A total of 187 Western Carolina student-athletes were honored as the Southern Conference released its academic honor roll for the 2019-20 academic year Thursday. A league-record 2,646 student-athletes from the 10 member institutions and 17 associate members earned the distinction.
Western Carolina football led all Catamount teams on the honor roll list with 32 student-athletes while women’s soccer was close behind with 27.
“Congratulations to our many academic award winners,” SoCon Commissioner Jim Schaus said. “These accomplishments are something that we value highly and celebrate widely as much as athletic success. Student always comes first in theory and practice in the term student-athletes in the SoCon. Academic excellence is the hallmark of our 10 outstanding institutions. Thanks also to those faculty and campus staff who support our students in their success.”
The academic honor roll originated in 1988-89 when SoCon athletic directors established the award as a way to recognize the league's outstanding student-athletes. The academic honor roll consists of student-athletes who participated in varsity sports and posted a 3.0-grade point average or higher for the academic year, was eligible the entire academic year and were members of the final squad lists. The award is different from the academic all-conference award, announced Wednesday, which is determined by cumulative GPA and involves a participation requirement.
Of the 2,646 student-athletes on the list, a record 710 earned the Commissioner’s Medal, awarded to student-athletes who attain a GPA of 3.8 or higher throughout the year. This year’s total number of honor roll selections is 399 higher than the record set last year, while there are 184 more Commissioner’s Medals awarded than the previous record of 526 (since the standard rose from 3.5 beginning in 2015-16), set two years ago. It should be noted that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some schools instituted measures of academic relief this year.
There was also a record number of student-athletes boasting perfect 4.0 GPAs in 2019-20, as 229 achieved the mark to easily surpass the record of 179 set in 2018-19. Mercer led the way with 41, followed by Chattanooga (34), ETSU (25) and The Citadel (23).
Western Carolina had 51 student-athletes earn the commissioner’s medal while 19 Catamounts closed out the 2019-20 academic year with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Western Carolina student-athletes with a 4.0 for the academic year: Jamie Blaylock (cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field), Payton Creed (women’s soccer), Carli Deehr (women’s tennis), Fuad Hassan (cross country/indoor and outdoor track and field), Erica Hayes (softball), Maggie Klemm (indoor and outdoor track and field), Alexis Lankford (softball), Lauren LaPlant (women’s basketball), Shawnda Martin (cross country/indoor and outdoor track and field), Lauren McCall (women’s tennis), Lindy Morgan (women’s soccer), Ashlee Owens (women’s soccer), Samantha Reele (softball), Clay Summers (indoor and outdoor track and field), Victoria Solheim (indoor and outdoor track and field), Lindsey Trotter (cross country/indoor and outdoor track and field), Abigail Veit (volleyball), Maya White (women’s golf), Emily Zipay (women’s soccer).
Western Carolina had three student-athletes earn CoSIDA Academic All-District III and one honored on the prestigious CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team list. In the fall, Veit and Zipay were named CoSIDA Academic All-District III First Team while Hayes was an all-district first-team honoree in the spring. Zipay became the first-ever women’s soccer player in the program’s history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team.
Football boasted the most student-athletes on the list with 410, followed by men’s lacrosse with 267 and women’s soccer with 237. The honor roll includes all 22 SoCon-sponsored sports as well as the non-sponsored sports of swimming and diving, water polo, triathlon, and beach volleyball.