10 ICC student-athletes earn NJCAA Academic honors
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS -- Itawamba Community College Athletic Director Carrie Ball-Williamson announced 10 student-athletes earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Academic Student-Athlete Awards for their performances in the classroom this past season.

"This is a great honor for all the hard work and dedication these student-athletes put into their academic careers here at ICC," said Ball-Williamson. "A lot of people don't realize how much work and how many hours go into being a success in the classroom and in the sports they play."

Women soccer player Ragan Ostrowski (Amory) and men's tennis player Matthew Peugh (Shannon) brought home the prestigious Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence for finishing their final athletic seasons at ICC with a perfect 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

The Superior Academic Achievement award goes to student-athletes with a GPA in the 3.80 to 3.99 range. Earning this honor was women's soccer and All-State softball player Anna Holley (Columbus) with a 3.96 GPA, women's state champion tennis player Katherine Downing (Pontotoc) with a 3.81 GPA, women soccer standout Lauren Swee (Chelsea, AL) with a 3.85 GPA along with men's soccer players Moises Solis (New Albany) with a 3.81 GPA and Taylor Smith (Corinth) with a 3.80 GPA.

Earning Exemplary Academic Achievement honors for having a GPA ranging from 3.60 to 3.79 is women soccer standout Ashley Malone (Michie, TN) with a 3.74 GPA, men's soccer player Jackson Cornelius (Corinth) with a 3.72 GPA and all-time saves leader in softball Dani Taylor (New Albany) with a 3.61 GPA.

"Academics are our top priority at ICC," Ball-Williamson said. "We want all of our teams to be successful and have great seasons, but more importantly we want our student-athletes to be successful in life and everything they do after ICC and a great education plays a big part in making that happen."

The NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards were previously known as NJCAA Academic All-American honors. Only student-athletes that have completed three semesters are eligible for the awards.

For more information on Itawamba Community College's 10 intercollegiate athletic programs, follow ICC Athletic on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).