FARMINGTON, Utah (July 15, 2021) – Anthony Sweeney and
Jessa Hanson are NAU's 2020-21 Big Sky Scholar-Athletes of the Year as announced by the conference office on Thursday.
Sweeney and Hanson were honored as the department's Golden Eagle Top Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year back in April.
Sweeney was one of 10 all-conference performers among the league's Scholar-Athletes after earning All-Big Sky Second Team honors during the spring season. Sweeney started all five games splitting between the nickelback and safety positions and totaled 24 tackles – fifth on the team – to go with a fourth quarter interception to help NAU seal up a road win at Southern Utah.
He is a four-time Golden Eagle award recipient and earned his third Big Sky All-Academic honor earlier this week. The American Canyon, Calif. native is currently pursuing his master's degree in applied sociology and holds a 4.00 graduate school grade point average.
Hanson concluded an exceptional 2020-21 season with a Second Team All-American finish in the women's 10000-meter at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships last month. Her PR time of 32:55.24 notched her an 11th-place finish in her national track & field meet debut.
The cross country and track & field star out of Spicer, Minn. also had a huge impact on NAU women's cross country's 11th place team finish at the Spring NCAA Championships in March. Hanson placed 79th with a time of 21:22.6 and was the Lumberjacks' third runner across the finish line. Earning Big Sky All-Academic distinction in both cross country and track & field this season, she is a double major in biology and Spanish and a double minor in chemistry and Latin American studies.
As a department, NAU Athletics had 262 Big Sky All-Academic honorees and 25 swimmers and divers recognized by the WAC as All-Academic performers during the 2020-21 year.
