Student-Athlete of the Year
The Department of Kinesiology & Athletics is proud to announce the 2017-18 Gavilan College Student-Athlete of the Year Award presented by Togo’s Eatery on 1st Street in Gilroy. This year’s recipient is Haley Leifheit of the women’s volleyball and beach volleyball teams. The award was presented at the Board of Trustee meeting on August 14, 2018 in Morgan Hill. This is the second consecutive year that a member of the women’s volleyball and beach volleyball teams has won this coveted award. (Erica Chapa, 2016-17)
Background:
Since 2008, the Rams Athletic Department has recognized and honored its student-athletes for their accomplishments on and off the field. In 2015, we teamed up with Togo’s Eatery on 1st Street in Gilroy and Articulate Solutions to celebrate our students’ successes.
As part of the selection process, special attention was paid specifically to four areas: academic achievement, leadership; athletic contributions; and involvement in the community. Over the course of the 2017-18 academic year, 28 individual student-athletes were recognized for their accomplishments as student-athletes of the month. As a result, each were honored with a certificate of recognition, compliments of Articulate Solutions, and a complimentary lunch gift certificate from Togo’s. Their names were also added to a perpetual plaque that will be proudly displayed in the foyer of the Bud & Jean Ottmar Memorial Gymnasium.
Recognition:
This year’s recipient of the 2017-18 Student-Athlete of the Year Award goes to Haley Leifheit of the women’s volleyball and beach volleyball teams.
Leifheit, a native of Hollister who graduated from San Benito High School in 2015, successfully completed 34 out of 34 attempted units this past year. She also earned both President’s and Scholar-Athlete honors twice during the academic year, while posting a 3.9 cumulative grade point average for the year. She also walked the graduation stage in May after earning her AA-T degree in English.
As a competitor, Leifheit leaves with an impressive list of accomplishments on the court and beach, which include the following:
INDOOR:
- 2017 1st Team All Coast Conference Selection
- 2017 CCCWVCA Scholar-Athlete
- 2017 Coast Conference Champion (Back to Back)
- 2017 CCCAA State Regional Playoff appearance (Back to Back)
- Team leader in kills: 163
- Team leader in kills per set: 2.06
- 2017 Team Captain
ON THE BEACH:
- Leifheit and her partner (Mikeila Banda) finished the 2018 season 4th in the CCCAA NorCal Pairs Championship (Out of 44 teams)
- Qualified for 2018 CCCAA State Beach Volleyball Championships
- Played in every beach volleyball match this past season as Gavilan’s #1 pair.
As an active member in the community, Leifheit has been involved in coaching both indoor and beach volleyball to young people from within our area for the past two years. She has coached players ranging from 14-16 years old serving as an assistant coach for the Rush Volleyball Club.
As a result of her hard work and determination, Leifheit will continue her education at the University of California, Santa Barbara this fall.
“On behalf of the Rams Athletic Department, we’d like to congratulate Haley on her accomplishments and wish her the best of luck as she moves forward with her studies at UCSB,” stated Ron Hannon, Dean of Kinesiology and Athletics.