Western Nebraska Community College athletics was well represented on the NJCAA Academic All-American list that was announced earlier this week.
WNCC put four teams and 33 individuals on the list in earning national recognition for the work in the classroom.
All four of the women’s athletic teams earned academic team recognition. The women’s basketball team finished with a 3.05 GPA, the women’s soccer team had a 3.10, the softball had a 3.20, and the volleyball team had a 3.26 to all earn All-Academic team honors.
Individually, a total of 9,912 student athletes earned a GPA above 3.60 and being recognized as student-athletes in the classroom. Overall, 2,852 NJCAA athletes earned All-Academic First Team honors, 3,322 earned Second Team honors, while 4,221 earned Third Team honors.
Of the 33 Cougar athletes that garnered All-Academic honors, six were First Team, 13 were Second Team, and 14 were Third Team.
The First Team members with a 4.0 GPA last year included volleyball players Macey Boggs and Hyleigh Fornstrom, softball players Bella Coffman and Victoria Wharton, men’s soccer player Paul Cerros, and baseball player Quinn McCafferty.
Cerros and Wharton, who will be returning next year, said it is a big honor to earn First Team All-Academic.
“What it means to earn NJCAA First Team All- Academic with a 4.0 GPA is a great accomplishment,” Cerros said. “I had always struggled with my academics during high school, and I knew I had to turn it around in college. So, to be succeeding in the classroom and in the field means a great deal to me knowing I can accomplish these things.”
Wharton, who earned the Region IX softball Freshman or the Year and was a First Team selection for the Omaha World Herald All-Nebraska JUCO team, said it is a testament of her work in the classroom as well as the work the team put in off the field.
“It feels amazing to know that my hard work paid off in the end,” Wharton, from Parker, Colorado, said. “This is a huge accomplishment and demonstrates how WNCC holds their athletes to high expectations and how our educators push our students to be great.”
McCafferty, who plans to play baseball at Wayne State College next year, said he couldn’t have achieved this honor without the help he got from his team and instructors.
“I’m very honored to have accomplished this,” McCafferty said. “This honor goes to show the support I’ve had from staff, coaches, teammates, family, and friends over the past year that have helped me reach my academic goals. I am incredibly thankful for the support that has allowed me to pursue my athletic and academic goals.”
Those receiving Second Team honors with a GPA between 3.8-3.99 include softball players Bailey Blanchard, Baylie Krueger, and Bella Mumford; baseball players Brian Bruxvoort, Caden Eymann, and William Potter; women’s soccer players Raquel Ferreira; men’s soccer players Lincoln Frank, Tom Pelzer, and Renan Souza; volleyball players Ale Meoni and Elli Winkler; and women’s basketball player Shayane Poirot.
The Cougar athletes that received Third Team honors with a GPA of 3.6-3.79 include softball players Mackenzie Bakel, Maddie Johnston, Taylor Klein, and Lexi Parker; volleyball players Jayla Brehmer, Jenna Curtis, Erica Fava, and Laura Miloni; women’s basketball players Isabelle Cook and Genet Mebratu; women’s soccer player Andrea Jimenez; and baseball players Jack Jones, Joe Kinneberg, and Spencer Ohu.
McCafferty said to see this many student-athletes earn academic honors is tremendous and speaks volumes for the WNCC coaches and instructors.
“Such a number goes to show the commitment that players, coaches, and faculty have for excelling in school,” McCafferty, from Big Horn, Wyoming, said. “WNCC offers so many opportunities for students to succeed. To have 33 students reach All-Academic teams is great for the school as it shows the community that our sports teams are invested in their work both on the field and in the classroom.”
Both volleyball players on the First Team that earned 4.0 GPAs graduated in December and transferred on. Boggs is now playing volleyball at the University of Wyoming while Fornstrom is attending cosmetology school in South Dakota.
“WNCC killed it this year in academics,” Boggs said. “I am so proud of everyone who was able to have a healthy athletic and academic balance. For me, it is a great accomplishment. This award is a honor and shows how hard all of us athletes worked.”
This was Boggs second straight year earning a First Team academic honor. Her success in the classroom is simple, set up a schedule and live by it.
“In order to be successful, it is good to set a schedule, stick to a plan, and prioritize what matters most,” the Gering High graduate said. “I set aside time each day to study and do homework. I also have a planner that helps me to manage my time and ensure I get everything done.”
Cerros added seeing the 33 individual names and the four teams on the academic list means that WNCC cares about their student-athletes in the classroom.
“Being part of the students who were able to make part of the academic honors gives a sense of accomplishment. I know that it isn’t easy to balance sports and school so to be able to take on the challenge and succeed in both is a great achievement,” Cerros said. “What this says about WNCCs academics is the effort many teachers and faculty give students the opportunity to succeed in the classroom even with a busy schedule.”
Coffman, a 2022 WNCC graduate from Aurora, Colorado, said it is an honor and she succeeded because of the instructors and staff at WNCC.
“It is a great honor to be recognized off the field as a First Team All-Academic player. Being a student is just as important if not more than being an athlete,” Coffman said. “It’s a great honor (to see four teams earn team academic honors). This shows WNCC puts academics before athletics. Athletes as a whole want to succeed in the classroom and on their field of play.”
Cerros was a part of a men’s soccer team that had four earn academic honors. He said that means a lot to him.
“It is a great honor to be part of a team who takes seriously their education and their athletics,” Cerros said.
For Wharton, she said that having four teams and 33 athletes all-academic is a big honor.
“This shows how every team at WNCC strives for greatness and there are committed athletes across the board,” she said.
Coffman said the softball team had study hall up to three times a week for some team members and each study hall was two hours long. “Academics were a huge priority,” Coffman said.
Coffman said her best study habits was making flash cards.
“The best study habit was to create flash cards and to go over them with my teammates,” Coffman, who will be a criminal justice major at Bluefield State University where she will play softball, said. “They helped me to understand the information and to prepare me for my tests.”
Cerros said that the men’s team never had team study halls, they asked for help from their teammates and people at school. A big thing that helped to keep their grades up are grade checks.
“As a team we never had team study halls,” Cerros said. “Many of us asked for help from each other and other students with a lot of work. What we did have were grade check sheets around every two weeks. Those were a great reminder to have my grades in check.”
Wharton said her key to the academic success is time management.
“The key is time management and hard work. If an athlete commits to both of these, the end results will be promising,” Wharton said. “Our team was constantly held accountable for our grades and expected to do great things in the classroom.”
Coffman added that to succeed in the classroom, it was imperative to show up for class.
“The key is to show up every day, do your work on time, communicate with your professors, and study when you have the time,” she said.
McCafferty’s success in the classroom was different at times, but he also tried to finish his homework early in the week, which left more free time later on.
“For me, the key was to set aside time each morning to crank out a few assignments,” he said. “This gave me the ability to focus on baseball in the afternoons and on the weekends. Finishing homework early during the week allowed me to have little stress while working on assignments, and it let me have fun playing baseball on the weekends.”
McCafferty said his time at WNCC was successful and wanted to thank everyone that helped him succeed.
“Thank you to all the people at WNCC who helped me pursue my goals both academically and athletically,” he said. “The great family that I had in Scottsbluff over the past two years helped me be successful at WNCC. I’m incredibly thankful for the people who have impacted my life in this great community.”