| 9 Matadors Named to NJCAA Academic All-American List |
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| Written by Education Watch Dog | |
| Thursday, 28 June 2007 | |
 Yuma, Arizona - Arizona Western College is proud to announce that 9 different Matador student-athletes have been named to the NJCAA Academic All-American List, and two of those nine have earned the honor of NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American. The nine student-athletes come from six of the Matador Athletic Department’s seven athletic programs, and three of the nine student-athletes are from Yuma County. The announcements were made as part of the comprehensive list, which was posted on the NJCAA website earlier today. Those who reach the level of NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American must have a 3.8 cumulative grade point average or higher, and two different Matador student-athletes reached that plateau during their Matador career. Leading the list is Lisa Stratton, who achieved a whopping 3.905 cumulative GPA. Stratton-a Yuma High alum and the daughter of AWC Head Baseball Coach John Stratton-started two years in the outfield for the Matadors’ softball team. Also achieving NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American status is Matadors’ 2-sport star Rachel Kidwell. Kidwell-a native of Bullhead City, Arizona-posted a 3.806 cumulative GPA, which is even more of an impressive accomplishment considering that she played both volleyball and basketball each of her two years at AWC. Heading the list of those making the NJCAA Academic All-American list-and almost achieving Distinguished All-American status-is Matadors’ baseball pitcher Joseph Martinez. Martinez-who was born in Riverside, California-achieved a 3.794 cumulative GPA during his two years at AWC. Representing the Matador Football team on the Academic All-American list is Dan Clemons, who scored a 3.73 cumulative GPA. Clemons started both seasons on the Matador football offensive line-one season at guard and this past season at center-and balanced his course load well enough to graduate after the 2006 fall semester, and transferred to NCAA Division II St. Mary’s College for the spring semester. This is also the second time that Clemons has been recognized by the NJCAA after being named as an NJCAA Preseason All-American last June. After Clemons are two members of the AWC Soccer team, goalkeeper Andrew Forbes and defender Nahum Zendejas, who both achieved cumulative GPAs of 3.62. Forbes-who hails from Scarborough, Canada-was also named an NJCAA All-American for his athletic achievements after his freshman season, and was named ACCAC Goalkeeper of the Year each of his two seasons on the field. Zendejas-a Yuma native and Yuma High alum-was one of the main reasons the Matador Soccer team hosted Region I Playoff games in back-to-back years for the first time in school history. Joining those two with a cumulative 3.62 GPA is the second representative from the AWC Volleyball team, setter/libero Silvia Flores. The Parker High School alum was part of Region I Championship teams both years that she attended AWC, and was one of the main reasons that the volleyball team was also named as an NJCAA Fall Academic Team of the Year. Rounding out of the list of Matador representatives on the NJCAA Academic All-American team-each with a 3.60 cumulative GPA-were: Matadors’ soccer forward Jesus Huguez, a Yuma native who played the last half-season for the Matadors this season and helped them reach the Region I Playoffs; and Shannon Galanek, a two-year starter at shortstop for the AWC Softball team, and who was also named as an Academic All-American last November by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
“The academic success of our student-athletes-especially these nine students who have excelled in the classroom-really shows a great collective effort among our coaches, staff, faculty and administrators,” said AWC Athletic Director Jerry Smith about the selections. “I’m really proud of the efforts that these nine student-athletes have exhibited in leading the way for the total success of the athletic department, and setting a benchmark for years to come.” |
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