Linfield University

Linfield University football players Blake Rybar, Chance Sparks and Gavin Dalziel were named to the D3Football.com All-America teams. Caleb Sell was named to the Associated Press All-America second team. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2025/1/2/football-sell-rybar-sparks-and-dalziel-receive-all-america-selections.aspx.

After a successful season that included the Linfield football program winning its 45th conference title and winning an NCAA Division III playoff game for the first time since 2022, nine players have been recognized in D3Football.com's All-Region 6 teams. Read the full story at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/12/12/nine-wildcats-named-to-d3football-com-all-region-6-teams.aspx

Thirteen Linfield University football players were named to the 2024 All-Northwest Conference offensive teams last week. The announcement comes after the Wildcats claimed the NWC title and continue their season into the third round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. Read the full NWC announcement at https://nwcsports.com/news/2024/11/25/2024-football-all-nwc-teams-announced-pirates-blair-boxers-booker-pioneers-kamakawiwoole-and-wildcats-rybar-smith-earn-top-honors.aspx

Linfield's newcomers dominated the postseason awards in 2024, with graduate transfer Rae Gerking and freshman Julia Alvarez both receiving recognition for their impactful play this season. Gerking was voted to the All-Northwest Conference second team while Alvarez was voted both All-NWC honorable mention and Rookie of the Year. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/22/womens-soccer-gerking-alvarez-recognized-with-all-northwest-conference-honors.aspx

Linfield ended the 2024 regular season as Northwest Conference champions after a 34-7 slogging of Whitworth. A large part of the Wildcats' success this season has been due to the dominant play of the defense. Linfield is the 15th ranked defense nationally and led the conference in sacks (34), interceptions (20), interceptions returned for touchdowns (4), pass yards allowed (1,766), total yards allowed (2,378) and several other categories. Star senior, Blake Rybar, becomes the first player in the history of the Northwest Conference to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest players to come through Linfield. Rybar joins ten other Wildcats on the 2024 All-NWC defensive teams. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/26/football-blake-rybar-headlines-11-wildcats-named-to-all-nwc-defensive-teams.aspx.

E.J. Sablan, a student-athlete on the Linfield University men's soccer team, earned All-Northwest Conference honors following the conclusion of the 2024 season. The sophomore out of Emerald Ridge High School has been selected to the All-NWC Second Team given his impressive performance on the field this season. This marks the first such award of his career. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/21/mens-soccer-e-j-sablan-named-to-all-northwest-conference-second-team.aspx.

Linfield University volleyball player Nora Myre has secured her first career postseason award, being named to the All-Northwest Conference honorable mention list on Tuesday. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/19/volleyball-myre-named-all-nwc-honorable-mention.aspx.

Five members of the Linfield women's soccer team have earned College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-District honors. Sidra Griffin, Mia Curtaz, Alexa Fritz, Sofia Pietrok and Riley Omonaka received recognition for their performances both on the pitch and in the classroom. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/19/womens-soccer-five-wildcats-earn-csc-all-district-honors.aspx.

Radule Bozovic and Sam Haynes from the Linfield men's soccer program have received honors for their accomplishments both on and off the soccer pitch. They have been named to the 2024 College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-District Men's Soccer Team, which was announced Tuesday. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/19/mens-soccer-haynes-and-bozovic-receive-csc-all-district-honors.aspx.

After a legendary career in a Linfield volleyball uniform, Paige Richards closed the 2024 season on a high note, earning Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week honors. Read the full story at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/11/volleyball-paige-richards-closes-career-with-student-athlete-of-the-week-honors.aspx.

Linfield University student Emma Bare '25 earned international recognition from the Sigma Tau Delta international English honor society for a critical essay she submitted for publication. The English major from Camas, Washington, is the recipient of the Frederic Fadner Critical Essay Award. Her winning entry - "Interrogating Torture and Surveillance in J.M. Coetzee's 'Waiting for the Barbarians' in a Post-9/11 Space" - applies a post-structural lens to the portrayl of torture and surveillance in the novel. Read the full story at https://news.linfield.edu/linfield-student-english-essay-honors/.

