAA Division III men's basketball championship. The winner receives the Jostens Trophy, a custom-made championship ring and the Wooldridge Scholarship.

The other women's finalists are: Leigh Ann Burke, DeSales; Colleen Feeney, Bridgewater State; Liz Hickey, Mary Washington; Lindsay Ippel, Millikin; Nikki Lobach, Messiah; Tarra Richardson, McMurry; Katie Streck, Wilmington; Jess Vadnais, Gustavus Adolphus; Katelyn Whiton, Simpson.

Scheele is the second straight Northern Athletics Conference women's basketball player to be named a finalist. Catherine Chappell of MSOE was a 2007 finalist. Lakeland College's Jill Dewane was also a finalist in 2002.

Courtesy of Edgewood College, Sports Information Department, February 26, 2008.