The Hornet Bookstore held its ninth annual student-athlete awards reception Thursday on the main floor of the bookstore. Sacramento State athletes were rewarded not only for their excellence in their sport, but also for their commitment to the classroom.

Each week the bookstore names one athlete the student-athlete of the week. This year there were 25 students chosen in almost all of Sac State?s intercollegiate athletic programs.

“We want to recognize students that are working equally hard in sports and in the classroom,” said Julia Milardovich, director of the Bookstore.

Athletes, coaches, family and friends all joined in honoring each athlete. Athletic Director and volleyball coach Debby Colberg spoke to the audience about the accomplishments of each of these student athletes.

“The average GPA of our athletes here at Sac State is 2.85, which is almost dead on with the overall school average,” Colberg told the audience.

Some of the athletes that received the award included Rene Jacques for men?s basketball, Alicia Weber for women?s rowing and Ricky Ray for football.

This was Jacques? third year in a row winning the student-athlete award.

Weber and Ray each were named as the most outstanding female and male student-athletes of the year.

Weber is completing her second bachelor?s degree in Spanish and has already completed a degree in business administration with a concentration in strategic management and human resources management.

Weber holds a 3.95 GPA in the classroom and helped the varsity rowing team win over the past three seasons.

Ray was unable to attend the reception, but received the outstanding student-athlete award for his skills on the football field and his excellence in school. He is graduating with a degree in marketing and has a 3.75 GPA.

As the quarterback, Ray led the football team this year to the best record in Sac State history with seven wins and four losses.