Eight Erie Community College student-athletes were named recipients of NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards. The student-athletes needed to have completed three full-time semesters and a minimum of 45 semester credit hours and must have participated in at least one season.
ECC had two student-athletes, Eric Alajko and Nicole Schichtel, earn awards for superior academic achievement (3.80-3.99 grade-point average) and six, Chris Case, Brien Connolly, Courtney Connors, Korin Frantz, Ryan Kaufman and Danielle Lane, recognized for exemplary academic achievement (3.60-3.79 GPA).
The ECC women’s bowling team, which won its 28th NJCAA national championship this past season, was also recognized for recording a 3.02 cumulative grade-point average.
Here is a breakdown of each student-athlete:
* Eric Alajko (Depew, N.Y./Depew), a sophomore on the men’s bowling team, recorded a 3.88 GPA (Superior Academic Achievement). He recorded a high game of 266 and a 185.6 average while competing in 41 games.
* Chris Case (Dundee, N.Y./Dundee), a sophomore on the men’s bowling team, has a 3.73 GPA (Exemplary Academic Achievement). He had a 169.2 average in 19 games.
* Brien Connolly (Hamburg, N.Y./Eden), a sophomore on the men’s soccer team, recorded a 3.78 GPA (Exemplary Academic Achievement) and appeared in 17 games and picked up an assist in a win over Jamestown CC.
* Courtney Connors (Orchard Park, N.Y./home school), a sophomore, played in nine contests for the Kats’ women’s soccer team and recorded a 3.60 GPA.
* Korin Frantz (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island), a member of the Kats’ volleyball and softball teams, carried a 3.79 GPA. A sophomore, Frantz was named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-District 1 volleyball team. She finished fourth in kills and led the 2013 softball team in doubles. She was also named the 2012 ECC softball team’s most valuable player after hitting .363 and adding a team-high seven doubles and two home runs. Frantz also received ECC’s Helen R. Cornell Award for the 2012-13 academic year.
* Ryan Kaufman (Amherst, N.Y.) is a repeat selection. A sophomore on the ECC hockey team, he has a 3.67 GPA. He was a third-team selection to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America® College Division men’s at-large team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and was also recently selected as a recipient of the 2013 The State University of New York Chancellor’s Scholar Athlete Award. Kaufman also was named to the 2013 All-Region III hockey team as a second-team selection after appearing in 16 games and recording 4 goals and 11 assists. Kaufman scored 13 points (1 goal/12 assists) in the 2011-12 season.
* Danielle Lane (East Aurora, N.Y./West Seneca East) recorded 15 points (7 goals/8 assists) as a member of the ECC lacrosse team. A freshman, she has a 3.67 GPA.
* Nicole Schichtel (Eden, N.Y./Eden) has a 3.85 GPA (Superior Academic Achievement). A freshman, Schichtel appeared in 14 games for the ECC women’s soccer team, recording an assist against Broome CC.
