It certainly is one of the toughest awards to win in the Pacific West Conference's line-up of special awards, if not the toughest.
The 15 PacWest Scholar Athletes of the Year (for each sport) were nominated and voted on by the conference's 11 Sports Information Directors. For a number of sports, the voting was extremely close with multiple deserving award winners. When all was said and done, the following 15 Scholar Athletes of the Year were selected.
| Sport |
Name |
School |
GPA |
Major |
| Baseball |
Scott Anderson |
Point Loma |
4.00 |
Master's Business Administration |
| Softball |
Missy Nemeth |
Concordia |
4.00 |
Healthcare Administration |
| Men's Tennis |
Alexander Leischner* |
Point Loma |
4.00 |
Mathematics |
| Women's Tennis |
Miruna Tudor |
Azusa Pacific |
3.91 |
Master's Sports Management |
| Men's Track & Field |
Felix Perrier |
Azusa Pacific |
3.96 |
Master's Business Administration |
| Women's Track & Field |
Nicole Warwick |
Azusa Pacific |
3.81 |
Master's Leadership |
| Men's Golf |
Giulio Zanichelli |
Academy of Art |
3.54 |
Industrial Design |
| Women's Golf |
Brady Turnquist |
Biola |
3.69 |
Business Administration |
| Men's Basketball |
Zack Paulsen |
Point Loma |
3.94 |
Master's of Arts Organizational Leadership |
| Women's Basketball |
Kelly Heimburger |
Azusa Pacific |
3.78 |
Psychology |
| Volleyball |
Hula Crisostomo |
Chaminade |
4.00 |
Master's Counseling Psychology |
| Men's Soccer |
Matthew Abangan* |
Point Loma |
4.00 |
Master's of Arts Organization Leadership |
| Women's Soccer |
Naomi Ellis |
Point Loma |
4.00 |
Graphic Design |
| Men's XC |
Felix Perrier |
Azusa Pacific |
3.96 |
Master's Business Administration |
| Women's XC |
Jori Paradis* |
Concordia |
4.00 |
Master's Coaching & Athletic Administration |
*Previous PacWest Scholar Athlete of the Year winner
From this group of winners, the overall 2023-24 Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year will be chosen, selected by the PacWest's Athletic Directors next week.
Point Loma and Azusa Pacific led the way with five selections each. Concordia had two, while Academy of Art, Biola and Chaminade had one each.
APU's
Felix Perrier was a double winner as the top vote getter for both men's cross country and men's track and field. He is the first student-athlete to win awards for two sports in the same year since the awards began in 2009-10. Perrier, who has a 3.957 grade point average while pursuing a Master's in Business Administration degree, placed third at the PacWest Championships in cross country and was twice an All-American at the NCAA track and field championships in the steeplechase (fourth place) and the 5,000 meters (fifth place).
There were three repeat winners. Point Loma's
Alexander Leischner won for the second year in a row in men's tennis, carrying a perfect 4.0 GPA in Mathematics. Leischner was also a First Team All-PacWest selection.
Jori Paradis also went back-to-back in women's cross country with a 4.0 in her Master's of Coaching and Athletic Administration major. Paradis won the PacWest Championship race last Fall.
PLNU's
Matthew Abangan also won for the second time, but with a three-year gap inbetween honors. The soccer star was the selection back in 2020-21. This time around, he carries a 4.0 GPA in Master's of Arts Organizational Leadership.
Other perfect 4.0's include
Scott Anderson (Point Loma), who was the PacWest Baseball Player of the Year, Concordia's
Missy Nemeth in softball (PacWest home run leader with 10), Chaminade's
Hula Crisostomo in volleyball (PacWest Libero of the Year), and
Naomi Ellis of the NCAA national champion Point Loma soccer team. Ellis was also the NCAA Elite 90 honoree of the championships.
Also recognized as the top student-athlete in their sport was tennis standout
Miruna Tudor of Azusa Pacific (3.91 GPA, ranked No. 1 doubles in the country), track and field national champion
Nicole Warwick (APU, 3.81 GPA), the NCAA long jump gold medalist and NCAA West Region Field Athlete of the Year,
Brady Turnquist (Biola), who was the PacWest Golfer of the Year while carrying a 3.69 GPA, golfer
Giulio Zanichelli of Academy of Art who was also the PacWest Golfer of the Year with a 3.54 GPA, Point Loma basketball standout
Zack Paulsen (3.94 GPA) who was the PacWest Newcomer of the Year, and APU's
Kelly Heimburger (3.78 GPA), the PacWest Player of the Year and Defender of the Year.
The overall Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year will be selected from this group of outstanding candidates, and will be announced next week.
All-time PacWest Scholar Athletes of the Year by sport.