PORTLAND, Ore. – Twenty Seattle Pacific student-athletes, 13 women and seven men, were among the recipients of the sixth-annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference Faculty Athletic Representatives Scholar-Athlete awards announced by the league office.
 
The soccer teams produced the most SPU recipients, combining for nine honorees. Five players were recognized from the men's soccer squad and four from the women's.

 

The Falcons contingent featured one student-athlete with a flawless academic ledger. Freshman women's cross country and track distance competitor Kate Lilly compiled a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She is a mathematics major from Hazen High School in Renton, Washington.
 
An individual must have at least a 3.85 cumulative grade-point average to qualify for FAR recognition. The award is open to all class levels, including freshmen, and includes student-athletes in any recognized NCAA sport, even if that sport is not offered by the GNAC (For SPU, that would include rowing and gymnastics.)
 
This year's collection of honorees features 61 repeat selections (31 women and 30 men). Five student-athletes became four-time FAR Award recipients and two of those were Falcons.

 

Four-year men's soccer letterman Jordan Kollars (3.88 GPA) and two-time women's gymnastics All-American Lauren Glover (3.92) earned FAR recognition from the conference in each of their four years at SPU. That duo was honored in June with the school's prestigious C. Clifford McCrath 101 Club Scholar-Athlete Award for having the highest cumulative grade-point averages among graduating seniors.
 
Other FAR recipients in the 3.90 range for SPU included a quartet of men's soccer players, Jess Cayetano (3.98), Andrew Ivaldi (3.98), Ryan Higgins (3.97) and Luke Postma (3.97), along with a trio of women's soccer standouts, Simone Herzberg (3.97), Emma Young (3.96) and Sierra Smith (3.90).
 
Joining them in the 3.90 or above ranks were four Falcons women, Jordan McPhee (3.98) and Hailee Bennett (3.90) from basketball, Katherine Walter (3.94) from cross country and Olivia Gabriel (3.92) from track and field.
 
Earning spots at the 3.85 level and above for the Falcons were two from men's basketball, Sam Simpson (3.85) and Sharif Khan (3.85), along with a pair from women's soccer, Maddy Booster (3.88) and Julia DeVere (3.87). That group also includes women's rower Emily Monday (3.88) and women's distance runner Sedona McNerney (3.86).
 
A total of 193 GNAC student-athletes, including 136 women and 57 men, were recipients of the league's Faculty Athletic Representative's Scholar-Athlete award.
 
A faculty athletic representative is a staff member at an NCAA school who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution and the athletic department. By definition, their role is "to ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and intercollegiate athletics." They also serve as a representative of the institution in conference and NCAA affairs.
 
Seattle Pacific's faculty athletic representative is Eric Long, an associate professor of biology.
 
 
2017 GNAC FACULTY ATHLETIC REPRESENTATIVES
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD
(* repeat selections)
 
Seattle Pacific Men
**Jess Cayetano (Soccer, Physiology, Jr., 3.98, Portland, OR)
**Ryan Higgins (Soccer, Physiology, Jr., 3.97, Issaquah, WA)
*Andrew Ivaldi (Soccer, Psychology, So., 3.98, Mishawaka, IN)
Sharif Khan (Basketball, undeclared, Fr., 3.85, Bellevue, WA)
***Jordan Kollars (Soccer, Engineering, Sr., 3.88, Silverdale, WA)
*Luke Postma (Soccer, Accounting, So., 3.97, Bellevue, WA)
*Sam Simpson (Basketball, Biochemistry, Jr., 3.85, Boise, ID)
 
Seattle Pacific Women
Hailee Bennett (Basketball, Accounting, Fr., 3.90, Kalispell, MT)
**Maddy Booster (Soccer, Applied Human Biology, Jr., 3.88, Bend, OR)
Julia DeVere (Soccer, Psychology, So., 3.87, Bellingham, Wa)
Olivia Gabriel (Track  & Field, Communications, Fr., 3.92, Portland, OR)
***Lauren Glover (Gymnastics, Accounting/French, Sr., 3.92, Ft. Collins, CO)
**Simone Herzberg (Soccer, Physiology, Jr., 3.97, Portland, OR)
Kate Lilly (Cross Country, Mathematics, Fr., 4.00, Renton, WA)
**Jordan McPhee (Basketball, Business, Jr., 3.98, Normandy Park, WA)
Sedona McNerney (Cross Country, Integrated Studies, Fr., 3.86, Fair Oaks, Ca)
Emily Monday (Rowing, Nutritional Science, Sr., 3.88 Chester, CA)
Sierra Smith (Soccer, Business, Fr., 3.90, Boise, ID)
Katherine Walter (Cross Country, Business, Fr., 3.94, Brier, WA)
*Emma Young (Soccer, Economics, So., 3.96, Kapolei, HI)