The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) recognized 22 Moraine Valley Community College student-athletes with the 2021-22 All-Academic Team Award while one team earned Academic Team of the Year. Additionally, 29 students were named Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) All-Academic Athletes of the Year, and 21 freshmen were named All-Conference Freshmen Academic Athletes of the Year.
NJCAA All-Academic Team student-athletes must have a 3.6 GPA or higher after completing at least 24 credits and participate in the college’s sport for at least one season. All-Academic First Team athletes have a 4.0 GPA, Second Team has a 3.8 to 3.99 GPA and Third Team has a 3.6 to 3.79 GPA. Moraine Valley athletes who received this honor are:
First Team– golfer Jack McDonald (Reavis); soccer player Sarah Hughes (Evergreen Park); and tennis players Ali Amer (Reavis) and Martin Gawron (Sandburg)
Second Team– basketball players Mary Chronopoulou (Reavis), Maggie Manthey (Sandburg), Taanisa Muhammad (Catalyst Maria), Nathan Purcell (Lincoln-Way Central) and Katchie Savic (Lincoln-Way East); soccer players Emma Ahern (Bremen) and Alyssa Froylan (Reavis); tennis players Matt Bednar (Reavis) and Lucas Skowyra (Stagg); volleyball players Nicole Ramirez (Lincoln-Way Central) and Julia Stefanon (Sandburg)
Third Team– runner Nicholas Cunico (Andrew); soccer players Aoife Finn (Stagg) and Tristan Kelly (Andrew); softball player Kara Riordan (Lockport); tennis players James Coan (Reavis), Nada Hinnawi (Richards) and Hannah Markiewicz (Mother McAuley).
Men’s tennis earned the Academic Team of the Year award for having a cumulative 3.43 GPA. It was among 1,061 teams across the country that had a 3.0 GPA or higher for the academic year.
To earn the ISCC distinction, students must have earned a 3.0 GPA or higher after completing at least 48 credit hours while participating in one of the college’s 12 sports. Moraine Valley recipients are: baseball players Anthony Cappelletti (Romeoville), Thomas Carlson (Peotone), John Gonsalves (Tinley Park), Ryan Grand (Tinley Park) and William Miller (Evergreen Park); basketball players Reagan Cameron (Oak Lawn), Ethan Campagna (Kennedy), Kirsten Kamholz (Andrew), Manthey, Muhammad, Bashirah Muhammad (Catalyst Maria) and Savic; golfer McDonald; soccer players Alan Arriaga (Sandburg), Raneen Betouni (Oak Forest), Froylan, Hughes, Declan Kelly (Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences), Nikodem Kurzeja (Stagg), Natalie Orozco (Argo) and Fernando Ramos (Shepard); softball players Riordan and Ashley Roberts (Homewood-Flossmoor); tennis players Amer, Bednar, Coan and Skowyra; and volleyball players Ramirez and Stefanon.
Amer, Hughes and McDonald also were awarded the Dick Durrant Sophomore Academic Athlete of the Year Award for earning a 4.0 GPA in the ISCC. This is the first time Moraine Valley has had three student-athletes earn the honor.
The All-Conference Freshmen Academic Athletes completed at least 24 credit hours with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Moraine Valley recipients are: baseball player Brian Funk (Sandburg); basketball players Chronopoulou and Larissa Milenkovski (Lockport); runners Brandon Armendarez (Reavis), Scott Beveridge (Argo), Cunico, Ryan O’Connor (Lincoln-Way East) and Natalia Wrobel (Richards); soccer players Ahern, Komi Bakou (Andrew), Patrick Canny (Lockport), Finn, Kelly, Giorgos Vallianatos (Sandburg) and Carlos Villanueva (Eisenhower); softball players Arianna Andersen (Oak Lawn), Emily Madrigal (Shepard) and Emily Manso (Evergreen Park); tennis players Aidan Lysouvakan (Sandburg) and Markiewicz; and volleyball player Erin Moran (Stagg).
“I’m very happy, but not surprised, at the high academic achievements our student-athletes have reached this past year. They work hard in the classroom and at their sport, and it shows. They represent the best Moraine Valley has to offer and are given the best support by our incredible Athletics staff who help recreate this success every year,” said Bill Finn, Athletics director.
For news media inquiries, contact Maura Vizza, Moraine Valley communications specialist/sports information coordinator, at (708) 974-5742 or VizzaM@morainevalley.edu.
