UNBC has made yet another case to claim it's one of the best schools in the country, this time from its hard-working students on the court and pitch.
A new record was broken today (Nov. 26) by the Timberwolves’ soccer and basketball programs as 28 student-athletes buzzed through the books last year to earn the prestigious status as a U-Sports Academic All-Canadian.
That’s eight more than the previous bar set at 20 the past two years, 2018 and 2019.
UNBC Athletics Director Loralyn Murdoch says this is a proud moment for the Prince George post-secondary, adding the minimum 3.67 grade-point average (GPA) is a challenging task.
“It is incredibly difficult to manage the demands of an academic course load, while also training, practicing, traveling, and playing games at the U SPORTS level.”
The T-Wolves’ women’s soccer team led the way with 10 players earning Academic All-Canadian honours, followed by the men’s soccer (seven), women’s basketball (six) and men’s basketball (five).
Some of the athletes are also repeating the title having earned an A- letter grade or higher in recent years.
Both CanadaWest soccer and basketball seasons were cancelled earlier this year as a result of COVID-19, but players will not lose eligibility if they wish to play in the 2021-22 season should the pandemic allow sports to resume.
UNBC’s 2020 Academic All-Canadians are as follows (in alphabetical order):
- Reid Adams = Men’s Soccer, Biomedical Sciences
- Johnathan Botelho = Men’s Soccer, Health Sciences
- Mikaela Cadorette = Women’s Soccer, Psychology
- Cevanna Carlson = Women’s Basketball, First Nation Studies
- Kenzie Chilcott = Women’s Soccer, General Studies
- Saje Gosal = Men’s Basketball, Political Science
- Lucy Guan = Women’s Basketball, Commerce
- Sofia Jones = Women’s Soccer, Computer Science
- Madison Landry = Women’s Basketball, Health Sciences
- Rebecca Landry = Women’s Basketball, General Sciences
- Spencer Ledoux = Men’s Basketball, Business
- Mitchell Linley = Men’s Soccer, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
- Mara McCleary = Women’s Soccer, Physics
- Brooke Molby = Women’s Soccer, Psychology & Education
- Hallie Nystedt = Women’s Soccer, Nursing
- Paige Payne = Women’s Soccer, Biomedical Studies
- Colburn Pearce = Men’s Basketball, Commerce
- Vova Pluzhnikov = Men’s Basketball, Business
- Anthony Preston = Men’s Soccer, Biochemistry
- Christopher Ross = Men’s Basketball, Civil Engineering
- Alina Shakirova = Women’s Basketball, Psychology
- Jonah Smith = Men’s Soccer, Physiotherapy
- Anastasia Soltes = Women’s Basketball, Environmental Studies
- Kiana Swift = Women’s Soccer, Nursing
- Claire Turner = Women’s Soccer, Health Sciences
- Kyra Wallace = Women’s Soccer, Nursing
- Aidan Way = Men’s Soccer, Commerce
- Daniel Zadravec = Men’s Soccer, Business
