Batty wins WCC scholar-athlete award, postgraduate scholarship

COEUR DʼALENE, Idaho – The 2012 West Coast Conference Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athletes of the Year and West Coast Conference Postgraduate Scholarship winners were announced Wednesday, with BYU runner Miles Batty winning both awards in the male student-athlete category.

The awards were announced at the third annual WCC Honors Dinner, held last week in conjunction with the Executive Council and Presidentsʼ Council meetings at the Coeur dʼAlene Resort.

By winning both awards, Batty becomes just the third West Coast Conference male student-athlete to do so since the inception of the Postgraduate Scholarship in 2004.  Batty was unable to appear at the Honors Dinner due competing in the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe accepted the awards on Battyʼs behalf.

The female Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete of the Year winner was Kim Hill from Pepperdine University, and the female Postgraduate Scholarship recipient was Tanya Schmidt from Santa Clara University.

The WCC Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete of the Year is selected by a vote of the WCC's Executive Council to recognize the finest accomplishments in athletics, academics and community service by individuals who have completed their WCC eligibility.

2012 marked the ninth consecutive year that the WCC has awarded one male and one female student-athlete with a scholarship to assist with graduate school or professional school education. Candidates must own a minimum 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale, demonstrate a significant athletic contribution on the varsity athletic level in a WCC sponsored sport, and participate in a WCC sport for a minimum of two years. In addition, candidates must have a record of participating in campus or community activities, completed their athletic eligibility, and competed in intercollegiate athletics in the academic year in which they are nominated.

MILES BATTY, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, MENʼS CROSS COUNTRY

Miles Batty graduated from Brigham Young University as a five-time Dean's List selection with a 3.93 grade point average, double majoring in Neuroscience and Exercise Science.  A three-time Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Batty was named the recipient of the 2012 NCAA Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship.  He plans to pursue a degree in medicine. 

On the trail, Batty was the 2011 West Coast Conference individual cross country champion in his first season in the conference.  As a junior, Batty won the national championship in the indoor mile, while running the anchor leg on the distance medley team that won the NCAA title. 

In the community, Batty spent time as a volunteer tutor, a guest speaker, and participated with his cross country teammates in youth fireside events in competition host cities.  Batty served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil and was also the chair of the service committee of a local student church congregation.