SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Drury swimmer Claire Conover has been honored with the 2025 Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award as the league's female athlete of the year, the league office announced Monday.
 
The awards are bestowed annually by the GLVC to one male and one female student-athlete who display academic excellence, athletic ability and achievement, character, and leadership. It is named in honor of former GLVC Commissioner, as well as coach and director of athletics at Saint Joseph's College.
 
Conover, a senior from Wichita, Kansas, placed in five events at this year's NCAA-II National Championship meet and helped her team to a national runner-up finish. She won bronze medals in the 200 Breaststroke and 100 Breaststroke. Conover was fourth in the 100 Individual Medley, the 200 IM, and she was part of a national runner-up 800 Free Relay team. At the Great Lakes Valley Conference championships, she was second in the 100 IM and 200 IM, and was third in the 200 Breast and 100 Breast.
 
Conover was also named a First Team Academic All-American and selected to the Academic All-District team by College Sports Communicators this year.
 
During her career, Conover earned NCAA-II All-America honors 16 times and won nine individual GLVC championships. She was the 2023 GLVC Swimmer of the Year, winning four titles and two runner-ups at the conference championship meet that season. Conover has also collected three Scholar All-American awards from the Collegiate Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America, three Academic All-District honors, and three Academic All-American awards.
 
In addition, Conover has worked and volunteered at hospitals in Wichita and Springfield, along with being a member of the Drury Exercise Physiology Club, American Chemical Society, and Math Honor Society.
 
Conover is the eighth student-athlete in Drury history to win the GLVC Paragon Award and the first since Hailey Distelkemp was honored in 2020. Drury joined the GLVC in 2005-06.
 
The 2025 men's Paragon Award winner is men's swimmer Cedric Buessing from Indianapolis. Both Conover and Buessing will be formally recognized for the honor on Tuesday night at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car GLVC Awards Reception in St. Louis, Missouri.
 
Drury's previous GLVC Paragon Award Winners
2025 Claire Conover, women's swimming & diving
2020 Hailey Diestelkamp, women's basketball
2018 Andrew Bazzoli, men's swimming & diving
2015 Sean Feher, men's swimming & diving
2014 Nick Thimesch, baseball
2011 Jamie Villa Zapatero, men's cross country and track & field
2008 Molly Carter (Miller), women's basketball
2006 Amanda Newton, women's basketball
   

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