NJCAA Announces Academic Awards

By Nicholas Huenefeld/OCCAC Sports Information

Colorado Springs, CO---The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has announced the names of the 2012-13 NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards as well as the NJCAA Academic Teams of the Year.

Over 1,600 NJCAA student-athletes met the requirements for individual academic honors, including 169 that earned the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence (4.0 GPA). Superior Academic Achievement (3.8+ GPA) went to 592 student-athletes and over 900 met the standard for Exemplary Academic Achievement (3.6+ GPA).

Academic team accolades (3.0+ team GPA) were earned by over 500 programs with 24 winning the distinction as the Academic Teams of the Year.

In the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) two member schools, Owens Community College and Sinclair Community College, had student-athletes earned individual honors, while the three schools had teams earn NJCAA All-Academic team honors.

Sinclair Community College's Jessica Thobe (women's volleyball) and Taylor VanWinkle (softball) both earned Exemplary Academic Achievement honors. Thobe had a 3.78 GPA, while VanWinkle had a 3.66 GPA.

Meanwhile, Owens Community College placed nine student-athletes on the individual list, led by men's soccer player David Ortega-Gonzalez, who earned the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence with a 4.0 GPA.

Next on the list would be Melanie Iacoangeli (women's softball), who earned Superior Academic Achievement honors with a 3.86 GPA.

Following that, seven other Owens student-athletes were awarded with Exemplary Academic Achievement honors. Dane Davis (baseball) earned a 3.78 GPA, Luke Berger (men's golf) earned a 3.76 GPA, Molly Hilfinger (women's volleyball) earned a 3.74 GPA, Hannah Shank (softball) earned a 3.7 GPA, Amanda Sinay (softball) earned a 3.7 GPA, Alex Roberts (men's golf) earned a 3.64 GPA and April DeCant (softball) earned a 3.6 GPA.

In all, Owens had seven student-athletes with at least a 3.7 GPA.

In addition to that, the Cincinnati State Technical and Community College men's golf team, the Sinclair Community College women's volleyball team, and the Owens Community College women's volleyball and softball teams earned team honors. The Sinclair women earned a 3.21 GPA, Cincinnati State's men's golf had a 3.14 GPA, the Owens softball program earned a 3.31 team GPA, and the Owens women's volleyball team earned a 3.19 GPA.

Congratulations to all the student-athletes who earned these honors from Owens, Cincinnati State and Sinclair!