March 8, 2012
DAVIS, Calif. - Women's cross country and track and field student-athlete Sarah Sumpter and men's soccer player Mustafa Chopan have been selected as the UC Davis recipients of the 2011-12 Big West Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. Both were honored Thursday, Mar. 8 at a banquet at the Doubletree Anaheim prior to the start of the Big West Conference Basketball Tournament.
Sumpter was the women's cross country team's top finisher in five meets in 2011 which included her second-place finish at the 2011 Big West Conference Championships. Her time of 20:33.7 paced three Aggies who finished in the top ten and was just six seconds off the individual champion, resulting in UC Davis' first-ever women's cross country title.
She finished third overall at the Hornet Jamboree to start the 2011 season, leading the UC Davis women to the team title, then placed fifth at the Stanford Invitational just two weeks later. Her season culminated with a 28th-place finish at the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 12.
Sumpter will open the 2012 track and field season at Saturday's Aggie Open. In 2010, she finished third in the 10,000 meters at the Big West Championships, advancing to the NCAA West Regional where she placed 31st overall.
In the classroom, Sumpter was named to the Big West Fall All-Academic team and helped the Aggie women earn their fourth straight selection as a United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team.
Mustafa Chopan started 14 of 16 matches as a central defender and midfielder for the UC Davis men's soccer team, leading the Aggies to a 7-7-4 record and a berth in the Big West Conference Tournament. He assisted on the game-winning goal against Oregon State in UC Davis' 1-0 double overtime victory on Sept. 9.
His academic excellence has led to several honors and recognitions throughout his UC Davis career. The neurobiology, physiology and behavior has been selected to the UC Davis Dean's List for eight consecutive quarters, achieving a 4.00 grade point average in seven quarters. Most recently, he was named to the Capital One Academic All-America third team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) after earning All-District VIII accolades in three straight years. Chopan is a three-time Big West Fall All-Academic selection.
Sumpter and Chopan were honored alongside the recipients from the other eight Big West Conference institutions.
