At Western Nevada College, student-athletes continue to maintain perspective about their No. 1 priority in college: an education. WNC’s softball and baseball teams were again among the National Junior College Athletic
Association All-Academic teams honored this week.
In addition, six Wildcats were recognized with individual NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards. The Wildcats’ softball team collectively attained a 3.31 grade-point average, topping last year’s 3.18.
The WNC baseball team thrived in the classroom despite spending a long stretch of its 2013 season on the road. The Wildcats didn’t play a single home game during the month of April, but nevertheless earned a 3.25 team GPA. That tied them for eighth in the country among NJCAA baseball teams, and counted them the only Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball team to earn the honor.
“We talk to them from day one about the academic side,” said Softball Coach Leah Wentworth. “Softball is a stepping stone and an opportunity to help them in their lives, and at the end of the day, education is what they do with their lives.”
Teams must have at least a 3.0 (B) grade point average collectively to earn the All-Academic Team distinction. Wentworth said the college’s mandatory five-hour study hall per week for each student is an important part of their academic success. “It helps them manage their time and allows them to stay on top of their work.”
North Idaho College, College of Southern Idaho and Salt Lake Community College were the other Scenic West Athletic Conference softball teams to be recognized.
Individually, Alexia Alley led the Wildcats with a 3.83 grade-point average. A pitcher and outfielder, she earned Superior Academic Achievement recognition (3.80 or higher), one of just 592 softball student athletes across the nation to do so.
“To maintain a GPA of superior academic marking is incredible for a student-athlete,” Wentworth said. “Lexi’s been a role model in her years here and leaves a mark for us to remember.”
Five Wildcats received Exemplary Academic Achievement recognition: catcher/outfielder Alia Cox (3.74), pitcher/outfielder Ali-Marie Lostra (3.71), relief pitcher Brock Pellow (3.78 GPA), relief pitcher Austin Richmond (3.61), and third baseman Mike Umscheid (3.64).
Wentworth was especially proud of Lostra’s classroom excellence, given the adversity she overcame. “What a fighter. Her dad was sick, she broke her ankle in the offseason, and took a line drive off her face during the season,” the coach said. “She’d get knocked down and want to get right back up again."