COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A total of 11 Northwest athletes have earned NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards for the 2014-15 season, the national office announced on Wednesday.

Kendall Alford, Micalah Beall, Jacquelyn Brooks, Rae Drewery, Kristina Mays, Drennan Nemnich and Grant Black received Exemplary Academic Achievement honors for GPAs of 3.6 or higher. Three Ranger athletes (Madison Jarrell, Hunter Lacefield and Holly Newman) also received Superior Academic Achievement honors for GPAs of 3.8 or above, while Janie Turner earned the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence with a 4.0 GPA.

Those receiving awards can print certificates [HERE]. 

Of the 11 Rangers to receive awards, five came from coach Mike Rowan's softball program, which won the MACJC North Division championship this season with a 27-10 overall record. 

This year saw a record 1,936 student-athletes from 324 NJCAA member colleges earn national academic honors. All told, the MACJC boasted 152 award winners.

During the 2014-15 academic year, the NJCAA saw 58,531 student-athletes compete on 3,461 teams in 28 different sports. A record 3.31 percent of individuals competing in the association qualified for an academic award which is only available to student-athletes that have accumulated at least 45 semester credit hours or 60 quarter credit hours with a minimum of a 3.60 grade-point average.

The Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence was presented to a record 185 student-athletes that earned a 4.0 grade-point average. There were 741 qualifiers for the Superior Academic Achievement Award, while 1,110 individuals claimed the Exemplary Academic Achievement Award.

In addition, Northwest had six teams garner NJCAA All-Academic Team recognition: Softball (3.52), Women's Tennis (3.51), Women's Basketball (3.39), Men's Tennis (3.24), Women's Soccer (3.02) and Baseball (3.00).