King, Newkirk Named Scholar-Athletes of the Year; NEC Announces Academic Honors
Central Connecticut juniors Jeannette King and Zach Newkirk were named Northeast Conference Winter Scholar-Athlete award winners it was announced Wednesday by the league office. King, of the women's swimming and diving team, and Newkirk, of the men's basketball team, were named the Scholar-Athlete of their respective sports, while the league also named members of the Winter Academic Honor Roll and Commissioner's Honor Roll.
COMPLETE RELEASE
ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
COMMISSIONER'S HONOR ROLL
King is a Nursing major and has posted a 3.80 GPA and was named the Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet at the 2021 Northeast Conference Championships. She won three individual events (50 free, 100 free, 100 back), while also helping CCSU win gold in a pair of relays (400 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay). King, a Dean's List student, has been recognized on both the NEC Commissioner's and Academic Honor Roll, along with earning CCSU Athletic Director's All-Academic Award Team and the CCSU Student-Athlete Academic Award. She was a member of the Blue Devils squad which earned the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team recognition in the fall of 2020.
Newkirk has compiled a 3.87 GPA as an Economics major. A member of both the Northeast Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll and Northeast Conference Academic Honor Roll, Newkirk has been a Dean's List student and a member of the CCSU Athletic Director's All-Academic Team and CCSU Student-Athlete Academic Award. He started 15 of 21 games last season and averaged 22.0 minutes, while posting 6.7 points per game, 1.9 assists and a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. He shot 44.4 percent from the field and 89.7 percent at the foul line, while scoring double-figures in the last four games of the season, including a career-high 20 points at LIU on Feb. 21.
All scholar-athlete award winners must have earned a minimum of 60 semester hours at their institution, maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20 and participated with distinction as a member of a varsity team.
Along with the scholar-athletes, the NEC announced its Winter Academic Honor Roll, consisting of a record 895 student-athletes. This year's total represents an 8.5% increase from prior year. Furthermore, a record 299 student-athletes secured Commissioner's Honor Roll status, representing a 12.8% increase from prior year.
