Tuesday, June 4, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – Tyler Jones spent his Western Oregon career as a key player on some of the Wolves’ biggest successes in cross country and track and field over the last four years.

The senior from Bend, Oregon, was a success both on the track and in the classroom. Conference athletic directors have recognized that combination with the selection of Jones as the 2018-19 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Jones is the first Western Oregon student-athlete to be selected to receive one of the conference’s top honors for student-athletes and is the latest award for an athlete who will graduate later this month with a 4.00 cumulative grade point average as a double major in business and mathematics.

A GNAC All-Academic Team selection in both cross country and track and field, Jones was named the male winner of the Elite 90 Award at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. Designed to honor the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level, the Elite 90 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals site of each of the NCAA’s 90 championships.

For the second straight season, Jones was also voted to the Google Cloud/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 8 Cross Country/Track & Field Team. A Second Team Academic All-American in 2018, Jones stands a solid chance of repeating that honor when the 2019 team is announced on June 26.

In addition, Jones is a member of the Western Oregon chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, a national honor society designed to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the “unity and democracy of education.”

A year after helping Western Oregon win a GNAC title and advance to the national championships in cross country, Jones provided for some individual highlights during the 2018 season. The Wolves’ No. 1 runner at November’s GNAC Championships, Jones earned all-conference honors by placing fifth in a time of 24:53.0 over 8,000 meters on his home course at the Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Oregon.

Two weeks later, Jones earned All-West Region honors with a ninth-place finish at the NCAA West Region Championships in Billings, Montana. With a time of 31:12.85 over 10,000 meters, Jones was one of six GNAC athletes to place in the top-10.

The placing at regionals earned Jones an individual berth to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. He went on to place 60th in a time of 33:56.8, which ranked fifth among GNAC competitors in the race.

On the track, Jones was a point-scorer for the team in both conference meets. He finished seventh in the mile at the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, clocking a time of 4:19.69. He advanced to the NCAA Championships as a member of the Wolves’ distance medley relay team, which finished in ninth place.

During the outdoor season, Jones placed sixth in the 5,000 meters at the GNAC Championships in a time of 15:07.35.

In addition to being just the first Western Oregon student-athlete to be named GNAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Jones is the fifth cross country or track and field athlete to be named the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Other nominees for the 2018-19 GNAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award included David Sramek of Alaska Anchorage (track and field), Kodiak Landis of Central Washington (track and field), Jarrett Gray of Concordia (basketball), Steen Fredrickson of Montana State Billings (baseball), Jake Knight of Northwest Nazarene (track and field), Rhett Baerlocher of Saint Martin’s (basketball), Luke Postma of Seattle Pacific (soccer), Rowan Doherty of Simon Fraser (cross country/track and field) and Trevor Jasinsky of Western Washington (basketball).

GNAC MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
2018-19: Tyler Jones, Western Oregon (Cross Country/Track & Field)
2017-18: Jess Cayetano, Seattle Pacific (Soccer)
2016-17: Brandon Watson, Simon Fraser (Soccer)
2015-16: Cameron Proceviat, Simon Fraser (Cross Country/Track & Field)
2014-15: Riley Stockton, Seattle Pacific (Basketball)
2013-14: David Downs, Seattle Pacific (Basketball)
2012-13: David Downs, Seattle Pacific (Basketball)
2011-12: Alex Harrison, Western Washington (Track and Field)
2010-11: Adam Bighill, Central Washington (Football)
2009-10: Sam Charles, Montana State Billings (Soccer)
2008-09: Sam Charles, Montana State Billings (Soccer)
2007-08: Jarred Rensvold, Mont. St. Billings (Cross Country/Track & Field)
2006-07: Adam Jensen, Seattle (Soccer)
2005-06: Tony Binetti, Seattle Pacific (Basketball)
2004-05: Nathan Carlson, Saint Martin’s (Cross Country/Track and Field)
2003-04: Rob White, Western Washington (Football)
2002-03: Tobias Schwoerer, Alaska Anchorage (Cross Country)
2001-02: Erik Totten, Western Washington (Football)