SPU ATHLETIC DIRECTOR JACKSON STAVA PREVIEWS THE 101 CLUB AWARDS

SEATTLE – For Katherine Walter and Gabe Colosimo, the "student" portion of the student-athlete equation always gets priority.
 
But they still manage to make the most of the "athlete" part, as well.
 
Women's distance runner Walter and men's basketball player Colosimo have been named winners of the 2020 C. Clifford McCrath 101 Club Scholar-Athlete Award.
 
The award is sponsored by the Washington Athletic Club and is named for Cliff McCrath, the long-time SPU men's soccer coach and member of the Falcon Hall of Fame. Now in its 18^th year, it recognizes the outstanding academic achievement of two student-athletes: one man and one woman who are graduating seniors, four-year letterwinners, and possess the highest cumulative grade-point averages in their class.
 
 

Walter is business administration major with a near-perfect 3.97 grade-point average. She has three GNAC All-Academic and three U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic awards.
 
Last fall, Walter came up with her biggest races during the biggest part of the cross country season. She ran in the top 25 at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on the snow-covered course in Billings, Montana, placing 22^nd and coming across the finish line as SPU's No. 5 scorer.
 
At the NCAA West Regionals, Walter moved up to No. 3 for SPU and 38^th overall, then was No. 3 for the Falcons and 104^th overall at the NCAA nationals. As a junior, Walter earned NCAA All-West Region honors, and was an All-GNAC selection for outdoor track and field, placing second in the 10,000 meters at the conference meet.
 
Colosimo is a psychology major with a 3.61 GPA. He is a two-time GNAC All-Academic honoree.
 

 

This past winter, Colosimo played a key role in helping Seattle Pacific put together a 22-7 overall record that earned an invitation to the NCAA West Regional tournament (before that tournament was subsequently cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic). That record included an 18-2 mark to win the GNAC regular-season championship.
 
The 6-foot point guard averaged 6.6 points, was a perfect 14-of-14 from the foul line, and had a 45.4 field goal shooting percentage, with 30 of his 44 makes coming from 3-point range. He was named to two GNAC All-Academic teams.
 
WOMEN'S TRACK WINS TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD
As was the case when the 2019 end-of-year awards were announced, all 11 SPU athletic programs – men's and women's basketball, cross country, soccer, and track, along with women's gymnastics, rowing, and volleyball – are all above 3.1 for their overall team grade-point averages.
 
This year's team academic award for the overall highest GPA goes to women's track and field with a 3.609. Of the squad's 18 members, 14 were recently named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic team. That includes three-time honorees Scout Cai, Kate Lilly, Sedona McNerney, and Katherine Walter.
 
53 EARN SCHOLAR-ATHLETE HONORS
Consistency is one of the hallmarks of a top-caliber athlete. That is just as true in the classroom.
 
Each year, SPU presents Scholar-Athlete awards to those who have achieved a 3.50 or higher grade-point averages for each of the past three quarters: spring 2019, fall 2019, and winter 2020.
 
This year's list has 53 recipients – an increase of 12 from last year's total of 41. They are listed below, with their major in parentheses:
 
Men's basketball: Harry Cavell (Business Administration), Gabe Colosimo (Psychology), Sharif Khan (Business Administration), Gavin Long (Physiology).
 
Women's basketball: Hailee Bennett (Accounting), Rachel Berg (Business Administration), Madi Hingston (Business Administration), Natalie Hoff (Visual Communication).
 
Men's cross country / track: Elius Graff (Computer Engineering), Jared Putney (Communications), Brayden Schultz (Exercise Science).
 
Women's cross country / track: Grace Bley (Exercise Science), Scout Cai (Exercise Science), Dania Holmberg (Psychology), Krystal Oien (Business Administration), Madison Licari (Mathematics), Kellie May (Nursing), Sedona McNerney (Integrated Studies), Elizabeth Thompson (History), Katherine Walter (Accounting), Kelsey Washenberger (Applied Human Biology).
 
Women's gymnastics: Sienna Brane (Undeclared), Darian Burns (Urban Studies), Jadacie Durst (Integrated Studies), Haven Lanzador (Integrated Studies), Miyuki Matsune (Mathematics), Kayli Tran (Visual Communication), Lena Wirth (Biochemistry), McKenna Zimmerman (Nursing).
 
Women's rowing: LeeAnn Arrington (English), Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate (Applied Human Biology), Danielle Johnson (General Engineering), Cecilia Krause (Ecology), Chloe Remley (Psychology), Julienne Renne (Visual Communication), Roxanne Ruther (Applied Human Biology), Suzanne Stafford (Biochemistry), Haley Thompson (Integrated Studies).
 
Men's soccer: Jordan Greenshield (Nursing), Nikolas Reierson (Exercise Science), Travis Swallow (Business Administration), Mario Vukic (Global Development Studies).
 
Women's soccer: Mariah Alexander (Business Administration), Abigail Anderson (Physiology), Asia Cayetano (Physiology), Sophia Chilczuk (Applied Human Biology), Ava Giovanola (Economics), Madison Ibale (Visual Communication), Taylor Menkens (Business Administration), Claire Neder (Interior Design), Sierra Smith (Accounting), Riley Travis (Criminal Justice),
 
Women's volleyball: Erin Gould (Political Science).