CLEVELAND - The National Alliance of Two Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) is proud to announce the winners of the 27th Annual NATYCAA Scholar-Athlete Award, sponsored by Relation Insurance Solutions. The 2018 female recipient is Brigid Antonelli, softball player at El Camino College and West Hills College Coalinga football player Apefai Taifane is the 2018 male honoree.

Antonelli and Taifane will be recognized at noon on Thursday, June 28, at the NATYCAA Awards Luncheon sponsored by Daktronics, Inc. and Relation Insurance Solutions. The 2018 NATYCAA Convention will be held in Washington, D.C. at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

"NATYCAA is honored to recognize two exceptional student-athletes who demonstrate strong academics, volunteerism, leadership in the community and excellence in athletics," stated current NATYCAA President and Director of Athletics at Northeastern Junior College, Marci Henry. "Brigid and Apefai were selected from an excellent pool of nominees and we as an association are proud to celebrate the successes of these outstanding two-year college student-athletes."


Antonelli maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA as a nursing, general studies double major. A Norm Verry and Don McKenzie Scholarship recipient, Antonelli was a two-time first team All-South Coast Conference and named All-Southern California twice at El Camino. Voted as team MVP in 2016, Antonelli garnered All-State Academic Team honors and was recognized by the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) as a Scholar-Athlete. She boasted a career batting average of .373 and an on-base percentage of .478 while knocking 56 RBIs. She was named to the Dean's List all four semesters while in Torrence and following her time at El Camino, Antonelli received a softball scholarship to attend Cumberland University.



Taifane also maintained a spotless 4.0 GPA as a social and behavioral science major. A member of the Phi Kappa Beta Honors program, Taifane was named to the Honor Roll all four semesters and received West Hills College Scholar-Athlete of the Year laurels this year. A member of the 2017 Northern California Football Conference Scholar-Athlete Team, Taifane was honored as the CCCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was named first team All-Golden Coast Conference, All-State and All-American in 2017. He also claimed the West Hills College Coalinga Commitment to Excellence Award. As the Falcon's starting center, Taifane helped the Falcons average over 350 yards of total offense and guided West Hills to a 6-3 record in 2017.


About NATYCAA: Now in its 31st year, NATYCAA is the professional organization of two-year college athletics administrators and membership is open to all two-year institutions throughout the country. For more information on NATYCAA, visit www.natycaa.com. NATYCAA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 53rd year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.