Fall Commissioner’s Awards
GLIAC – The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced the recipients of the Fall 2024 Commissioner’s Awards. The awards are bestowed after the fall, winter and spring athletic seasons to six female and six male student-athletes of junior, senior or graduate student status that excel both in the classroom and in competition. All grade-point averages are based on a 4.0 scale.
Hannah Kastamo • Northern Michigan • Soccer • Junior • Hartland, Mich. • 3.87 GPA • Nursing
Her first time receiving this prestigious award, Hannah Kastamo caps off a special 2024 season by earning her first GLIAC Commissioner’s Award. An All-GLIAC Honorable Mention her sophomore season as a forward, Kastamo was converted to a defender as a junior and was named the GLIAC Defender of the Year. Kastamo earned a plethora of accolades, including two All-America honors, United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region, D2CCA First-Team All-Region, All-GLIAC First Team, GLIAC All-Tournament Team, and CSC Academic All-District honors. During the 2024 GLIAC Regular season, Kastamo scored two game-winning goals and ranked fifth in total goals (5) and sixth in points (13) as a defender in the conference.
Sam Lange • Michigan Tech • Cross Country • Senior • Washington, Ill. • 3.98 GPA • Mechanical Engineering
Michigan Tech senior cross country student-athlete Sam Lange received his first GLIAC Commissioner’s Award. A native of Washington, Illinois, achieved the award following a successful campaign on the grass, leading the Michigan Tech men’s cross country team in five races this season, including all three postseason races, seeing Lange place sixth at the GLIAC Cross Country Championships (First Team All-GLIAC), 12th at the NCAA Midwest Regional (All-Region) and 83rd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. His low-stick performance at the regional meet helped the Huskies place third overall for an automatic qualifier for the National Championship. Lange also earned GLIAC Athlete of the Week twice during the cross country season. In the classroom, Lange finished the fall semester with a 4.0 and holds a cumulative GPA of 3.98.
Brooke Pietila • Northern Michigan • Soccer • Senior • Brighton, Mich. • 4.0 GPA • Sports Science
Brooke Pietila, one of the best players in Northern Michigan program history, has been honored with a GLIAC Commissioner’s Award for the second straight season. Along with the Commissioner’s Award honor, the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year capped off her record-setting final season as a Wildcat with three All-America honors, a United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region selection, D2CCA First-Team All-Region selection, All-GLIAC First Team honor, a member of the GLIAC All-Tournament Team, and CSC Academic All-District accolades. As she finished her career at NMU, Pietila became the program leader in career assists (30), multi-assist games (5), and career games played (97) and started (95). During the 2024 GLIAC regular season, Pietila led the conference in goals (8), assists (6), game-winning goals (3), and points (22).
