Cross Country's Tucker Named Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar 1st-Team Award Winner
Tucker honored for excellence on the course, in the classroom and in the community
April 25, 2007

Carson, CA -- Senior cross country specialist Valarie Tucker (Downey, CA/El Camino College) has been named a 2007 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award recipient, it was announced in Volume 24, No. 4 issue of Diverse magazine. Tucker, who earned a 3.92 GPA in Fall 2006 and maintains a 3.81 cumulative GPA, will graduate as a liberal studies major in May of this year.

Inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.’s commitment to education, this award is presented to undergraduate students of color who have made achieving both academically and athletically a winning combination. To be eligible for this award, students have to compete in an intercollegiate sport, maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2, and be active on campus and in the community, criteria that exemplify the standards of scholarship, athleticism and humanitarianism.

In addition to her 3.81 cumulative GPA, Tucker has been on the CSUDH Athletics Department Academic Honor Roll the past two years, and earned California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) All-Academic Award honors in 2005-06.

Athletically, Tucker has proved her worth to the Toros cross-country team for two years running, leading CSUDH in all cross country meets this season while earning a season-best 6th-place finish at the Cal State Bakersfield meet in early fall.

Away from competition, Tucker has been a volunteer teacher’s aide since 2003, and founded and developed in 2004 a physical education after school program at a local elementary school where she makes lesson plans for underprivileged Hispanic children, helping to develop sports skills and gross/fine motor skills.. She also serves on the CSUDH Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and volunteers as an apprentice coach for 13-18 year olds at Downey High School.

Overall, there were 25 track and field/cross country 1st-team selections spanning Divisions I, II and III institutions, as well as junior colleges.