SEATTLE – Getting through the sports shutdowns forced by the coronavirus pandemic was tough for everyone. But Travis Swallow made the most of it.
 
The Seattle Pacific soccer player was one of eight athletes from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to receive Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Award for the fifth time.
 
Swallow was one of 43 Falcons to receive the conference honor, presented to those student-athletes with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.85 or higher.
 
The group of SPU recipient includes seven who received their fourth award, another seven who received their third, 11 who picked up their second, and 17 who made the list for the first time. For the Falcons, that amounted to 37 women and six men.
 
 

Swallow is an accounting / business administration major who finished his studies with a 3.95 grade-point average. Last fall, he took advantage of an additional year of eligibility granted by the NCAA after the 2020 fall soccer season was canceled because of the pandemic.
 
Having already earned FAR awards as a freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior, that allowed him (and other student-athletes in the same situation) the chance to win a fifth one..
 
During his time at Seattle Pacific, Swallow also was a four-time CoSIDA Academic All-America selection, making the first team for each of the past two years. He is the only Falcons men's soccer player to earn Academic All-America more than twice. He also was a three-time All-GNAC pick, making honorable mention in 2018, then earning a place on the second team in 2019 and 2021.
 
Swallow received a prestigious Falcon Award for Excellence at the year-end awards banquet on June 1.
 
The group of four-time winners is comprised of soccer players Mariah Alexander, Abbie Anderson, and Madison Ibale, track and field athletes Madison Licari, Elizabeth Thompson, and Kelsey Washenberger, and rower LeeAnn Arrington.
 
 

Alexander, with a 3.99 GPA as an accounting / business administration major, was a recipient of the C. Clifford McCrath 101 Club Award at the banquet. That honor goes to one graduating male and one graduating female with the highest grade-point averages in their class.
 
Among the 43 FAR honorees for Seattle Pacific are five with perfect 4.00 GPAs: men's basketball player Chris Penner (biochemistry major), men's soccer player Tyler Speer (biochemistry), women's cross country / track runners Johanna Brown (nursing) and Annika Esvelt (applied human biology), and women's rower Audrey Rekedal (political science).
 
Each NCAA institution has a faculty athletic representative. That person is a member of the faculty who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the school's faculty and the athletic department. The role of the FAR is "to ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and athletics."
 
At Seattle Pacific, that FAR is biology professor Dr. Eric Long. In addition to his on-campus role, Long represents the school in conference and NCAA matters.

The awards are the latest to recognize the classroom accomplishments of Falcon student-athletes. On Monday, the SPU women's program was announced as winner of the GNAC Academic All-Sports award for the second straight year and the fourth time overall. Cross country and rowing were tops in their respective sports, while volleyball and track tied for first place.
 
The cross country team's 3.77 cumulative GPA was the highest of any sport in the conference. It is the third straight year it has had that distinction.
 
In addition, all 10 SPU teams exceeded 3.00 grade-point averages.
 
 

SEATTLE PACIFIC MEN
Name	Sport	Academic Major	Year	GPA	Hometown
* Kainoa Lee	T&F	Mechanical Engineering	So.	3.86	San Leandro, Calif.
Johnny Lo	Soccer	Business Administration	Fr.	3.86	Tacoma, Wash.
** Chris Penner	Basketball	Biochemistry	So.	4.00	Olympia, Wash.
Ben Sheirbon	XC/T&F	Physiology	Fr.	3.96	Wilsonville, Ore.
** Tyler Speer	Soccer	Biochemistry	Jr.	4.00	Grand Junction, Colo.
**** Travis Swallow	Soccer	Accounting/Business Admin	Sr.	3.95	Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

 

SEATTLE PACIFIC WOMEN
Name	Sport	Academic Major	Year	GPA	Hometown
*** Mariah Alexander	Soccer	Accounting/Business Admin	Sr.	3.89	Sammamish, Wash.
*** Abbie Anderson	Soccer	Physiology	Sr.	3.96	Longview, Wash.
*** LeeAnn Arrington	Rowing	English	Sr.	3.91	Empire, Okla.
** Hunter Beirne	Basketball	Global Development Studies	So.	3.89	Mukilteo, Wash.
* Rachel Berg	Basketball	Business Administration	Sr.	3.86	Bellevue, Wash.
Schuyler Berry	Basketball	Global Development Studies	Fr.	3.94	Portland, Ore.
* Sarah Brachvogel	Volleyball	Business Administration	So.	3.89	Mukilteo, Wash.
Johanna Brown	XC/T&F	Nursing	Fr.	4.00	Enumclaw, Wash.
** Sophia Chilczuk	Soccer	Applied Human Biology	Sr.	3.92	Kent, Wash.
Addie Clark	Rowing	Applied Human Biology	Fr.	3.96	Olympia, Wash.
Abigail Cunningham	Volleyball	Business Administration	Fr.	3.87	Tulsa, Okla.
Ingrid Erickson	Rowing	Nursing	Fr.	3.96	Renton, Wash.
* Annika Esvelt	XC/T&F	Applied Human Biology	So.	4.00	Spokane, Wash.
* Lauren Forster	Soccer	Communication	So.	3.95	Olympia, Wash.
* Ava Giovanola	Soccer	Economics	Sr.	3.91	Sammamish, Wash.
Kristin Grassell	Rowing	Nursing	Fr.	3.85	Des Moines, Wash.
* Hannah Hair	Volleyball	Exercise Sci. / Bus. Admin.	So.	3.86	Walla Walla, Wash.
** Natalie Hoff	Basketball	Visual Communication	Sr.	3.91	Beaverton, Ore.
*** Madison Ibale	Soccer	Visual Communication	Sr.	3.85	Kent, Wash.
Jaida Jones	Rowing	Political Science	Fr.	3.85	Mill Creek, Wash.
*** Madison Licari	T&F	Mathematics	Sr.	3.92	Milton, Wash.
Sara Mach	Rowing	Ecology	Fr.	3.98	Edmonds, Wash.
* Hailey Marlow	Basketball	Business Administration	So.	3.91	Spokane, Wash.
* Taylor Menkens	Soccer	Business Administration	Sr.	3.85	Beaverton, Ore.
** Libby Michael	XC/T&F	Biology	Jr.	3.94	Nine Mile Falls, Wash.
Olivia Pederson	Rowing	Early Childhood Education	Fr.	3.93	Puyallup, Wash.
Maddie Pruden	Volleyball	Psychology	So.	3.86	Poulsbo, Wash.
Audrey Rekedal	Rowing	Political Science	Fr.	4.00	Pasadena, Calif.
* Ellie Rising	XC/T&F	Food & Nutritional Sciences	So.	3.92	Goldendale, Wash.
** Lindsay Rosenthal	Volleyball	Business Administration	So.	3.85	Richland, Wash.
Meghan Rustemeyer	Rowing	Criminal Justice	Fr.	3.85	Naperville, Ill.
* Charisma Smith	XC/T&F	Exercise Science	So.	3.86	Fife, Wash.
Lauren Snedeker	Soccer	Nursing	Fr.	3.89	Washougal, Wash.
*** Elizabeth Thompson	XC/T&F	History & Honors	Sr.	3.90	Portland, Ore.
Emily Tulino	Volleyball	Business Administration	Fr.	3.90	Carlsbad, Calif.
*** Kelsey Washenberger	XC/T&F	Applied Human Biology	Sr.	3.92	Bend, Ore.
Allison Wilks	Volleyball	Nursing	So.	3.94	Bothell, Wash.

*** - Four-Time FAR Award Recipient      
**  - Three-Time FAR Award Recipient
*   - Two-Time FAR Award Recipient