IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West Conference announced that Sammy Ayala and Callie Petrey-Juarez have been named Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
The conference honored two student-athletes from each institution – one male and one female – acknowledging their accomplishments on the field, in the classroom and in their communities.
The honorees from each Big West institution will be highlighted on ESPN+ on April 4 at noon PT.
Sammy Ayala, Cross Country and Track & Field (Hometown: Norwalk, Calif.) Ayala was the individual champion at The Big West Championships after setting a new course record in Davis, Calif. with a time of 23:34.5. Throughout the season, Ayala had two other top-five finishes and a top 25 finish at the Bill Dellinger Invite in Oregon. He took second (24:52.0) at the Mark Covert Classic and fourth (24:04.3) at the Highlander Invitational. Ayala was named the Big West Cross Country Men's Athlete of the Year and is now the second individual from Cal State Fullerton to win the award (Mike Tansley, 1992 and 1993). Ayala is getting his MBA in Marketing and has maintained a 3.23 GPA.
Callie Petrey-Juarez, Women's Soccer (Hometown: San Diego, Calif.) Petrey-Juarez led the team with 20 points on eight goals and four assists. Her 20 points ranks tied for fourth in the Big West Conference while her eight goals rank tied for third and four assists rank 10th. Petrey-Juarez was named to the All-Big West Second Team following the season. For her career, Petrey-Juarez scored nine goals and distributed six assists over 68 matches played and 24 starts. She is a two-time Big West All-Academic honoree. She graduated with a degree in communications while maintaining a 3.79 GPA.
WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home basketball game exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Gym which will also lead into baseball and softball games. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (@FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (@FullertonTitans).