ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Joey Harkins of Drake (men's track & field);
Nicole Timmons of Drake (softball); Anna Lowry of Evansville (women's cross country/track); and Gabby Walker of Southern Illinois (women's basketball) have been named 2022 Missouri Valley Conference postgraduate scholarship winners. The Missouri Valley Conference Faculty Athletics Representatives Committee voted to award postgraduate scholarships to the four student-athletes, due to their exemplary academic and athletic performances. Each will receive a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship from the Conference.
Harkins ranks second all-time in Drake school history with a weight throw of 20.25m/66' 5.25" and also second all-time with a hammer throw of 61.21m/200' 10". He earned All-MVC Outdoor Track & Field honors in 2021 and 2022. The Earlham, Iowa, native also earned 2021 and 2022 All-MVC Indoor Track & Field recognition. Harkins has been a member of the MVC Men's Track & Field Scholar-Athlete Team for three years in a row: 2020, 2021 and 2022. He was also named a 2021 USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's Track & Field All-Academic Athlete. Harkins plans to attend the University of Iowa to pursue his master's degree. He earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with a 3.827 cumulative grade point average.
Timmons has been a constant force for the Bulldogs in the circle. She ranks in the top 10 in the record book for career innings pitched, career strikeouts and career wins. Timmons earned a 2018 NCAA Eugene All-Region team selection after pitching a complete game in Drake's meeting with BYU where she recorded 10 strikeouts. She is a two-time All-MVC Second Team selection, MVC Scholar Athlete First-Team and Scholar Athlete Honorable Mention selection. Timmons has been accepted to the Master of Physician Studies Program at St. Ambrose University, and plans to begin classes there this summer. She earned her bachelor's degree at Drake in Clinical and Applied Health Sciences with a cumulative grade point average of 3.799.
To be eligible for consideration, recipients must have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.40, participated with distinction in a Missouri Valley Conference championship sport for at least two seasons at the nominating institution and must graduate from their institutions within 18 months following selection at the spring meetings of the Faculty Athletics Representative Committee.
Also, the recipients must be accepted for postgraduate studies at an institution of higher learning at the time of receipt of the scholarship. And, the recipients must have completed eligibility for participation in intercollegiate athletics in the academic year in which nominated.
