NAIAÂ Recognizes 14 Goshen College Spring Scholar-Athletes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Fourteen Goshen College student-athletes were named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes in baseball, softball, tennis and track and field at each sport’s national championship this spring, recognizing the work of the GC athletic department to develop student-athletes athletically, academically, and as individuals of character in the community.
The Maple Leaf baseball program reached its highest scholar-athlete mark in five years with three players recognized while the softball team matched its 2016 total.
Goshen brought in 25 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognitions in the fall, including 14 in women’s soccer, which was the most of any soccer program in the nation for the second consecutive year. A school-record five more in basketball and 14 in the spring bring the total to 44 for the year, marking the fourth time in five years that GC has reached at least 40.
In the previous five seasons, Goshen has racked up 239 scholar-athletes: this year’s total represents more than one out of every five athletes on a Maple Leaf varsity roster: among athletes who have progressed far enough in their academic career to qualify, almost 45 percent were scholar-athletes.
Nominated by each institution’s head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have achieved junior academic status to qualify.
Awards in soccer, volleyball and cross country were given in the fall, while awards in basketball were announced during the NAIA basketball tournaments in March.
Men’s Tennis
Eric Cender (Valparaiso, Ind.)
Aritha Weerasinghe (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
Women’s Tennis
Joelle Friesen (Normal, Ill.)
Baseball
Blake Collins (Ludington, Mich.)
Travis Grimm (Muskegon, Mich.)
Michael Walker (Archbold, Ohio)
Softball
Brooke Maes (Goshen, Ind.)
Men’s Track and Field
Sawyer Biddle (White Heath, Ill.)
Isaiah Friesen (Filley, Neb.)
Luke Kaufman (Goshen, Ind.)
Women’s Track and Field
Calla Bartlett (Byron, Mich.)
Lena Charles (Plainfield, Ind.)
Melanie Drinkwater (West Sayville, N.Y.)
Jill Steinmetz (Bluffton, Ohio)