Friday, July 10, 2020

PORTLAND, Ore. – As the school closes out its long run of providing education in the Northwest, Concordia is closing out on top of the academic lists once again.

For the second year in a row and the third time in its six years of membership in the conference, Concordia is the winner of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Sports Championship.

The Cavaliers compiled a total of 177 points in the annual survey of the cumulative grade point averages for each school’s GNAC program. In winning the award, Concordia saw four of its 13 teams finish first in their respective sports and nine finish among the top three.

Seattle Pacific placed second in the overall standings with 167 points. Northwest Nazarene finished third with 162 points.

For the fourth consecutive year, Concordia was also the Men’s Academic All-Sports Champion. The Cavaliers saw three of its six teams top their respective sports lists for a total of 85 points. Central Washington placed second with 70 points and Seattle Pacific was third with 66 points.

Northwest Nazarene captured the Women’s Academic All-Sports Championship for the fourth consecutive year with 104 points, finishing three points better than second-place Seattle Pacific (101). Concordia placed third with 92 points.

One of three institutions that had all of its programs finish with a GPA greater than 3.00, Concordia topped sport lists for baseball (3.30), men’s golf (3.68), men’s soccer (3.47) and softball (3.56). Five other Concordia teams placed third: men’s basketball (3.16), men’s track and field (3.20), women’s cross country (3.72), women’s soccer (3.54) and women’s track and field (3.40).

Seattle Pacific saw seven of its 10 GNAC teams place in the top-three in their respective sports, which included four women’s championships in basketball (3.65), cross country (3.88), rowing (3.53) and track and field (3.69). The Falcons also had the top GPA in men’s track and field (3.37).

Azusa Pacific continued an impressive streak with its eighth consecutive championship in football (3.12). Central Washington claimed the top spot in men’s basketball (3.31), ending a streak of nine straight championships in the sport for Seattle Pacific. Saint Martin’s shared the baseball GPA title while Alaska topped the list in men’s cross country (3.51).

Montana State Billings claimed two women’s GPA titles in golf (3.64) and soccer (3.65). Northwest Nazarene finished with the top GPA for volleyball (3.75) while UC San Diego shared top honors in rowing in the school’s lone season as an affiliate member in the sport.

A total of 108 of the conference’s 125 teams (86.4 percent) posted cumulative GPAs of 3.00 or better. The conference saw eight of its 17 championships finish with all of its team posting GPAs over 3.00: men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s rowing, softball, women’s track and field and volleyball. Joining Concordia in having all of its GNAC programs finish above 3.00 is Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific.

The Academic All-Sports standings are based on the cumulative grade point averages of all of the student-athletes on the official team rosters, including redshirts. Points are awarded in two-point increments.

GNAC 2019-20 ACADEMIC ALL-SPORTS STANDINGS
Overall (Top 5): 1, Concordia, 177. 2, Seattle Pacific, 167. 3, Northwest Nazarene, 162. 4, Central Washington, 148. 5, Saint Martin’s, 136.
Men (Top 5): 1, Concordia, 85. 2, Central Washington, 70. 3, Seattle Pacific, 66. 4, Northwest Nazarene, 58. 5, Saint Martin’s, 57. 5.
Women (Top 5): 1, Northwest Nazarene, 104. 2, Seattle Pacific, 101. 3, Concordia, 92. 4, Montana State Billings & Saint Martin’s 79.

MEN’S TOP-THREE TEAMS BY SPORT
Baseball: 1, Concordia & Saint Martin’s, 3.30. 3, Northwest Nazarene, 3.29.
Basketball: 1, Central Washington, 3.21. 2, Seattle Pacific, 3.19. 3, Concordia, 3.16.
Cross Country: 1, Alaska, 3.51. 2, Seattle Pacific, 3.39. 3, Central Washington, 3.36.
Football: 1, Azusa Pacific, 3.12. 2, Central Washington, 2.92. 3, Simon Fraser, 2.76.
Golf: 1, Concordia, 3.68. 2, Northwest Nazarene, 3.67. 3, Saint Martin’s, 3.14.
Soccer: 1, Concordia, 3.47. 2, Western Washington, 3.46. 3, Northwest Nazarene, 3.29
Track and Field: 1, Seattle Pacific, 3.37. 2, Central Washington, 3.22. 3, Concordia, 3.20.

WOMEN TOP-THREE TEAMS BY SPORT
Basketball: 1, Seattle Pacific, 3.65. 2, Central Washington, 3.62. 3, Northwest Nazarene, 3.54.
Cross Country: 1, Seattle Pacific, 3.88. 2, Northwest Nazarene, 3.77. 3, Concordia, 3.72.
Golf: 1, Montana State Billings, 3.64. 2, Simon Fraser, 3.46. 3, Saint Martin’s, 3.39.
Rowing: 1, Seattle Pacific & UC San Diego, 3.53. 3, Humboldt State & Western Washington, 3.41.
Soccer: 1, Montana State Billings, 3.65. 2, Northwest Nazarene, 3.60. 3, Concordia, 3.54.
Softball: 1, Concordia, 3.56. 2, Montana State Billings, 3.49. 3, Central Washington, 3.48.
Track and Field: 1, Seattle Pacific, 3.69. 2, Saint Martin’s, 3.67. 3, Concordia, 3.64.
Volleyball: 1, Northwest Nazarene, 3.75. 2, Central Washington, 3.65. 3, Alaska, 3.59.