(Charlotte, NC) - Thirty-two Waubonsee Community College student-athletes and four Chiefs' teams were recognized by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for their excellence in the classroom during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Five Chiefs' student-athletes achieved NJCAA All-Academic First Team honors with a 4.0 grade point average (GPA). That group includes softball player Veronica Latka from Kaneland High School, baseball player Brian Wrenn from Geneva, men's basketball player Cameron Russell from Indian Creek High School, softball player Hailey Ruhl from Plano and men's cross-country runner Josh Branstad from Geneva High School.
Waubonsee also had nine players honored with Second Team All-Academic status by attaining an overall GPA of 3.80 through 3.99. That contingent consists of men's basketball player Brandon Ducoing from Yorkville, softball player Taylor Hamaker from Oswego High School, women's cross-country runner Payton Heiden from Plano, women's soccer player Nichole Jacobsen also from Plano, two-sport performers twins Kiara and Olivia McPherson from Aurora West, volleyball players Claire Sweeney from Aurora Christian and Jordan Weber from Kaneland High School, and women's basketball player Jaylynn Vana from Sandwich.
Eighteen Chiefs received All-Academic Third Team recognition with a GPA between 3.60 and 3.79 overall. The group includes women's cross-country runners America Chavez from Aurora East High School and Samantha Garcia from Oswego East High School, women's soccer players Lindsay Ferris and Isabelle Harkleroad both from Geneva, baseball players Lukas Haddox from Yorkville, Julio Romero from Los Lunas, New Mexico, Jonah Hays and Joseph Pantano both from Geneva, softball players Delanie Krantz from Yorkville, Jesika Lowe from Indian Creek High School, Jori Peters from Oswego East, Breanna O'Malley-Molk from Plainfield East and Janeen O'Reilly from Plainfield Central High School. Rounding out this contingent of individual honorees was men's cross-country runner Justin Gallegos from Aurora West, women's basketball player Brooke Heiman from Indian Creek, men's soccer player Caleb Hester from Sandwich High School, men's basketball player Cooper Larsen from Indian Creek and men's cross-country runner Xander Lundblad from Batavia High School.
Waubonsee's Men's Cross-Country team had a team grade-point-average of 3.27 to rank 17th nationally among all NJCAA Division I teams. The Chiefs' volleyball squad posted a team GPA of 3.50 which placed them in a tie for 25th nationally among women's volleyball teams. In addition, Waubonsee's softball crew compiled a team GPA of 3.49 and the Women's Cross-Country team had a 3.17 GPA to both finish among the top-50 teams nationally in their respective sports.