PORTLAND, Ore. – A total of 26 student-athletes from Montana State University Billings were recognized as Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar Athletes presented by Barnes and Noble College for the 2019-20 academic year, announced by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference on Monday.
 
Recognizing the highest level of academic achievement in the conference, FAR Scholar Athletes are those who maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.80 or higher while competing for an athletic team.
 
Amanda Hemmen of the women's soccer team, Jeanann Lemelin of the women's basketball team, and Sam Muskat of the baseball team led the way for the Yellowjackets, each being selected as a FAR Scholar Athlete for the fourth time in their collegiate careers. Of the record 322 total athletes in the conference to receive the honor, Hemmen, Lemelin, and Muskat were among 30 to earn FAR Scholar Athlete status in each year of their collegiate eligibility.
 
Kalin Sandow and Courteney Shovlin of the women's soccer team each received the honor for the third time in their careers, and MSUB had seven more repeat selections to the list. Sam Elliott of the men's basketball team and Tevin Hall of the baseball team each earned the honor for the second straight season, as did Emily Gaines and Abby Hamilton of the women's soccer team, Brenna Beckett of the women's track and field team, and Shannon Reny of the women's basketball team.
 
Overall the women's soccer team had nine selections, baseball had four, women's basketball had three, track and field, volleyball, and softball each had two, and men's basketball, men's soccer, and women's golf had one each. MSUB's women's soccer team had the fourth-most selections from a single team of any team in the conference, trailing only Central Washington women's track (12 selections), Northwest Nazarene women's track (11 selections), and Concordia women's track (10 selections).
 
2019-20 MSU Billings GNAC FAR Scholar Athletes Presented by Barnes and Noble College

Name	Sport	Academic Major	Year	GPA	Hometown
***Amanda Hemmen	Soccer	Biology	SR	4.00	Renton, WA
***Jeanann Lemelin	Basketball	Public Relations	SR	3.89	Billings, MT
***Sam Muskat	Baseball	Political Science/Spanish/Sociology	SR	3.91	Beaverton, OR
**Kalin Sandow	Soccer	Psychology	SR	3.88	Murrieta, CA
**Courteney Shovlin	Soccer	History	SR	3.91	Great Falls, MT
*Brenna Beckett	Track & Field	Broadfield Science	SR	3.90	Broadview, MT
*Sam Elliott	Basketball	Finance	SO	4.00	Kalispell, MT
*Emily Gaines	Soccer	Psychology	SO	3.88	Leavenworth, WA
*Tevin Hall	Baseball	Business	FR	3.92	Lethbridge, Alberta
*Abby Hamilton	Soccer	Biology	SO	4.00	Lander, WY
*Tierney Messmer	Golf	Health Administration	SO	4.00	Sidney, MT
*Shannon Reny	Basketball	Health/Human Performance	SO	4.00	Libby, MT
Emma Blakely	Basketball	Nursing	FR	3.87	Missoula, MT
Cort Dietrich	Baseball	Business	JR	3.97	Selah, WA
Haylee Gunter	Soccer	Health/Human Performance	SO	3.85	Buckley, WA
Hannah Hashbarger	Volleyball	Marketing	FR	4.00	West Linn, OR
Brynn Jolma	Track & Field	Health/Human Performance	FR	4.00	Winnett, MT
Marissa Logozzo	Volleyball	Management	FR	4.00	Pasco, WA
Kendall Lossner	Soccer	Chemistry	FR	3.93	Mesa, AZ
Shelby Marquardt	Softball	Health/Human Performance	FR	3.96	Sparks, NV
Lindsey Meyer	Soccer	Health/Human Performance	SO	3.87	Laramie, WY
Mason Powell	Baseball	Mathematics	FR	3.90	Gillette, WY
Julia Qualteri	Softball	Management	FR	4.00	Parker, CO
Morgan Quimby	Softball	Marketing	SO	3.86	Aurora, CO
Kiley Sandow	Soccer	Health/Human Performance	FR	4.00	Murrieta, CA
Kolten Unrein	Soccer	Chemistry	FR	3.97	Billings, MT

 *Two-time selection **Three-time selection ***Four-time selection