Scholars and Athletes
It is the 10th consecutive year the number of scholar-athletes at SDSU has increased.
A San Diego State University athletic department record of 335 student-athletes were recently honored at the 21st annual Scholar-Athlete Banquet, held in Montezuma Hall at the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.
It is the 10th consecutive year the number of scholar-athletes has increased.
Senior women’s tennis standout Kristin Buth (Kaiserslautern, Germany) and football junior long snapper Jeff Overbaugh (Anchorage, Alaska) were named 2015 Student-Athletes of the Year for demonstrating excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and displaying outstanding character.
Student stand-outs
Buth earned her degree in journalism and media studies in only three years, and is currently enrolled in the MBA program maintaining a 3.60 cumulative GPA. The senior has been named to the Dean’s List four times and has been a scholar-athlete every semester she has been enrolled at SDSU.
The Aztecs’ No. 1 singles player, Buth is a three-time Mountain West all-academic selection, a three-time Mountain West scholar-athlete and was an all-MW singles selection in 2014. In addition to her accomplishments on the tennis court and in the classroom, Buth has participated in the athletic department’s Senior Leadership Council, taught English as a volunteer in a Thailand orphanage and is a member of the Scholars Without Borders Honor Society.
Overbaugh, a psychology major with a 3.76 cumulative grade point average, is a six-time scholar-athlete, a five-time Dean’s List recipient and a former Malik Award winner. In addition, the junior long snapper is a three-time Mountain West all-academic selection, and has twice been named a Mountain West scholar-athlete. A three-year starter on the field, Overbaugh aspires to be an industrial or organizational consulting psychologist.
The Malik Award was also presented to student-athletes who achieved the highest GPAs in a semester. The award is named after James Malik, who is an SDSU professor emeritus of chemistry.
This year’s Malik Award recipients include:
- Julia Brockherde (rowing)
- Laura Day (swimming and diving)
- Hailey DePreta (rowing)
- Maureen Dunnagan (women’s golf)
- Ellison Grove (track and field)
- Sarah Haydock (cross country)
- Garrett Kale (football)
- Cali King (cross country)
- Mikaela Macklin (swimming and diving)
- Jonas Meinzer (men’s tennis)
- Campbell Oreglia (rowing)
- Jeff Overbaugh (football)
- Isabelle Pickett (lacrosse)
- Rachel Roesgen (cross country)
- Sierra Stillwater (water polo)
- Katie Thralls (cross country)
- Melissa Wendorf (cross country)
Top teams
The Aztec men’s tennis (3.23 GPA), cross country (3.16) and swimming and diving (3.16) teams had the highest team GPAs in spring 2014, while women’s tennis (3.49) and baseball (3.02) were the team GPA winners for fall 2014. Meanwhile, eligibility coordinator Mary Reading was presented the Dr. James Kitchen Distinguished Service Award.
