Belko, Melone Earn Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year Recognition
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- Cal U graduate student Alicia Belko and West Chester senior Jared Melone have been named the 2018-19 Pete Nevins Scholar-Athletes of the Year, the league announced Wednesday afternoon.
The two honorees were selected by a vote of the league's sports information directors.
Belko is the second Cal U female to garner the award and first since Kerry Novak (1996-97). Melone is the second West Chester male to claim the honor and first since Joe Wendle (2011-12).
The Pete Nevins Scholar-Athletes of the Year are presented to the top student-athletes who have achieved at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average while competing at an outstanding athletic level. To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, a student-athlete must have been recognized as a fall, winter or spring PSAC Top 10 award winner in the same academic year.
Alicia Belko (Hainesport, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional), Cal U
Women’s Cross Country – Graduate Student
Major: Exercise Science (Pre-Physical Therapy)
Cumulative GPA: 4.00 (UG: 3.87)
NCAA All-American ... CoSIDA Second-Team Academic All-American ... USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year ... PSAC Athlete of the Year ... PSAC Fall Top 10 ... USTFCCCA All-Academic ... placed 25th overall at NCAA National Championships, top finish among all Atlantic Region entries ... won individual title at both the PSAC Championships and NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships ... posted four individual victories, plus placed second (Oberlin behind D-I runner) and third (Buffalo behind two D-I runners) overall in two additional races ... helped program match best-ever finish at PSAC Championships (1980) ... aided program in securing a team qualifier for NCAA Nationals as team placed second with best-ever score at NCAA Regionals … 3x NCAA All-American (2017 3K Steeple, 2017 XC at Stockton) ... 2x CoSIDA Academic All-American (2017 Third Team at Stockton) ... Three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic in XC (twice at Stockton) ... Completed her master’s degree from Cal U in December 2018 ... Three-sport student-athlete at Stockton, as she played three seasons of field hockey ... Captured six track & field titles at NJAC Championships and set five school records ... Served as GA for Cal U track & field team in 2018, volunteer assistant in 2019.
Jared Melone (North Wales, Pa./North Penn), West Chester
Baseball – Senior
Major: Accounting/Finance
Cumulative GPA: 3.867
Led PSAC with 20 doubles, 784 slugging percentage and a .520 on-base percentage … Finished second in the league with 71 hits and 127 total bases … Ranked fourth in NCAA DII with a .438 batting average … Consensus First Team All-American … 2X First Team Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-America (First multiple-timer winner in program history) … 2X First Team American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-American (first multiple-time winner in program history) … 2019 D2CCA First Team All-American … 2X PSAC East Athlete of the Year … 2X Division II Collegiate Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Atlantic Region Player of the Year … 2X National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region Player of the Year … 2X ABCA/Rawlings Atlantic Region Player of the Year … 2X Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Baseball Performer of the Year … Led NCAA DII with a .469 batting average in 2018 … .420 career batting average, 28 home runs, .681 slugging percentage, and .477 career on-base percentage are all the second highest marks by a West Chester player in program history … Third in program history with 167 career RBI and his 233 hits, 149 runs scored, and 378 total bases are all amongst the best totals in WCU history … Started in all 150 games during his three-year career at West Chester.
The PSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards are now in their 29th year of existence. In 2007, the awards were renamed to honor East Stroudsburg's long-time sports information director, Pete Nevins, who passed away earlier that year. Nevins held his position at East Stroudsburg for 33 years, and it is estimated that he wrote articles on more than 12,000 East Stroudsburg events that covered more than 5,000 student-athletes.