Concordia's Greg Schultz (left) and Jackie Pronovost (right) have been named the 2008-09 Cascade Collegiate Conference Athletes of the Year.
Concordia Sweeps CCC Athlete of Year Honors
PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of student-athletes from Concordia University – women’s soccer standout Jackie Pronovost and track and field champion Greg Schultz – have been named the 2008-09 Cascade Collegiate Conference Athletes of the Year, the league office announced Thursday.
Pronovost, a defender from Milwaukie, Ore., concluded a stellar four-year career this past fall by helping the Cavaliers to a national runner-up finish at the NAIA Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. In addition to being named the Brine-NAIA Player of the Year as the best female soccer player in the nation, Pronovost became just the fifth player in NAIA history to earn first team All-America honors all four years of her career.
The Cavaliers, whose only loss in a 23-1-1 campaign came in the national final, went 10-0-0 in CCC regular season play and 3-0 in the CCC tournament to win their ninth consecutive conference championship. Pronovost was named first team all-conference and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
"Jackie's accomplishments this past year and in her career at Concordia are a pure reflection of the type of player she is and the role she played in our program's success,” said CU coach Grant Landy. “Her competitiveness, determination and hard work have all paid off, and this honor caps one of the more decorated careers in the NAIA for the past decade."
Schultz, a senior from Centralia, Wash., was named the CCC’s Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year last month after winning his second consecutive NAIA title in the hammer throw. Schultz registered a personal best of 210-9 – a state of Oregon small-college record -- at the national championships held outside of St. Louis. His winning mark was the best in the NAIA during the 2009 season and a top 50 performance on the U.S. season list, according to Track & Field News. Schultz’ title helped propel the Cavs to a tie for third at the national championships, the highest ever finish for the men’s track and field program.
At the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships in mid-May, Schultz won his fourth straight league title in the hammer throw to help the Cavaliers to a fourth consecutive team crown. He also finished second in the 35-pound weight throw at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March. His two All-America honors in 2009 were the fifth and sixth of his collegiate career.
“This is a nice way for Greg to cap his collegiate career,” said Randy Dalzell, Concordia’s track and field coach. “It was great he ended his collegiate career with a second consecutive national title in the hammer, and great that he ended with a personal best in his final collegiate competition. He’s an example of a student-athlete who developed over the course of his career, from advancing to the national meet, to scoring in the national meet, to eventually winning a pair of national titles. In many ways, his growth has paralleled the growth of our program.”