Colorado Springs, CO - The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and EAS® Sports Nutrition are proud to announce Lake Forest College's Joey Kropp and Alex Hemmer as 2015 All-American Athlete Award recipients.
This award recognizes Kropp and Hemmer's athletic accomplishments and their dedication to strength and conditioning. Nominated by Lake Forest College Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Ty Van Valkenburg '11, their determination to improve in athletics while maintaining academic prominence is a great model for all student-athletes at the College.
"We are proud to have Coach Van Valkenburg join the NSCA in its mission to safely improve athletic performance," stated Scott Caulfield, the NSCA's Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. "Supporting our student-athletes like Joey Kropp and Alex Hemmer guarantees a stronger future for the NSCA."
Kropp was a senior safety on the 2015 Forester football team and earned All-Midwest Conference honors for his contributions as a punt and kick returner. He finished second in the league with 199 punt return yards and 8.0 yards per return. In addition, he was third in the conference with 24.6 yards per kickoff return. Kropp completed his four seasons as the program's all-time leader with 557 career punt return yards and is one of only four players in school history to surpass 1,000 kickoff return yards. Kropp also ranks second in team history with 9.8 yards per punt return in his career and fifth with 22.0 yards per kickoff return. He represented Lake Forest in the Tazon de Estrellas all-star game in Puebla, Mexico, and was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player for team Stars and Stripes after picking off a pair of passes in the contest.
Hemmer recently completed her junior season as a catcher on the softball team, which posted a 35-11 record and advanced to the super regional round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. She was a First Team All-MWC and Third Team All-Great Lakes Region selection after leading the squad with 53 base hits, one shy of the program record. She also finished with a team-high 11 doubles, 37 runs scored, and 38 runs batted in. Hemmer's 14-game hitting streak late in the season matched the sixth-longest run in school history and, after just three years, she already ranks fifth in team annals in career slugging percentage (.594), sixth in putouts (434), tied-for-sixth in home runs (17), and seventh in runs batted in (88).
Ty Van Valkenburg graduated from Lake Forest College in 2011 and returned two years later as the Foresters' Strength and Conditioning Coordinator. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), a certified Level One Sports Performance Coach through USA Weightlifting, and a member of the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA). He is also a competitive powerlifter, competing in the USA Powerlifting Federation (USAPL) and American Powerlifting Federation (APF).