Falcons Claim Sixth Straight Conference Academic Award

August 24, 2015 | Campus News

Success in athletics starts with hard work in the classroom at the intercollegiate level. The East Central College Athletic Department has proven this to be a fact again this year as all three teams collected academic awards and winning records.

The overall athletic department grade point average was 3.05 and the school set another record winning the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference Harold Oetting Academic All Sports Award for the sixth year in a row. Since the 2009-10 academic year, the ECC Athletic Department has held the highest overall GPA among conference schools. Individual teams and athletes have received numerous accolades. The softball team and volleyball team were honored by the NJCAA as All-Academic teams with 3.33 and 3.02 team grade point averages respectively.

Five student athletes were also recipients of NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards for their exceptional classroom performances. Dayla Gruenloh (women’s softball) received honors for Superior Academic Achievement. Karissa Hoffman and Kierstin Monzyk (women’s softball) were recognized for Exemplary Academic Achievement as were Paige Schmelzle and Alyssa Schrader (women’s volleyball).

Monzyk, a sophomore centerfielder and leadoff hitter for the Falcons, maintained a grade point average of 3.75 and was named ECC’s Scholar Athlete for 2014-15.

Sport-specific records include the ECC softball team with 31-25 mark and their fourth straight Region 16 championship. The ECC soccer Falcons finished their season 11-7-2, winning the school’s fifth conference championship and advancing to the Region 16 final where the team fell short in a penalty kick shootout. The ECC Falcons volleyball team ended the season with a record of 22-21, and was runner-up in the Region 16 tournament.

“The consistency of team performance is truly dependent upon the work ethic of the coaches and players on the field and court along with their dedication to their studies,” noted Dr. Jay Mehrhoff, ECC athletic director. “Each year the ECC Athletic Department stresses the importance of guided and independent study in the Learning Center as well as class attendance, which in turn equates to the overall development of our student athletes.”

National Junior College Athletic Association Honored Student Athletes – Division II

Dayla Gruenloh Women’s Softball Superior Academic Achievement

Karissa Hoffman Women’s Softball Exemplary Academic Achievement

Kierstin Monzyk Women’s Softball Exemplary Academic Achievement

Paige Schmelzle Women’s Volleyball Exemplary Academic Achievement

Alyssa Schrader Women’s Volleyball Exemplary Academic Achievement

Missouri Community College Athletic Conference – Academic All-Conference (3.0 GPA or higher)

Shelby Friend Softball

Dayla Gruenloh Softball

Karissa Hoffman Softball

Rachel Micke Softball

Kierstin Monzyk Softball

Claire Smith Softball

Sarah Westhoff Softball

Lauren Borgerding Volleyball

Taylor Davis Volleyball

Samantha Deason Volleyball

Paige Mueller Volleyball

Alexis Olney Volleyball

Paige Schmelzle Volleyball

Alyssa Schrader Volleyball

Olivia Strode Volleyball

Aaron Bannister Soccer

Dylan Cassidy Soccer

Jacob Erwin Soccer

Matt Hampton Soccer

Edmund Howe Soccer

Joshua Popoy Soccer

Gavyn Prsha Soccer

Nathan Saleniuc Soccer

Ryan Somogye Soccer

Zeke Little Soccer

Region 16 Academic All-Region (3.25 GPA or higher)