ST. LOUIS – Illinois State senior Matt Blanco was announced as one of two student-athletes featured in this week's Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Spotlight, announced by the league office on Thursday. Blanco is the first Redbird to be recognized this fall.
A native of Aurora, Ill., Blanco has maintained a 3.51 GPA as a physical education major over the past four years at Illinois State. He was also named as a member of the 2020-21 MVC Cross Country Scholar-Athlete team.
"It means a lot to be nominated because I have not always been the best student, but I've been picking that up," Blanco said.