Monday, July 11, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the second year in a row, Central Washington has won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Sports Championship, presented by Barnes & Noble College.

The Wildcats compiled a score of 155 points in the conference’s annual survey of the cumulative grade point averages for each institution’s GNAC program. Central Washington won the overall title despite finishing second in both the men’s and women’s Academic All-Sports standings. It marks the first time since 2013 that an institution has won the overall championship without winning at least one of the gender championships.

Central Washington finished with the conference’s top GPAs in men’s basketball (3.32), football (3.10), men’s track and field (3.29) and softball (3.76) and tied for first with Seattle Pacific in volleyball (3.72). In all, CWU had top-three GPAs in five of the seven men’s sports and four of the seven conference women’s sports it sponsors.

Northwest Nazarene was second in the overall standings with 141 points and Saint Martin’s finished third with 132 points.

Saint Martin’s won the Men’s Academic All-Sports Championship with 76 points, ahead of second-place Central Washington (68) and third-place Northwest Nazarene (62). It is the first men’s overall victory for SMU since 2014. The Saints had the conference’s top GPA in baseball (3.31) and was in the top three in five of the conference’s seven men’s sports.

Seattle Pacific was the Women’s Academic All-Sports champion for the second year in a row, finishing with 92 points. Central Washington was second with 87 points and Northwest Nazarene was third with 79 points. The Falcons secured the top GPA in cross country (3.77) and rowing (3.46), shared top honors in track and field with Northwest Nazarene (3.65) and shared the top GPA in volleyball with Central Washington (3.72). The Falcons had top-three GPAs in all but one conference women’s sports it sponsors.

Montana State Billings finished with the top GPA in three women’s programs: basketball (3.66), golf (3.53) and soccer (3.67). Northwest Nazarene led the conference in men’s soccer (3.50) and tied with Seattle Pacific in women’s track and field (3.65). Alaska was the champion in men’s cross country (3.57) while Western Washington took top honors in men’s golf (3.31).

Ninety-four of the conference’s teams, accounting for 84.7 percent of the GNAC’s total programs, compiled GPAs of 3.0 or higher. Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific saw all of their programs finish with GPAs over 3.0. The conference saw five sports end the year with all of its teams compiling a 3.0 GPA or greater: men’s cross country, men’s golf, women’s rowing, women’s track and field and women’s volleyball.

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 ACADEMIC ALL-SPORTS AWARDS 2021-22
Presented By Barnes & Noble College
Overall Top-Five: Central Washington 155, Northwest Nazarene 141, Saint Martin’s 132, Seattle Pacific 124, Western Oregon 98
Men’s Top-Five: Saint Martin’s 76, Central Washington 68, Northwest Nazarene 62, Alaska Anchorage 40, Western Oregon 38
Women’s Top-Five: Seattle Pacific 92, Central Washington 87, Northwest Nazarene 79, Montana St. Billings 68, Western Oregon 60

MEN’S TOP-THREE TEAMS BY SPORT
Baseball: 1, Saint Martin’s, 3.31; 2, Central Washington, 3.30; 3, Western Oregon, 3.28
Basketball: 1, Central Washington, 3.32. 2, Saint Martin’s, 3.31; 3, Alaska Anchorage, 3.22
Cross Country: 1, Alaska, 3.57. 2, Saint Martin’s, 3.35; 3, Central Washington, 3.33
Football: 1, Central Washington, 3.10. 2, Western Oregon, 2.84. 3, Simon Fraser, 2.69
Golf: 1, Western Washington, 3.31; 2, Northwest Nazarene, 3.26; 3, Simon Fraser, 3.20
Soccer: 1, Northwest Nazarene, 3.50. 2, Saint Martin’s, 3.43; 3, Montana St. Billings, 3.41
Track and Field: 1, Central Washington, 3.29; 2, Saint Martin’s, 3.22; 3, Seattle Pacific, 3.19

WOMEN’S TOP-THREE TEAMS BY SPORT
Basketball: 1, Montana St. Billings, 3.66; 2, Central Washington, 3.60; 3, Alaska, 3.57
Cross Country: 1, Seattle Pacific, 3.77; 2, Northwest Nazarene, 3.70; 3, Alaska, 3.55
Golf: 1, Montana St. Billings, 3.53; 2, Saint Martin’s, 3.50; 3, Northwest Nazarene, 3.43
Rowing: 1, Seattle Pacific, 3.46; 2, Central Oklahoma, 3.23; 3, Cal Poly Humboldt, 3.14
Soccer: 1, Montana St. Billings, 3.67; 2, Seattle Pacific, 3.57; 3, Central Washington, 3.52
Softball: 1, Central Washington, 3.76; 2, Northwest Nazarene, 3.47; 3, Montana St. Billings, 3.45
Track and Field: 1, Northwest Nazarene & Seattle Pacific, 3.65; 3, Western Oregon, 3.45
Volleyball: 1, Central Washington & Seattle Pacific, 3.72; 3, Alaska, 3.71