After a 72-0 victory over Willamette on Saturday afternoon, Linfield University linebacker Blaze Holani has been voted with the Northwest Conference Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week. This is the second time that a Linfield defensive player has been given the award during the 2024 season, joining Caleb Sell who won the award on Sept. 23 after Linfield's win over Redlands. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/10/7/football-blaze-holani-earns-nwc-defensive-student-athlete-of-the-week.aspx

Linfield University congratulates the 42 students who earned Dean's List honors during the summer 2024 academic term. The Dean's List identifies undergraduate students who earned a GPA at least equivalent to a cum laude (3.65) while taking at least graded 12 credits. It is computed following the posting of grades at the end of each semester. See the full list on Linfield News.

Linfield defensive end Caleb Sell has been honored with the Northwest Conference Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week.

Fifteen collegiate cross country squads were greeted with oven-hot conditions Saturday morning at The Nines Golf Course where the Linfield Wildcats hosted the annual Harrier Classic. The women competed across a compressed four-kilometer course, while the men raced across a six-kilometer circuit. During competition, three Wildcats recorded personal-best times. Sophomore Jayden Taylor turned in the women's top time of 16:10.63, recording a personal best. Her mark placed the sophomore in 54th position in a field of 102 runners. Senior Alex Oathout led the Wildcat men with a 20th-place showing in a person-best time of 19:13.91. Sophomore Devin Harrison also turned in a personal-best effort of 19:28.33. Full story online at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/8/31/cross-country-oathout-taylor-ignore-heat-clock-best-times-at-harrier-classic.aspx.

Four Linfield University athletes were recognized for their academic and athletic accomplishment during the 2023-24 academic year. They are Chris Cayford (Beaverton, Ore.), Zack LaPlaca (Bend, Ore.), Riley Lynch (Seattle, Wash.) and Trevor Price (Bullhead City, Ariz.). According to the Collegiate Golf website: "To be eligible for Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar nomination, an individual must be a sophomore, junior or senior both academically and athletically in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA, or receiving their Associate's Degree and in their last year of athletic eligibility in the NJCAA. In addition, they must participate in 50% of their team's competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 76.0 in NCAA Division I, under 78.0 in NCAA Division II, under 79.0 in NCAA Division III, under 78.0 in NAIA, and under 77.0 in NJCAA, and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at their college or university." Linfield makes its 2024-25 season debut Sept. 22-24 when the Wildcats compete in the Orange & Black Invitational hosted by Lewis & Clark College at Tualatin Country Club.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) recently recognized all players who earned Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete recognition for the 2023-24 academic year. Each year, the NFCA recognizes collegiate softball athletes who maintain a 3.5 or higher GPA. Overall, 17 Wildcats were recognized for outstanding academic progress throughout the 2023-24 academic year. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/8/23/softball-nfca-honors-17-wildcats-as-all-america-scholar-athletes.aspx

Three members of the Linfield University football team have been recognized as Preseason All-Americans by D3Football.com, highlighted by a second-team selection for two-time All-American linebacker Blake Rybar. He is joined on the second-team by fellow fifth-year senior and All-American punter Thomas Tabor. Senior cornerback Chance Sparks was named to the third team. Read the full story at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/8/9/linfield-trio-named-to-d3football-com-preseason-all-america-team.aspx

Linfield University's inaugural Master's Entry into Professional Nursing (MEPN) cohort graduated this spring. The 25 students earned their Master of Science in Nursing and were celebrated during the Spring Commencement in May. Linfield's MEPN is the first in the state of Oregon. It allows students with a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field to complete their nursing education and graduate with a master's degree just 15 months. More about the commencement ceremony is at https://news.linfield.edu/505-graduates-honored-at-2024-commencement/.

Congratulations to the 12 students earning their Master of Science in business from Linfield University. The Class of 2024 was celebrated in Spring Commencement in May. Students earning this degree focused their studies in design and innovation; sports leadership; or wine business leadership.

Linfield University is pleased to release its newest list of graduates. Following the spring 2024 semester, the university awarded 510 degrees to 505 graduates, with five awarded double degrees. The commencement ceremony was held on the university's McMinnville campus on May 26. Honors are determined once a student's final grades have been submitted. For undergraduate students, these include summa cum laude (3.9-4.0 cumulative GPA), magna cum laude (3.8-3.89 cumulative GPA) and cum laude (3.65-3.79 cumulative GPA). Graduate students earn honors or high honors for earning a GPA of 3.8-3.89 and 3.9-4.0, respectively.

Five Linfield University students were awarded both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science at the May 2024 Commencement ceremony. The students were Emma Collins Campbell, Mariana Fernandez, Andrew James Goodwin, Laura C Heryford and Katie Elizabeth Jones. More about Linfield's May 2024 Commencement is online at https://news.linfield.edu/505-graduates-honored-at-2024-commencement/.

