Three members of Wayne State University winter sports teams have earned 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Winter Commissioner's Awards.

Senior swimmer Catherine Leix (Flint, Mich. / Southwestern), redshirt junior basketball player Ian Larkin (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) and junior swimmer Fares Ksebati (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. / Grosse Pointe South) were three of the 12 GLIAC recipients of the Winter 2012 Meijer Commissioner's Awards. The awards, sponsored by Meijer, Incorporated, are presented after the Fall, Winter, and Spring athletic seasons to six female and six male student-athletes that excel both in the classroom and on the fields of play. All grade point averages are based on a 4.0 scale.

“It is with great pride that I acknowledge the amazing accomplishments of our 12 award winners. These student-athletes will make outstanding contributions in their respective communities as well nationally in their areas of study.” stated GLIAC Commissioner Dell Robinson. “I would like thank Meijer for their continued support that allows the GLIAC to honor our top student-athletes.”

The six female student-athletes to receive the Winter 2012 Meijer Commissioner's Awards are: Jena Stutzman of Ashland University, Shelby Janutol of Ferris State University; Kristen Hixson and Caitlyn Madsen of Grand Valley State University; Mandy Jaeb of Tiffin University, and Catherine Leix of Wayne State University.

The six male student-athletes to receive the Winter 2012 Meijer Commissioner's Awards are:  John Guagenti of the University of Findlay; Austin Biefnes and Guy Kogel of the University of Indianapolis; Mike Hojnacki of Michigan Technological University; and Fares Ksebati and Ian Larkin of Wayne State University.

Senior Catherine Leix (Flint, Mich./Southwestern) repeated as GLIAC champion in the 500 yard and 1650 yard freestyles in 2012. She was also an integral part of the 800 yard freestyle relay which won both conference and national championships. A 16-time All-American in her career, Leix was a top-eight finisher in all three individual distance freestyle events at the NCAA Championships in March, contributing greatly to the overall Division II team title earned by the WSU women's squad. The education major has been named to the WSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) every semester with a cumulative GPA of 3.95. She is also a four-time GLIAC All-Academic honoree, a two-time Commissioner's Award winner and the recipient of the Dean's Award for the Wayne State College of Education.

Junior Fares Ksebati (Grosse Point Farms, Mich./Grosse Pointe South), a Dean's Award winner for the Wayne State School of Business Administration, is a two-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence honoree. He finished 11th in the 1650 yard freestyle, 12th in the 100 yard breaststroke and 16th in the 200 breaststroke, contributing to Wayne State's successful defense of the GLIAC Men's Swimming and Diving Championship.

Ian Larkin (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance), a junior at Wayne State, was a Second Team All-GLIAC selection as well as a GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team member for the 2011-12 academic year. He led the conference in three-point field goal percentage (57.1 on 28-of-49), was fourth in both field goal percentage (57.9 on 99-of-171) and blocked shots (1.6 per game), tied-for-eighth in offensive rebounds (2.1 per game), was 14th in scoring (13.4 ppg), and 20th in rebounding (5.4 rpg), while starting all 27 games. Larkin also set a career-high with 43 blocked shots. He scored in double figures 19 times and will enter his senior year with 651 career points. A business/management major, he has been on the academic honor roll every semester including cumulative GPA of 3.68.