Anderson named PSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
July 7, 2016
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Slippery Rock University track and field standout Sabrina Anderson has earned the highest academic honor the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference awards each year as she has been named the PSAC Pete Nevins Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Pete Nevins honor is awarded annually to one male and one female student-athlete that performed exceptionally well in the classroom and in their field of competition. In order to be eligible, a student-athlete must be named to one of the PSAC Top 10 teams during the year, must maintain above a 3.50 cumulative GPA and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing.
ANDERSON
Anderson shares the 2015-16 award with male honoree, Mercyhurst baseball player Colin McKee
The award has been given by the PSAC office every year since 1991 and was renamed in 2007 to honor the legacy of former East Stroudsburg sports information director Pete Nevins, who served at ESU for 33 years. Nevins was one of the most decorated sports information directors in the country and since his passing in 2007 has had multiple awards named in his honor.
Anderson becomes the eighth SRU student-athlete to capture the honor and the first since 2009 when volleyball player Jen Blasko earned the 2008-09 award. She is the fifth female student-athlete in school history to earn the recognition and the third track and field student-athlete, joining Jen Hansen (2007-08) and Karen McCready (2003-04).
"We're incredibly proud of what Sabrina has been able to accomplish in such little time at SRU," said head track and field coach John Papa. "She is the ideal model of what type of person we want in our program, someone that will work extremely hard to be the best she can be in the classroom and on the track."
After just three years at the University, Anderson graduated with an exercise science degree and a minor in business administration in May. She completed an incredible 140 total credit hours in those three years and graduated early with a 3.90 cumulative GPA. Anderson has already been admitted to, and is taking classes in, the Master's of Business Administration program at SRU, putting her on course to earn both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in just four years. The master's program will also allow Anderson the chance to use her senior year of athletic eligibility in 2016-17.
Her outstanding academic record has helped her to earn some of the highest honors in the PSAC and the nation. She is now a four-time PSAC Top 10 honoree after earning the recognition during both the winter and the spring in each of the last two years. This spring she also added the title of CoSIDA first team Academic All-American to her resume.
On the track, Anderson was named the PSAC Field Athlete of the Year after both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2015-16. She won the PSAC title in the heptathlon and earned All-Region honors in both the heptathlon and the high jump outdoors. Anderson closed her junior season on the track by earning All-America honors with a 10th place finish in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division II National Championships.
In addition to her success outdoor, Anderson was also an indoor All-American in 2016 after setting the all-time PSAC record in the pentathlon en route to finishing fifth at the indoor national meet with 3,818 points. She also won the PSAC title in the pentathlon and the 60-meter hurdles indoors and was named the Most Outstanding Athlete of the championships after competing in 11 total events over two days.
Not to be outdone by her success in the classroom or with the track and field program, Anderson is also a nationally ranked weightlifter and competes throughout the year in weightlifting competitions as well.
Anderson is the first female track and field student-athlete to win the Pete Nevins award since one of her coaches, SRU graduate assistant Tabitha Bemis, won the honor in 2014 while at Edinboro University.
Slippery Rock Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year Winners
- 2015-16: Sabrina Anderson (Women's Track and Field)
- 2008-09: Jen Blasko (Volleyball)
- 2007-08: Jen Hansen (Women's Track and Field)
- 2003-04: Karen McCready (Women's Track and Field)
- 1999-00: Tom Kusniez (Football)
- 1997-98: Dave Sabolcik (Football)
- 1995-96: Lori Robinson (Women's Basketball)
- 1994-95: Mark Metzka (Men's Basketball)
MEDIA CONTACT: Jon Holtz | 724.738.4925 | jonathan.holtz@sru.edu