Brown, Ritter Honored as Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year
3/6/2020 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country, General, Women's Soccer
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Cal Poly senior Sophia Brown and junior Jake Ritter were announced as the Mustangs' Big West Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year on Friday. Alongside 16 fellow recipients representing eight peer universities (chosen from a total of nearly 2,500 student-athletes throughout the Big West), Brown (a goalkeeper for the women's soccer team) and Ritter (a runner from the men's cross country and track squads) will be presented the awards at a banquet hosted by Anaheim Marriott Suites on Thursday, March 12.
This past fall, Brown capped her Mustang career with her second Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week accolade of her senior year, as she earned the award for Nov. 4 after not only posting a shutout but also scoring a seldom-seen goal tallied by a goalkeeper (converting a penalty to record the first score by a keeper in program history).
Brown had 13 career shutouts, along with a career saves total of 364, which ranked not only No. 2 in school history but also No. 4 all-time in the Big West. She also wrapped her career third in Cal Poly history for appearances in goal (71).
An Aerospace Engineering major from Pleasanton, Brown is scheduled to graduate following Spring Quarter, as an eight-time Dean's List honoree.
Brown, whose senior project involves satellite systems providing communications & navigational info to lunar-surface users, is also a member of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society. She has aspirations of becoming an aerospace engineer specializing in orbital mechanics.
“Sophia has been a leader both on and off the field since she stepped foot on campus four years ago,” Cal Poly head coach Alex Crozier said. “Her ability to balance a very difficult academic workload with her athletic success leaves a legacy that will inspire those that follow her.”
In addition to serving as a Block P rep, Brown also coaches youth at a local school and participates in the Cal Poly AERO Mentoring Program for freshmen and sophomores.
Ritter won his second consecutive Big West Athlete of the Year award in November, becoming the ninth individual since 1979 to be selected for the yearly accolade two times in a row.
At the 2019 conference cross country championships, Ritter beat the rest of the field by more than 42 seconds to go back-to-back as Big West medalist, clocking a performance of 23:43.7, good for No. 9 in UCR course history for an 8k format.
With the active four-peat of men's team conference trophies, Cal Poly became the third squad in 51 years to win at least four Big West XC championships in a row.
More recently in February, Ritter — a Civil Engineering major from Citrus Heights — was selected as one of four recipients for the Annual Achievement Award in the collegiate category at the Sacramento Running Association's 2020 Hall of Fame banquet. Ritter, the SRA's Men's College Cross Country winner, received his honor at Holiday Inn Arena in Sacramento.
Ritter, who has earned four consecutive Dean's List honors, completed an internship last summer with AECOM, a civil engineering design firm, and plans to return in the summer ahead. He also helps coordinate team activities and giving through Block P.
Planning to graduate following Spring 2021, Ritter has career goals of pursuing a Master of Structural Engineering degree, with long-term aspirations of working in a position specialized toward buildings and bridges.
“Jake manages to achieve excellence both academically and athletically by being dedicated, conscientious, diligent and thorough,” commented Mark Conover, Cal Poly Director of Track & Field and Cross Country. “He leaves no stone unturned, whether preparing for an engineering class project or a race. His focus and determination are evident by the results he is able to achieve.”
Photos © Owen Main / Photography805 (Alma & Nathan Nybakke) / Jeff Liang
Cal Poly's All-Time BWC Scholar-Athletes of the Year
1997 — Jason Novi (Baseball, Sr./Business) • Lori Wagner (Soccer, Sr./Business)
1998 — Eric Wyles (Swimming, Jr./Computer Engineering) • Louella Lipana (Volleyball, Sr./History)
1999 — Eric Wyles (Swimming, Sr./Computer Engineering) • Jessica Roden (Volleyball, Jr./Journalism)
2000 — David Beals (Cross Country and Track, Sr./Mathematics) • Melanie Hathaway (Volleyball, Sr./Graphic Design)
2001 — Jeremiah Mayes (Basketball, Sr./Business) • Carolyn Schifftner (Soccer, Jr./Biological Sciences)
2002 — Matt Merritt (Football*, Sr./Civil Engineering) • Carly O'Halloran (Volleyball, Jr./Liberal Studies)
2003 — Jon Takahashi (Track & Field, Jr./Electrical Engineering) • Carly O'Halloran (Volleyball, Sr./Biological Sciences)
2004 — Jonathan Young (Soccer, Jr./Business) • Katie Collins (Soccer, Jr./History)
2005 — Andy Coughlin (Cross Country and Track, Jr./Civil Engineering) • Samantha Waller (Tennis, Jr./Kinesiology)
2006 — Nate Williams (Swimming, Sr./Civil Engineering) • Kayla Mulder (Volleyball, Sr./Kinesiology)
2007 — K.J. Lenehan (Soccer, Jr./Biological Sciences) • Jessica Eggleston (Basketball, Sr./Industrial Engineering)
2008 — K.J. Lenehan (Soccer, Sr./Biological Sciences) • Chelsea Hayes (Volleyball, Sr./Kinesiology)
2009 — Ryan Lee (Baseball, Sr./Business) • Steffi Wong (Tennis, Jr./Biomedical Sciences)
2010 — Leif Anderson (Cross Country and Track, Sr./Biomedical Engineering) • Carissa Voegele (Soccer, Sr./Kinesiology)
2011 — Wes Feighner (Soccer, Jr./Kinesiology) • Rachel Clancy (Basketball, Sr./Biological Sciences)
2012 — Matt Titchenal (Basketball, Sr./Mechanical Engineering) • Molly Pon (Volleyball, Jr./Political Science)
2013 — Tommy Pluschkell (Baseball, So./General Engineering) • Jenna Davis (Track, So./Communication)
2014 — John Guerrero (Track, Sr./Civil Engineering) • Mariah Cochiolo (Softball, Sr./Graphic Communications)
2015 — Chase Minter (Soccer, Jr./Graphic Communications) • Ashley Windsor (Cross Country and Track, Jr./Psychology)
2016 — Al Gamez Jr. (Cross Country and Track, Sr./Kinesiology) • Robin Mertens (Soccer, Sr./Kinesiology)
2017 — Jesse Yap (Golf, Sr./Industrial Engineering) • Molly Haar (Cross Country and Track, Sr./Business)
2018 — Alex Merder (Cross Country and Track, Jr./Biological Sciences) • Chelsea Convissar (Softball, Sr./Kinesiology)
2019 — Michael Giguere (Cross Country and Track, Sr./Business) • Miranda Daschian (Cross Country and Track, RJr./Psychology)
2020 — Jake Ritter (Cross Country and Track, Jr./Civil Engineering) • Sophia Brown (Soccer, Sr./Aerospace Engineering)
@CPMustangs • #RideHigh
Players Mentioned
