PORTLAND, Ore. – On Friday, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced that 12 Alaska Nanooks have been selected as GNAC Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) Scholar-Athlete award recipients for the 2018-19 season.

According to the GNAC release, the GNAC FAR Scholar-Athlete award is, "presented annually to the most outstanding student-athletes at each GNAC institution and honors those athletes who have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.85 or better. All student-athletes, including redshirts, listed on any squad list of a GNAC full-member school, regardless of whether the sport is a GNAC championships sport, are eligible for the award. Conference affiliate members could nominate student-athletes from the sport in which they compete in the GNAC."

A record 248 student-athletes were named GNAC FAR Scholar-Athletes on Friday, including 70 men and 178 women. Of the 248 honorees, 124 were repeat selections, including eight Nooks.

Of Alaska's 12 honorees, seven were female student-athletes while five were male. The Nanooks' cross country running and Nordic skiing teams accounted for seven of Alaska's selections, while women's basketball, men's ice hockey, coed rifle and volleyball were also represented.

A faculty athletic representative is a member of the faculty at an NCAA member institution who has been designated to serve as a liaison between the institution's faculty and the athletic department. The FAR serves as a representative of the institution in the conference and in NCAA affairs. The role of the FAR is, "to ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and athletics." Alaska's FAR is Dr. David Barnes, who is the Associate Dean of Research in the UAF College of Engineering and Mines.

The list of Alaska Nanooks who received the GNAC FAR Scholar-Athlete award for 2018-19 are listed below:

Male Student-Athletes
*Josiah Alverts (Cross Country/Skiing, Mechanical Engineering, Sophomore, 3.92, Palmer, Alaska)
 Morgan Eickson (Rifle, Justice, Freshman, 4.00, Powell, Wyoming)
*Arnaud Guyon (Cross Country/Skiing, Communication, 3.93, Chamonix, France)
Caleb Hite (Hockey, Accounting, Freshman, 3.86, Grand Blanc, Michigan)
Zephan Otzurgut (Cross Country, General Studies, Freshman, 3.86, Anchorage, Alaska)

Female Student-Athletes
*Alex Bergholtz (Cross Country, Chemistry, Junior, 3.87, Kenai, Alaska)
Catherine Reed-Metayer (CrossCountry/Skiing, Psychology, Freshman, 4.00, St. Ferrol les Neiges, Quebec)
*Sage Robine (Cross Country/Skiing, Biological Sciences, Sophomore, 4.00, Rossland, British Columbia)
*Kati Roivas (Cross Country/Skiing, Counseling, Junior, 4.00, Liperi, Finland)
**Kylie Wallace (Women's Basketball, Social Work, Junior, 3.92, Petersburg, Alaska)
*Lahra Weber (Volleyball, Chemistry, Sophomore, 3.93, Berlin, Germany)
*Cate Whiting (Volleyball, Civil Engineering, Sophomore, 3.92, Rapid City, South Dakota)

*Two-time selection | **Three-time selection

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