Click here to view all of the RMAC Scholar-Athletes for 2011-12
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fort Lewis College men's soccer player
Berekk Blackwell and softball player
Stephanie Janes were named
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Scholar-Athletes, RMAC Assistant Commissioner Eric Danner announced yesterday.
“It takes a tremendous amount of time to be an athlete and a scholar, and these two are classic examples of the dedication it takes to succeed at both,” said FLC Director of Athletics
Gary Hunter. “We are so proud of their academic and athletic success and know that they will be great leaders in the future.”
Blackwell, a 6-foot-2 senior defender from Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, Ariz., graduated summa cum laude from Fort Lewis on April 28 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration-Finance. He maintained a 3.80 grade point average during his four years in Durango. He was a rare athletic and academic All-American in 2011, being named to the NSCAA All-America first team, the Daktronics All-America second team, and the Capital One Academic All-America second team. He was also named to the NSCAA and Daktronics All-Central Region first teams, Capital One Academic All-District 7 first team, the All-RMAC first team, and the RMAC All-Academic first team.
He was previously an RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll honoree as a junior and a two-time D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement Award recipient.
He had a storybook ending to his career, scoring the NCAA championship-winning golden goal 1:31 into overtime in FLC's 3-2 win over Lynn (Fla.) on Dec. 3, 2011. The marker was the only game-winning goal of Blackwell's career.
Blackwell was part of two NCAA Division II championship teams at Fort Lewis (2009, 2011), three RMAC regular season title squads (2008, 2009, 2011), and three RMAC tournament winners (2008, 2009, 2011).
Janes, a 5-foot-4 senior first baseman from Xavier College Prep in Phoenix, graduated summa cum laude from Fort Lewis on April 28 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration-Finance. She maintained a 3.84 grade point average during her four years in Durango. She became the first player in the 29-year history of Skyhawk softball to earn Capital One Academic All-America accolades. She was also the first FLC softball player and fourth Skyhawk student-athlete overall to earn RMAC Academic Player of the Year honors.
Janes was also a three-time RMAC All-Academic performer, a two-time D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Award recipient, and a 2011 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete.
In addition to her academic awards, Janes also earned all-region and all-conference honors for the first times in her career when she was named to the Daktronics All-Central Region second team and the All-RMAC first team as a senior.
She helped the Fort Lewis softball squad to its first-ever 30-win season in 2012, the RMAC postseason championship, and the team's second-ever berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Blackwell and Janes are among eight Fort Lewis student-athletes to be recognized on a Capital One Academic All-America team since the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) first began recognizing Academic All-Americans in 1952.
Blackwell and Janes were also among the recipients of FLC's Troy Bledsoe Scholar-Athlete of the Year award at the Skyhawk Awards Banquet in April.
Administrators from each of the 14 RMAC institutions chose a male and female student-athlete as their honorees. To be eligible for the RMAC Scholar-Athlete award, individuals must compete in one of the conference-sponsored championship sports; carry at least a 3.30 grade point average; be a starter or reserve on their respective team; be of good character; and must have participated at the active member institution for two or more seasons. True freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible for the award.
