Northern Michigan University men’s swimmer Leon Nolles celebrates in the pool after a race earlier this season. (Photo courtesy NMU)

MARQUETTE — A distinguished men’s swimmer from Northern Michigan University has been named a recipient of a different kind of award from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Senior Leo Nolles is one of two student-athletes from the league to earn a GLIAC Pat Riepma Postgraduate Scholarship. The other honoree is Ferris State senior Kadyn Blanchard from women’s basketball.

It includes $5,000 in aid for a male and a female student to attend the graduate school of their choice. Award winners are determined by a vote by the faculty athletic representatives of league member institutions.

The award is named in memory of Riepma, a football coach and athletic director for more than two decades at Northwood University. He passed away in July 2015 after a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer. He is the school’s all-time winningest football coach.

While his achievements on the field and in the athletic department were impressive, Riepma will be forever remembered for the person he was — a passionate, spiritual man who inspired thousands of people even before becoming sick. His mantra of “Go MAD” — standing for “Go Make A Difference” — will live on.

In four seasons at NMU, Nolles has become one of the most decorated student-athletes in the Wildcats’ swimming and diving program. The Maldonado, Uruguay, native swam for his country at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and at Northern, has been a 21-time All-American, earning three medals at the NCAA Division II Championships.

He also has 19 GLIAC Championship medals, including eight first-place golds, and has broken or holds numerous school and pool records.

So far, he has earned three Conference Sports Communicators’ Academic All-District honors and an Academic All-America honor. He also received the GLIAC Commissioner’s Award and GLIAC Swimmer of the Year honor in 2025, and additionally earned CSCAA First Team Scholar All-American honors.

Not just dedicated to the pool and his training, Nolles has also given back to his community, including regularly volunteering with Special Olympics, where he teaches and coaches specially-abled athletes in swimming and resistance training; engaging with the Northern Center for Lifelong Learning, where he shares his experiences as an Olympic athlete to actively engage older adults; visiting Beacon House of Marquette to cook and socialize with families in difficult situations; volunteering at the Marquette Marathon with aid stations; volunteering to work at NMU sporting events; and helping rake leaves at Marquette-area elementary schools with his teammates. 

Nolles has already planned to return to Northern to pursue a master’s degree in exercise science.

He is just the third NMU student-athlete to be named a Riepma scholar, joining Stephanie Howe of the cross country team in the 2005-06 school year and Nathan Rotundo of the swimming and diving team in 2018-19.

Story contents based on a Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the news. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.