PARK CITY, Utah – Each year, 89 student-athletes from around the nation are recognized by the NCAA for having the highest cumulate grade-point average at the finals site for each of the men's and women's national championships across all three divisions.
The honor is known as the Elite 89 Award.
On Tuesday night, a student-athlete from the Alaska Nanooks joined that prestigious list as sophomore men's skier
Michael Fehrenbach (Saint Märgen, Germany/Mechanical Engineering) was the recipient of the NCAA's Elite 89 Award at the 2014 NCAA Skiing Championships Competition Banquet at the Park City Marriott Hotel-Prospector.
Fehrenbach is the first Nanook student-athlete in department history to receive the accolade, which began back in 2009-10.
"I'm extremely proud of Michael and his teammates were too," head coach
Scott Jerome said. "When his name was announced, they jumped right out of their seats to give him a standing ovation. It speaks to his commitment to academics and to also be one of the top skiers."
He continued, "It also speaks volumes how serious our team takes academics. We had 10 of our 12 skiers who competed at regionals recognized by the coaches' association on their academic team, so I'm proud of the entire team and the way they motivate one another and set high standards. It's fun to be a part of that."
Fehrenbach holds a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA, majoring in mechanical engineering at the university. He is the 15th collegian this year out of the now 23 given to boast an unblemished average. This year alone, the lowest GPA to receive the Elite 89 has been a 3.925.
"It's something very special," Jerome said. "I think back to when
Einar Often won the Sportsmanship Award a few years ago and it speaks to the types of student-athletes we aim to recruit at Alaska – the type of commitment to academics, the type of character we try to get for our team – and I'm extremely pleased for the university to be able to work with such fine student-athletes and have them in Fairbanks."
Student-athletes are eligible for the honor if they have achieved at least sophomore status both academically and athletically and in the second year competing in any sport at his or her current institution.
The athlete must be on the active roster and be a competing member on the team's championship squad at any finals site of a national championship. The winners are determined strictly on cumulative grade-point averages and if two or more student-athletes hold the same GPA, the tie will be broken based on completed collegiate credits.
Fehrenbach and the rest of his Alaska teammates will hit the ski trails beginning Thursday with the 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer classic events at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
