News

HC Athletes Receive National Academic Awards

07.31.14

             Hill College athletes recently received several academic awards from the National Junior College Athletic Association. The NJCAA National Office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, released the names of the 2013-14 NJCAA Academic Award recipients, and Hill College had seven athletes and three teams honored.

             “I am thrilled with the success our athletes have had at Hill College and I am sure they will excel at the university level as well,” said Paul Brown, Athletics Director of Hill College. “This past year has been exemplary both on the field and in the classroom.  These athletes come to Hill College for an education and a chance to continue doing something they love – athletics.  Hill College had three teams finish in the top twenty of the nation, plus all the academic awards!  It just doesn’t get any better than this.”

             Kelly Van Heule (women’s soccer; Hurst, TX), Oscar Montalvo (men’s soccer; Saginaw, TX), Lachlan Brinkley (men’s soccer; Brisbane, Australia), Kelsey Brungs (softball; Mansfield, TX), Nate Harris (baseball; San Antonio, TX) and Justin Walton (baseball; Lorena, TX) received the Exemplary Academic Achievement for having a 3.6 GPA or better. Receiving the Superior Academic Achievement award for having a 3.80 GPA or better was Kyle Loson (baseball; Kingwood, TX).

             Hill College also had three teams named All-Academic teams for the 2013-14 academic year (3.00 GPA or higher): volleyball (3.19), baseball (3.08) and softball (3.16).

             Not to be outdone by the NJCAA Academic All-Americans, the Hill College Rodeo Team received four awards for NIRA Academic All-Americans. The requirements for this award were a GPA above 3.5 and earning points at rodeos. Recipients of this award were: Hallie Monkres (West, TX), Taylor Thate (Palmer, TX), Dylan Cosper (Moody, TX) and Justin Hendrix (Little River Academy, TX).

             In addition to these NJCAA and NIRA awards, Hill College had 43 sophomore athletes that have signed to play at the University level.

             For more information about Hill College athletics, please visit www.hillcollege.edu/athletics.