Two Grand Valley State student-athletes, soccer player Natalja Stanski and football player Alex Gilde, earned the Elite 88 award during championships this fall, making Grand Valley State the first institution to have multiple winners of the NCAA’s newest academic honor.

The Elite 88, presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 88 championships, was established this year to recognize student-athletes’ academic accomplishments.

Stanski was honored at the Division II Women’s Soccer Championship banquet December 2 in Tampa, Florida. The senior defender is a biomedical science major with a perfect grade-point average. She was named ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-American of the Year for the college division.

She went on to help her teammates capture the Division II soccer title with a 1-0 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills and was part of a senior class that posted a school-best 84-4-6 in four years.

Gilde earned his Elite 88 award at the Division II Football Championship on December 12 in Florence, Alabama. Like Stanski, the senior defensive lineman is a biomedical science major with a grade-point average of a 3.937.

During the 2009 season, Gilde totaled 29 tackles, five tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks, while blocking two kicks, forcing a fumble and recovering another. The Lakers came up just short in the championship game, dropping a 30-23 decision to Northwest Missouri State.

Gilde blocked five kicks during his career and registered 73 total tackles while being named a second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. He is one of only six Grand Valley State students admitted into the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.