ANGOLA, Ind. – At the 2022 Honors Day Ceremony, Trine University recognized the top male and female student-athletes of the senior class. Nick Bowman [Angola, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern] of the men's basketball team received the Robert L. Greim Award for Top Male Student-Athlete and Evie Miller (Bultemeyer) [Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead] was tabbed the Cheryl L. Coons Award recipient for her efforts in women's cross country and track and field as Top Female Student-Athlete.
Bowman played a pivotal role in the squad's 2020-21 undefeated regular season and MIAA Championship and has shown great leadership throughout his time as a Thunder student-athlete. Bowman showed resiliency after not getting much playing time as a freshman and sophomore and broke out to become an All-American selection by D3hoops.com in his junior year. In his senior year, Bowman was recognized as a finalist for the Jostens Trophy and on the watch list for the Bevo Francis Award for Small College Basketball. The Jostens Trophy focuses on three major criteria: basketball ability, academic prowess, and service to one's surrounding communities and the Bevo Francis Award considers season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.
Along with his national recognitions, Bowman was also selected as Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Most Valuable Player in the 2020-21 season and was First Team All-MIAA in 2021-22. Bowman was a 1,000-point scorer and finishes his career 45th all-time with 1,004 points. The guard is known for his quick hands and pogo-sticks for legs as he would rip opponents and finish on the other end with breakaway dunks. In his career, Bowman has accumulated the second-most career steals in Trine's DIII era at 157, owns the school record for most steals in a season with 75, and was credited with seven steals in a game on multiple occasions, the most by any player in a game in the program's rich history.
Head coach Brooks Miller had this to say of the 2022 Robert L. Greim award winner: "Nick Bowman will go down as one of the most highly decorated athletes in Trine history, but his impact on the lives he touched during his four years both on and off the floor will be his greatest accomplishment. He pushed his teammates, coaches and even our competitors to a higher standard of achievement through his intensity and work ethic. Nick is everything a coach or parent would want their son to become and it has been a privilege to have shared this journey with his as his coach."
Off the court, Bowman, who will graduate in May with an undergraduate and master's degree in Criminal Justice. He held a 3.76 GPA in undergrad and a perfect 4.0 in masters-level classes. Bowman's work in the community is highlighted by volunteer work at the Steuben County Humane Society, camp counselor at several youth basketball camps and internships with a drug and alcohol abuse rehabilitation program as well as the Allen County Coroner's office.
Miller, a senior cross country and track and field student-athlete, has inserted her name into the recordbooks of not only the university, but also the MIAA and NCAA DIII. Miller is already a nine time All-American, two coming in cross country and seven in track and field. Miller has accumulated times in four separate events that are inside the top-15 in the history of DIII athletics. She became the first women in Trine cross country history to qualify for the NCAA National Championships and led the team to their first appearance in 2021. Four times Miller was named USTFCCCA National Collegiate Athlete of the Week. Entering this week, Miller has won 13 MIAA championships in the 6K, 4x400 meter relay, 400-meter run, 800-meter run, mile run, the 1500-meter run, 3000-meter run and 10000-meter run. 14 school records at Trine belong to Miller. The list of accomplishments can go on and on and Miller will go down as the most decorated athlete in the history of Trine athletics, but that's not the only thing that sets her apart.
Miller has been an outstanding leader for both programs as a three-year team captain and has overcome physical battles and has still sustained success on and off the track. She has battled asthma since high school and overcame a serious injury during the indoor season in 2021 and came back to become an All-American by the end of the year. Around campus, Miller is a member and small group leader at the Christian Campus House, a volunteer at a PT Clinic, was an RA for three years and is on the National Society for Leadership and Success and the Health Science Association. In the classroom, Miller is an exercise science major with a 3.72 GPA and is enrolled in Physical Therapy/Leadership graduate school. A record eight times Miller has been USTFCCCA All-Academic, a phenomenal accomplishment for school work and individual athletic performance.
Head cross country coach Zach Raber had this to say, "Evie Miller has been an absolute pleasure to coach over the last few years. It's been fun to watch her grow into an outstanding athlete for Trine University, but even more so as a young adult that's ready to do great things in the world. Her unrelenting desire to be great has been such an asset to our university and our teams. When Evie began her athletic career at Trine, she wanted to be a part of a growing program that had yet to make its mark in the region, let alone the NCAA. She leaves us now as the most decorated individual athlete in Trine's cross country history, but also as an instrumental building piece of a successful women's team for years to come. She will definitely be missed!"
From head track and field coach, Josh Fletcher, "Evie Miller will leave Trine University as the most decorated athlete is school history. She is very coachable and always willing to put in the work necessary to be successful. I will personally miss coaching Evie and wish her the best moving forward."
