ICC continues to break records in the classroom

18 student-athletes earn NJCAA Academic honors
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS – ICC student-athletes continued to raise the bar in the classroom when the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) announced their annual academic awards on Wednesday.

After setting a new record with 32 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) Academic All-State selections, 18 student-athletes earn NJCAA academic honors for their success in the classroom during the past school year.

A trio of men's soccer players Piercen Burchfield (Pontotoc), Brayden Timmons (Pontotoc) and Garrett Trautman (Amory) joined baseball's Drew Carter (Tupelo) and softball's Laken Shankle (Bruce) in earning the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence – the highest academic honor given by the NJCAA.

Earning Superior Academic Achievement honors: men's soccer players Ricky Hackler (Columbus), Jerry Malli (Tupelo), Michael Wathen (Amory) and women's soccer player Alyssa Kelley (Saltillo).

Earning Exemplary Academic Achievement honors: men's tennis player Drew Ballard (Tupelo); football players Anfernee Brand (Houston) and Jeb Millender (Pontotoc); women's soccer players Miranda Chapman (Saltillo) and Keely Mitchell (Saltillo); softball's Hannah Johnson (Branson, MO); women's tennis player Aliesha Hudson (Yazoo); and men's soccer players Evan Thomas (Amory) and Drew Williams (Tupelo).
 
The Pinnacle Award is given to student-athletes that achieve a 4.0 GPA while the Superior rating is awarded to students-athletes with a GPA ranging from 3.80 to 3.99 and the Exemplary rating is given to student-athletes in the 3.60 to 3.79 GPA range.

ICC has had 88 student-athletes earn NJCAA academic honors since the 2005-06 athletic season. The previous record was set after the 2010-11 school year when 12 former student-athletes earned NJCAA academic honors.

Click here to see the complete list of NJCAA Academic honorees

Six ICC athletic programs earned Top 15 finishes amongst the NJCAA's top academic squads in their respective sports.

The ICC men's soccer team earned their second-straight NJCAA Academic national championship with a 3.32 GPA.

The women's soccer team finished fifth with a GPA of 3.42, MACJC North Division champion softball team finished seventh with a 3.49 GPA, the MACJC and NJCAA Region 23 champion women's tennis team finished ninth with a 3.52 GPA, the MACJC and NJCAA Region 23 champion men's tennis team finished twelfth with a 3.14 GPA, and the baseball team finished fifteenth with a 3.22 GPA.

For more information on the ten intercollegiate athletic programs at ICC, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).