In leading up to the official start of the 2022-23 athletics campaign at Irvine Valley, which starts on Aug. 26 with the IVC women's soccer team playing at Southwestern at 5 p.m. and the Laser women's volleyball team hosting Canyons at 5 p.m., the Irvine Valley athletic department will count down the top 10 sports stories from the 2021-22 school year.
The No. 6 story on the list for 2021-22 features the amazing, scholar-athletes at Irvine Valley. The Lasers finished with 107 scholar athletes for the 21-22 year from its 10 sports. It ranks as the third-highest total in program history and only one behind the 108 scholar-athletes in '20-21 and '19-20. Irvine Valley athletes are shining on and off the courts and fields.
The Irvine Valley athletics program has had at least 100 scholar-athletes over the past four academic years.
The 2021-22 school year was one of the best with 107 scholars among atheletes. It means that those 107 athletes who used a season of elibility during the current academic year, achieved a 3.0 or better GPA in at least 12 units.
The 107 scholar athletes for IVC during 2021-22 ranks third all-time and just behind 108 scholar-athletes during the 2020-21 and 2019-20 school years.
Baseball had the most scholar-athletes with 22 and was followed by the men's soccer squad with 21.
Leading the way were women's basketball player Jessica Suruor and men's soccer player Garrett Hayes, who were named the female and male scholar athletes of the year for 2021-22.
Suruor has moved on to continue her academic and athletic career at Holy Names University and Hayes is on to studye and play at Cal State Monterey Bay.
Also, the 2022 women's beach volleyball team achieved the highest level academically in GPA at Irvine Valley during the 21-22 season.
The squad earned an overall 3.48 GPA. Baseball was next at 3.34 and the men's soccer squad was third with a 3.30 grade point average.
In all, nine of the 10 Irvine Valley sports teams finished with at least a 3.0 GPA.
Program-wide, Irvine Valley athletics had a 3.14 grade point average, which is the second-best in program history. Only the 2020-21 year ended better with a 3.16 GPA.
