BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The academic spotlight was shining brightly on the West Liberty University athletic department here Wednesday when the Mountain East Conference announced the MEC All-Academic Team and Commissioner's Honor Roll selections for the 2021-22 spring semester.
A record 87 Hilltopper student-athletes were named to the MEC's All-Academic Team with semester GPAs of 3.70 or higher and 65 more WLU standouts were listed on the MEC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll with GPAs ranging from 3.25 through 3.69.
This is the sixth year for the MEC's academic awards program, which honors the commitment of its student-athletes for their efforts in maintaining a high level of academic success while their sport is in season. The 152 total honorees and the 87 MEC All-Academic Team members once again led all public colleges and universities in the conference.
Wednesday's announcement extends an impressive run of academic success on the hilltop as the WLU athletic department posted a combined 3.12 GPA for all of its nearly 500 student-athletes during the spring semester. It marked the eighth consecutive semester that West Liberty's student-athletes had achieved a combined GPA of 3.00 or higher. Nearly 200 Hilltopper student-athletes chalked up GPAs of 3.50 or higher in the spring.
The MEC's spring sports awards include all student-athletes competing in acrobatics and tumbling, baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field and wrestling. More than 1,300 student-athletes from the MEC institutions competing in those sports earned spots on one of the conference's two academic honor rolls.
Here's a sport-by-sport breakdown of West Liberty's 152 MEC spring academic honorees:
2021-22 MEC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM (3.70-4.00 GPA)
Spring Sports
Men's Baseball (8)
Samuel Aulick, Jarrett Delbrugge, Connor Ferguson, Greg Geis, Zach Hawkins, Chris Parker, James Salvatori, Ryan Talbert
Men's Basketball (3)
Bryce Butler, Zach Rasile, Austin Webb
Men's Tennis (1)
Anton Schulz
Men's Track & Field (13)
Holden Ammons, Reese Burnside, Brody Cermak, Michael Harriman, Zack Meade, Adam O'Donnell, Danah Phillips, Brenden Sands, Ethan Secrist, Jared Ullom, Liam Vinskovich, Phil White, Quinton Williams
Men's Wrestling (11)
Connor Craig, Brett Goff, Keaton Grider, Jalen King, Cole Laya, Ty McGeary, Luke Miller, Chance Morgan, Chase Morgan, Jacob Simpson, Matthew Simpson
Women's Acrobatics & Tumbling (11)
Abbey Bauer, Claudia Callahan, Madison Estep, Lexus Ficca, Laci Growe, Gillian Hartz, Hanna Kalwarski, Kenzie Kyle, Sarah Le, Paige McGlothlin, Tianna Meyer
Women's Basketball (4)
Molly Bauer, Grace Faulk, Jenna Riccardo, Audrey Tingle
Women's Softball (16)
Makenzie Amend, Avery Becker, Katie Beeman, Riley Bennington, Katelynn Blair, Makayla Blair, Taylor Bonnett, Lauren Garcia, Brenna Grace, Julia Hahn, Kayla Mancuso, Ronda Petrucci, Grace Swigart, Madge Weidner, Anna Welsh, Kaitlynn Wheeler
Women's Tennis (5)
Ishika Agarwal, Elysia Beynon, Gemma Cliffe, Katie Loader, Nathalia Valencia
Women's Track & Field (15)
Zayne Brakeall, Jamie Fogle, Laci Growe, Emma Haley, Meghan Hawthorne, Kelsi Hulit, Shania Keene, Hannah Kemp, Madelyn Logan, Emily Louk, Mackenzie Rine, Kaylee Savage, Lura Simons, Abbe Stackpole, Aubree Story
x x x
2021-22 MEC COMMISSIONER'S ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL (3.25-3.69 GPA)
Men's Baseball (13)
John Barkley, Kaden Blomquist, Jacob Bolander, Casey Bonomo, Tyler Cerjan, Bryan Courts, Alex Hawkins, Ty Helmke, Isaac Hines, Kyle Moore, Justin Pennybacker, Ross Salvatori, Justin Studd
Men's Basketball (4)
Garrett Denbow, Pat Robinson, Ben Sarson, Will Yoakum
Men's Tennis (5)
Daisuke Aota, Nevio Dux, Moritz Erpel, Gianluca Gerndt, Alfonso Zerpa
Men's Track & Field (5)
Brijaun Baylor, Bryce Childers, Trevor Hoosier, Dillon Meintel, Marshall Whipkey
Men's Wrestling (10)
Francesco Borsellino, Alec Cook, Jamie Kilmer, Parker Mazik, Christian Miller, Jonah Smith, Marshall Whipkey, Chase Montgomery, Ethan Pappas, River Pappas
Women's Acrobatics & Tumbling (9)
Theresa Evangelista, Abby Horvath, Caitlin Lowery, Jenna Mankowski, Alexis Martin, Oivia Miller, Bailey Pack, Chloe Palmer, Avery Ray
Women's Basketball (1)
Anna Lucarelli
Women's Softball (12)
McKenzie Baer, Jairika Baylor, McKayla Danner, Savannah Holbrook, Kenzie Holt, Jenna Jaskowiak, Kieran Johnson, Mahayla McCroskey, Annie Paterson, Carsie Reed, Lauryn Simmons, Victoria VanMatre
Women's Tennis (2)
Emma Arnal, Evelina Martirosyan
Women's Track & Field (4)
Shelby Bence, Kennedy Martin, Olivia Miller, Alexis Slusser
