Sixteen student athletes from Seattle Pacific University were featured in the 2023-24 National Collegiate Athletics Association’s Division II listings for Academic All-District teams. The teams are announced following each sport’s respective season. 

The College Sports Communicators’ annual Academic All-District Team listing commemorates student athletes who performed exceptionally in their sport and the classroom. To be considered for the Academic All-District team, student-athletes must have a minimum 3.50 GPA, be a sophomore or higher and have played at least 90 percent of their team’s games or started at least 66 percent.

Listings for men’s and women’s soccer were released on Nov. 21, 2023. Athletes from SPU were Donovahn Allen, Jack Goode, Connor Tollan, Cameron Yriondo, Moira McKay, Mercedes Cullen, Lauren Forster, Kathryn Nyone and Lauren Snedeker. Men’s and women’s basketball listings were released on March 26, 2023, including Trace Evans, Hunter Beirne and Olivia Mayer. On Dec. 12, 2023, Sarah Brachvogel, Hannah Hair, Allison Wilks and Emily Tulino were included in the women’s volleyball listings.

Achieving a spot on the CSC’s Academic All-District lists is an impressive accolade, showcasing each Falcons’ commitment and effort to both their team and their university.

Accomplishing such a standing was difficult, however, as shared by junior accounting major Trace Evans, a center for the men’s basketball team, who said that maintaining a balance between the court and the classroom was a struggle.

“It’s pretty much like having a full-time job, especially in the winter quarter, when we’re always on the road. Allocating time for each [school and sports] during the week gets hard, so I just try and do my best at both and triumph an equal amount,” Evans said. “Stuff that gets preached during our practice sessions is you gotta give 100 percent of what you got 100 percent of the time. I just trying to apply that logic to the classroom. Sit in the front row and get stuff done.”

The challenge of time management is posed to all student athletes. Hannah Hair, a senior exercise science major and middle blocker for SPU’s women’s volleyball team, finds it difficult to equally commit to her studies and athletics. In this respect, the support and understanding of her coaches and professors is what helps Hair the most.

“It’s hardest in the fall when we’re traveling and competing and trying to make it to the tournament again. I am grateful for coaches that allow us time to study and step away from volleyball for few hours when we’re away for five days in Alaska,” Hair said. “We have so much support within athletics here at SPU that makes it significantly easier for us to give what feels like our all to our athletics and still feel supported in our academics.”

True to their titles, these student athletes can find that balance. The term “student athlete” is appropriately used to describe SPU athletes as they strive to be both simultaneously but primarily a student first and athlete second.

“You have to be both at the same time, and you have to give equal effort to both. It is going to be hard and some people go the other way and don’t focus on the school side at all, [which] always ends up bad,” Evans said.

Jack Goode, a midfielder for SPU men’s soccer and junior economics major, admits he does shift priorities depending on the quarter, but he also realizes how his two roles are not binary.

“I try to do both equally, but sometimes, you have to manage it a little bit differently. There are times when you’re traveling and your athletics are your first priority, but most importantly, I’m here to get a degree,” Goode said. “My grades are always the best in the fall because I’m so focused. It’s always been when I’m doing well in one, I’m doing well in the other.”

Hair further details how she sees no separation between her responsibilities on the volleyball court or the classroom.

“A big thing about me is I represent my team, my coaches and our school wherever I am. If I give less than my all, then it’s disrespectful to our coaches,” Hair said. “I need to do the same things on the court that I do in the classroom. Knowing that the name of SPU volleyball is associated with all of us as players [we should try] to make a good name for ourselves.”

Making the All-District list is a reminder of how valuable and beneficial the mindset and culture set forth by coaches and teammates are. Whether their struggles stand inside or outside of the game, their experiences with sports have taught them what they need to succeed.

“Without that kind of leadership, our team wouldn’t have the success that we do,” Hair said. “If you look through all of our players from top to bottom, we set a standard within ourselves that you succeed in the classroom and then come to practice afterward.”