Thursday, July 19, 2012

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A total of 140 Great Northwest Athletic Conference student-athletes, including 90 women and 50 men, are the first recipients of the GNAC's Faculty Athletic Representative's Scholar-Athlete award.

The award will be presented annually and will honor the most outstanding scholar-athletes at each of the GNAC's 10 universities.

To qualify for the award, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.85. All student-athletes listed on any GNAC squad list, regardless of whether the sport is an officially recognized sport by the GNAC, are eligible for the prestigious award.

Eleven of the student-athletes selected to receive the award this year have perfect 4.0 grade point averages including seven women -- Anna Berecz (skiing); Bryn Haebe (track and field) and Christi Schmitz (nursing), all of the University of Alaska Anchorage; Jordyn Montgomery (volleyball) of the University of Alaska Fairbanks; Annie DePuydt (basketball) of Montana State University Billings; Nysa Allen (volleyball) of Saint Martin's University; and Suzanna Ohlsen (basketball) of Seattle Pacific University.

Four men also have perfect 4.0 GPAs – track and field athlete Brandon Brewster and skier Lutz Klausmann of Alaska Anchorage; Ryan Anderson, who competes on the rifle team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; and Saint Martin's University track and field and cross country athlete Joseph Berger.

Six Simon Fraser athletes also earned GPAs of 4.0 or better in the Canadian system, which awards 4.33 points for an A plus, led by cross country and track and field athlete Madeline Barker who has a 4.16 GPA and basketball player Zachary Frehlick, who graduated with a 4.14 GPA.

“It is with great pride we salute these accomplished student-athletes who comprise the first class of recipients of this new conference award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the classroom,” said GNAC commissioner Dave Haglund.

“The idea for this award originated with our conference faculty athletic representatives, who believed it was important to publicly recognize the many student-athletes across the GNAC who have distinguished themselves academically.

“The number of individuals who have met this high standard is reflective of the NCAA Division II philosophy which emphasizes balance between academics and athletics.”

Dr. Brent Carbajal, who is the FAR at Western Washington University and is also the chair of the GNAC Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) committee, said the award serves as a fitting tribute to the impressive academic work done at the very highest level of scholarly accomplishment.

“To realize this caliber of classroom performance while maintaining the competitive edge required for participation in intercollegiate athletics is a huge accomplishment, one clearly deserving of special recognition from the Faculty Athletics Representatives and the conference in general,” Carbajal added.

A FAR is a member of the faculty at an NCAA member institution who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution 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 intercollegiate athletics."