Four Keydets Named S&C All-Americans

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – VMI's Garrett Gilkeson, Julianne Knoblett, Sarah MacDougall and Broden Schull were among those honored as All-American Strength and Conditioning Athletes of the Year, a list released last week by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

"I am very proud of these four cadet-athletes from VMI that have been named Strength and Conditioning All Americans," said Dave Lawson, VMI's Director of Sports Performance for Olympic Sports. "Cadet-athletes work very hard and give great effort in all that they do. The weight room is a behind the scenes place that very few actually get to see how hard these young people train and prepare for their respected sports. These are just of few of the cadet-athletes that represent VMI in very positive way."

Gilkeson, a senior on the men's basketball team, scored 905 points in his four seasons.

"Garrett has been a tough and competitive basketball player for us at VMI," said Lawson. "He always shows up to train with the competitive mindset and work ethic needed to improve. He provides great leadership to others on the team through his positive interactions and consistent work ethic. Garrett is extremely durable as he has started in 94 plus games the last three years. He has been one of the top team statistical leaders the past two seasons."
Knoblett, is member of the Keydet women's soccer and indoor and outdoor track and field teams. The senior scored six career goals in 62 games on the pitch and is a member of three record-holding relay teams in track.  

"Julianne has been a consistent hard worker during her time here at VMI," Lawson said. "She is a two-sport athlete competing at a high level in both soccer and track while majoring in Biology. She has been a statistical leader on the soccer team and is a member of the VMI school record-setting 4x400 and 4x800 meter relay teams."

MacDougall, a senior on the women's swimming and diving team, finishes her career on four relay teams that boast program records.   

"Sarah was four-year member of the swim team at VMI. In 2019, She was a part of record-setting 200 and 400-medley teams," said Logan Moody, assistant strength and conditioning coach. "Also in 2019, she earned the team's Scholar-Athlete Award, given if a student-athlete has a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at the time of the season-ending banquet. She also took home the squad's Workhorse Award, awarded to the member of each team who displayed tremendous motivation and work ethic both in and out of the pool. Then in 2020 she was named team captain. When Sarah showed up you knew you were going to get hard work, a positive attitude, willingness to help others, and a desire to get better.

Schull, a sophomore goalie on the men's soccer team, led NCAA Division I in saves in each of his two seasons.

"Broden has been a two-year starter at VMI," said Moody. "In 2018, he Earned Southern Conference Men's Soccer All-Freshman honors and led all of Division I in saves and saves per game. In 2019, he repeated and led the country in saves and saves per game in Division I. Throughout his career at VMI, he has worked with tremendous effort, focus, and motivation, and he has shown great improvement in himself and with his teammates."