Wayne State running back Josh Renel (Rochester Adams) was one of 12 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference athletes (six male, six female) to receive the Commissioner's Award for the fall season.

The award honors those who excel both in the classroom, and on the field of play.

A junior running back for Wayne State, Renel holds a 3.69 GPA with a double major of business administration and marketing, earning CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and a spot on the GLIAC All-Academic team for football, both for the second year in a row.

On the field, he was the only player in NCAA Division II football to break the 2,000 all-purpose yard plateau for the regular season, earning All-GLIAC honors as a runner and return specialist, and all-region honors from Hansen's Football Gazette.

Academic All-MAC teams announced

Oakland County was also well represented when the Mid-American Conference recently announced its all-academic teams.

Central Michigan University placed four players on the all-academic team, including Milford's Mike Petrucci and Rochester Adams' Cody Wilson, while Novi Detroit Catholic Central grad Scott Kovanda was one of Ball State's three representatives.

A junior linebacker, Petrucci carries a 3.70 GPA in mathematics, while Wilson, a sophomore wide receiver, has a 3.91 GPA. Kovanda, a junior punter, carries a 3.95 GPA in business.

Miami (Ohio) defensive end Jason Semmes (Orchard Lake St. Mary's) and Bowling Green center Ben Bojicic (Farmington Hills Harrison) earned honorable mention.

Turns out the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals will get a postseason rematch with the team from Indianapolis University that cost them a shot at the Division II World Series last year.

It looked like the Cards, who lost to the Greyhounds in the 2009 super regional, weren't going to make the postseason this year, after a midseason swoon — brought on by an injury to their top pitcher — dropped them out of the rankings. Their chances were further limited when bad weather canceled the GLIAC tournament, which they'd won the previous two seasons.

On Monday, the Cardinals — led by local players Angela Kaiser (Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes), Kailah Happ (Waterford Kettering), Kalie Burdick (Milford), Katie Smith (Clarkston), Dana Velzy (Farmington) and 2008 Miss Softball Lauren Memmer of Lakeland (read her full story here) — found out they earned an at-large bid to the 2010 postseason.

The No. 4 seed in the Midwest Regional, hosted by GLIAC regular-season champ Wayne State, SVSU (27-14) will face Indianapolis in the first round Friday at 12:30 p.m.

As the regular-season champ, Wayne State (47-10) was given the league's automatic bid upon the cancellation of the GLIAC tourney. Led by GLIAC Player of the Year Allison Allen (Farmington Hills Mercy), the Warriors will play Quincy at 3 p.m. Friday. The other two GLIAC teams to make the NCAA tournament were Tiffin and Ashland, which will host the other side of the Midwest Regional bracket.

On the baseball side, three GLIAC teams — Grand Valley, Wayne State and Ashland — earned berths in the NCAA postseason, and all will be traveling to Southern Indiana for the Midwest Regional, which starts Thursday.

Wayne State (32-18) needed a come-from-behind win over Ashland in the tournament title game to gain the automatic bid. The Warriors are the No. 4 seed, and will face Northern Kentucky.

Led by the GLIAC's Pitcher of the Year, Justin Mazur (Warren De La Salle) and the player voted the Warriors' top defender two straight years, catcher Michael Wiseman (Lakeland), the squad also includes brothers J.J. and Andrew Ciennik (Waterford Mott), Chris Gebara (Troy), Justin DeFrancis (Stoney Creek), Eric Ramaekers (Lake Orion) and Sean Falvo (Novi Detroit Catholic Central).

Grand Valley is making its ninth straight postseason appearance, one of just three Division II teams in the nation to make the postseason every year since 2002. The Lakers (34-14) are the No. 2 seed, and will face Ashland.

Led by longtime coach Steve Lyon — once the coach at both Pontiac Catholic Central and Oakland University — the Lakers' roster includes Torre Aguirre (Troy), Brian Robinson (Troy), Max Elkins (West Bloomfield) and Brad Zambron (Birmingham Brother Rice).

In Division III, Adrian will be making its second straight postseason appearance after capturing the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association title for the second straight year. The senior class for the Bulldogs (22-4), which includes Steve Vanderheyden (Clarkston), Andrew Anderson (Farmington) and Nick Sarkissian (South Lyon), was the most successful in school history, helping Adrian capture its fourth MIAA title in six years. The Bulldogs' roster also includes Garrett Green (Novi), James Englehart (Royal Oak), Jamey Sackett (Birmingham Groves) and Dan Welch (Lakeland).

The MIAA's regular-season softball champ, Alma College, and tourney champion, Trine University, both earned berths to the NCAA postseason, as well.