CORVALLIS, Ore. – Southern Oregon University’s Lauren Quirke and Lewis-Clark State College’s Clayton VanDyke were named the U.S. Bank Scholar-Athletes of the Year, announced Tuesday by the Cascade Collegiate Conference office.
The CCC’s top academic honor comes after the conference’s athletic directors voted on a ballot of nominees.
Quirke, an infielder/pitcher from San Mateo, Calif., is the most well-rounded player in the conference, proving to be a threat from the batter’s box and the pitcher’s circle. She was named the CCC Player of the Year and looks to lead the Raiders at the NAIA Softball Championship Final Site this week. Heading into this weekend, Quirke boasts a .486 batting average and .781 slugging percentage, with 89 hits, 58 runs, and 62 RBIs.
The grad student has a 4.0 GPA in her Management of Human Resources graduate program after earning her bachelor’s degree in communications in 2020. Quirke was named the 2019 NAIA World Series MVP and an All-American after helping SOU win the national title. She also earned CoSIDA Academic All-American and Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Other Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees: LC State’s Jansen Edmiston, Menlo College’s Taryn Ichimura, Warner Pacific University’s Payton Hergert, Oregon Tech’s Abby Kreiser, Corban University’s Kaylee Buhrkuhl, and Bushnell University’s Aspen Slifka.
VanDyke, a dual athlete in cross country and track from Vernal, Utah, helped Lewis-Clark State make a splash in its first season as a full member of the CCC. He took third at the 2020 CCC Cross Country Championships, presented by U.S. Bank, helping the Warriors win the team title. In the same month, VanDyke was the National Runner-Up in the 1,000-meter at indoor nationals and named the USTFCCCA West Region Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
The senior graphic communications major maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA to partner with his athletic successes. VanDyke also interns in the athletic department and is a three-time NAIA All-American. He is looking to add to his resume at the outdoor national championship this week as he’s qualified for the 800m and the 1500m races – both of which he won at the CCC Track and Field Championships, presented by U.S. Bank.
Other Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees: University of Providence’s Manuel Garcia, Bushnell’s Christoph Mai, Corban’s Nate Cantonwine, Montana State-Northern’s Isaac Bartel, WPU’s Austin Wallace-Lister, and SOU’s Tez Allen.