Friday, July 16, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – The pandemic did little to slow down the conference’s academic achievements as a record 353 student-athletes received the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Award, presented by Barnes & Noble College.

The 261 women and 92 men are being recognized for compiling a cumulative grade point average of 3.85 or greater. All student-athletes listed on any squad at a GNAC institution, regardless of whether the sport is a GNAC championship, are eligible for the award. Conference affiliate members could nominate student-athletes only from the sport in which they compete in the GNAC.

This year’s 351 honorees is up from the previous record of 322 set in 2019-20 and well up from the 248 honorees recognized during the 2018-29 academic year.

A total of 159 honorees, accounting for over 45 percent of the award winners, are repeat honorees. The list includes 66 student-athletes (23 men, 42 women) who finished the 2020-21 academic year with a GPA of 4.00 or better (Simon Fraser grades on a system that awards a 4.33 GPA for an A-plus).

Two student-athletes have earned the FAR Scholar-Athlete Award for the fifth time in their careers: Alaska Anchorage senior Louisa Marie Knapp (gymnastics) and Central Washington senior Spencer Boldt (women’s rugby).

Seven men earned the FAR Scholar-Athlete Award for the fourth time: Alaska Anchorage seniors Zac Masson (ice hockey), Eric Sinclair (ice hockey) and Mike Soetaert (skiing); Central Washington senior Harrison Howarth (track and field), Northwest Nazarene senior Ben Johnson (baseball), Seattle Pacific senior Travis Swallow (soccer) and Simon Fraser junior Ryan Stolys (golf).

The 16 women’s four-time honorees include Alaska seniors Sage Robine (skiing) and Cate Whiting (volleyball), Central Washington seniors Alycia Bannan (softball) and Emily Thomson (soccer), Montana State Billings senior Rachel Lythgoe (soccer), Northwest Nazarene seniors Bethany Danner (cross country/track and field), Katie Heckathorn (track and field) and Heidi Nisly (cross country/track and field); Saint Martin’s senior Emily Gooding (volleyball), Seattle Pacific senior Suzanne Stafford (rowing), Simon Fraser junior Emily Chilton (cross country/track and field) and senior Bianca Te (volleyball); Western Oregon senior Allyson Drury (softball) and Western Washington seniors Maddie Bangasser (rowing) and Tess Biscup (volleyball).

In addition to the four-time honorees, a total of 46 student-athletes earned their third FAR Scholar-Athlete Award.

Central Washington led all conference institutions with 62 total FAR Scholar-Athlete Award recipients, which includes 48 women’s honorees. Saint Martin’s led the conference with 16 male honorees.

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.”