CCC RELEASE

LA GRANDE -- A group of 16 Southern Oregon student-athletes from the spring season sports of softball and track & field were named 2013 U.S. Bank Academic All-Cascade Collegiate Conference honorees, the conference announced.

Jessica Flores (Corning, Calif./Corning) and Mikayla Garrard (Klamath Falls, Ore./Mazama) led the way for the Raiders, as each received the honor for the third time. Alexandra Rudd (North Bend, Wash./Mount Si), Sierra Anderson (Portland, Ore./Sunset), Michael Ruppert (Winston, Ore./Douglas) and Peter Stice (Umatilla, Ore./Umatilla) were each named scholar-athletes for the second time.

Irene Barrantes (Dos Palos, Calif./Dos Palos) gave the SOU softball team a trio of honorees with her first academic recognition. Garrard and Rudd were joined on the team by fellow female track and field athletes Anne Hagy (Medford, Ore./Phoenix ), Nicole Leaf (Eagle Point, Ore./Eagle Point), Rebecca Lupescu (Portland, Ore./Westview), Shawna Nielson and Jessie Rozario (Rocklin, Calif./Del Oro). On the men's team, Eric Ghelfi (Redding, Calif./Redding Adventist Academy), Jared Hixon (Palmdale, Calif./Palmdale), Josh Muswieck (Medford, Ore./Cascade Christian) and Tyler VanDyke (Eagle Point, Ore./Eagle Point) joined Ruppert and Stice.

To earn recognition as a CCC scholar-athlete, students are required to have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2 and have at least sophomore standing.