PORTLAND, Ore. --- The University of Portland Athletic Department is proud to announce that student-athletes Ryan Barr, Lucy Butkovska, Parkes Kendrick and Calli VanderWilde are all nominees for several annual West Coast Conference Awards. The WCC annually hands out the Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards, post-graduate scholarships and a sportsmanship award.
 
Barr, a senior baseball player, and Butkovska, a senior on the women's tennis team, are both nominated for the scholar-athlete of the year award. Barr boasts a cumulative GPA of 3.54, and he recently earned a mechanical engineering degree, while minoring in mathematics. He was named to the WCC All-Academic Team, while also nabbing All-WCC Honorable Mention.
 
Butkovska recently concluded a decorated career on The Bluff, twice landing on the All-WCC First Team. A finance major with a 3.80 GPA, Butkovska was a perfect 3-0 against nationally ranked competition, including a straight sets victory over then-No. 2 ranked Luisa Stefani of Pepperdine on April 8. She concluded the regular season ranked No. 68 nationally in singles, and she's a three-time selection the league's all-academic team.
 
The WCC hands out the Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete Award yearly to one male and one female student-athlete. Each of the league's 10 institutions nominates two student-athletes, one male and one female, and a student-athlete is considered based on academic achievement, athletic excellence and service and leadership. The award is named for former league commissioner Michael Gilleran.
 
Kendrick, who was with women's soccer in the fall before having a breakout spring with the women's track and field team, is nominated for the WCC's Student-Athlete Sportsmanship Award. Kendrick is heavily involved with community service, mostly with the homeless population in Portland. She's worked with the Community of Hope and Operation Nightwatch, while also volunteering at St André Bessette Hospitality Center. She's also organized a donation drive for feminine hygiene products for the homeless, with the help of UP athletics and ASUP.
 
In addition to her service work related to homelessness, Kendrick has done work with other populations, including spending seven weeks as a volunteer assistant at L'Arche house in Quebec, Canada, last summer. She's also worked as a volunteer literacy teacher for immigrant and refugee students in Portland through IRCO.
 
Like the scholar-athlete award, the WCC names one male and one female sportsmanship award winner. A nominee must have demonstrated the values of respect, honesty and integrity through a specific action ideally directed toward an opponent. Nominees must have also consistently demonstrated the values of respect, and integrity in their daily participation in intercollegiate athletics.
 
VanderWilde, a senior distance runner for the Pilots, is up for the WCC's Postgraduate Scholarship. VanderWilde was a double major, earning degrees in both environmental science and Spanish, and she graduated with a 3.94 GPA. She was heavily involved in several educational endeavors while at UP, while also performing community service. VanderWilde was Co-Chair of SAAC's Adopt-a-Family Christmas Giving Event in 2015, and she was Co-President of the Blue Key Honors Society's UP chapter. As a member of the Blue Key Honor Society, VanderWilde volunteered at Potluck in the Park, St. Andre Bessette, and the Oregon Food Bank. She's also studied abroad in Segovia, Spain, and North Queensland, Australia.
 
One male and one female student-athlete will be awarded the WCC's Postgraduate Scholarship. To be considered, a student-athlete must have graduated and have a GPA of at least 3.25, and they must have a record of participation in campus or community activities. Judging is based on a nominee's personal statement, service and leadership, academic achievement and athletics excellence.