CCU's Proano and CSUP's Williams Named 2017-18 RMAC Scholar-Athletes of the Year
RMAC Media Relations
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Christian University’s (CCU) Sophia Proano and Colorado State University-Pueblo’s (CSUP) Derrick Williams are named this year’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Female and Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, announced on Tuesday.
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 (GPA), must use a season of competition, be of good character and must have participated at the active member institution for two (2) or more seasons in at least one sport. True freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible for this award.
All nominees who meet those requirements, but were not selected for the award, automatically qualify for honorable mention.
Proano graduated from Colorado Christian with a 4.000 cumulative GPA with a major in Biology and a double minor in Chemistry and Psychology. The Thornton, Colorado native transferred from Regis University (RU) as a sophomore and spent three years competing for the Cougars. As a redshirt senior this past campaign, she was named Preseason Player of the Year and guided the Cougars to a 14-4 RMAC record. Later, she was named the 2017 RMAC Volleyball Academic Player of the Year and RMAC Summit Award Winner. Proano ranked sixth in the conference with 3.51 kills per set. She finished her career ranked eighth in program history with 1,185 career kills and third in career attack percentage with .271. During her time with the Cougars, she was two-time First Team All-RMAC (2016, 2017) and three-time RMAC All-Academic (2015, 2016, 2017) selection and named First Team American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region and All-American Honorable Mention in 2016 and 2017.
Williams maintained at 3.994 GPA while pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biology (Biomedical Sciences). Williams transferred from Carroll (Mont.) to CSU-Pueblo in 2013-14 and became a three sport student-athlete. During his time at CSU-Pueblo he competed in cross country (2015, 2016), indoor track and field (2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18) and outdoor track and field (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018). Williams had an impressive 2017-18 season. He was the RMAC 1500m champion, an All-American in the 3K (indoor), DMR, and 3K steeplechase, and earned several academic awards including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Elite 90 award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships. Williams has already amassed an assortment accolades with just one cross country season remaining (Fall 2018). Some of his greatest achievements of his career include being named a three-time NCAA Division II Elite 90 Award winner, three-time Academic All-American, five-time RMAC Academic Athlete of the Year, a six-time RMAC Champion and received a combined 13 All-American honors. He has qualified for indoor nationals in the 3000-meter run and distance medley relay (DMR) and competed in the 3000-meter steeplechase and 5000-meter run during the NCAA outdoor championships. Williams is set to graduate at the end of the Fall semester.
Proano and Williams will be honored at the 2018 RMAC Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet on Friday, July 13 at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel. To purchase tickets for this event,
click here.
Honorable Mention
Adams State
Jessica Hammer, Women’s Lacrosse
Chad Hovasse, Football
Black Hills State
Fehrin Ward
Jonah Theisen, Cross Country/Track & Field
Chadron State
Ashlyn Hanson, Track & Field
Cory Martins, Track & Field
Colorado Christian
Luke Bote, Baseball
Colorado Mesa
Brooke Hodgson, Softball
Kyle Leahy, Baseball
CSU-Pueblo
Mikala Morris, Volleyball
Colorado School of Mines
Molly Reicher, Cross Country/Track & Field
Colin Peter, Football
Fort Lewis
Kelli Warmouth, Women’s Lacrosse
Sean Cleary, Men’s Soccer
MSU Denver
Georgia Ohrdorf, Women’s Basketball
Josh Graetz, Men’s Tennis
New Mexico Highlands
Tashay Hunter, Track & Field
Lewis Ornelas, Baseball
Regis
Maggie Saras, Women’s Soccer
Dexter Sienko, Men’s Basketball
South Dakota Mines
Libby Friesen, Cross Country/Track & Field
Andrew Montoya, Football
UCCS
Taylor Hamilton, Volleyball
Zach Hall, Baseball
Western
Kathryn Hewson, Swimming & Diving
Jason Slaughter, Wrestling