PELLA – Four graduating student-athletes with 4.0 GPAs were awarded the Gary Dirksen Student-Athlete Academic Award at the Dutchies Sunday night.

The awards go to the female and male senior student-athletes with the highest cumulative GPAs

At the Central College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's yearly celebration of Dutch athletics, men's wrestler Sam West (Burlington, Notre Dame HS) was announced as the male winner. Women's track and field athlete Emily McMartin (Pella) and Olivia Bohlen (Belle Plaine) as well as triathlete Luci Laidlaw (Pella) were named co-winners amongst female athletes.

West is a three-time American Rivers All-Conference wrestler for the Dutch, earning his first trip to the NCAA Division III Championships this season. He's also a three-time National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American. After graduating with a degree in business management, West will return to Burlington to work at his family's company, Industrial Service Corporation.

Bohlen has five total All-American finishes in her career, most recently finishing third at the 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. She's also been named an Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators twice and won three individual titles at the American Rivers Conference Championship meets. She is set to attend graduate school at Allen College and study Occupational Therapy.

McMartin is also a two-time indoor track and field All-American after placing seventh in the distance medley relay in 2025 and ninth in this year's 4x400-meter relay. She's also been named an American Rivers Academic All-Conference twice. After graduation, McMartin has accepted an elementary school teaching position at Central DeWitt School District.

Laidlaw became an All-American in 2025 by finishing fifth among Division III athletes at the USA Triathlon Collegiate Championships. She's a two-time Scholar All-American honoree by the Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association with two additional honorable mentions. She's heading to the University of Iowa for a graduate school program in music