by Athletic Communications
The Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) announced the 2019-20 recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards.
The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 13th year, is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level.
Northwestern was one of nine schools from the Great American Conference recognized by the D2 ADA and with 48 individuals selected.
Among the student-athletes to receive the honor were eight from the Rangers football team, seven from baseball, six apiece from women’s basketball and soccer, five each from softball and volleyball, four from men’s golf, three apiece from cross country and women’s track & field and one from women’s golf.
In total, there were 15,214 student-athletes from 200 institutions recognized for the 2019-20 Academic Achievement Awards.
These numbers shattered the records for highest number of participating institutions and the largest number of student-athletes being nominated since the award program’s inception.
“In a year when we can use all of the good news, the D2 ADA Officers and Board of Directors are proud to recognize the highest number of student-athletes with the Academic Achievement Award than ever before,” said D2 ADA President JR Smith, director of athletics at Chadron State College. “The nominations also came from a record number of institutions, showcasing the passion and dedication of our Association and Division II as a whole.”
In order for a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the athletics director of the Division II institution must be a current dues-paying member of the D2 ADA.
The student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, completed two years of college level work at a two-year or four/year institution and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year. Listed below are the students that were honored by the D2 ADA.
Football- Jacob Comp, Dakota Driskill, Sebastian Escalante, Juan Licea, Brycen McClendon, Kenny Miller, Colton Wichert and Ryan Willingham
Baseball- Wyatt Bergner, Brady Bowles, Bryce Donovan, Kaleb Honea, Dax Jallo, Daschal Johnson and Jake White
Women’s Basketball- Bailey Brown, Kalea King, Kenzi Lamer, Kyleigh Leverich, Katelyn Schieber and Lexi Wall
Soccer- Alissa Carlson, Brittany Cirnigliaro, Mikayla Edris, Megan Mayfield, Katelyn Schieber and Ashlie Wilhite
Softball- Lauran Adcock, Abby Detar, Ariel Forsyth, Kailin Lian and Lindsey McElroy
Volleyball- Kaydee Honeycutt, Tarra Parks, Courtney Russell, Braylee Stute and Jessica Thompson
Men’s Golf – Juan Gui Angarita, Ben Baker, Brendan Kates and Colten Person
Men’s Cross Country- Jose Amador, Chris Chauncey and Chris Kincaid
Women’s Track & Field – Selena McDonald, Melissa Perez and Kelsey Swindle
Women’s Golf – Ashley Watts