Florida Atlantic University Athletics
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Swimming & Diving’s Witkay Receives C-USA Spirit of Service Award
4/10/2019 12:09:00 PM | General, Swimming & Diving
DALLAS – Florida Atlantic University swimmer Kelsey Witkay has been recognized as the school's recipient of the Conference USA Spirit of Service Award, as announced by the league on Wednesday. Witkay is one of 14 recipients chosen in C-USA from the winter sports: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track & field and women's swimming & diving.
The junior co-captain of the women's swimming & diving team has completed 35.5 community service hours with 15 different organizations this academic year. She has volunteered her time to help with beach cleanups, Mental Health Awareness Day, National School Lunch Week, Think Pink Zumbathon, Walk to End Alzheimer's, National Literacy Week and Becca's Closet. Witkay was also honored with the Female Community Service Award at the 2019 Owlspys for all of the work she has done in the community.
Additionally, Witkay spent three weeks this past summer volunteering in South Africa through Student Athletes Abroad, an international education program designed for student-athletes. Witkay was paired up with Project Playground, which is a non-profit organization that uses sports as a vehicle to help the youth positively develop. She made a lasting impact on a myriad of these kids' lives who were living in the townships of Cape Town. For a more in-depth story of her time in South Africa, read this story.
The Alamo, California native also achieved immense success in the pool, as she captured 17 top-10 individual finishes this season. At the 2019 C-USA Championships, Witkay moved on to finals in each of her three events, accomplishing lifetime best times in the 100-yard freestyle (53.08) and 200-yard freestyle (1:53.32). Witkay also contributed to a third-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay at the Patriot Invitational this season.
As an exercise science major in the honors program, Witkay has gone above and beyond in the classroom with a cumulative 3.836 GPA. Witkay is a two-time C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal honoree for holding a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher, as well as a Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient. The junior balances her time to make room for school, her sport and giving back to the community, which is the epitome of what being a student-athlete is all about.
Although the swimming & diving regular season has come to a close, stay up-to-date with news leading up to the 2019-20 regular season on Twitter (@FAUSwimDive), Instagram (@FAUSwimDive) and Facebook.
C-USA Winter Spirit of Service Honorees:
Taylor Parcells, Charlotte, Women's Indoor Track & Field
Alexa Bryant, FIU, Women's Swimming & Diving
Kelsey Witkay, Florida Atlantic, Women's Swimming & Diving
Taylor Stahly, Louisiana Tech, Women's Basketball
Kristen Mayo, Marshall, Women's Basketball
Alex Johnson, Middle Tennessee, Women's Basketball
Meaghan Rousset, North Texas, Women's Swimming & Diving
Amanda Caruso, Old Dominion, Women's Swimming & Diving
Hanna Huston, Rice, Women's Swimming & Diving
Lina May, Southern Miss, Women's Indoor Track & Field
Rachael Childress, UAB, Women's Basketball
Katarina Zec, UTEP, Women's Basketball
Tija Hawkins, UTSA, Women's Basketball
Moustapha Diagne, WKU, Men's Basketball
The junior co-captain of the women's swimming & diving team has completed 35.5 community service hours with 15 different organizations this academic year. She has volunteered her time to help with beach cleanups, Mental Health Awareness Day, National School Lunch Week, Think Pink Zumbathon, Walk to End Alzheimer's, National Literacy Week and Becca's Closet. Witkay was also honored with the Female Community Service Award at the 2019 Owlspys for all of the work she has done in the community.
Additionally, Witkay spent three weeks this past summer volunteering in South Africa through Student Athletes Abroad, an international education program designed for student-athletes. Witkay was paired up with Project Playground, which is a non-profit organization that uses sports as a vehicle to help the youth positively develop. She made a lasting impact on a myriad of these kids' lives who were living in the townships of Cape Town. For a more in-depth story of her time in South Africa, read this story.
The Alamo, California native also achieved immense success in the pool, as she captured 17 top-10 individual finishes this season. At the 2019 C-USA Championships, Witkay moved on to finals in each of her three events, accomplishing lifetime best times in the 100-yard freestyle (53.08) and 200-yard freestyle (1:53.32). Witkay also contributed to a third-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay at the Patriot Invitational this season.
As an exercise science major in the honors program, Witkay has gone above and beyond in the classroom with a cumulative 3.836 GPA. Witkay is a two-time C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal honoree for holding a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher, as well as a Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient. The junior balances her time to make room for school, her sport and giving back to the community, which is the epitome of what being a student-athlete is all about.
Although the swimming & diving regular season has come to a close, stay up-to-date with news leading up to the 2019-20 regular season on Twitter (@FAUSwimDive), Instagram (@FAUSwimDive) and Facebook.
C-USA Winter Spirit of Service Honorees:
Taylor Parcells, Charlotte, Women's Indoor Track & Field
Alexa Bryant, FIU, Women's Swimming & Diving
Kelsey Witkay, Florida Atlantic, Women's Swimming & Diving
Taylor Stahly, Louisiana Tech, Women's Basketball
Kristen Mayo, Marshall, Women's Basketball
Alex Johnson, Middle Tennessee, Women's Basketball
Meaghan Rousset, North Texas, Women's Swimming & Diving
Amanda Caruso, Old Dominion, Women's Swimming & Diving
Hanna Huston, Rice, Women's Swimming & Diving
Lina May, Southern Miss, Women's Indoor Track & Field
Rachael Childress, UAB, Women's Basketball
Katarina Zec, UTEP, Women's Basketball
Tija Hawkins, UTSA, Women's Basketball
Moustapha Diagne, WKU, Men's Basketball
Players Mentioned
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