Grizzly Athletics honors its highest academic achievers

For a sixth-straight year, the Montana men's tennis team has posted the highest cumulative GPA of any team under the Grizzly Athletics umbrella to earn the coveted Dusten Hollist Award.

That award and the five recipients of the President's Award for the department's highest individual GPAs highlighted the 30th annual Grizzly Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet Monday evening at the DoubleTree Hotel in Missoula.

The awards banquet celebrates the accomplishments of UM's student-athletes who have dedicated themselves to success in the classroom and in competition, earning a 3.0 GPA or better in the 2023 calendar year.

It was another stellar year for the Grizzlies in their scholarly pursuits. Of the nearly 330 Grizzly student-athletes to suit up for Montana in that time, nearly all of them – 256 to be exact – posted a 3.0 or better, while 98 made the dean's list and 28 had a perfect 4.0 GPA last semester alone.

Men's tennis loaded up on accolades once again this year, winning the Hollist Team Award and posting co-winners of the male President's Awards. Two members of the softball squad and one sprinter from the track team were named co-winners of the women's President's Award.

The Dusten Hollist Award was renamed in 2019 after Hollist, the former faculty athletic representative who passed away that year. Men's tennis was the first team to be presented with the Hollist Award that year and has continued to win it ever since.

Head coach Jason Brown's team averaged an impressive 3.82 GPA over the spring and fall semesters in 2023 to win the Hollist Award for a sixth-straight time.

All eight of the squad's student-athletes earned a 3.0 GPA or higher, with three making the dean's list and three maintaining a perfect 4.0 in the fall.

"This team came into, and has continued to foster, a culture of academic excellence. They really do a nice job making school a priority. Internally, they have set such a high standard for themselves. Considering most of the team is taking classes in their second language, it's really a testament to what they're willing to do. It's a special group of student-athletes we have here, doing amazing things academically and getting it done athletically as well," said Brown.

The UM President's Award is presented to the male and female student-athletes who achieved the highest undergraduate GPA for the previous two semesters.

Sophomores Tom Bittner and Baltazar Wiger-Nordas were two of the top players in the Grizzly lineup this season and proved themselves in the classroom as the two male recipients of this year's President's Award.

"Not only are they sophomores playing one and two – so, leading on the tennis team – they're also getting 4.0 GPAs and leading in the classroom. What more could you ask for? It's really impressive and it makes me try to be a better coach," added Brown.

But they weren't alone in their dedication to academics. For six-plus years that culture of excellence in the classroom has been passed from team leader to team leader, ensuring the next generation of Grizzly netters carries it on.

This year Brown credits senior captain Moritz Stoeger with making sure that tradition is alive and well, and it's paid off for him.

After the season Stoeger will depart for Arizona after being selected for a prestigious and competitive internship serving as an analyst for Indigo Partners, a private equity firm in the aviation space. If completed successfully, Indigo Partners will then pay for Stoeger to receive his MBA at an Ivy League institution.

"Moritz made sure that across the board, anything but A's aren't acceptable if you're part of the men's tennis program. He's done a great job with that, and he's led by example as the top accounting student in the business school and received a prestigious postgrad internship," said Brown.

Grace Haegele and Makena Strong of softball, and Lily Meskers of track and field were the three co-winners of the female President's Award.

Bittner is a sophomore on the men's tennis team from Neusaess, Germany, majoring in management and information systems. He just completed an incredible regular season at No. 1 for Montana with a 16-2 overall record and a 7-1 record in Big Sky play, a mark that puts him in the running to earn him first team all-conference honors as well as regional honors. As a freshman he also earned an All-Big Sky honorable mention in doubles.

Wiger-Nordas is also a sophomore on the men's tennis team who majors in business administration and hails from Bergen, Norway. He's played No. 2 for Montana for the bulk of the season and built a 5-3 conference record and finished the regular season as a winner in four of his last five matches to go 9-9 on the year.

Haegele is a sophomore softball player majoring in elementary education from
Sophomore, Elementary Education from Redmond, Washington. Through nearly two complete seasons, Haegele, a pitcher, has won 11 games. She has thrown seven complete games in 32 starts while making 53 overall appearances.

Meskers is a sophomore sprinter on the track team majoring in journalism from Erie, Colorado. She has been one of UM's top springers over the previous two seasons, scoring as a member of a relay team four times already in her career. This season, Meskers leads Montana with times of 12.07 in the 100m and 24.50 in the 200m. She has also run a 56.64 time in the 400m, which is second on Montana's roster and a top 10 mark in the Big Sky.

