FSCJ Names Female and Male Athletes of the Year and Scholar Athletes of the Year

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) BlueWave Athletics recently named the Female and Male Athletes of the Year and the Female and Male Scholar Athletes of the Year for 2020-21.

2020-21 BlueWave Athletes of the Year

In recognition of their athletic achievements, BlueWave Softball Player Breanna Swanson was named Female Athlete of the Year and Men’s Basketball Player Gianfranco Grafals was named Male Athlete of the Year.

Breanna has been a part of the BlueWave softball team for three seasons and was a second team all-conference player in both 2019 and 2021. She held a .375 batting average and fielded a .976 percentage playing the outfield. Breanna holds a perfect 4.0 GPA and graduated last May with an Associate in Arts (A.A.) She is currently enrolled in FSCJ’s Business Administration Bachelor of Science (B.S.) program and earned academic All-Conference, All-Region and First Team All-National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in 2019-20 and 2020-21. 

Gianfranco transferred to FSCJ to play his second season of college basketball and led the team with an average of 17 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game. He earned a 3.5 GPA during his two terms at FSCJ and will graduate with honors. He is an Academic All-Conference and Academic All-Region recipient as well. 

2020-21 BlueWave Scholar Athletes of the Year

In recognition of their academic, athletic and civic achievements, Indoor Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Player Leah Mortensen was named Female Scholar Athlete of the Year and Cross Country Team Member John Bear was named Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Leah holds a perfect 4.0 GPA and graduated this past May with an A.A. She is a two-time Academic All-Conference, All-Region and First Team All-NJCAA academic recipient. She has 500 volunteer hours with Southeastern Guide Dogs, training a puppy that will eventually be given to either someone who is visually impaired or a veteran.

Also named Mid-Florida Conference Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, John is working on his B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and continues to hold a perfect 4.0 GPA. He earned Academic All-Conference, All-Region and NJCAA First Team honors and was the GPA leader for his team this year and garnered fifth place with the NJCAA XC Coaches Association All-Academic Award. John volunteered over 50 hours as an official for the Florida Striders races and at two UNF track meets. He has also volunteered for the YMCA kid’s track program. In addition, he volunteered to participate in the COVID-19 vaccine program, taking part in the original tests before it was distributed to the general public. 

“We are proud of the commitment and successes of each of these student athletes, and are pleased to have the opportunity to honor their dedication to their teams, academics and the community as a whole,” said College President John Avendano, Ph.D. “We know this year has presented all of our students with additional challenges beyond the norm so the victories in their sports and in the classroom, whether physical or virtual, should be celebrated.”

Visit gobluewave.com to learn more about FSCJ’s BlueWave Athletics.