Linfield University congratulates the 629 students who earned Dean's List honors during the spring 2024 academic term. The Dean's List identifies undergraduate students who earned a GPA at least equivalent to a cum laude (3.65) while taking at least graded 12 credits. It is computed following the posting of grades at the end of each semester. See the full list at https://news.linfield.edu/spring-2024-deans-list/.

The student-led Majestic Tree Week, which pitted eight Linfield University campus trees against one another in an NCAA-style bracket, has won global recognition from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Timed for peak fall foliage, the inaugural Majestic Tree Week was held in October 2023. Students in Professor William Fleeger 's Environmental Communication and Advocacy class mounted the multifaceted campaign, which included in-person events, digital design, social media and community outreach. See the full story at https://news.linfield.edu/circle-of-excellence-2024/.

The Northwest Conference has named the 2023-24 All-Northwest Conference Sportsmanship team. Nineteen student-athletes from Linfield University were selected for displaying good sportsmanship throughout the season. All nine member institutions elected one member from each sports team to be a member of the All-NWC Sportsmanship team. The Linfield Wildcat student-athletes included: Brett Joner (baseball), JT Estes (men's basketball), Miki Vermeulen (women's basketball), Bradley Kiltow (men's cross country), Jennifer Torres-Bermudez (women's cross country), Justin Pfau (football), Trevor Price (men's golf), Caitlin Hillman (women's golf), Maizri Chandler (women's lacrosse), Owen Schoner (men's soccer), Sidra Griffin (women's soccer), Jacey Leyvas (softball), Rocco Velie (men's swimming), Caley Haydu (women's swimming), Seth Lee (men's tennis), Sarah Forester (women's tennis), Jevon Cloy (men's track and field), Siera Crawford (women's track and field) and Marina Erosa (women's volleyball). See the complete All-NWC Sportsmanship team at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/documents/2024/7/15/2024_All_Sportsmanship_PDF.pdf.

The Linfield University-Good Samaritan School of Nursing honored several members of its most recent graduating class with awards for academic achievement and nursing excellence. Awardees were: - Megan Starr Morgan, Kamren Belden and Bella Miranda-Goeller for Senior Honors in Nursing - Ryan Connole, Courtney Bell and Sarah Roberts for the Professional Excellence in Nursing Award - Erin Gehrke for the Wilma Pope Alumni Award - Troy Gernhart, Courtney Bell and Nanea-Rose Ikeda for The Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses See the full announcement at: https://news.linfield.edu/graduating-student-nursing-awards-2024/

Recent Linfield University graduate Colton Smith has received distinction as the Male Vern Marshall Award, becoming the 13th member of the Wildcats football program to earn the honor. Presented annually, the award is named in honor of former Linfield student-athlete and longtime college and professional sports referee Vern Marshall Sr. It recognizes the top male and female athletes who compete with the greatest tenacity. A total of 20 honorees representing six programs have earned the men's accolade dating back to 2002. Read the full announcement at: https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/6/5/general-interest-colton-smith-presented-male-vern-marshall-award.aspx

Leading Linfield University to an historic softball season, Brynn Nelson has been named the female recipient of the Vern Marshall Award. Presented annually, the award was created in memory of former Linfield student-athlete and longtime college and professional sports referee Vern Marshall Sr. of the Class of 1957. Established in 2002, the Vern Marshall Award salutes the top male and female athletes who compete with the greatest tenacity.

Recent Linfield University graduate Sarah Forester has been appointed to the prestigious College Sports Communicators Academic All-America team for a second straight year. She received CSC Academic All-America second team honors after being named to the third team a year ago. Forester becomes just the second Linfield Wildcat student-athlete to earn Academic All-America acclaim in consecutive seasons, joining baseball's Nick Fisher, who achieved the feat a decade ago in 2013 and 2024.

Linfield University tied the second most All-Northwest Conference selections in program history with five in an announcement released by the conference in May. First-year student Madison De La Trinidad led the group with the first team selection while Gabby Crist and Mackenzie Kulick were named second team. Star Pfleiger and Grayce Miller rounded out the selections after being named honorable mention All-NWC. Linfield doubled its win total in 2024 improving to 6-9 overall and 4-8 in Northwest Conference play. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/5/7/lacrosse-five-cats-land-on-all-northwest-conference-list.aspx.