STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Jordan Glenn of Wisconsin Lutheran High School has been selected as the 2022 Wisconsin recipient of the Spirit of Sport Award presented by the WIAA, the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin and the National Federation of State High School Associations.
The Spirit of Sport Award was created by the NFHS and adopted by the WIAA in partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. The award recognizes individuals who exemplify the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics.
Glenn, a senior guard on the Vikings’ boys basketball team, averaged 12.6 points. 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game for a team that posted a 25-3 record and tied for first place in the West Division of the Woodland Conference in 2021-22.
On Jan. 9, 2021, with 15:09 remaining in the first half during a road game at Menomonee Falls High School, Glenn was backpedaling in transition to defense when he began to feel lightheaded and then collapsed to the ground in cardiac arrest. Fortunately, game management, a police officer, an athletic trainer and five nurses, four of them were mothers of Wisconsin Lutheran and Menomonee Falls players, were in attendance to revive him.
Glenn's heart stopped twice during the episode, and each time he was brought back by the nurses attending to him and the AED that was available. By the time the paramedics arrived, Jordan was again breathing, and his heart beating on its own.
Glenn spent three days in recovery and undergoing testing at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee. He was released from the hospital and returned to school. He sat the bench for his team's remaining games of the 2020-21 season. Glenn was outfitted with a heart monitor vest so doctors could monitor him on a continuous basis. After extensive evaluation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., doctors inserted a defibrillator to regulate and monitor his heart rhythms.
He spent the spring and summer of 2021 training to return to action with his teammates. On Nov. 30, 2021, he was back on the court for Wisconsin Lutheran's boys basketball team that included a recognition and celebration of his courage throughout the ordeal of a near-fatal experience.
Glenn participated in games throughout December. Then, in a game at West Allis Central on Jan. 4, 2022, Glenn lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor again minutes before halftime with complications caused by dehydration. He again received clearance and returned to the line-up and completed the season playing in 20 games.
The NFHS Spirit of Sport Award was started in 2008. Including this year, 13 individuals and three teams have been chosen as national award recipients.
Nominations for the award are generated through NFHS member state associations and reviewed by the NFHS National High School Spirit of Sport Award Selection Committee composed of state association staff members. A national winner will be recognized in June at the NFHS Summer Meeting in San Antonio, Tex.
As the Wisconsin recipient, Glenn will receive an award sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. He will be presented with the award and recognized at the 2022 WIAA Annual Meeting on April 27.
Finalists for Wisconsin’s nomination for the Spirit of Sport Award included Glenn, Vincent Bellock of Mauston High School, Cooper Perry of Sun Prairie High School and Nicholas Zitlow Mayville High School.
Vincent Bellock - Mauston H.S.
Bellock is a participant in soccer, wrestling and track & field, but his prep career took a different path following his sophomore soccer season when he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.
After chemotherapy and treatments, Bellock returned to school and slowly re-engaged in the day-to-day routines he experienced prior to his diagnosis. After his junior year, he was able to return to sports and was selected as the team captain in soccer his senior year.
His hard work and effort paid off as he scored 11 goals for a team that placed second in the conference standings with a 7-1-2 record. He was named to the All-South Central Conference first team. He compiled a 14-18 record during the 2021-22 wrestling season, competing primarily at the 152-point weight class for the Golden Eagles.
Cooper Perry - Sun Prairie H.S.
Perry was your typical three-sport athlete, participating in baseball, basketball and football until Jan. 29, 2019, when he was diagnosed with leukemia.
Unable to participate in sports, Perry underwent treatment with the determination to return to competitive activity. During a two-year span, he underwent many lab tests, infusions, spinal taps and hospital stays. Treatment also came with restrictions on activities and the onset of knee degeneration.
Working through the illness and treatment, he worked to regain strength and endurance. In March 2020, he earned a roster spot on the varsity baseball team, which is a perennial power in the state, but the season was canceled because of COVID-19. He made his first varsity start on his final day of treatment in May of 2021. He collected a hit in his first game back to the delight of his teammates and fans in the stands.
The Cardinals proceeded to capture the WIAA Division 1 championship in June 2021.
Nicholas Zitlow - Mayville H.S.
Zitlow, a member of the baseball and track & field teams, has endured being born with a heart defect that has been monitored throughout his entire life.
In late December 2020, Zitlow failed a stress test and other procedures indicated his condition had worsened and open-heart surgery would be required. On March 18, 2021, Zitlow underwent surgery to replace his aortic valve with his pulmonary valve and his pulmonary valve with a valve of a cadaver.
Complications in his recovery led to fluid and inflammation around the heart and a pneumothorax. After 12 days in the hospital, he was released and with medications and therapy returned to school three weeks later. He continues do to well and has resumed all activities.
By June of 2021, he was able to participate in his hobbies and returned to football practice in August, but could not play until six months following surgery. On Sept. 17, he made his return to the football field for the Cardinals. He finished the football season on special teams for a team that finished as State runner-up in Division 5 and will participate in baseball this spring.
The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is a proud sponsor of the WIAA Spirit of Sport Award. The organization exists to be a tireless advocate, marketer, and promoter for Wisconsin dairy farmers and to drive demand for Wisconsin's dairy products. The organization represents Wisconsin farm families and works to increase the sale and consumption of Wisconsin milk and dairy products, as well as build trust in dairy farmers and the industry.
Organizational initiatives include generating national publicity, managing digital advertising, and driving sales, distribution and trial through retail and food service promotions. Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin also supports in-school education about the benefits of dairy and funding for the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For more information, visit wisconsindairy.org and follow on Facebook.
The WIAA, as defined by its Constitution, is a voluntary, unincorporated, and nonprofit organization. The membership oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 516 senior high schools and 48 junior high/middle level schools in its membership.
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