Academics

2019-20 Scholar-Athletes Of The Year

IRVINE, Calif. -- The 2019-20 Scholar-Athletes of the Year are the top student-athletes from each PacWest sport based on performance both in the classroom and on the field of competition as voted on by the conference's sports information directors. The list of 16 student-athletes is led by two that recorded a 4.0 grade-point average this year, Elle Alexander from Azusa Pacific and Jake Munivez from Biola, becoming the first Scholar-Athletes of the Year since 2016 with a perfect GPA.

There were four repeat selections this year as Chaminade's Tyler Cartaino won the honor again for men's basketball. Cara Keturakis from Point Loma is the Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year for volleyball, while Chisay Arai from Holy Names repeated in women's golf. The softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row is Concordia's Sarah Kretschmar with a 3.95 grade-point average.

Point Loma led all schools with six selections for the second year in a row, tying the conference record for most selections in a year by a school. Each of the 15 winners are now candidates for Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year, which will be announced on Wednesday, June 24.
                        2019-20 PACWEST SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
Sport Name School GPA Major
Baseball Joseph Kim Azusa Pacific 3.92 Accounting
Softball Sarah Kretschmar * Concordia 3.95 Liberal Studies
Men’s Tennis Yuki Okamoto Point Loma 3.91 Economics
Women’s Tennis Ellie Gamble Point Loma 3.94 International Studies
Men’s Track & Field James Young Academy of Art 3.66 Advertising
Women’s Track & Field Elle Alexander Azusa Pacific 4.00 Leadership
Men’s Golf Julius Kreutzer Academy of Art 3.92 Music Production
Women’s Golf Chisay Arai * Holy Names 3.88 Business Management
Men’s Basketball Tyler Cartaino * Chaminade 3.80 Accounting
Women’s Basketball Cara Liggins Point Loma 3.97 Business Administration
Volleyball Sara Wagenveld Azusa Pacific 3.96 English & Humanities
Cara Keturakis * Point Loma 3.88 Psychology
Men’s Soccer Jake Munivez Biola 4.00 Nursing
Women’s Soccer Julia Glaser Point Loma 3.71 Applied Health Science
Men’s Cross Country Gabe Plendcio Biola 3.65 History
Women’s Cross Country Zita Molnar Point Loma 3.81 Mathematics