University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Rico Montoya Named Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year
4/18/2019 9:47:00 AM | Wrestling
The Las Vegas, NM native earned a 4.0 GPA working towards his masters degree
IRVING, TX- Rico Montoya may have wrestled his last collegiate match, but he still is making history for Northern Colorado. Montoya was named the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first award winner in program history.
"First and foremost, I'm really proud of [Rico]. He has been the ideal student-athlete," head coach Troy Nickerson said. "He's really helped take this program to the next level in a lot of different ways. The most important way is through his academics. Rico graduated with his undergrad [degree] in three years and he has one more semester after his eligibility to finish up his masters program and go away with a 4.0 in grad school. He is setting himself up for a real nice future."
In his senior season, Montoya earned a 4.00 GPA while working towards his master's degree in Sport Administration. Montoya will graduate with his master's next month and has already earned a bachelor's degree in Human Services.
Earlier this year, Montoya was named to the All-Big 12 first team and was one of four wrestlers to earn a 4.0 in the conference. Along with the conference academic awards, Montoya is a two-time NWCA All-Academic Team honoree.
Montoya qualified for the NCAA Championship's for the third-consecutive season after dropping down a weight class to 125 lb. He also placed sixth at the Big 12 Championships for the third consecutive year as well.
During his final year at UNC, Montoya became the first Southern Scuffle finalist in program history and had a 16-11 overall record in the 2018-19 season. Montoya finished his career with 78 wins.
"I think our entire team has bought into the student-athlete experience," Nickerson added. "We really sell [academics] a lot in the recruiting process and the kids coming in are all about it. You see that with our team GPA and the type of kids coming to this program. They live the right lifestyle and do the right things. I think when you're doing the right things outside of the wrestling room; it makes it easier to do the right things in the wrestling room. We continue to evolve and it's exciting to see."
Along with wrestling, the Big 12 handed out scholar athlete of the year awards to men's and women's basketball, equestrian, gymnastics, along with men's and women's swimming and diving.
The Big 12 Conference established its Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2012-13. A recipient is named in each conference-sponsored sport. Every Big 12 institution nominates one individual per sport with the winners selected by a vote of the league head coaches for that sport, who are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes. Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees must be a junior or senior (athletic and academic standing), have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher, participate in at least 20 percent of the team's scheduled contests and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution.
To stay up to date with Northern Colorado wrestling visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter with @UNCBearsWrestle.
"First and foremost, I'm really proud of [Rico]. He has been the ideal student-athlete," head coach Troy Nickerson said. "He's really helped take this program to the next level in a lot of different ways. The most important way is through his academics. Rico graduated with his undergrad [degree] in three years and he has one more semester after his eligibility to finish up his masters program and go away with a 4.0 in grad school. He is setting himself up for a real nice future."
In his senior season, Montoya earned a 4.00 GPA while working towards his master's degree in Sport Administration. Montoya will graduate with his master's next month and has already earned a bachelor's degree in Human Services.
Earlier this year, Montoya was named to the All-Big 12 first team and was one of four wrestlers to earn a 4.0 in the conference. Along with the conference academic awards, Montoya is a two-time NWCA All-Academic Team honoree.
Montoya qualified for the NCAA Championship's for the third-consecutive season after dropping down a weight class to 125 lb. He also placed sixth at the Big 12 Championships for the third consecutive year as well.
During his final year at UNC, Montoya became the first Southern Scuffle finalist in program history and had a 16-11 overall record in the 2018-19 season. Montoya finished his career with 78 wins.
"I think our entire team has bought into the student-athlete experience," Nickerson added. "We really sell [academics] a lot in the recruiting process and the kids coming in are all about it. You see that with our team GPA and the type of kids coming to this program. They live the right lifestyle and do the right things. I think when you're doing the right things outside of the wrestling room; it makes it easier to do the right things in the wrestling room. We continue to evolve and it's exciting to see."
Along with wrestling, the Big 12 handed out scholar athlete of the year awards to men's and women's basketball, equestrian, gymnastics, along with men's and women's swimming and diving.
The Big 12 Conference established its Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2012-13. A recipient is named in each conference-sponsored sport. Every Big 12 institution nominates one individual per sport with the winners selected by a vote of the league head coaches for that sport, who are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes. Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees must be a junior or senior (athletic and academic standing), have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher, participate in at least 20 percent of the team's scheduled contests and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution.
To stay up to date with Northern Colorado wrestling visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter with @UNCBearsWrestle.
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