Bennett, Miric Honored as 2021 Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year
3/2/2021 12:27:00 PM | Cross Country, General, Track and Field, Beach Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — John Bennett, a member of the Cal Poly track and cross country teams, and Tia Miric, a Mustang beach volleyball player, are the university's 2021 Big West Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Alongside 20 fellow award recipients representing 10 peer universities (chosen from a total of almost 3,000 student-athletes), Bennett and Miric were announced Tuesday.
They will each be honored during the BWC Awards Show, streaming online Wednesday, March 3 at 12 noon on ESPN3/WatchESPN. Bennett, a redshirt sophomore from Livermore, Calif., is majoring in Mechanical Engineering while Miric, a redshirt junior out of Thornhill, Ontario, majors in Business.
Bennett won the 2019 Big West Freshman of the Year Award in cross country after helping the Mustangs win their fourth straight conference championship.
His accolade came after earning seventh place overall at the Big West XC Finals, running UC Riverside's 8k course in 24 minutes, 54 seconds, as the Mustangs won the trophy with a team score of 44 points. Prior to his cross country award, Bennett also scored in two events at the Big West Track & Field Championships as a true freshman in May 2019. He took fifth place in the 10,000 meters with a performance of 30:55.09, and came back the next evening to finish eighth in the 5,000m, via 14:49.85.
Bennett, a 2019-20 Big West All-Academic Team honoree and Conference Commissioner's Highest Honors recipient, is on track to graduate in 2022.
"John earned the Big West Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award due to his ability to balance mechanical engineering coursework with his time as a member of the track and field and cross country teams. John has achieved academic and athletic excellence due to his focus, determination and work ethic," said Mark Conover, Mustang director of TF/XC.
Miric is a back-to-back AVCA All-American, and helped lead the Mustangs to the Big West beach volleyball title in 2019.
Prior to the team conference championship, she also won a Big West Pairs title in 2018.
"Tia has been a huge part of why Cal Poly Beach Volleyball has risen to the level it has in the past four years," Mustang head coach Todd Rogers said. "She's a two-time All-American having played at the 1's spot every year of her career."
"She overcame a very severe concussion before coming to Poly that forced her to drop out of her previous school in Canada for a full year. Yet she has excelled in the business program at Cal Poly with top marks," Rogers added. "She is driven to excel on and off the court and is very deserving of the Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award!"
Combined in her career at Cal Poly, Miric entered this season 57-16 (.781) overall. Miric, also a Big West All-Academic Team member and Conference Commissioner's Highest Honors awardee, is a five-time Dean's List recipient scheduled to graduate later this year.
They will each be honored during the BWC Awards Show, streaming online Wednesday, March 3 at 12 noon on ESPN3/WatchESPN. Bennett, a redshirt sophomore from Livermore, Calif., is majoring in Mechanical Engineering while Miric, a redshirt junior out of Thornhill, Ontario, majors in Business.
Bennett won the 2019 Big West Freshman of the Year Award in cross country after helping the Mustangs win their fourth straight conference championship.
His accolade came after earning seventh place overall at the Big West XC Finals, running UC Riverside's 8k course in 24 minutes, 54 seconds, as the Mustangs won the trophy with a team score of 44 points. Prior to his cross country award, Bennett also scored in two events at the Big West Track & Field Championships as a true freshman in May 2019. He took fifth place in the 10,000 meters with a performance of 30:55.09, and came back the next evening to finish eighth in the 5,000m, via 14:49.85.
Bennett, a 2019-20 Big West All-Academic Team honoree and Conference Commissioner's Highest Honors recipient, is on track to graduate in 2022.
"John earned the Big West Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award due to his ability to balance mechanical engineering coursework with his time as a member of the track and field and cross country teams. John has achieved academic and athletic excellence due to his focus, determination and work ethic," said Mark Conover, Mustang director of TF/XC.
Miric is a back-to-back AVCA All-American, and helped lead the Mustangs to the Big West beach volleyball title in 2019.
Prior to the team conference championship, she also won a Big West Pairs title in 2018.
"Tia has been a huge part of why Cal Poly Beach Volleyball has risen to the level it has in the past four years," Mustang head coach Todd Rogers said. "She's a two-time All-American having played at the 1's spot every year of her career."
"She overcame a very severe concussion before coming to Poly that forced her to drop out of her previous school in Canada for a full year. Yet she has excelled in the business program at Cal Poly with top marks," Rogers added. "She is driven to excel on and off the court and is very deserving of the Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award!"
Combined in her career at Cal Poly, Miric entered this season 57-16 (.781) overall. Miric, also a Big West All-Academic Team member and Conference Commissioner's Highest Honors awardee, is a five-time Dean's List recipient scheduled to graduate later this year.
Players Mentioned
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