The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Athletic Department had another successful year in the classroom. SFCC had 42 student-athletes and four teams honored by the National Junior College Athletic Association for their work in the classroom during the 2022-2023 academic year.
The softball, baseball, men's cross country, and women's basketball teams earned NJCAA Team Academic Awards. Teams must have a team grade point average of 3.0 or above for the entire academic year to earn this honor.
Student-athletes earning NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards are broken up into three categories. First Team recipients have a grade point average of 4.0 during the entire academic year. Second Team recipients earned a grade point average of 3.8 - 3.99. Third Team recipients earned a grade point average of 3.6 - 3.79.
"We are so proud of our Athletic Department," said SFCC President Dr. Brent Bates. "It is a strong testament to our athletic program and to the entire college that we have so many student-athletes performing at high levels both in their respective sports and in their classrooms. Most importantly, these athletes are on track to earn their associate degrees, credentials they will carry with them their whole lifetime."
The men's cross country team earned their second NJCAA Academic Team Award in the second year of the program's existence. Ty Lewis and Roman Ray earned Third Team honors.
The women's basketball team also earned their second NJCAA Academic Team Award. Kayla Dooley earned Second Team recognition.
The baseball team earned the program's third consecutive NJCAA Academic Team Award. Jack Hudson, Carter Jenkins, Adam Webb, and Ryan Retone received First Team honors. Zach Buscholte, Brandon Hull, and Calen Kruger earned Second Team recognition. Third Team honors went to Elijah Cheaney, Austin Droege, Rhett Hayward, Christian Whiting, Ryan Wingerd, Blythe Blakey, Jeremy Kelly, Tait Robertson, and Benit Thacker.
The softball team earned a fourth consecutive NJCAA Academic Team Award. Kailei Allen, Kennidi Harris, Makinzi Harris, Ava Hutchings, Tabitha Imhoff, Paige Klinge and Sami Picha all received First Team honors. Kailee Liles, Kaycee Thompson, Jaelyn Winfrey, and Kelsey Webb represented SFCC on the Second Team. Paige Clines and Charlee Reese earned Third Team honors.
The SFCC Shooting Sports team was represented by Phillip Crawford on the Second Team and Gracy Wilson on the Third Team.
The men's basketball team was represented by Devon Ellis, who earned First Team honors.
Keaton Mateja represented the men's golf team, receiving Third Team recognition.
Ella Golden represented the women's track and field team receiving Third Team honors.
Landon Mason represented the men's track and field team earning Second Team honors.
Wesley Morrison earned First Team honors for the men's soccer team. Ian Viscarra Mendez earned Third Team honors.
Jamie Jorgenson represented the Spirit Squad earning Second Team honors. Alayna Bryan earned Third Team recognition.
"Individual honors are great, but to have team honors means even more," said Athletic Director Darren Pannier. "We have high standards and expectations and I applaud our administration, our Faculty Association, and our coaches for continuing to make sure our student-athletes are successful. We always talk about the importance of academics within our department to our student-athletes and this further illustrates our commitment to the student portion of the student-athlete. It takes a lot of effort from the student-athletes and the support of the entire campus to make this happen."
David Rohrbach SFCC Athletics