NJCAA headquarters in Colorado Springs has released the names of the 2012-13 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 who earned the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence (4.0 GPA). Superior Academic Achievement (3.8+ GPA) honors 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.
This season, close to 60,000 student-athletes competed in the NJCAA across 3,500 teams in 28 different sports.
The 2012-13 academic year marks the 30th consecutive season the NJCAA has recognized the success of its student-athletes in the classroom. With minimal changes, the NJCAA Academic awards program has been in place since 1985.
Colby Community College Athletes of Distinction include Ashley Archer (Pinnacle Award), softball; Jonathan Burgess (Superior Award), Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Indoor Track & Field and Men’s Outdoor Track and Field; John Clarke (Superior Award), Basketball; Stephanie Hornbaker (Exemplary Achievement), Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Half Marathon, Women’s Indoor Track & Field, and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field; Courtney Kinnett (Pinnacle Award), Softball; Ryan Kosolofski (Superior Academic), Baseball; Jacob Nath (Exemplary Academic), Baseball; Bailey Pfortmiller (Superior Award), Softball and Volleyball; and Denet Sang (Superior Award), Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Half Marathon, and Women’s Indoor Track & Field.
Colby Community College teams earning academic recognition include Women’s Cross Country (3.62 GPA), Women’s Half Marathon (3.65 GPA), Women’s Indoor Track and Field (3.53 GPA), Women’s Outdoor Track and Field (3.51 GPA), Men’s Baseball (3.13 GPA), Men’s Cross Country (3.24 GPA), Men’s Indoor Track and Field (3.20 GPA), Men’s Outdoor Track and Field (3.17 GPA), Women’s Softball (3.26 GPA), and Women’s Volleyball (3.38 GPA).