UAA's Walker, MSUB's Boehm Earn GNAC Sportsmanship Awards

Walker	Boehm

Alaska Anchorage men's basketball player Brandon Walker and Montana State Billings women's soccer player Samantha Boehm have been selected the winners of the eighth annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference Sportsmanship award.

From the list of conference winners the NCAA will select the 2011 National Sportsmanship award winners. The national award honors one male and one female athlete (or team) from each of the three NCAA divisions who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior.

Walker, who averaged 14.6 points per game this past season, is the first athlete to win the GNAC sportsmanship award twice. He was also honored last year.

In three seasons with the Seawolves, Walker scored 1,242 points to finish in 28 th place on the GNAC All-Time career scoring list. He also ended up 20 th in career three-pointers made with 152.

“Throughout his three seasons, Brandon was the consummate team player and represented UAA with the utmost class,” Seawolf coach Rusty Osborne said. “He never committed a technical foul and I cannot remember a single time he evened complained to an official.

“His mature attitude was a major reason we were able to win 24 games and advance to the NCAA second round this past season,,” Osborne said. “Additionally, Brandon made contributions to the athletic department by acting as one of UAA's ‘stars' in its 2010-11 marketing campaign.”

Walker, who is from Hayward, Calif., was also a great role model for his teammates and young fans alike. “He has done an especially good job working with young people during camps and clinics and he also participated in our annual “Reading With the Seawolves” program,” Osborne said.

Boehm, who never received a yellow or red card in her career, played in 68 games, starting 64 as a defender in leading the Yellowjackets to three NSCAA Team Ethics awards, including two Silver awards (2008 and 2010) and one Bronze (2009).

She was also a two-time “Quest for Excellence” award winner. The award goes to the player who goes above and beyond in demonstrating teamwork, hard work, dedication, discipline and passion to the MSUB soccer program.

Off the field, Boehm spearheaded a campaign for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that raised over $1,100. Academically, the fifth-year student from Wilsonville, Ore., earned a Master's degree in public relations with a GPA of 3.73 earning third team NSCAA Scholar All-America honors.