TCC student-athletes, teams earn NJCAA academic honors
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (July 13, 2020) – The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has announced its 2019-20 All-Academic awards and Tallahassee Community College was represented in record-breaking fashion for its performance in the classroom.
Despite the Spring 2020 semester finishing in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a school-record 25 student-athletes earned NJCAA All-Academic honors while the Eagles placed a record-tying five teams on the national honor roll.
"I can't say enough about how well our student-athletes handled a very difficult and disappointing end to the spring term," said director of athletics Rob Chaney. "Once the realization sank in that our seasons were done (in March), we emphasized the importance of finishing strong academically – however challenging that might be – and our young men and women rose to the occasion."
The previous mark for individual All-Academic awards was 10 in both 2017 and 2019 while 2018 also produced five All-Academic team honors.
To be eligible for one of three levels of All-Academic consideration, student-athletes must have completed at least two full-time semesters with a minimum of 24 semester hours in the current academic year and a minimum 3.6 grade point average.
Each of the Eagles' eight teams had at least one NJCAA All-Academic representative, led by softball with eight. Women's basketball was next with five while men's and women's outdoor track and field had four honorees apiece.
Five student-athletes were recognized for participation in multiple sports – Rodolph Adonis (Fr./Wellington, Fla.), Arionne McCall (Fr./Tallahassee, Fla.), Genevieve Printiss (So./Carrabelle, Fla.) and Kendall Ward (So./Tallahassee, Fla.), who participated in both cross country and outdoor track and field, and Rita James (Fr./Bayelsa State, Nigeria), a member of the women's basketball and outdoor track and field teams.
The Eagles garnered five First-team All-Academic honors for having achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA, including Printiss, who is now a two-time, first-team honoree. Other student-athletes earning first-team recognition include softball's Emily Oakes (Fr./Orlando, Fla.), Esmee Toet (Fr./The Hague, Netherlands) and Maddy Walther (Fr./Fort Myers, Fla.) and baseball's Caleb Vincent (Fr./Pace, Fla.).
Eleven student-athletes, led by Adonis, James and Ward, another two-time recipient, were named Second-team All-Academic (3.8-3.99 GPA). The group also includes men's basketball's El Ellis (Fr./Durham, N.C.), one of 557 student-athletes who also earned All-America honors for their outstanding performance in the sport. Ellis was named a Second-team All-American by the NJCAA in April.
Other student-athletes earning second-team recognition include softball's Jania Davis (Fr./Atlanta, Ga.), Stacey Hudson (Fr./Groveland, Fla.) and Alyssa Krausz (Fr./Belleville, Ill.), women's basketball's Olivia Eller (Fr./Greensboro, N.C.), Ana Nikulochkina (Fr./Moscow, Russia) and Polina Nikulochkina (Fr./Moscow, Russia), and men's basketball's Jordan Guest (So./Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.).
McCall led a group of nine student-athletes who were named NJCAA All-Academic Third-team for having achieved a 3.6-3.79 GPA. Other third-team recipients were softball's Dyamond Brown (So./McDonough, Ga.) and Katelyn Hobbs (So./Ochlocknee, Ga.), women's basketball's Briana Chambers (Fr./Carine, Australia), men's basketball's Daivon Stephens (So./Pittsburgh, Pa.), men's outdoor track and field's Donovan Dwight (Fr./Beaufort, S.C.), Ke'Adre Thompson (Fr./Hollywood, Fla.) and Nelson Vincent (Fr./Miami, Fla.) and women's outdoor track and field's Mia Wiederkehr (So./Bradenton, Fla.).
Wiederkehr previously earned All-Academic honors in 2017 following her first season of cross country.
Academic Teams of the Year were recognized for achieving a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or better during the academic year.
Led by Printiss, Ward and McCall, women's cross country placed sixth nationally with a program-high 3.56 GPA, the highest ranking school from Region 8.
Softball, with a 3.39 GPA, earned Academic Team of the Year recognition for the sixth straight year. The Eagles finished No. 62 on a list that featured more than 170 schools but were the fourth highest-ranked school from Region 8.
Men's basketball finished No. 15 nationally with a 3.21 GPA and was the only school from Region 8 on the list.
Men's outdoor track and field, with a 3.16 GPA, earned the Eagles' best ranking in the team standings, finishing fifth nationally.
Women's outdoor track and field finished No. 10 with a 3.17 GPA.
Overall, an NJCAA record 9,555 individuals and 1,026 teams earned All-Academic honors in 2019-20.