BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Thirty-one Eastern Kentucky University student-athletes earned the Ohio Valley Conference Academic Medal of Honor for the 2018-19 academic year, the league office announced on Monday.
 
Five EKU student-athletes earned the Medal of Honor in two sports, bringing the total number of selections to 36.  All 31 Colonels posted a 4.0 grade-point-average (GPA) for the 2018-19 academic year.
 
The OVC Academic Medal of Honor is given annually to the student-athletes who achieve the highest grade-point-average in a conference-sponsored sport.
 
Eastern's 31 honorees were:  Jacob Abbott (baseball), Nick Howie (baseball), Paige Murphy (women's basketball), Samuel Hayworth (football), Graham Ashkettle (football), Thomas Bowling (football), Sam Eastes (soccer), Lauren Barcelona (soccer), Larissa Heslop (soccer), Kacey Eckley (soccer), Katie Shaffer (soccer), Taran McMillan (soccer), Kylie Thompson (soccer), Molly Mohr (soccer), Cole Barkocy (men's track & field and cross country), Antoine Senard (men's cross country), Greyson Winiger (men's cross country), Alonzo Booth (men's track & field), John Ferraro (men's track & field), Remi Schyns (men's track & field),  Ashley Barr (women's track & field), Caroline Reid (women's track & field), Katie Richard (women's track & field), Beighley Ayers (women's track & field and Cross County), Alondra Hoyos (women's track & field and cross country), Saskia Pingpank (women's track & field and cross country), Lou Trois (women's track and field and cross country), Kyle Jury (men's golf), Mollie Paulick (softball), Chloe Rojas (volleyball) and Rachel Woody (volleyball).
 
EKU's student-athletes had an outstanding year in the classroom.  During the fall semester, the Colonels combined for a 3.102 grade-point-average, the fourth-highest fall GPA on record.  Sixty percent of Eastern's student-athletes had a 3.0 or better GPA and 44 had a perfect 4.0 GPA.
 
It was a record-breaking spring semester in the classroom with three teams posting their highest grade-point-average (GPA) of all time and one team tying its all-time highest GPA.  All EKU student-athletes combined for a 3.131 grade-point-average, the 15th straight semester that student-athletes have registered a 3.0 or higher combined GPA.