Del Norte High School’s Girls Softball team tallied a 3.86 grade point average, resulting in recognition from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as the third highest “Non-Weighted High School” program in the U.S.
“When we found out that our girls were going to be recognized by the NFCA, I was thrilled,” said Steve Kuptz, DNHS varsity softball coach. “We have an outstanding group of young women who excel on the field, but more importantly excel in the classroom. All of our girls are establishing the foundation for future success by making academics a priority.”
The NFCA Academic Awards program honors both collegiate and high school teams for their submitted GPAs for the 2010-2011 academic year. As a second component of the program, all submitted student-athletes who achieved a 3.50 GPA during last academic year are named as a NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete.
Kuptz said several Del Norte players also want to go on to play competitive softball in college. “Every college coach in the country is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association so this recognition will help our girls take one more step towards achieving their dreams of playing college softball,” he said. “This NFCA award firmly establishes that our coaching staff and our players are committed to what is important in being successful in softball and most importantly in life. Our coaching staff could not be more proud of a group of outstanding young women.”
DNHS specifically recognized team members Jessie Bever, Molly Campbell, Christina Caravelli, Dana Cruse, Meghan Haley, Emily Harper-Guerra, Kaitlin Manuel, Michaela Schwartz, Monica Shifflet, Natalie Shifflet, Kiley Smith and Megan Vincent.
No other California high schools ranked in the top 10 teams listed in the category.
