Baseball and softball teams nominated; 17 individual athletes nominated
Dakota County Technical College has submitted nominations for 2019–2020 NJCAA All-Academic Awards for teams and individual players. The DCTC Blue Knights Baseball team (Average GPA 3.20) and Blue Knights Softball team (Average GPA 3.14) have been nominated for NJCAA Academic Team of the Year Awards.
Seventeen Blue Knights softball, volleyball, soccer and baseball players have been nominated for NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards.
Individual Nominations
(2019–2020 Academic year ONLY, excluding remedial)
Minimum 3.6 grade-point average on a 4.00 scale
- NJCAA All-Academic First Team: 4.00 GPA on a 4.00 scale
- NJCAA All-Academic Second Team: 3.80 to 3.99 GPA on a 4.00 scale
- NJCAA All-Academic Third Team: 3.60 to 3.79 GPA on a 4.00 scale
Teams Nominated
Blue Knights Softball
Average GPA 3.14
Blue Knights Baseball
Average GPA 3.20
Individual Players Nominated
Blue Knights Softball
Elizabeth Lehrer • GPA 4.0
#10 • Position: C/UTL • Little Chute, Wisconsin
Bella Ciccarelli • GPA 4.0
#9 • Position: OF/UTL • Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
Note: Bella also plays Blue Knights soccer
Haily Dabrowski • GPA 3.86
#2 • Position: 2B • Moundsview, Minnesota
Note: Haily also played Blue Knights volleyball
Mackenna Johnson • GPA 3.73
#1 • Position: 1B/OF • Grantsburg, Wisconsin
Note: Mackenna also played Blue Knights volleyball
Payton Trombley • GPA 3.72
#12 • Position: OF/1B • Watertown, Minnesota
Blue Knights Volleyball
Anika Weber • GPA 3.81
#6 • Position: S/OPP • Lakeville, Minnesota
Sammie Kling • GPA 3.66
#7 • Position: DS • Plymouth, Minnesota
Blue Knights Women’s Soccer
Brenda Vargas-Herrera • GPA 3.78
#13 • Position: M • Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
History of the NJCAA¹
The movement to form a unique sports association dedicated to America’s two-year colleges arose in 1937 when several track and field coaches gathered in Fresno, California. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rejected a petition from 13 two-year colleges in California to grant their teams and athletes permission to compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
In the spring of 1938, following the NCAA’s rejection, those same 13 two-year colleges gathered again in Fresno to organize and form an association that would promote and supervise a national athletics program exclusively for junior and community colleges…and the rest is history.
On May 14, 1938, the first constitution of the National Junior College Athletic Association was accepted by its charter members and the organization held its first national championship event a year later in May 1939.
The NJCAA has played a vital role in collegiate athletics for the past eight decades and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. This section of the association’s website is dedicated to celebrating the NJCAA’s rich history and tradition as the national governing body of two-year college athletics.
LEARN MORE…
Blue Knights Baseball
Tommy Blackstone • GPA 4.0
#20 • Position: UT • Monticello, Minnesota
Caleb Ditmarson • GPA 3.87
#17 • Position: P/UT • Wilmar, Minnesota
Riley Pederson • GPA 3.89
#27 • Position: UT • Park Center, Minnesota
Brady Klehr • GPA 3.68
#18 • Position: OF/P • Richmond, Minnesota
Ben Goelz • GPA 3.90
#13 • Position: OF/P • Maple Lake, Minnesota
Mitch Goodwin • GPA 3.86
#15 • Position: IF • Prior Lake, Minnesota
Ben Simonsen • GPA 3.72
#44 • Position: P/1B • Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sam Adelman • GPA 3.87
#34 • Position: OF/P • Graceville, Minnesota
Teddy Tauer • GPA 3.64
#24 • Position: P • Red Wing, Minnesota
Learn more about NJCAA athletics at DCTC by visiting GoBlueKnights.com or contacting:
Marki Struensee
Athletic Coordinator & Academic and Financial Aid Advisor
651-423-8641
