COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – NJCAA Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., today released the names of the 2011-2012 NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards. Over 1,680 NJCAA student-athletes met the requirements for individual academic honors. Nearly 60,000 student-athletes competed in the NJCAA for the 2011-2012 academic year on over 3,500 teams in 28 different sports. The 2011-2012 season marks the 29th year the NJCAA has recognized the success of its student-athletes in the classroom. With minimal changes, the NJCAA academic awards program has been in place since 1983.

Academic Student-Athlete AwardsThe NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards were previously known as NJCAA Academic All-American honors. The NJCAA has renamed its academic awards program to the following:

NJCAA Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence (4.00 GPA on a 4.00 scale) NJCAA Award for Superior Academic Achievement (3.80 to 3.99 on a 4.00 scale) NJCAA Award for Exemplary Academic Achievement (3.60 to 3.79 on a 4.00 scale)

Columbia State Community College Lady Charger pitcher Brandi Lander was awarded the NJCAA Pinnacle Award for her 4.0 gpa this year. Lander, from Gun Barrell City, Texas, has returned to her home state to continue her softball career. Brandie will play for the Texas Womens University(TWU) of Denton, TX. TWU plays in the Lone Star Conference and finished 2nd this year with an 18-8 record and 37-17 overall record. They advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional tournament this year.