Friday, July 14, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – After coming in with the top grade point average in four of the 10 conference sports it competes in, Central Washington University has repeated as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Sports Champion, presented by Barnes & Noble College.

The Wildcats, which won the Academic All-Sports Championship for the third straight year, finished with 129 points in a close competition in the annual survey of the cumulative GPAs for each institution’s GNAC program. Four institutions finished within 10 points of each other with Seattle Pacific second at 127 points, Saint Martin’s third at 123 points and Northwest Nazarene fourth at 121 points.

Central Washington also won the Men’s Academic All-Sports Championship with 58 points. Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon tied for second place with 53 points.

Seattle Pacific won its third straight Women’s Academic All-Sports Championship with 84 points. The Falcons were followed by Saint Martin’s with 80 points and Central Washington with 71 points.

Central Washington finished with the conference’s top GPAs in men’s basketball (3.42), men’s cross country (3.59), women’s basketball (3.71) and softball (3.54). It is the fourth straight year that the Wildcats have led the way in men’s basketball and the third straight year for the softball program. Central Washington was second in baseball (3.29) and volleyball (3.78).

In winning the Women’s Academic All-Sports Championship, Seattle Pacific had the top GPA in three of the six GNAC programs its sponsors: cross country (3.77), track and field (3.60) and volleyball (3.83). It is the sixth straight year that the Falcons have had the top GPA among women’s cross country programs while the volleyball program’s 3.83 GPA is the best among all GNAC teams in 2022-23.

One of four institutions that saw all of its programs finish with GPAs above 3.00, Central Washington had no team finish with worse than a 3.09 GPA. Alaska, Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific also saw all of it’s teams finish with GPAs above 3.00.

Montana State Billings was the Academic All-Sports Champion in men’s soccer (3.50) and women’s soccer (3.71). Division II champion Cal Poly Humboldt was the champion in women’s rowing (3.41). Saint Martin’s had the top GPA in women’s golf (3.73), Western Oregon led the way in baseball (3.36) and Western Washington topped the conference in men’s golf (3.31).

Overall, 94.2% of the conference’s 104 teams finished with GPAs of 3.00 or higher. The total includes all but three women’s programs. Eight of the conference’s 16 sports finished with all competing teams amassing a 3.00 GPA or higher: baseball, men’s golf, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s rowing, women’s indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball.

The Academic All-Sports standings are based on the cumulative grade point averages of all of the student-athletes on the official team rosters, including redshirts. Points are awarded in two-point increments.

GNAC ACADEMIC ALL-SPORTS AWARDS 2022-23
Presented By Barnes & Noble College
Overall Top Five: Central Washington 129, Seattle Pacific 127, Saint Martin’s 123, Northwest Nazarene 121, Western Oregon 116.
Men’s Top Five: Central Washington 58, Northwest Nazarene 53, Western Oregon 53, Alaska Anchorage 48, Saint Martin’s 43, Seattle Pacific 43.
Women’s Top Five: Seattle Pacific 84, Saint Martin’s 80, Central Washington 71, Montana State Billings 69, Northwest Nazarene 68.

MEN’S TOP THREE TEAMS BY SPORT
Baseball: 1, Western Oregon, 3.36. 2, Central Washington, 3.29. 3, Saint Martin’s, 3.24.
Basketball: 1, Central Washington, 3.42, 2, Saint Martin’s, 3.39. 3, Alaska Anchorage, 3.10.
Cross Country: 1, Central Washington, 3.59. 2, Alaska Anchorage, 3.56. 3, Western Oregon, 3.30.
Golf: 1, Western Washington, 3.31. 2, Simon Fraser, 3.25. 3, Montana State Billings, 3.24.
Soccer: 1, Montana State Billings, 3.50. 2, Northwest Nazarene & Western Oregon, 3.40.
Track and Field: 1, Northwest Nazarene, 3.36. 2, Seattle Pacific, 3.23. 3, Alaska Anchorage, 3.18.

WOMEN’S TOP THREE TEAMS BY SPORT
Basketball: 1, Central Washington, 3.71. 2, Montana State Billings, 3.70. 3, Alaska, 3.67.
Cross Country: 1, Seattle Pacific, 3.77. 2, Saint Martin’s, 3.69. 3, Alaska, 3.63.
Golf: 1, Saint Martin’s, 3.73. 2, Montana State Billings, 3.47. 3, Northwest Nazarene, 3.33.
Rowing: 1, Cal Poly Humboldt, 3.41. 2, Western Washington, 3.36. 3, Seattle Pacific, 3.26.
Soccer: 1, Montana State Billings, 3.71. 2, Western Oregon, 3.59. 3, Northwest Nazarene & Saint Martin’s, 3.57.
Softball: 1, Central Washington, 3.54. 2, Saint Martin’s, 3.48. 3, Montana State Billings & Northwest Nazarene, 3.47.
Track & Field: 1, Seattle Pacific, 3.60. 2, Northwest Nazarene, 3.58. 3, Alaska Anchorage, 3.44.
Volleyball: 1, Seattle Pacific, 3.83. 2, Central Washington, 3.78. 3, Saint Martin’s, 3.75.