SRU sweeps PSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards
July 7, 2015
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Slippery Rock University track and field standouts Sabrina Anderson and David Reinhardt have been honored with the highest academic honor the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference gives as they were named the Pete Nevins Scholar-Athletes of the Year for the 2016-17 academic year.
The PSAC has named a Scholar-Athlete of the Year for each gender since the 1990-91 academic year. It's just the second time in the history of the awards, and the first time since 1993-94, that any institution in the league has swept both honors.
The pair become the ninth and 10th SRU honorees in the history of the award while Anderson becomes just the fifth woman and sixth overall student-athlete in the history of the award to win the honor twice. Anderson also captured the 2015-16 award.
In order to be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must be named to at least one of the PSAC Top 10 teams throughout the year; must be at least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing; must maintain above a 3.50 cumulative grade point average; and must have significant athletic credentials. Each of the 18 member institutions in the league can nominate one male and one female for the award, which is voted on by the league's sports information directors.
The awards were renamed in 2007 to honor East Stroudsburg's long-time sports information director, Pete Nevins, who passed away earlier that year. Nevins held his position at ESU for 33 years. It is estimated that he wrote more than 12,000 articles that featured more than 5,000 student-athletes.
"This is a tremendous honor for Sabrina and Dave," said John Papa, head track and field coach. "There couldn't be two better role models and ambassadors for our program than these two. They were the epitome of excellence in their athletic and academic careers and we are extremely proud of their accomplishments."
"Having one winner of this prestigious award is an outstanding accomplishment, but sweeping the awards that exemplify the true meaning of the term student-athlete is incredible for our university and the athletic department," said Paul Lueken, director of athletics. "We commend John Papa and his staff for their leadership. We congratulate Sabrina and Dave on incredible careers and we thank them for being such great ambassadors for Slippery Rock University."
Anderson and Reinhardt were both first team Academic All-Americans and two-time PSAC Top 10 honorees this year, being named to the Winter and the Spring Top 10 teams.
Sabrina Anderson
Major: Master of Business Administration (UG: Exercise Science)
Cumulative GPA: 3.91 (UG), 4.0 (G)
Named PSAC Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second straight year ... becomes just the fifth woman in league history to win the award twice ... earned her third straight Academic All-America honor and her second straight first team selection ... was one of only four women in the nation to earn three Academic All-America honors in track and field ... competed indoor and outdoor on two torn ankle ligaments that required surgery after PSAC outdoor championships ... battled through that injury to place second and earn All-PSAC honors in the seven-event heptathlon at the PSAC Championships, her sixth straight All-PSAC finish in the multi-event competition at PSAC championship events ... first team CoSIDA Academic All-District ... All-Region in the heptathlon with the second best score in the region this spring ... despite competing on torn ligaments, still won her third straight PSAC title in the pentathlon indoor this year and was All-Region in the multi both indoor and outdoor ... completed 30 graduate credits while taking classes 30 miles from campus in less than one year while competing this season ... six-time PSAC Top 10 honoree, being named to the team in every season she has been eligible... just the second student-athlete in PSAC history to be named to six PSAC Top 10 teams ... all-time PSAC record holder in pentathlon indoor (3,818 points) and first team All-American in the event last winter before suffering the ankle injuries this year ... graduated with her undergrad degree in exercise science in just three years with a 3.91 GPA and 143 completed credits in those three years ... will finish her entire MBA graduate degree in less than one year after taking 30 credits heading into this summer, posting a 4.0 GPA this year ... in total, Anderson has completed 173 academic credits in less than four full years ... Dean's List every semester ... USTFCCCA All-Academic each year.
David Reinhardt
Major: Doctor of Physical Therapy (UG: Exercise Science)
Cumulative GPA: 3.76 (UG), 3.82 (D)
Bio: Earns his first career Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor ... first SRU male to win the honor since Tim Kusniez in 1999-00 and just the fourth male in SRU history to win the honor ... first team Academic All-America selection for the third time in his career, becoming the only male in the nation to earn that recognition ... All-American in javelin for the second time in his career ... PSAC champion and national qualifier in hammer throw, finishing one spot shy of All-America honors at nationals ... broke SRU record in the hammer when he won the event at PSAC meet with the ninth best throw in the nation this year (61.59 meters) ... had NCAA marks and ranked in the top 20 in both the hammer and the javelin ... scored 16 points at PSAC championships by placing in the hammer, javelin and discus to help SRU to a second place finish in the team standings ... took 20 700-level doctoral credits during the spring semester alone, most of which were in clinical settings 60 miles from campus ... first team CoSIDA Academic All-District ... success this year came after missing entire 2015-16 indoor and outdoor seasons after having Tommy John surgery on throwing elbow ... All-Region in hammer and javelin this spring and All-Region in the weight throw during the winter this year ... four-time PSAC top 10 honoree ... National Champion in the javelin in 2014 before he suffered injury to his throwing elbow that required Tommy John surgery ... owns a 3.82 graduate GPA after completing 82 credits in the rigorous doctor of physical therapy program at SRU ... graduated with his undergrad in exercise science with a 3.76 GPA after completing 143 credits ... in total, Reinhardt has completed 225 academic credits during his career at SRU ... Dean's List every semester ... USTFCCCA All-Academic in each of his last two years of competition ... SRU record holder ... last PSAC track and field athlete, male or female, to win an individual national title (2014 javelin).
MEDIA CONTACT: Jon Holtz | 724.738.4925 | jonathan.holtz@sru.edu