MITCHELL, S.D. – The 2015-16 athletic season at Dakota Wesleyan University recently came to a close and the postseason awards are coming in fast, as 12 Tigers picked up academic recognition during the spring season.
DWU athletes from five sports were named NAIA Scholar Athletes for the 2015-16 season, with the final lists announced Wednesday by the NAIA. To be nominated for the award, an athlete must have been at DWU for at least one year, with a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA and a junior class standing.
Baseball led the way for the Tigers with five recipients, including seniors Austin Calhoon (Winner, S.D.) and Jake Capko (Corvallis, Mont.), along with junior Sean Riley (Driggs, Idaho), Patrick Whetham (Garretson, S.D.) and Braiden Jorgensen (Tetonia, Idaho). Jorgensen and Riley each ended the season with a senior academic standing, while Capko was named a Scholar Athlete for the second time.
The DWU men's and women's golf teams each had two representatives on the list. Senior Lauren Fitts (Brookings, S.D.) earned her second NAIA Scholar Athlete honor, while teammate April Barnett (Lakeview, Texas) was honored for the first time. The men's golf team was represented by senior Anthony Husher (Winner, S.D.), for a second time, and junior Cal Wiese (Fedora, S.D.).
The DWU softball team saw seniors Hailey Unger (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) and Katy Lazenby (Mitchell, S.D.) named to the list. Both were recently named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
Junior Gabby Frykbo (Sodertalje, Sweden) was named an NAIA Scholar Athlete for the second time this year, picking up the award for the Tiger track and field team after receiving the same honor for women's basketball in March.