DECATUR, Ill. – Recent Millikin University graduates Elyce Knudsen and Jake Shumaker received the 2024 Lindsay Medallions on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, during the Big Blue Football team’s game against North Central College.
The Lindsay Medallion honors their achievements as students and student-athletes during their time with the Big Blue. Named in honor of the late F. Merrill Lindsay, trustee emeritus, and his late wife, Margery "Sis" Lindsay, the Lindsay Medallion has been presented annually since 1997. The late Steve Spangler '68 designed the distinctive medallions, which honor student-athletes for outstanding performances on their respective Big Blue teams and others who have positively impacted Big Blue athletics.
Knudsen is Millikin's all-time leading scorer in Women's Basketball with 2,310 points. She holds 11 Big Blue records including points in a season (763), highest season scoring average (26.3), highest career scoring average (22.6), and most field goals made in a career (913).
Knudsen was selected an All-American Team by the WBCA and D3hoops.com in each of her final three seasons. She was the winner of the prestigious Jostens Trophy in 2022-23. Knudsen was named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Lori Kerans Player of the Year and named to the All-Conference First Team three times. The Millikin Athletic Department named her the Athlete of the Year in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Knudsen also excelled in the classroom and on the court, twice earning College Sports Communicators Academic All-America First Team honorees. As a junior, she was named Millikin's Lincoln Academy of Illinois Student Laureate award winner.
"I felt deeply honored to receive the Lindsay Medallion from Millikin, alongside Jake. The honor meant a lot more to me than others because I am now an alumni and able to connect back with former professors, coaches, mentors, etc., and reflect on my time at Millikin. I owe all of my success at Millikin to those who were a part of my four-year journey, so getting to speak about those people and with some meant so much to me," Knudsen said. "The medallion is an honor that covers everything that I try to be, which is a great leader, student-athlete, and servant to the community. These are all things that I wanted to check off my box when I decided to make Millikin my home for four years. Being back at Millikin always gives me so much nostalgia. You remember every little thing you experienced at specific spots on campus so walking through different parts of campus again brought that feeling over me. It is such a real feeling. Decatur and Millikin will forever be my home because of the people, memories, and lessons it brought me. My family and I are so grateful for the experiences it gave us, and I was grateful to have some of them with me while I was honored and that was too special! Go Big Blue forever!"
Knudsen graduated in May 2024 with a degree in Finance. She is currently playing as a graduate student at NCAA Division I Illinois State University. Knudsen is studying in the Masters of Business Administration program with a certificate in Data Analytics at Illinois State.
Shumaker was a four-year Millikin's Cross Country and Track and Field team member. He graduated in 2024 graduate with a degree in Computer Science.
Shumaker was part of six Millikin track record-setting performances. He holds the school record in the Indoor 600 meters (1:20.03), Indoor 800 (1:50.43) and ran legs on the Indoor 4x400 (3:16.98) and Distance Medley Relay (10:11.35) record-setting efforts. In Outdoor Track, he is tied for the school record in the 400 Meters (48.46) and on the record-setting 4x400 Relay (3:13.65).
Shumaker qualified for the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships five times, earning All-American honors in the Outdoor 800 meters (eighth) in 2024 and Indoor 800 meters in 2023 (fifth). He was the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Champion in the 800 Meters in 2023 (Indoor) and 2024 (Outdoor). He competed on four CCIW Champion relay teams and earned CCIW All-Conference honors 11 times.
Shumaker excelled in the classroom, earning College Sports Communicators All-District honors twice and CCIW Academic All-Conference recognition six times. He was named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete four times. Jake was a Millikin Scovill Prize winner in 2023. He received the Podeschi-Landacre Management Information Systems Award in 2023 and 2024 and the Mathematics and Computer Science Award in 2024.
Shumaker is in graduate school at Notre Dame University and will run for the Fighting Irish next spring.
