GNAC Release (PDF) | GNAC Release (Website)

PORTLAND, Ore. – On Monday, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced that 19 Alaska Nanook student-athletes have been selected as GNAC Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) Scholar-Athletes, presented by Barnes & Noble College.

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 322 student-athletes were named GNAC FAR Scholar-Athletes on Monday, which is well above the previous record of 248 honorees recognized during the 2018-19 academic year.

Of the 19 Alaska selections, six were male and 13 were female. The Nooks also boasted nine repeat selections, including one four-time honoree in women's basketball senior Kylie Wallace. Of the 322 selections, 81 student-athletes finished the 2019-20 academic year with a GPA of 4.00 or better with seven Nooks belonging in that category.

Of Alaska's 10 varsity sports, nine were represented including men's basketball, women's basketball, men's cross country, women's cross country, hockey, men's Nordic skiing, women's Nordic skiing, coed rifle and volleyball.

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 the 2019-20 season are listed below:

Male Student-Athletes
** Josiah Alverts (Cross country/skiing, Mechanical Engineering, Junior, 3.93, Palmer, Alaska)
* Morgan Erickson (Rifle, Justice, Sophomore, 3.90, Powell, Wyo.)
 * Zephan Ozturgut (Cross country/skiing, Biological Sciences, Sophomore, 3.90, Anchorage, Alaska)
Noah Palmer (Cross country, General Studies, Freshman, 4.00, Fairbanks, Alaska)
Alex Sommerfield (Men's basketball, Digital Journalism, Junior, 4.00, Federal Way, Wash.)
Filip Fornaa Svensson (Hockey, Business Administration, Freshman, 3.97, Linkoping, Sweden)

Female Student-Athletes
* Alex Bergholtz (Cross country, Education, Redshirt-Senior, 4.00, Kenai, Alaska)
Hannah Dueling (Cross country/skiing, Biological Sciences, Junior, 3.86, Whitehorse, Yuk.)
Colleen File (Volleyball, Biological Sciences and Psychology, Freshman, 4.00, Woodinville, Wash.)
Grace Miller (Skiing, Biological Sciences, Sophomore, 3.87, Palmer, Alaska)
Eden Murchison (Volleyball, Psychology, Freshman, 4.00, Thomaston, Georgia)
* Catherine Reed-Metayer (Cross country/skiing, Psychology, Sophomore, 3.98, St. Ferreol Les Neiges, Que.)
Brittany Richards (Women's basketball, Business Administration, Junior, 3.85, Dunedin, New Zealand)
** Sage Robine (Cross country/skiing, Biological Sciences, Junior, 4.00, Rossland, B.C.)
Sophie Schilling (Volleyball, Psychology, Freshman, 4.00, Berlin, Germany)
***Kylie Wallace (Women's basketball, Social Work, Senior, 3.96, Petersburg, Alaska)
** Lahra Weber (Volleyball, Chemistry, Junior, 3.93, Berlin, Germany)
** Cate Whiting (Volleyball, Civil Engineering, Junior, 3.91, Rapid City, S.D.)
Cassidy Wilson (Rifle, Psychology, Freshman, 3.97, Deer Park, Wash.)

*Two-time FAR award recipient | **Three-time FAR award recipient | ***Four-time FAR award recipient 

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks, follow @AlaskaNanooks on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.