Two Marshalltown Community College student-athletes have been recognized by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for academic success throughout the 2014-15 year. Mady Van Metre (Marshalltown, IA/Ames) of the women's volleyball team earned the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence and Juan Carrillo (Cordoba, Spain/CES Lope de Vega) of the men's soccer team earned the Superior Academic Achievement Award.
The Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence is presented to the student-athlete that earned a 4.0 grade point average. The Superior Academic Achievement Award is presented to the student-athlete that earned a grade point average between 3.80-3.99.
Van Metre, a Liberal Arts major, becomes the first-ever MCC student-athlete to earn the Pinnacle Award twice. Van Metre earned a perfect 4.0 GPA for the 2012-13 academic year when she was a member of the Tiger volleyball and women's basketball programs. After returning to MCC in the fall of 2014 to play volleyball for the Tigers, Van Metre posted another 4.0 GPA to earn her second academic award from the NJCAA.
Van Metre concluded her MCC career with a number of accolades, including three trips to the Academic All-Region XI First-Team, a place on the First-Team All-Region XI women's basketball team, and a Second-Team All-Conference nod for volleyball. Van Metre ended her career with 895 kills while playing in 78 total matches. She is part of a rare club that features collegiate women's student-athletes who have scored at least 25 points in a basketball game and posted 25 kills in a volleyball game.
With the Superior Academic Achievement Award, Carrillo added his name to one more honor before his time at MCC concluded. One of the most decorated soccer players in program history, Carrillo was recognized for his academic success as a Biochemistry major. The sophomore was named to the Academic All-Region XI First-Team three times during his career at MCC.
Carrillo was twice named an NJCAA All-American on the soccer field. He finished his MCC tenure as the top career and single-season assist leader in the record book. Carrillo also ranks third all-time with 85 career points and his 28 career goals rank fourth.
Carrillo will move on to Queens University, an NCAA Division II school and member of the South Atlantic Conference located in Charlotte, NC for the upcoming season.
The NJCAA recognized a record 1,936 student-athletes from 324 member colleges to earn national academic honors for the 2014-15 year.
