COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University senior student-athletes Will Gillach (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and David Stokman (Maple Lake, Minn.) were recently named co-winners of the 2019 Fr. Wilfred Theisen Student-Athlete of the Year Award, sponsored by the J-Club. 

Both graduates will receive the award at the Oct. 5 J-Club Hall of Honor event this fall. 

Theisen '52 taught physics at SJU for 47 years and was named professor emeritus at his retirement in 2005. He is a former SJU faculty representative to the MIAC and continues as treasurer of the J-Club. The award was first presented in 2013.

Will Gillach
Gillach recently received the 2019 Stein-Fallon Scholar-Athlete Award from the Minnesota chapter of the National Football Foundation (NFF) April 27. The Stein-Fallon Scholar-Athlete Award was the third consecutive for an SJU student-athlete, following linebackers Carter Hanson '17 and David Franta '18.

A biochemistry major (pre-medicine emphasis) with a 3.70 GPA, Gillach earned a $10,000 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and begins the ESTEEM (Engineering, Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Excellence Masters) program in June at the University of Notre Dame.

He was one of four Johnnies to receive a Man of Extraordinary Service Award from SJU in late April. The award annually recognizes the work of four distinguished Saint John's students who are characterized by personal commitment to service, which promotes community, justice, work with others to accomplish a greater good and thoughtful reflection about service in light of Benedictine Values and/or Catholic Social Teaching. Candidates for this award are nominated by other students, faculty and staff. 

A consensus All-American (Associated Press first team, AFCA second team, D3football.com second team) in 2018, Gillach became SJU's first All-American at wide receiver since Blake Elliott '03, a three-time honoree from 2001-03 (assistant coach Josh Bungum '16 earned the honor as a returner in 2015). A D3football.com All-West Region first-team honoree this fall, Gillach caught 72 passes for 1,282 yards and 17 receiving touchdowns in 13 games this season. He became the first Johnnie to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season since Brian Weber '07 (1,031 yards) in 2007. 

Gillach set a school record with 256 receiving yards (and two touchdowns on 14 catches) in the Johnnies' 40-20 win Oct. 13 over St. Thomas and, on Nov. 10, became the first Johnnie to record four receiving touchdowns in a game since Jeremy Loretz '95 caught five against Macalester 24 years to the date at the Metrodome. Gillach's receiving yards are second-most in NCAA Division III and his 17 receiving touchdowns are fourth-most.

Off the playing field, Gillach is a member of SJU's Entrepreneur Scholars Program, in which he has traveled to China, Vietnam, California and Colorado to meet with variety of worldwide entrepreneurial leaders. He co-founded 2 Johnnies Consulting, a market-research firm focused on providing guidance to business in need of market research. The firm has established contracts with two Minnesota-based companies, Northstar Behavior Health (continues to help provide market research on the national state of the opioid epidemic and market guidance on expansion) and Askov Finlayson (helped to provide market research on new parka product lines). 

Gillach serves on the board of directors for BonafideU foundation, a non-profit devoted to recognizing and rewarding kindness through $5,000 scholarships to deserving youth. He conducted an independent research investigation on the opioid epidemic, focusing on the ethical responsibilities of pharmaceutical companies and medical professionals in regards to the opioid abuse problem during summer 2018. Gillach also completed a two-week stem cell and regenerative science workshop during summer 2017. He has worked in the lab of David Mitchell, associate professor of biology at CSB/SJU, examining the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria located in the central Minnesota area (bacteria from samples from on-campus lakes, the Mississippi River and Sauk River). Another goal of the research is to understand antibiotic-resistant bacteria by sequencing its DNA.

In the community, Gillach has served as a child mentor at Anna Marie's Alliance-Domestic Abuse Shelter in St. Cloud since January 2017. He also works weekly in the dementia unit at the St. Cloud Veterans Administration Hospital. Gillach was a member of SJU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and volunteered with Kids Against Hunger the last four years. He helped the SJU football team raise money for Tackle Cancer and the "Up Till Dawn" campaign, collecting donations for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital the last four years.
  
Gillach participated in a nine-day medical mission trip to Nicaragua in March 2017, where he served the medical needs of over 300 patients in impoverished communities. He helped local doctors discover, diagnose and treat a variety of medical conditions.    

David Stokman
SJU's first three-time Academic All-American as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), Stokman graduated May 12 as an economics and philosophy double-major with a 4.0 GPA.

He was a two-time D3hoops.com All-West Region third-team honoree (2016-17, 2018-19) and a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-West District first-team selection this season.

A two-time All-MIAC first-team selection (2016-17 and 2018-19), Stokman led the MIAC in three-pointers (62), finished second in free-throw percentage (.866, 58-for-67) and sixth in scoring (16.0 ppg.) during the 2018-19 conference schedule. He led SJU in scoring (15.6 ppg.), minutes played (32.2 mpg.), three-pointers (86), assists (98) and steals (38), while finishing second in rebounding (4.5 rpg.) overall. The 86 treys set a single-season school record and he recorded eight games of 20 or more points in 2018-19 (25 in his career).

Stokman ended his career as the program's all-time leader in three-pointers (266), fourth in scoring (1,492 points) and fifth in assists (321). He is second in school history in three-point percentage (.457, 266-for-582) and fourth from the free-throw line (.864, 310-for-359).

Stokman will volunteer with Saint John's Abbey's Benedictine Volunteer Corps (BVC) in Rome, Italy. The BVC is a service opportunity offered to men recently graduated from SJU. Grounded in Benedictine values and spirituality, the BVC provides a unique encounter with the Catholic monastic tradition, the multitude of needs expressed in religious communities around the world and the challenge to commit one's talents to meeting these needs.

Past Fr. Wilfred Theisen Student-Athlete of the Year Award Recipients
2013 – Dennis Granath '13 (Golf)
2014 – Michael Coborn '14 (Soccer)
2015 – J.T. Ford '15 (Football)
2016 – Alex Niederloh '16 (Soccer)/Sam Sura '16 (Football)
2017 – Mack Farley '17 (Golf)/Carter Hanson '17 (Football)
2018 – Sam Olson '18 (Golf)
2019 – Will Gillach '19 (Football)/David Stokman '18 (Basketball)