Strong is a junior infielder from Las Vegas, Nevada, majoring in communications studies. After playing sparingly as a freshman in 2023, Strong has made 23 starts and has played in 36 games as a sophomore, collecting seven hits and scoring 17 runs.

2024 Presidents Award

Thanks to the generosity of dozens of donors, 50 different scholarships were divided between 55 deserving student-athletes at the banquet. Below is a list of those recipients.

2024 Grizzly Athletics Scholarship Recipients

Dean Erhard Athletic Award in Cross Country and Track
Lane Cole

Harriet Anderson Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Nyeala Herndon

Markovich Family Athletic Scholarships
Kylie Franklin
Ava Samuelson

Mike and Cathie Frellick Lady Griz Basketball Scholarship
Macy Donarski

Larry and Kristin Stayner Family Athletic Scholarship
Eli Gillman

Paul Ricci Memorial Football Scholarship
Hayden Harris

Jim Powell Memorial Scholarship for Men's Basketball
Zachary Davidson

Col. Thomas M. Alison, USAF (Ret.) Memorial Scholarship
Marcus Evans

Dusten Hollist Memorial Scholarship in Athletics
Jay Beagle

Julie Deming Memorial Scholarship
MJ Bruno

William L. Kann Basketball Scholarship
Chase Henderson

The Pat Dolan Memorial Football Scholarship
Ryder Meyer

Stockman Bank Scholarship
Junior Bergen

Sylvia Jensen Athletic Scholarship
Ashlyn Dvorak

John L. Olson Family Scholarship
Declan McCabe

John Kolendich Memorial Scholarship
Ailsa Gilbert

Frank W. Milburn Memorial
Tom Bittner

David and Goldie Enger Athlete Scholarship
Erin Wilde

Frank Nugent Memorial Scholarship
Jake Olson

'54 Griz Football Scholarship
Chase McGurran

Douglas LeBrun Track and Field Scholarship
Emma Zimmerman

Bill and Phyllis Bouchee Family Football Scholarship
Jace Klucewich

Clark Wilson Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Baltazar Wiger-Nordas

Kole Swartz Legacy Scholarship
Jaxon Lee

Ekegren Education Scholarship
Maddie Seelhoff

Colleen Marks Athletic Scholarship
Trevin Gradney

Bob and Adeline O'Conner Memorial Endowed Athletic Scholarship
Sierra Dennison

Ken Staninger Memorial Scholarship
Ryan Tirrell

William (Robi) Robertson Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Ryan Simpson

Robin Selvig Lady Griz Basketball Scholarship
Dani Bartsch

John Van Heuvelen Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Maddie Kremer

Wayne Harrington Family Athletic Scholarship Endowment
Brooke Stayner

The Michael Dwyer and Susan Alley Softball Scholarship
Makena Strong

Mike and Margaret Wagner Football Scholarship Endowment
Erik Barker

Fernandez, Colter, Bush Legacy Scholarship
Brandon Casey

Bowman STEM Scholarship
Hannah Jablonski

Naseby Rhinehart Endowment Fund
Hailey Murphy

Bruce E Blattner Memorial Scholarship
Guillermo Martin Nieto

William (Biff) Hall Scholarship
Casey Crouch

Erick Ogren Memorial Scholarship
Paige Clark

Lawrence A (Bugs) Dwyer Memorial Scholarship
Ainsley Shipman

B. Tim Stark Memorial Track and Field Scholarship
Cutter Thatcher

Janet and Michelle Hainline Scholarship
Grace Haegele

Michael R. Jorgensen Endowment Fund
Dillon Botner

Erika Camp Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Adria Lincoln

Lefty Monson Family Men's Basketball Scholarship
Blake Jones

Ronald and Julia Blake Memorial Fund
Jake Watkins
Walker McDonald
Eliza Bentler
Grace Hardy
Rileigh McGree

Brian and Karen Sippy Endowed Scholarship
Lily Meskers

Blaine and Ellen Bloomgren Family Scholarship
Ariel Clark

Moose Miller Football Scholarship
Joe Grezmak

Grizzly Athletics would like to thank the generous scholarship donors below that will see their scholarships awarded for summer school and degree completion.
National Advisory Board for Grizzly Athletics (NABGA) Scholarship
Melinda and Herb Depp Athletic Scholarship
Max and Betty Swanson Memorial Athletic Scholarship
Katherine Markette-John Schuler Scholarship
Ernest L. and Ruth A. Kradolfer Athletic Scholarship

University of Montana Athletics

Grizzly Athletics honors its highest academic achievers

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