Twenty OCCAC Student-Athletes Earn NJCAA Academic Awards

By Nicholas Huenefeld/OCCAC Sports Information

Twenty OCCAC student-athletes were honored today as the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national office announced the recipients of the 2014-15 NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards today.

This year saw a record 1,936 student-athletes from 324 NJCAA member colleges earn national academic honors, which works out to an average of just under six per school.

The NJCAA distinguishes each student-athlete that earns at least a 3.60 GPA with at least 45 semester credit hours or 60 quarter credit hours by placing them into three categories. The Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence is awarded to student-athletes who achieve a 4.00 GPA, while the Superior Academic Achievement Award is given to student-athletes with a 3.80-3.99 GPA. The third tier is the Exemplary Academic Achievement Award, which goes to student-athletes with a 3.60-3.79 GPA.

In the OCCAC, Owens Community College, Sinclair Community College and Lorain County Community College combined for 18 of the 20 recipients.

Owens had a conference high eight recipients with the following student-athletes earning honors:

- Aricka LaVoy, Superior Academic Achievement, Women's Volleyball
- Lexi Williams, Superior Academic Achievement, Softball
- Lesley Ducat, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Softball
- Abby Groll, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Women's Soccer
- Dru Hein, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Men's Golf
- Haley Kreger, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Softball
- Marcus Rozsa, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Baseball
- Austin Somerfield, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Men's Basketball

Sinclair and Lorain County each tied with five student-athletes apiece.

Sinclair's recipients are:

- Carly Butler, Superior Academic Achievement, Women's Volleyball
- Tiffany Jordan, Superior Academic Achievement, Women's Volleyball
- Kelly Wood, Superior Academic Achievement, Softball
- Rebecca Moyer, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Women's Volleyball
- Mitch Asman, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Baseball

Lorain County's recipients were as follows:

- Sarah Berkheimer, Superior Academic Achievement, Women's Volleyball
- Rachel Bolmeyer, Superior Academic Achievement, Women's Volleyball
- Alikhan Tulehayev, Superior Academic Achievement, Men's Basketball 
- Katlynne Baker, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Women's Basketball/Women's Volleyball 
- Kady Whitsel, Exemplary Academic Achievement, Women's Volleyball

Lakeland Community College's Mercedes Hobbs, a women's basketball student-athlete, was the conference's lone Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence recipient with a 4.0 GPA.

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College's Kasia Cicha, a women's basketball student-athlete, also earned Exemplary Academic Achievement honors.

The Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence was presented to a record 185 student-athletes that earned a 4.0 grade-point average. There were 741 qualifiers for the Superior Academic Achievement Award, while 1,110 individuals claimed the Exemplary Academic Achievement Award.

Notes

Coffeyville (Kan.) claimed the most accolades with 35 student-athletes gaining recognition – including four individuals earning the Pinnacle Award, 12 claiming the Superior and 19 taking the Exemplary honor.

Four programs tied for the most Pinnacle Award recipients as Fort Scott (Kan.), Hesston (Kan.), Itawamba (Miss.) and Waubonsee (Ill.) each had five student-athletes record a 4.0 grade-point average.

For a full list of recipients nationally, click here

About the NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards

Formerly known as NJCAA Academic All-America honors, the NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards program has annually recognized the academic success of the association’s student-athletes since the program’s inception in 1983. Nominations are submitted by each student-athlete’s respective institution.

About the NJCAA 

Since 1938 the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has been the governing body of two-year college athletics, offering athletic and academic opportunities to college students. The NJCAA is the second largest national intercollegiate athletic organization in the United States with over 500 member schools in 43 states. Each year nearly 60,000 student-athletes compete in one of 28 different sports and the organization sponsors 48 national championship events and nine football bowl games. NJCAA Headquarters has been located in Colorado Springs, Colo., since 1985. For more information visit www.njcaa.org.