Spartan student-athletes shine in classroom

The 2023-24 academic year was banner-worthy for Southwestern Community College athletics, as two programs received national honors.

As a whole, the SWCC athletic department recorded a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.39 during the Spring 2024 semester, an all-time high for the department.

In addition to the department-wide success in the classroom, the men’s golf team and women’s track & field team both earned titles for their strong academics.

The men’s golf team won the 2023-24 Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Academic National Championships. This honor recognizes the team for achieving the highest GPA in NJCAA Division II, with a cumulative team GPA of 3.472.

After receiving the news in July 2024, SWCC Head Golf Coach Doug North was proud to learn of his team’s accomplishment.

"This was not an email I was expecting to get. We have a goal of a team GPA of a 3.60 each year, and those high expectations are paying off,” North said. “I'm proud of the guys, they earned it. The bar has been set for future teams. We won't stop with one championship."

The Spartans' accomplishment places them alongside other top academic teams from institutions such as Harvard, Maryville, Kenyon, Keiser, Western Texas, and Virginia Union, who were recognized as Academic National Champions in their respective divisions.

North and the golf team were recognized during halftime of a SWCC basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, with the current team and former Spartan golfers accepting the award.

"We have been in the top five a few times, academically, but this is a career moment,” North said. “Winning a golf National Championship is a goal every year, and a few years back we added a 3.60 team GPA to that goal list, and that worked out well. These young people are my why, and accomplishments like this are a stepping stone for what they'll accomplish in life. Congrats to these young men on a job well done."

Members of the 2023-24 men’s golf team included Ethan Badolato of Grand Forks, North Dakota.; Kamron Brownlee of Griswold; Chase Copeland of Moville; Isac Fredricksson of Stockholm, Sweden; Sofus Lyck of Copenhagen, Denmark; Charlie McDonald of Winterset; Logan Moyer of Bedford; Trevor Schweers of Corning; Carson Thompson of Gower, Missouri.; and Maddux Weeks of Winterset.

Additionally, the SWCC women’s track & field team was named the 2023-24 NJCAA Academic Team of the Year for indoor track & field, posting the highest cumulative team GPA in the country across all NJCAA divisions.

The Spartan women finished with a 3.53 cumulative team GPA. It marks the second time in a span of just three years the SWCC women’s track & field team has earned the distinction of NJCAA Academic Team of the Year, having previously winning the title for outdoor track & field in the 2021-22 academic year.

“We always emphasize to recruits that as much as we want to see them succeed on the track, we want to see them succeed in the classroom even more,” said Scott Vicker, director of cross country/track & field. “So to win this honor for the second time in three years is an exciting accomplishment for our program. It is a testament to how hard our student-athletes worked in the classroom, and shows that they truly are student-athletes. I’m very proud of them for their determination and hard work.”

Members of the 2023-24 women’s track & field team included Karlie Larsen of Mount Ayr, Malori Leonard of Lamoni, Abbi Richter of Atlantic, and Kasey Springer of Hampton.