GOLD RIVER, Calif. – STANFORD senior Landon Alecxih and CALIFORNIA’s Kendall Chase has been named the 2016 Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Rowing Scholar-Athletes of the Year, announced by the Pac-12 Conference. These awards have been established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.

Landon Alecxih, who hails from Columbia, Pa., owns a 4.013 cumulative grade point average majoring in Economics. He has rowed in every regatta, competing in both the varsity eight and second varsity eight. A Pac-12 and Intercollegiate Rowing Association All-Academic honoree, Alecxih traveled to Africa in the fall of 2015, working with a professor from Stanford to study education in several villages in Africa. He has been an integral part of Stanford's success in the water, medaling at the IRA Championships in 2015.

Chase, an Evergreen, Colo., native, currently holds a 3.50 GPA majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Letters Arts and Sciences. A two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree, Chase serves at the women’s crew representative on the Golden Bear Advisory Committee. As a junior, Chase was named 2015 Pac-12 Athlete of the Year and led the WV8 boat to a Pac-12 Championship and a second-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships. She earned 2015 National Rowing Coaches Association All-American, All-Region as well as Pac-12 All-Conference honors. Internationally this past summer, Chase earned two gold medals for Team USA at the Under 23 World Championships in Plovidv, Bulgaria in the women’s 4- and 8+. As a sophomore, Chase earned gold medals for Team USA at the Women’s World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Varese, Italy in both the women’s 4- and 8+. Chase helped the Bears’ to a NCAA title as a freshman member of the varsity eight boat.

In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50% of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season.  The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 23 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling.

The Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards were established during the 2007-08 academic year.

Also nominated for Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Erin Alexander, CAL; Bobby Vernazza, OSU; Finn Schroeder, WASH; Griffin Berger, WSU.

Also nominated for Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Alissa Kummer, OSU; Emily Grundman, STAN; Alice White, UCLA; Sara Bilimoria, USC; Jordan Watson, WSU.