WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The 2023-2024 Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Volleyball team and 14 student-athletes recently received academic honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
The volleyball team received one of the NJCAA’s 2023-2024 Academic Team Awards.
Eight Grizzly Volleyball players, five Grizzly Softball players and one Grizzly Basketball player earned All-Academic Team honors.
“We are extremely proud of these student-athletes,” said Director of Grizzly Athletics Rachel Peterson. “Our goal is to develop an athlete’s abilities while making sure he or she has access to a quality education. These accomplishments reflect the hard work and commitment from each of the students and serve as a testament to the support received from our faculty, advisors, tutors and coaches.”
First team honors went to Gibson Beckler, Conway; Maja Bocheneck, Olkusz, Poland; Jordyn Foley and Brooklyn Hasler, both of Ozark; and Lucas Prolla, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Grizzlies earning second team honors included Caroline Gatkowski, Erfurt, Germany; Karissa Roberts, Ozark; and Zoey Williams, West Plains.
Third team honors were awarded to Kaitlyn Aleshire, Chicago, Illinois; Rosa Brencic, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Kennedy Evans, Lamar; Wiktoria Jakubik, Grajewo, Poland; Kyra Mueller, Grain Valley; and Raphaela Oliveira, Mina Gerais, Brazil.
NJCAA officials recognize individual student-athletes for academic honors at three levels:
- First team All-Academic Team (4.0 GPA)
- Second team All-Academic Team (3.8 to 3.99 GPA)
- Third team All-Academic Team (3.6 to 3.79)
Officials honored 12,245 student-athletes for academic achievement this past year.
Academic Team Award
To receive the Academic Team Award, team members must have achieved a team cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. The Grizzlies had a GPA of 3.25 this past year.
Thirty teams received NJCAA Academic Team of the Year honors for posting the highest GPA in their sport; 1,194 teams received the Academic Team Award for posting cumulative GPAs over 3.0 for the year.
This year’s recognition of eight volleyball players for individual academic awards brings the total number of such honorees in the volleyball program’s history to 81. Fifteen basketball players, including this year’s selections, have received such honors in the basketball program’s history. Seven softball players have been recognized with all-academic team honors since the program began two seasons ago.
This is the 20th academic honor in the past 21 years for the Grizzly Volleyball team.
For more information about Grizzly Athletics, visit MSUWPGrizzlies.com.
THESE 14 STUDENT-ATHLETES, along with the 2023 Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Volleyball team, recently received academic honors from National Junior College Athletic Association. The volleyball team received a 2023-2024 Academic Team award, and the student-athletes were named to the 2023-2024 NJCAA All-Academic Team. Top row from left are first team honorees Gibson Beckler of Conway, Maja Bocheneck of Olkusz, Poland, Jordyn Foley and Brooklyn Hasler, both of Ozark, Lucas Prolla of Porto Alegre, Brazil; and second team honorees Caroline Gatkowski of Erfurt, Germany, and Karissa Roberts of Ozark. Bottom row: Second team honoree Zoey Williams, West Plains; and third team honorees Kaitlyn Aleshire of Chicago, Illinois, Rosa Brencic, of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Kennedy Evans of Lamar, Wiktoria Jakubik of Grajewo, Poland, Kyra Mueller of Grain Valley, and Raphaela Oliveira of Mina Gerais, Brazil. (MSU-WP Photo)
Missouri State University-West Plains empowers students to achieve personal success and to enrich their local and global communities by providing accessible, affordable and quality educational opportunities. Missouri State-West Plains offers associate degrees and credit and non-credit courses and serves as a delivery site for bachelor’s and master’s degrees offered by Missouri State University in Springfield.
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