Drake named national scholar-athlete of the year

Western Washington University national champion javelin thrower Bethany Drake has been named the 2014 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division II Outdoor Field Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Drake, a sophomore studio art major from Sandy, Ore., with a 3.83 (4.0 scale) cumulative grade point average, is the first Viking to receive USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in either indoor or outdoor track.

Drake won the women's javelin at last spring's NCAA II Outdoor National Championships, earning USTFCCCA All-America honors. During the season, she had a school-record mark of 169-6, the fourth longest in NCAA II history, and received USTFCCCA West Region Field Athlete of the Year and USTFCCCA National DII Athlete of the Week recognition.

Drake is the fourth Great Northwest Athletic Conference athlete to win USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors since 2007.

Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards were determined from a class of 422 who earned All-Academic status and placed highest in individual events at the NCAA Championships. Those who earn multiple individual championship titles rank higher in the tie-breaking process, and cumulative GPA is weighed as the final tiebreaker to establish a winner. Separate awards are given to track athletes and field athletes for the indoor and outdoor seasons, resulting in four categories.