. . . The Commission on Athletics Awards Committee is proud to announce Kathryn Swart of Taft College and Jeremy Waldram of Cuesta College as recipients of the women’s and men’s 2003 Pepsi Scholar Athlete Award.
Swart and Waldram, along with the other 2003 honor roll members, will be honored at the annual Pepsi Celebration of Student Athletes/COA Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon, part of the 7th Annual COA Convention, on Thursday, April 1 at the Burbank Airport Hilton Hotel in Burbank, CA.
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.
“Each year, the COA Awards Committee is faced with the difficult task of choosing from many outstanding candidates, and this year is no different,” said COA Commissioner Joanne Fortunato. “Kathryn and Jeremy’s accomplishments speak for themselves, and we congratulate them and all of the honor roll finalists for their many achievements on and off the playing field.”
The Women’s Honor Roll includes: Kelly Boone (College of the Canyons soccer, 3.91 GPA), Leilani Greene (Cuesta College cross country and track/field, 3.64 GPA), Christina Joseph (Shasta College softball and volleyball, 3.57 GPA), Lydia McGinn (Mendocino College cross country and track/field, 4.0 GPA), Samantha Pellon (Sacramento City College softball, 4.0 GPA), Rocio Real (Mt. San Antonio College soccer, 3.81 GPA), Amy Rice (Antelope Valley College cross country and track/field, 3.98 GPA), Natalie St. Andre (Orange Coast College cross country and track/field, 3.88 GPA), Shannon Schiele (San Diego Mesa College basketball and volleyball, 3.76 GPA) and Sarka Vogel (West Valley College volleyball, 3.91 GPA).
The Men’s Honor Roll includes: Mathieu Arribart (San Diego City College soccer, 3.71 GPA), Jonas Carlsward (Saddleback College golf, 3.67 GPA), Daniel Lord (De Anza College water polo, 3.77 GPA), Matthew Maddox (Sacramento City College baseball, 3.86 GPA), William Reeves (Reedley College basketball, 3.87 GPA), Cody Sorensen (Chaffey College football, 3.71 GPA).
Kathryn Swart graduated from Taft College with a perfect 4.0 GPA, and participated in a wide-range of extra-curricular activities during her two years at Taft. A member of the Associated Student Body, Swart served as vice president and student representative to the Taft College Board of Trustees during her sophomore year. Swart was a member and secretary of the Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges, and a member of the Best Buddies club, which pairs a college student with a developmentally disabled student who is attending Taft College through the Transition to Independent Living program.
On the volleyball court, Swart led by example. After leading the Cougars to a Central Valley Conference championship in 2001, she was named the Conference MVP. In her sophomore campaign, Swart was chosen as Team Captain and chosen as team MVP by her teammates. In both 2001 and 2002, Swart was named 1st Team All Central Valley Conference, All Northern California Team, All State Team and American Volleyball Coaches Association Two-Year College 2nd Team All American.
Swart is currently a member of the volleyball team at CSU Stanislaus, where she is pursuing a degree in biological sciences.
Jeremy Waldram excelled academically and athletically at Cuesta College, earning a 4.0 GPA and playing a pivotal role in the success of the Cougars wrestling team in 2001 and 2002. Waldram was a two-time member of the All Western State Conference (WSC) Academic Team, a three-time member of the Dean's Honor List and a Cuesta College Top Ten Scholar Athlete in 2001-02. Waldram was named the 2003 Cuesta College Warren Hansen Scholar Athlete of the Year.
As a freshman in 2001, Waldram earned All WSC honorable mention with an 11-13 record and qualified as finalist at the California Community Colleges Commission on Athletics Wrestling Championship. The Cougars finished 3rd in the WSC and placed 17th at the state championship.
Named team captain as a sophomore, Waldram earned All WSC First Team honors and was voted the Cougars’ team MVP. He finished the season with an 18-18 record and placed 7th at the 2002 state championships. His team again finished third in the WSC and improved to 16th place at the state finals.
Waldram is currently enrolled as a kinesiology major at California Polytechnic State University.
For more information on the COA Annual Convention, and for the latest news, information and updates of all 23 COA sanctioned sports, please visit www.coasports.org.
Note: Tickets for the April 1 event can be purchased by mailing payment and a registration form, available at www.coasports.org/convention, to COA, 2017 O St, Sacramento, CA 95814.
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