CLEVELAND, OH --- The Division 2 Athletics Directors Association announced the 2018-19 recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards recently where 46 South Dakota School of Mines scholar athletes received the honor.

"This is a great honor for our Hardrocker scholar-athletes," said SD Mines Athletics Director Joel Lueken. "Being a NCAA Div. II athlete is at our institution can be a challenge. It's an outstanding accomplishment to be competitive athletically at this level as well as excel in the classroom."

In order to receive the Academic Achievement Award, an athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work, and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year.

Over 11,600 student athletes from 185 institutions were recognized, setting the record for the largest number of student athletes being nominated. G-MAC members Davis & Elkins, Hillsdale, Kentucky Wesleyan, Lake Erie, Tiffin and Findlay combined for 522 honorees. Findlay led the nation with 211 honorees while Tiffin tied for third at 149 recipients.

"I am very excited to see the highest number of student-athletes get recognized for their academic achievements this past year," said D2 ADA President Chris Ratcliff, director of athletics at Rogers State University. "The number of institutions recognizing their student-athletes' academic achievements continues to rise. As a Board, this is perhaps one of our biggest initiatives. We see the value of acknowledging academic achievements. This a way for our member institutions, through D2 ADA, to recognize our student-athletes."

About D2 ADA: The D2 ADA is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities; enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics; and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of Division II athletics directors. For more information about the D2 ADA, please visit www.div2ada.com. The D2 ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 55th year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
 

First Name	Last Name	Sport	Year Completed
Thomas	Creese	Football	So
Korder	Cropsey	Football	Jr
Zach	Hoopman	Football	So
Connor	Janovy	Football	Sr
Joe	Luebers	Football	So
Andrew	Montoya	Football	Sr
Ira	Murphey	Football	So
Connelio	Perez	Football	Jr
Kevin	Ptak	Football/ TF	Jr
Kevin	Thompson	Football / TF	Sr
Nick	Zell	Football	So
Collin	Zur	Football	So
Troy	Brady	MBB	So
Logan	Elers	MBB	Jr
Jack	Fiddler	MBB	Jr
Mitchel	Sueker	MBB	So
Tristan	Von Nieda	MBB	Jr
Ben	Colvin	TF/XC	Jr
Joel	Haas	TF/XC	So
Steven	Bendt	Mgolf	Sr
Jamison	Smith	Mgolf	Jr
Aaron	Campbell	TF	Sr
Darrin	Nissen	TF	Jr
Casey	Skillingstad	TF	Sr
Justin	Barkow	MSOC	Jr
Bradley	Day	MSOC	So
Ian	DeBois	MSOC	Sr
Jack	Seifert	MSOC	Sr
Cameron	Thompson	MSOC	Sr
Owen	Winger	MSOC	Jr
Anna	Breidt	VB	Sr
Tana	Dahlberg	VB/TF	So
Darla	Drenckhahn	VB	Sr
Caryn	Hazard	VB	Jr
MaKinze	Maiden	VB	Jr
Hannah	Stevenson	VB	Jr
Anna	Haugen	WBB	Jr
Michaela	Shaklee	WBB	So
Ryan	Wiess	WBB/TF	So
Kayla	Gagen	TF/XC	Jr
Erica	Westerman	TF/XC	Sr
Larissa	Pawlowski	Wgolf	So
Erica	Keeble	TF	So