Haverhill, MA (June 20, 2018) – A school record eight Northern Essex Community College student-athletes have earned Academic All-American honors for the 2017-18 year as announced Monday by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The eight honorees is a new single year high for the Knights athletic program and they join 17 other previous winners of the award at the college.
In order to be eligible for the award the student-athlete must have obtained a grade point average for the year of 3.60 or higher. Based on the overall grade point average for the year student-athletes are named either First, Second or Third Team Academic All-American.
Highlighting the 2017-18 selections is Nolan Steevens (Wilton, NH) from the baseball team who earned First Team recognition. Steevens now becomes only the second two time honoree in school history had a 4.00 GPA for the fall and spring semesters. In April at the College's Inaugural Athletic Awards Banquet he was named the Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. On the field Steevens played in 37 of the teams 42 games and batted .375 while finished seventh on the team in both hits and runs scored with 42 and 34 respectively.
Both Andrew Caulfield (Malden, MA) and Richard Reidy (Amesbury, MA) joined Steevens as honorees from the baseball team with the a second and third team recognition respectively. Caulfield accumulated a 3.85 GPA for the year while seeing action in 18 games and batting .320 in 50 at bats. Reidy, who recorded a 3.79 GPA, appeared in 12 games on the mound for the Knights this season including 10 starts and finished with a record of 6-3. Reidy recorded six consecutive wins for the Knights which was highlighted by a no-hitter on May 18th against Suffolk County CC in game one of the District F Super-Regional Tournament.
Katelyn Richardson (Wilmington, MA) of the cross country and track and field teams earned second team honors with a 3.85 GPA. For Richardson it was an All-American sweep as she also earned the award from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for her sixth place finish in the high jump at the NJCAA National Championships.
Four others were also named Third Team Academic All-Americans, Rachel Amiss and Alison Spampinato both from Salem, NH, Amanda Forgetta (Mallabar, FL) and Jacob Cole (Newburyport, MA). Amiss, Spampinato and Forgetta all appeared in every match for the volleyball team during the season. Amiss led the team in blocks, while Spampinato led the team in service aces and Forgetta led the team in kills. Cole was a member of the both the track and cross country squads and was the teams leader this past spring in the sprinting events.
Northern Essex Community College competes as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and sponsors eight varsity intercollegiate sports including baseball, men's basketball, softball, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and field. For more information on Northern Essex Community College Athletics please visit the official website of Northern Essex Athletics (http://athletics.necc.mass.edu).