COA Announces Pepsi 2000 Scholar Athlete Award Winners

Sacramento, CA . . . The Commission on Athletics Recognition Committee is proud to announce Joe Hatke of Cuesta College, and Cherisse Meichtry of Moorpark College as recipients of the men's and women’s 2000 Pepsi Scholar Athlete Award.

Hatke and Meichtry, along with the rest of the 2000 honor roll members, will be honored at the annual Pepsi Scholar Athlete luncheon, Wednesday, March 21, at the Silver Legacy Hotel in Reno, Nevada.

The Pepsi Scholar Athlete award is the highest student achievement honor awarded annually by the COA, which oversees intercollegiate competition at 103 community colleges and nearly 25,000 student athletes each year. The winners, along with the rest of the honor roll, were selected from nominations made by colleges throughout the state.

"The judging was very difficult this year as there were many outstanding candidates, all of whom excelled in academics, competition and citizenship," said COA Commissioner Dr. Joanne Fortunato. "We congratulate the winners and the honor roll finalists on all of their achievements."

The Men’s Honor Roll includes: Ian Wu (3.72 GPA), Sacramento City College, Cross Country; Jesse Weaver (3.90 GPA), Mendocino College, Baseball; Arthur Renney (3.96 GPA), Reedley College, Baseball; Collin Kyte (3.79 GPA), Cerro Coso College, Baseball; Gavin Harrison (3.95 GPA), Siskiyous College, Football/Track; Daniel Trujillo (3.92 GPA), Santa Ana College, Baseball; Garret Pavelko (3.65 GPA), Palomar College, Football.

The Women’s Honor Roll includes: Julie Hanisits (3.54 GPA), Sacramento City College, Swim/Water Polo; Nena Custodio (3.71 GPA), Shasta College, Volleyball; Ana Duarte (3.77 GPA), Santa Ana College, Swimming; Karen Johnson (3.74 GPA), San Diego City College, Basketball/Track; Maria Herrera (3.55 GPA), LA Valley College, Track & Field.

Cherisse Meichtry excelled as a two-year starter on the Moorpark Raiders Volleyball team. She was an Academic All-American, a 2nd Team All-Western State Conference player, and the Moorpark Female Student Athlete of the Year. She maintained a 3.83 GPA taking classes such as Biology, Anatomy, English, and Chemistry. Cherisse also volunteered 20-30 hrs./wk. of her time in the Athletic Training Room at Moorpark where she taped, evaluated, treated, and helped develop conditioning programs for their injured student athletes. Cherisse is deciding between North and South Carolina to further her education and will major in Sports Medicine.

Joe Hatke finished his distinguished career at Cuesta College with a perfect 4.0 grade point average in Engineering. He was on the Dean’s list all four semesters at Cuesta while taking classes such as Biology, Chemistry, Calculus, and several Physics and Engineering classes. As a swimmer, Joe earned All-American honors both years at Cuesta in the 50 and 100 Freestyles and 200 Free Relay. He was a member of the 200 free relay team that set a Cuesta College record, a Team Captain in 2000, and member of the Cuesta College swim team that won Western State Conference titles in 1999 and 2000. Joe will continue his swimming career and education at Cal Poly and will major in Mechanical Engineering.

For more information regarding the Pepsi Scholar Athlete luncheon, please contact the Commission on Athletics at 916.444.1600.