FARMINGTON, Utah (July 12, 2023) – After excelling in competition and the classroom during their careers at Northern Arizona University, football's
Coleman Owen and women's basketball's
Regan Schenck have been named NAU's Big Sky Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year, as announced this morning by the league office.
A total of 23 student-athletes were honored across the league's 10 full-time membership and affiliates. To be eligible for this award, the student-athlete must have exhausted his or her intercollegiate athletic eligibility and/or be a member of the graduating class, earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 (on a 4.0) scale, been a participant in a Big Sky-sponsored sport, completed at least two (2) years of intercollegiate competition at the institution, and been a letter winner.
Owen is a native of Gilbert, Ariz., where he graduated from Higley High School. With eligibility remaining, he earned his undergraduate degree in finance with a perfect 4.0 GPA. In November, he was one of 30 students university wide to earn a Gold Axe Award at the Gold Axe and Distinguished Senior Awards Ceremony, the first football player since 2016 to accomplish the feat. He is a three-time member of the Big Sky All-Academic team and a four-time Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete award recipient.
Schenk hails from Woodinville, Wash., where she attended Woodinville High School. She concluded her career as a two-time graduate from Northern Arizona, first earning a business degree in marketing with an emphasis in sales before earning a Master's degree in human relations. She graduated with distinction and boasted a 4.0 GPA. Schenck was a five-time Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete award recipient and earned a spot on the All-Big Sky Academic team four times.
On the field, Owen was named second team All-Big Sky in 2022. He hauled in 690 yards on 62 catches to lead the team, rank 71st nationally, and rank seventh in the Big Sky. Owen scored four receiving touchdowns, including two against Montana State for his fourth-career multi-touchdown game. He ranked 11th in the nation with 6.9 receptions per game which was second in the Big Sky. Owen also ranked 33rd nationally in receiving yards per game with 76.7 which was seventh in the conference. He ended the season with three 100-yard games against North Dakota, Montana State and Weber State, all of which were ranked at the time.
A first team All-Big Sky selection and a member of the Big Sky Tournament team her senior season, Schenck leaves NAU as the program's all-time leader in games played (156), total assists (703) and total minutes (4,776). She is also fifth all-time in career points (1,358). This season, she scored in double figures 25 times, averaging 13.0 points per game, and her free throw percentage of 88.9 percent set a single-season NAU record. Schenk dished 6.6 assists per game, ranking seventh nationally at the end of the year. Her single-season total of 231 also set a single-season program record.
