Alec Jones (’19) Named to 2020 NATYCAA Scholar-Athlete Team, Elias-Romero Named Honorable Mention

Former men's track & field standout Alec Jones ('19) and current women's volleyball standout, Vashti Elias-Romero, have earned National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) Scholar Team recognition.

In order to be eligible for this award, a student-athlete must meet the following criteria: minimum 3.6 GPA on a 4.0 scale with a minimum of 36 semester hours or 45 quarter hours with a minimum of 24 semester/36 quarter hours at the nominating institution; participation in a minimum of one complete season of varsity competition at the nominating institution; outstanding athletics success; and outstanding qualities of leadership and citizenship. Spring sport athletes may be considered for nomination the following year.

Jones transferred to Division I CSU Long Beach after being a main contributor to the 2019 Men's Track & Field State Championship team. He was named the 2019 State Championship Field Athlete of the Meet after dominating the Hammer (54.16 m) and placing second in the Discus (49.23m). Additionally, he was named the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) champion in the Discus and Hammer, earning him the OEC Field Athlete of the Year award.

His accomplishments stretched deep into the academic field as he earned the Riverside City College Student of Distinction Award for the Kinesiology and Athletics department in 2019.  

Elias-Romero earns scholar-athlete honorable mention laurels after begin the anchor to the women's indoor and beach volleyball programs for two years. The Redlands, CA native was a two-time OEC All-Conference award winner after capping her career with a First-Team recognition.

In 2019, she recorded career marks with 294 kills, 300 digs, 3.59 kills-per-set and 27 total blocks. Furthermore, she ranked third on the team in service aces with 32. The sophomore standout was the leader in all aspects of the contest, but especially dangerous on offense. She landed in double-digit kills 14 times highlighted by a pair of 21 kills matches both coming in victories. Of those 14 double-digit kill games, 11 of them featured double-digit dig marks. She earned 15 double-digit digs games with a career-high 24 digs on two separate occasions.  In conference, she ranked third in kills and fourth in kills-per-set.

On the sand, she reached the CCCAA Round of 16 in 2019 and was slotted as the top duo in 2020. She went 2-2 with sophomore teammate Jasmine Urban prior to the cancelation of the season due to COVID-19.

Furthermore, she was recently named the 2019-20 OEC Nevco Character Champion. The award is given to the student-athletes who displays the following values; sportsmanship, respect, caring, fairness, civility, honesty, integrity and responsibility shown through a specific action, ideally directed toward an opponent during competition.

The criteria also includes the action of putting the team and teammates before oneself while acting as a positive role model. The inaugural award was given out following the 2009-10 academic year.

Off the court, Elias-Romero was active in the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. She participated in special events including Halloween Town, Bunny Hop and Coaches vs. Cancer nights. She also dipped into athletic media by recording stats at baseball games.

Elias-Romero is set to play for NAIA Vanguard University next Fall.

(Nicho DellaValle, Riverside SID)