April 23, 2016
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference recently announced the spring honorees of the HCAC All-Academic awards for the 2016 school year. Twenty Bluffton University athletes were recognized for their efforts in the classroom.
Senior ASHLEY KNIPPEN (Wapakoneta) collected her first HCAC All-Academic honor following her final season as a Beaver. Junior EMILY SCUPHOLM (Cuyahoga Falls/Our Lady of the Elms) was recognized as Academic All-HCAC for the second straight year. Five Sophomores were honored in their first year of eligibility. BRITTANY HUFF(Clayton/Northmont), CARLY LEVINDOFSKE (Brunswick/Magnificat), MAKENZIE SCHMIDT (Caledonia/River Valley), NICOLE THOMAS(Tontogany/Otsego) and CHELSEA ZOLTOWSKI (Sylvania/Southview) all took care of business in the books as well as on the field.
Seniors HANNAH KRULL (Lewisburg/Tri-County North) and ARON GIBSON (Caledonia/River Valley) are both repeat honorees from the indoor track and field team. It marks Krull's fourth straight award and the third consecutive honor for Gibson. Junior ANNA HAIRSTON(Mansfield/Ontario) was recognized for the second straight year. Sophomores ALISSA HAUKE (Hillsboro), SARAH HUNTER (Mt. Blanchard/Riverdale) and ELAINA ALPETER (Galloway/Hilliard Bradley) are all first-time Academic HCAC honorees for both indoor and outdoor track and field.
ALEX NIBERT (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) was recognized for the third time in three years of eligibility. Earning HCAC All-Academic honors for the second time were fellow seniors TRAVIS CLARK (Lima/Central Catholic), DREW SMITH (Cridersville/Perry) and junior AUSTIN PROSSER (Galion). Sophomores PAUL FREY (Kirby/Riverdale) and RYAN GOLDEN(Findlay) along with junior JAMES WATKINS (Lexington) collected their first Academic All-HCAC honors.
Bluffton University is a liberal arts, residential campus with more than 80 undergraduate majors, minors and programs; a bachelor's degree evening program in social work for working adults; and an adult degree-completion program in organizational management. Bluffton also offers master's degree programs in organizational management and business administration, as well as MBA programs with concentrations in leadership, health care management, accounting and financial management, leading nonprofits, conflict transformation, sustainability, production and operations management, sport management and intercultural leadership, plus a self-designed concentration.
Founded in 1899 and affiliated with Mennonite Church USA, the university is located in northwest Ohio. It has an enrollment of more than 1,100 students and 14 NCAA Division III athletic teams. Bluffton's 100-year legacy is expressed today in its enduring values of discovery, community, respect and service that are woven into the academic program and campus life. Bluffton students go into the world prepared for life as well as for their chosen vocations.
-BEAVERS-