Friday, November 3, 2017
PORTLAND, Ore. – One of the conference’s top defensive performers is among the top academic performers as well as Azusa Pacific senior defensive end Jason Schwartz headlines the 2017 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Football All-Academic Team.
Schwartz is one of a league-leading 17 selections to the squad for the Cougars and is one of nine Azusa Pacific performers with a 3.50 cumulative grade point average or better. Boasting a 3.39 GPA as a business marketing major, Schwartz is fourth in the GNAC with 0.44 sacks per game (4 total) and has 23 tackles on the season, including four for loss.
The senior is among a total of 47 selections to the Football All-Academic Team, which recognizes the top classroom performers in the GNAC. To qualify for the team, a student-athlete must be of sophomore standing or greater, must be in their second season of competition at the nominating institution and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or greater.
Schwartz is one of five GNAC football players to own a 3.80 GPA or better. He is joined on that list by Cougars’ teammates Andrew Elffers and Carter Kragero, Central Washington’s Drew Wallen and Western Oregon’s Calen Tingstadt.
Schwartz is also among 18 repeat selections to the squad and one of nine to have been named to the squad three times. Doing one better than a three-time selection is Humboldt State wide receiver Chase Krivashei, who earned his fourth All-Academic thanks to his medical hardship year in 2016.
Also among the three-time honorees is Azusa Pacific’s Elffers, Central Washington’s Sean Elledge, Kevin Haynes, Kyle O’Donnell and Justin Peterson; Humboldt State’s Alex Cappa and Jared Layel; and Western Oregon’s Tyler Johnson.
This year’s All-Academic Team includes five players that were selected to the 2016 All-GNAC Team. Azusa Pacific’s Elffers, Central Washington’s Haynes and Huerta and Humboldt State’s Cappa were all first-team selections while the Wildcats’ Elledge was a second-team selection.
| 2017 GNAC FOOTBALL ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM | ||||
| AZUSA PACIFIC | ||||
| Name | Academic Major | Year | GPA | Hometown |
| Blaine Aguiar | Applied Exercise Science | Jr. | 3.36 | Atascadero, Calif. |
| Abe Berg | Business Management | So. | 3.36 | Corona, Calif. |
| * Jabrion Burnside | Business Management | Jr. | 3.30 | San Diego, Calif. |
| Preston Campbell | Business Administration (MBA) | Sr. | 3.60 | Phoenix, Ariz. |
| DJ Chafflin | Communication | So. | 3.20 | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| *+ Andrew Elffers | Business Administration (MBA) | Sr. | 3.81 | Arcadia, Calif. |
| Clay Garcelli | Allied Health | So. | 3.40 | Ontario, Calif. |
| Jacob Hall | Systems Engineering | Jr. | 3.60 | Greenville, Ill. |
| Carter Kragero | Economics | So. | 3.96 | Happy Valley, Calif. |
| Harrison Morgan | Accounting | So. | 3.72 | Murrieta, Calif. |
| Colton Schwab | Business Marketing | So. | 3.69 | Bellingham, Wash. |
| *+ Jason Schwartz | Business Marketing | Sr. | 3.93 | Santa Barbara, Calif. |
| Lavell Thomas | Communication Studies | Jr. | 3.45 | Riverside, Calif. |
| Brady VanderDussen | Business Marketing | So. | 3.67 | Visalia, Calif. |
| Sam VanderDussen | Systems Engineering | So. | 3.71 | Visalia, Calif. |
| * Jonah Wataru | Business Management | Jr. | 3.51 | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Lucas Widmer | Applied Exercise Science | Jr. | 3.60 | Lathrop, Calif. |
| CENTRAL WASHINGTON | ||||
| Name | Academic Major | Year | GPA | Hometown |
| Luke Asbjornsen | Physical Education | Jr. | 3.23 | Graham, Wash. |
| *+ Sean Elledge | Business Administration | Sr. | 3.35 | Monroe, Wash. |
| *+ Kevin Haynes | Business Administration | Sr. | 3.50 | Battle Ground, Wash. |
| * Jackson Huerta | Business Administration | Sr. | 3.21 | Covington, Wash. |
| * Jonathan Kuhn | Law & Justice | Sr. | 3.47 | Mercer Island, Wash. |
| *+ Kyle O’Donnell | Clinical Physiology | Sr. | 3.24 | Stanwood, Wash. |
| Kyler Ooley | Business Administration | So. | 3.26 | Tacoma, Wash. |
| *+ Justin Peterson | Clinical Physiology | Sr. | 3.40 | Lynden, Wash. |
| Tyren Sams | Undeclared | So. | 3.24 | Bellevue, Wash. |
| * Chandler Strueli | Mechanical Engineering | Jr. | 3.65 | Enumclaw, Wash. |
| * Drew Wallen | Business Adminstration | Jr. | 3.98 | Auburn, Wash. |
| HUMBOLDT STATE | ||||
| Name | Academic Major | Year | GPA | Hometown |
| James Bain | Criminology & Justice | Jr. | 3.30 | Camarillo, Calif. |
| *+ Alex Cappa | Kinesiology | Sr. | 3.36 | Dublin, Calif. |
| Isaiah Hall | Criminology & Justice | So. | 3.54 | Temecula, Calif. |
| *+# Chase Krivashei | Kinesiology | Sr. | 3.76 | Corona, Calif. |
| *+ Jared Layel | Communication | Sr. | 3.62 | Redlands, Calif. |
| Samuel Madden | Kinesiology | Sr. | 3.47 | Fresno, Calif. |
| Robert Matthews | Criminology & Justice | Jr. | 3.24 | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| SIMON FRASER | ||||
| Name | Academic Major | Year | GPA | Hometown |
| * Ben Minaker | Biomedical Physiology | Jr. | 3.27 | West Kelowna, B.C. |
| WESTERN OREGON | ||||
| Name | Academic Major | Year | GPA | Hometown |
| Ty Currie | Economics | Jr. | 3.50 | Yreka, Calif. |
| Casey Gates | English | Sr. | 3.20 | Redmond, Ore. |
| *+ Tyler Johnson | Business | Sr. | 3.34 | Eugene, Ore. |
| Nathan Jones | Business | Sr. | 3.24 | Scio, Ore. |
| Josh Joyner | Education | Sr. | 3.22 | Dayton, Nev. |
| Hudson Kennedy | Education | Sr. | 3.51 | West Linn, Ore. |
| Blaine Manabe | Exercise Science | So. | 3.28 | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Derek Parnell | Business | Jr. | 3.29 | Portland, Ore. |
| Joey Roos | Exercise Science | Jr. | 3.36 | Albany, Ore. |
| Calen Tingstadt | Economics | Jr. | 3.87 | Lynnwood, Wash. |
| * Andrew Weber | Biology | Sr. | 3.28 | Vale, Ore. |
* - 2016 All-Academic Selection + - 2015 All-Academic Selection # - 2014 All-Academic Selection