Campus athletes honored for academic achievements

January 8, 2015

Penn State Worthington Scranton's student athletes made great academic, as well as athletic strides during the Fall 2014 semester. 

Athletic Director Jeff Mallas recently compiled academic standings for the Fall 2014 Semester, which included a total of 129 students in all sports and cheerleading, and has shared the very positive and impressive results.

The most highly recognized athletes this past semester were:  John Ciccone, who  earned Dean's List, Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) Academic All-Conference, United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Academic All-American, 1st team PSUAC All-Conference and 2nd Team USCAA All-American for men's cross country; Ahmet Ahmetbeg, who earned Dean's List, PSUAC Academic All-Conference, USCAA Academic All-American and Honorable Mention PSUAC All-Conference for men's soccer; Kim Gaik, who earned Dean's List, PSUAC Academic All-Conference, USCAA Academic All-American and 1st Team PSUAC All-Conference for women's cross country; and Josh Murphy, who earned Dean's List, PSUAC Academic All-Conference, USCAA Academic All-American and 1st Team PSUAC All-Conference for men's cross country.

In addition to those high-achieving athletes, a total of 10 PSWS student athletes earned a spot on the prestigious 2014 Fall United States Collegiate Athlete Association (USCAA) Academic All-American Team, earning a 3.5 GPA or higher. They are: cross country runners Jon Ciccone, Elizabeth Edgar, Kim Gaik, Jennifer Kokinda, Josh Murphy and Erica Sidorowicz. Soccer team members earning spots were: Ahmet Ahmetbeg, Dan Deleo, Nariman Karimov and Russell Lang.

A total of 21 students made Dean's List; 60 had a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better; 13 earned a 3.5 GPA or better.

Of the varsity athletes, which include cross country, soccer and volleyball, 60 percent (or 35 of 58) earned Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC), and 14 made Dean's List.

On the men's cross country and soccer teams, each had just over 70 percent earned PSUAC Academic Honors this semester. 

It should be noted that men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball cannot earn this honor until the end of the Spring 2015 semester.