(Trinidad, Colo.) Every summer the National Junior College Athletic Association takes a break from athletic competition to look at the academic achievement of the over 50,000 student-athletes which compete under its banner each year. This year the NJCAA recognized a record-number 4,587 athletes for their success in the classroom as it presented the 2015-16 NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards.
The awards are broken into three categories. The Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence is given to those students who maintained a 4.00 GPA, the Superior Academic Achievement Award is for those with a 3.80 to 3.99 GPA and the Exemplary Academic Achievement Award is for those with a 3.60-3.79 GPA. This is the first year the awards are available to first-year student-athletes who have completed at least 24 semester-hours.
Trinidad State saw 21 of it student-athletes recognized on the 2015-2016 list:
Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence: 4.00 GPA
Christopher Mohr – Baseball
Ethan Washburn - Baseball
Dorian Ray – Volleyball
Kaitlyn Smith - Volleyball
Madeline Hagedorn – Volleyball
Yasmin Mookerdum – Women’s Soccer
Superior Academic Achievement Award: 3.80-3.99 GPA
Isabella Navarro - Softball
Megan Cosslett – Softball
Olivia Muniz – Softball
Phillip Underwood – Baseball
Zoe Ruff – Women’s Basketball
Exemplary Academic Achievement Award: 3.60-3.79 GPA
Caden Pratt - Baseball
James Smith - Baseball
Tanner Hanks - Baseball
Chelsey Nicol – Women’s Soccer
Felipe Machado – Men’s Soccer
Filip Milivojevic – Men’s Soccer
Saad Hissien – Men’s Soccer
Courtney Vigil - Softball
Rachel Pirtle - Volleyball
Teryn Mills - Volleyball
The emphasis that is placed on academics at Trinidad State is further demonstrated by the fact that five of the seven TSJC athletic teams were listed as honorable mention on the NJCAA’s list of National Academic Teams of the Year. The Trojan Baseball, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball, Softball and Volleyball teams each had a team average GPA over 3.0 to qualify them for the award. The Trojan Volleyball squad was the highest with a team average of 3.54.
Trinidad’s success in the academic realm is a reminder that the student-athletes are here to be students first and athletes second. The coaches do a tremendous job of reminding the athletes that school comes first. These academic accomplishments could not have been attained without the amazing coaches, faculty and staff at Trinidad State who put in endless hours helping the student-athletes find success in the classroom.