Balancing good grades and a heavy athletic commitment is tough for a lot of athletes. But Wolfpack Soccer player Cari Sutcliffe and Badminton players Whitney Makenny and Brennan Arduini are handling better than most. In fact, the three are shining examples of being a star in the classroom and on the field/court. The three athletes have been honoured by being given the BC College Athletic Association’s Academic Excellence Award.
“Im surprised to learn that I had won the award,” said Sutcliffe, a rookie sweeper with the WolfPack this past year. “ It feels pretty good to know you’ve been recognized for all the hard work.”
“What an honor for Cari!,”. Stated TRU Coach Eric Schweizer. “She stepped into the sweeper position like she was a veteran, anchored the defensive unit to the best goals against record in the league and kept a 4.0 G.P.A. while doing it—pretty impressive.” Whats most impressive is that Sutcliffe was taking a full course load in the academically challenging Engineering Design and Drafting Technology. It’s a three year diploma course.
“Cari plays an extremely demanding position. It requires intelligent play, skill, toughness, stamina and vision. She has all of these,” Schweizer added of Sutcliffe, who was a first team BCCAA Allstar.
“It was really hard at the beginning of the year to balance school work and the athletics,” says MaKenny, a 2nd year player from Port Alberni , BC. “There were many weekends after playing out of town that I came back to a midterm at 830 Monday morning. That was tough.” Makenny had an average of 3.50 in the Bachelor of Science program concentrating on Cellular, Molecular and Microbiology. “I knew I wouldn’t get much homework done during tournaments, so I always worked on the bus ride down and back. If I cracked the books between matches, that was a bonus.” She adds that knowing that she had only a certain amount of time to complete something before she had to leave for practice made time management a key. Makenny credits good communication with her professors as a key to being successful.
Arduini is a 2nd year Batchelor of Science student. “It requires a fair amount of organization to be able to complete assignments and find time to study in between practicing and playing in tournaments,” says the South Kam grad who is majoring in Chemical Biology. “I made a sacrifice by not going out and partying so much so I would be able to keep up in school’. Arduini had a grade point average of 3.75. “
“Its great to see these athletes do more than just play their sport,” says a proud WolfPack Badminton boss Brad Pape. “Their main reason for being at TRU is for an education and it (the BCCAA Scholar Athlete of the Year award) shows that its possible to be an athlete and a scholar too.
Their success on the playing field and in class has made them key people for filling the ‘role model’ position. Something that isn’t lost on them. “I don’t feel like a role model but I do feel I try to set a good example for others, “ says Sutcliffe. “I work hard on my studies and I love to play soccer. There were a number of older players on the team this year who were great mentors for the newer girls. I hope I can do the same next season.”
“I think every athlete desires to excel in both their sports and academics,” states Makenny. “Its almost like a tug of war: the more effort and time you put into your sport the less time you have to dedicate to academics and visa versa. I think every athlete is trying to find the happy medium between both.”
Their achievements haven’t gone unnoticed by the BC Colleges Athletic Association and TRU Athletic Director Ken Olynyk. “This is what makes University sports so special.” He explains “These are quality student athletes. Not only striving to be a champion on the court or field but also in the classroom. They truly will be our leaders of the future. They and their parents should be proud of their accomplishments.”
Makenny, Arduini and Sutcliffe will be honoured at the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Athletic Awards Banquet April 9 th.