PORTLAND, Ore. - Fourteen Alaska Anchorage Seawolves were among a total
of 140 Great Northwest Athletic Conference student-athletes that were
recognized as the first recipients of the GNAC's Faculty Athletic
Representative's Scholar-Athlete award, announced by the league Thursday.
The award will be presented annually and will honor the most
outstanding scholar-athletes at each of the GNAC's 10 universities. To qualify
for the award, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of
at least 3.85. All student-athletes
listed on any GNAC squad list, regardless of whether the sport is an officially
recognized sport by the GNAC, are eligible for the prestigious award.
Five of the UAA student-athletes selected to receive the award this year
have perfect 4.0 grade point averages -- Anna Berecz (skiing); Bryn Haebe (track
and field) and Christi Schmitz (cross country) on the women's side and Brandon Brewster (track & field) and Lutz Klausmann (skiing) on the men's side.
Other Seawolf recipients were Sean Alexander and Dusan Sidor on the men's side and Jaime Bronga, Alex Parker, Ida Bjerka, Emily Peterson, Gaynor Johansen, Laura Rombach and Katie Richens on the women's side.
"It is with great pride we salute these accomplished student-athletes
who comprise the first class of recipients of this new conference award, which
recognizes outstanding achievement in the classroom," said GNAC commissioner
Dave Haglund.
"The idea for this award originated with our conference faculty athletic
representatives, who believed it was important to publicly recognize the many
student-athletes across the GNAC who have distinguished themselves
academically.
A FAR is a member of the faculty at an NCAA member institution who has
been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution and the athletic
department. The FAR serves as a
representative of the institution in conference and NCAA affairs.
The role of the FAR is "to ensure that the academic institution
establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and
intercollegiate athletics."
