Elite 13 Award

?The Elite 13 Award, formerly the CCAA Championship Scholar Award, recognizes the academic and athletic achievement of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the conference championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.

Instituted in 2017-18, the award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the final CCAA championship site in each conference-sponsored sport.

Past Elite 13/Championship Scholar Award Winners

2024-25 Elite 13 Award Winners

Women's Cross Country	Men's Cross Country	Women's Soccer	Men's Soccer	Volleyball

HANNAH WIRTH Chico State	DAMIAN BONDS Cal State LA	MARISA SALAZAR Cal Poly Pomona	MADS FREDERIKSEN Cal Poly Pomona	HALEY BURDO Stanislaus State
SR \| Roseville Social Work	SO \| Escondido Computer Science	JR \| Long Beach Kinesiology	JR \| Viborg, Denmark Business Administration	SR \| Elk Grove Psychology
Women's Basketball	Men's Basketball	Women's Golf	Men's Golf	Softball

SHERIENE ARIKAT Sonoma State	KEVIN SIMETH Cal Poly Pomona	TALIA GUTMAN Sonoma State	WILHELM BERG VON LINDE Cal State Monterey Bay	KIRA NILSON San Francisco State
JR \| Petaluma Kinesiology	JR \| Geneva, Switzerland Industrial Engineering	JR \| Scottsdale, Ariz. Environmental Science	SR \| Stockholm, Sweden Business Administration	SR \| Martinez Kinesiology
	Women's Track & Field	Men's Track & Field	Baseball

	MIRANDA OWEN Cal State San Bernardino	NICK MELANESE Cal State San Marcos	ATTICUS GONZALEZ Cal State LA
	JR \| San Bernardino Geology	SR \| Scripps Ranch Business Administration	JR \| San Leandro Computer Science

Women's Cross Country

?The Wildcats have a long history of success in cross country. It is very hard to be the 'first' for Chico State in almost anything, but Hannah Wirth can proudly claim to be the first Wildcat to claim the CCAA Elite 13 Award for Women's Cross Country. She is a senior and is majoring in Social Work. Wirth helped Chico State win the NCAA West Region championship and claim the CCAA Championship for the second consecutive season.

Men's Cross Country

The 2024 CCAA Elite 13 Award for Men's Cross Country went to Cal State LA's Damian Bonds. The junior computer science major is the first Golden Eagle in program history to win the Elite 13 Award. Bonds ran in five meets in the fall and posted his best 8k time at the Highlander Invitational the week before the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships.

Women's Soccer

?Cal Poly Pomona's Marisa Salazar was selected as the 2024 CCAA Elite 13 Award winner for women's soccer. Salazar is majoring in Kinesiology at CPP, and she helped lead the Broncos to the CCAA regular season and tournament titles. She also scored in three consecutive playoff matches to move into second in the CCAA in points per game (1.12) and send the Broncos to the national semifinals. She is the first CPP volleyball student-athlete to receive this honor.

Men's Soccer

??Mads Frederiksen was named the winner of the Elite 13 Award for men's soccer. The junior who is majoring in Business Administration at Cal Poly Pomona is a two-time All-CCAA second team selection. He registered five goals and five assists while helping the Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team win the 2024 CCAA regular season championship. Fredriksen delivered the game-winning goal in the Broncos' postseason victory.

Volleyball

Haley Burdo added to one of the most memorable seasons in Stanislaus State volleyball history by becoming the second from the program to earn the Elite 13 or Championship Scholar Award. The Elk Grove native is majoring in Psychology, and she was named to the CCAA all-conference and all-tournament teams as a setter. Bruno also helped guide Stan State to the first three CCAA Tournament wins in program history as the Warriors won the 2024 CCAA Tournament Championship.

Men's Basketball

??A Bronco was honored with the CCAA Men's Basketball Elite 13 Award for the first time in program history. Junior Industrial Engineering major Kevin Simeth is the first Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball student-athlete ever to receive the honor of having the top grade point average at a CCAA men's basketball championship event since the award was implemented in 2017-18. Simeth was the Broncos' starting center. He shot .615 percent from the field, averaging 3.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Simeth finished the season ranked 12th in the CCAA in blocks (0.8).

Women's Basketball

The CCAA Elite 13 Award for Women's Basketball went to Sonoma State's Sheriene Arikat. She helped the Seawolves reach the CCAA Tournament and earn the program's first postseason win since 2008. The senior Kinesiology major started all but one game for Sonoma State, averaging 5.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. She scored a season-high 16 points twice, and matched a season-best with seven rebounds in the tournament semifinals against nationally ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Men's Golf

??The 2023-24 CCAA Newcomer of the Year, Cal State Monterey Bay's Wilhelm Berg von Linde, added another accolade to his trophy shelf as he was selected as the 2024-25 CCAA Elite 13 Award Winner for Men's Golf. The senior from Stockholm, Sweden, placed sixth at the CCAA Championships, and he helped the Otters finish second. The Business Administration major helped lead CSUMB with a No. 2 regional ranking and a No. 23 national ranking.

Women's Golf

Sonoma State's Talia Gutman was named the CCAA Elite 13 Award Winner for Women's Golf. The junior Environmental Science, Geography and Management major played in all 12 tournaments, helping the Seawolves earn a place in the NCAA West Regional. At the CCAA Women's Golf Championships, Gutman placed 19th and helped Sonoma State finish fourth.

Men's Track & Field

??Cal State San Marcos' Nick Melanese has been selected as the men's track & field Elite 13 Award winner for the 2025 season. Melanese has a perfect grade point average as a graduate student. He is earning his MBA with a specialization in Business Analytics. At the 2025 CCAA Championships, Melanese competed in the 800m and the 1500m. He medaled with a third-place finish in the 1500m and a fourth-place finish in the 800m.

Women's Track & Field

Miranda Owen from Cal State San Bernardino was named the Elite 13 Award winner for women's track & field. Owen is in her third year and has a perfect grade point average as a Geology major. The junior from San Bernardino, Calif., competed in nine meets during the 2025 campaign. She specialized in the throwing events, particularly the discus, which she competed in at the 2025 CCAA Track & Field Championships presented by Pollo Campero.

Softball

??For the first time in the history of the Elite 13 Award, there is a repeat winner in softball. Kira Nilson earned the honor for the second consecutive season as the Exercise and Movement Science major posted the highest grade point average among all her peers in the 2025 CCAA Softball Tournament presented by FloCollege. The senior left fielder started all 59 games for the Gators, hitting .257 with 25 RBI and 25 runs scored. She helped lead San Francisco State to the program's first CCAA Tournament Championship and had the honor of catching the final out to seal the title.

Baseball

Atticus Gonzalez had the honor of receiving his award in front of the hometown crowd at the 2025 CCAA Baseball Tournament presented by FloCollege. The sophomore Computer Science major helped Cal State LA reach the CCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, and Cal State LA’s president, Berenecea Johnson Eanes, was there to present him with his award before the Golden Eagles’ opening game. Gonzalez made 17 appearances this season and earned a win over Cal State San Marcos.