PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference released a pair All-Academic Sport awards this past week. Central Washington University was well represented for the work its student-athletes have done during the 2019-20 academic year.
The GNAC Academic Sports Championship recognizes schools within the conference based on the performance of each team's cumulative grade point average during the academic year. Schools are awarded points in both a men's and women's category while also having an overall standing.
The sports that are selected for GPA surveys and point tallying are baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's track and field, and volleyball.
The Wildcats boasted well, finishing fourth in the overall standings with 148 points. Central Washington was the highest placing non-private university in the overall standings. In the men's standings, CWU finished second with 70 points.
By sport, the Wildcats had seven teams finish in the top three, respectively. The Wildcat men's basketball squad was named their sport champion with a cumulative GPA of 3.21, while football 2.92 and Track and Field 3.22 finished second.. On the women's side, the basketball team placed second in their sport with a 3.62 GPA, also placing second was volleyball at 3.65.
The GNAC also released its Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Award. CWU was well represented on this list as well with 43 total recipients. The women led the way with 32 nominees, while the men had 11.
To be eligible for the FAR Scholar Athlete Award, a student must carry a cumulative GPA of 3.85 or better and must have completed two semesters or four quarters at their respective institution.
Headlining the list of recipients for the Wildcats are a pair of female student-athletes and one male student-athlete who all earned the award for a fourth consecutive year. Garnering this feat were
Spencer Boldt from Rugby, Delaney Clem from cross country/track & field and
Yi An Pan from Baseball. CWU's 43 total nominees were the most in the GNAC.
A faculty athletic representative (FAR) is a member of the faculty at an NCAA member institution who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution's faculty and the athletic department. The FAR serves as a representative of the institution in conference and NCAA affairs.
The role of the FAR is "to ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and athletics."
The full list of CWU student-athletes that received the FAR Scholar-Athlete Award is listed below.
Men
Name Sport Academic Major Year GPA Hometown
Espen Diamond Cross Country/Track Sports Management Fr. 3.93 Everett, Wash.
** Jaden Hassell Baseball Information Tech & Administrative Management Sr. 3.90 Milton, Wash.
** Harrison Horwath Cross Country/Track Accounting Jr. 3.94 Gig Harbor, Wash.
Tate Hutchins Cross Country/Track Mathematics: Secondary Education Fr. 4.00 Lynden, Wash.
David Lindgren Basketball Biology Jr. 3.93 Yakima, Wash.
Braden Miles Football Information Tech & Administrative Management Jr. 4.00 Highland, Utah
Austin Ohland Baseball Business Administration Fr. 3.95 Maple Valley, Wash.
*** Yi-An Pan Baseball Accounting Sr. 3.87 Langley, B.C.
Ivan Pula Rugby Law & Justice Jr. 3.88 Yelm, Wash.
Max Riseham Rugby Economics Jr. 3.86 Hull, England
Gordon Smilanich Rugby Undeclared Fr. 3.88 Santa Clarita, Calif.
Women:
Name Sport Academic Major Year GPA Hometown
** Alycia Bannan Softball Accounting Jr. 3.91 Orting, Wash.
*** Spencer Boldt Rugby Economics Sr. 3.85 Wilcox, Sask.
Harlee Carpenter Softball Undeclared Fr. 3.95 Snohomish, Wash.
Madison Child Cross Country/Track Clinical Physiology So. 3.87 Camas, Wash.
*** Delaney Clem Cross Country/Track Biology Sr. 3.99 Pendleton, Ore.
Emma Daoud-Hebert Volleyball Undeclared Fr. 3.95 Woodinville, Wash.
* Josie Deming Volleyball Personal Financial Planning So. 3.96 Blaine, Wash.
Brittany Dodge Cross Country/Track Biology So. 3.97 Pateros, Wash.
* Gracee Dwyer Softball Physical Education & School Health So. 3.89 Spokane, Wash.
Sydney Edwards Soccer Undeclared Fr. 3.88 Renton, Wash.
Laynie Erickson Volleyball Undeclared Fr. 4.00 La Conner, Wash.
Jaxyn Farmen Soccer Undeclared Fr. 3.91 Medical Lake, Wash.
* Megan Fox Soccer Exercise Science So. 4.00 Woodland Hills, Calif.
* Carly Gibbon Volleyball Elementary Education So. 3.98 Bonney Lake, Wash.
* Caitlin Gohr Cross Country/Track Business Administration So. 3.86 Anchorage, Alaska
* Halle Irvine Track and Field Clinical Physiology Sr. 3.88 Yakima, Wash.
** Mariah Jones Track and Field Physical Education & School Health Jr. 3.95 Yakima, Wash.
* Madison Lee Volleyball Biology So. 4.00 Spokane, Wash.
Tori Maeda Basketball Undeclared Fr. 3.97 Honolulu, Hawaii
Meredith Massey Cross Country/Track Undeclared Fr. 3.88 Kennewick, Wash.
* Molly Mattson Cross Country/Track Clinical Physiology So. 3.92 Selah, Wash.
** Emily Russell Soccer Food Science & Nutrition Jr. 3.92 Kennewick, Wash.
Saran Sidibe Cross Country/Track Food Science & Nutrition So. 3.86 Kennewick, Wash.
** Brittany Stevens Track and Field Special Education Sr. 3.94 Bellevue, Wash.
Allie Thiessen Softball Undeclared Fr. 3.89 Chilliwack, B.C.
** Alexia Thomas Track and Field Clinical Physiology Jr. 3.93 Covington, Wash.
** Emily Thomson Soccer Clinical Physiology Jr. 3.98 Edmonton, Alta.
Jenna Troy Basketball Construction Management Fr. 4.00 Kenmore, Wash.
* Bryn Waite Soccer Psychology So. 3.88 Anchorage, Alaska
Maisy Williams Basketball Undeclared Fr. 3.96 Tumwater, Wash.
Maria-Rosarie Wright Rugby Business Administration Fr. 3.96 Gig Harbor, Wash.
** Kayla Wyatt Track and Field Biology Jr. 3.94 Spokane, Wash.
**** - Five-Time FAR Award Recipient *** - Four-Time FAR Award Recipient ** - Three-Time FAR Award Recipient * - Two-Time FAR Award Recipient
