Athlete Scholar Award Given to Cross Country Team Member

By Becky St. Clair on December 14, 2018

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Antonio Robles, member of the Men鈥檚 Cross Country team at 海角视频, has been selected for the Athlete Scholar Award by the National Association of Intercollegiate 海角视频 (NAIA). Only around 50 student athletes across the U.S. were selected to receive this award, which recognizes students involved in an athletics program that participates in the NAIA, and who has a GPA over 3.5.

鈥淭here are a lot of athletes doing great in school,鈥 Robles says. 鈥淚 am happy I was considered to be recognized with this award.鈥

The junior biology major wasn鈥檛 expecting to hear anything from the NAIA once the season had ended, so receiving congratulations for an award just before he headed home for Thanksgiving was a nice surprise.

鈥淭his award has given me motivation to keep going and excel academically,鈥 he says. 

It isn鈥檛 easy being a student athlete; being part of the cross country team requires dedication even before the school year starts, and involves waking up at 6 a.m. for practice, then on race day driving over eight hours to run for a little over half an hour.

鈥淲ith this award, I feel like everything has been worth it,鈥 Robles says. 鈥淥f course, my parents were happy and proud to hear about it, and I was pleased to be able to give back to them for their hard work raising me.鈥

The 2018 season was Robles鈥 first on the team. During his freshman year he was part of the college soccer team and had decided not to do sports this year. When he found he missed the competitive aspect of sports, and craved the exercise part, he opted to try cross country.

Robles is the first in his family to attend college in the U.S., so choosing the right school for him was a new experience for all of them. Though he first decided to visit PUC because it was close to home, he soon realized it was a perfect fit in more than just proximity to family.

鈥淐oming here felt like I never left home, and that made choosing PUC so easy鈥 he says. 鈥淚 really appreciate the environment here, the professors, and the diversity of campus. I鈥檝e learned to be open to different ideas and have met wonderful friends. Learning here at PUC has been an all-around blessing and the opportunities we have here for ministry and personal growth are countless. This award is truly just one of many things that have made me love my PUC experience.鈥

For information about PUC鈥檚 athletics program, visit .