Seawolves capture 18 GNAC FAR honors

PORTLAND, Ore. - Eighteen University of Alaska Anchorage student-athletes were recognized Friday as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its 2015-16 Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Awards, giving the Seawolves the second-most recipients in the 11-team league.

Presented annually to the most outstanding scholar-athletes at each GNAC institution, the award honors student-athletes - 155 this year - who have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.85 or better. All student-athletes, including redshirts, listed on any GNAC squad list, regardless of whether the sport is a GNAC championship sport, are eligible for the award.

UAA's Marie-Sophie Boggasch (gymnastics), Marcus Deuling (men's skiing), Alex Jakstadt (hockey), Yvonne Jeschke (women's track & field), Olivier Mantha (hockey), Simone Penker (gymnastics), Alex Wells (women's skiing) and Casey Wright (women's skiing) were among the 35 of this year's recipients attending U.S. colleges to achieve perfect 4.00 GPAs. In addition, four Simon Fraser athletes have GPAs of 4.00 or better in the Canadian system, which awards 4.33 points for an A-plus.

UAA's other FAR Award recipients this year were Madeleine Arbuckle (gymnastics, 3.90), Jamie Ashcroft (women's track & field, 3.87), Riley Burroughs (women's cross country/track & field, 3.86), Charley Field (women's skiing, 3.88), Kelsy Konkright (gymnastics, 3.88), Katerine Lamoureux (women's skiing, 3.96), Chris McKillop (skiing, 3.96), Emily Ramberg (gymnastics, 3.88), Mario Roncador (men's skiing, 3.92) and Julia York (gymnastics, 3.93).

The Seawolves' five honorees on the men's side and 13 on the women's side were also second-most in the league among each gender. Boggasch and Penker earned the honor a fourth straight time. Central Washington led the league with 22 honorees overall, including 18 on the women's side.

"The number of Seawolf student-athletes who have earned the GNAC Scholar-Athlete designation this year is another important example of the kind of young women and men we have who represent UAA, our city and our state in a most positive way," said UAA Athletic Director Keith Hackett. "They understand the importance of earning a degree and serving as mentors and role models. I could not be more pleased and proud of each of these students for their academic accomplishments this past year."

Sixty-five of this year's total honorees (22 men, 43 women) are repeat selections from last year, including 10 who are four-time honorees.

A faculty athletic representative (FAR) is a member of the faculty at an NCAA member institution who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution's faculty 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."

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