Brunstein, Anderson Win Downer & Hopper Awards

Brunstein, Anderson Win Downer & Hopper Awards

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Football's Collin Brunstein and track and field's Deja Anderson have been named the winners of the William J. Downer and the Doris B. Hopper Award respectively for the 2023-24 athletic year.

Beginning in 1967, Illinois College began awarding the William J. Downer Award. The award recognizes the outstanding male student-athlete of the year at IC and was established in 1967 by Robert "Bob" Edward Downer '64 and James "Jim" Mitchell Downer '66 in honor of their father.

In 1978, IC added the Doris B. Hopper Award. This award recognizes the outstanding female student-athlete of the year at IC. The award was established in 1977 by Dean Doris Broehl Hopper '41, who was instrumental in developing the women's intercollegiate athletic program.

Brunstein, a senior wide receiver from Jacksonville, Ill., was a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, a second-team pick by the Associated Press, and a fourth-team selection by D3football.com. A first-team All-Midwest Conference honoree, he helped lead an offense that set Midwest Conference records for total yards (6,147 – 558.8 yards per game) and points (522 – 47.5 points per game) as the Blueboys won the program's first Midwest Conference championship and made the school's second NCAA Division III Playoff appearance.

Brunstein's 91 catches for 2,200 yards and 31 touchdowns led the nation at all levels and were Midwest Conference and Illinois College single-season records. His 313 receiving yards against the University of Chicago was a single-game school record as was his five receiving touchdowns at Lawrence. 

Anderson, a freshman from Springfield, Ill., was an eight-time All-Midwest Conference performer during the indoor and outdoor seasons. For her efforts, Deja was named the Midwest Conference Newcomer of the Year at both the indoor and outdoor championships. 

A sprinter and long jumper, Anderson was a two-time Midwest Conference Champion helping her team take gold in the indoor 4x200m relay and outdoor 4x100m relay. She also helped the 4x100 and 4x200 relay squads set school records. In addition, she and her teammates in the 4x100 shattered the Midwest Conference outdoor record. Along with her record-setting relay performances, Deja recorded the third-best 100m dash (outdoor) time in school history while recording the fifth-best efforts in the 60m dash (indoor) and long jump (indoor).