INDIANAPOLIS- The Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) released the regional winners for the 2025-26 Scholar-Athletes of the Year awards. Findlay’s Emily Mears-Bentley has been selected to represent the Midwest region, which consists of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
 
Mears-Bentley just recently graduated from the University of Findlay, where she was a standout on the women’s swimming & diving team. The Leicester, England native is coming off a historic season, where she became the G-MAC’s first-ever female swimming national champion. She added seven first-team all-American honors to help lead the Oilers to their highest team finish of seventh place.
 
In the classroom, she recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.95 as a psychology major and was named the 2025-26 Academic All-America Team Member of the year. Most recently, Mears-Bentley was voted the G-MAC Scholar Athlete of the year for her outstanding athletic and academic performance throughout the year.
 
The Division II Conference Commissioners will announce the national winners on Wednesday, September 16.
 
The complete list of regional winners can be found HERE.