HILLSBORO, Ore. -- The Northwest Conference office has announced the 2023-24 First Team All-Scholar student-athletes as well as its full roster of 2023-24 NWC Scholar-Athletes, with Connor Kong and Ellie Rising leading the team of 232 GFU Scholar-Athletes.

NWC Scholar-Athletes must maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA or better and be a member of the team during their traditional season to be considered for academic honors from the conference. First Team scholars are submitted to the conference by each institution based on their work in the classroom, on the field, and as representatives of overall excellence.

The Bruins' finished with a GPA of 3.38 while winning an NWC-high six conference championships — taking the titles in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, , women's golf, and women's lacrosse. Overall, their GPA was .04 higher than in the 2023-24 season.

Thanks to their work both on the field and in the classroom, Kong and Rising were named NWC First Team All-Scholar Athletes. Both athletes posted a GPA of 3.90 or better in their years at Fox and both earned NWC Scholar-Athlete honors in all four of their years at Fox. 

Kong, a senior on the men's soccer team at Fox, has been a steady contributor on the field and a leader within the campus community. In 2024, he earned Second Team All-NWC honors and was twice named NWC Offensive Player of the Week. Over his four-year career, Connor totaled 11 goals and nine assists, and started all 20 games during his senior season, helping lead the Bruins to their best record since 1995.
 
An engineering major with a minor in mathematics, Connor graduated summa cum laude with a 3.93 GPA. He is a four-time NWC Scholar-Athlete and a consistent presence on the Dean's List. He was named Outstanding Civil Engineer of the Year by the Engineering Department his senior year. His academic work included designing a nail clipper attachment for individuals with tremors and contributing to a senior design project for a proposed sanitary sewer lift station to support future development in Newberg's riverfront area. He also participated in George Fox's annual Serve Day, assisting with community service efforts across the Portland Metro area.

Ellie Rising, meanwhile, finished her senior season in Newberg competing in both track & field and cross country. A standout in middle-distance events, Ellie is a USTFCCCA Second Team All-American in the outdoor 800m and 1500m, and a three-time indoor All-American in the 800m. She is a three-time NWC Champion in the 800m and a two-time champion in the 1500m, holding program records in the indoor 800m, outdoor 800m, and outdoor 1500m. In cross country, Ellie earned All-West Region honors three times and helped lead the team to its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Ellie is majoring in kinesiology and holds a 3.815 GPA. She is a four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree and a four-time NWC Scholar-Athlete. Off the track, she has participated in George Fox's Serve Day for three years, giving back to communities across the Portland Metro area. Ellie was recently accepted into Northern Arizona University's master's program in nutrition, joining a highly selective 12-person cohort.

In addition to their First Team honorees, Fox put together 266 NWC Scholar-Athlete performances from its student-athlete population in 2023-24 between 232 individuals — with 28 more individuals named to the team than in 2023-24. Click the links above to see the full First Team and NWC Scholar-Athlete lists for the conference.