JBU trio named scholar athletes

Three John Brown University spring sport athletes have been selected to the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete list for their respective sports, the NAIA national office announced Thursday, June 2.

The three nominations fall just one shy of last year's four total. The Golden Eagles featured one repeat honoree in senior Krizana Saucedo, who earned the award in both seasons she was eligible. To be eligible for nomination, the student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status.

"I am very proud of the three student-athletes in golf and tennis who received this prestigious award," said Robyn Daugherty, director of athletics. "The award is recognition for a lot of hard work in the classroom over the last several years. I am honored to have these student-athletes in our athletic programs at JBU and appreciate all of their efforts, both on and off the playing fields."

Junior men's golfer Trevor Barton grabbed his first-career honor after wrapping up the third-best single-season stroke average (76.3) in program history. Overall, the Rogers native ends his Golden Eagle career as the owner of the lowest career stroke average (76.4) in program history and tops off the best win-loss percentage (884-558) in program history at .613. The business administration major currently holds a 3.51 GPA.

Joining Barton on the prestigious list are two women's tennis players in Taylor Russell and Saucedo. Russell, from Gentry, holds a 3.73 GPA and majors in business administration while minoring in accounting. Russell finished the 2016 season with a 3-4 overall singles record, including a perfect 2-0 mark at the No. 4 flight.

Saucedo, meanwhile, posts a 3.65 GPA and graduated this spring with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry. The two-time award winner finished her senior campaign with a 2-8 overall mark in singles action, with each decision coming in the top two flights. Paired with doubles partner Eva Berry, the duo posted a 6-5 mark at the top doubles spot, marking the only tandem on the squad to finish the doubles season with a winning record.