TUCSON, Ariz. -- The student-athletes for June have been announced as Caroline Cordes, Beach Volleyball, Viktor Gardenkrans, Track and Field, Collins Kibet, Track and Field, and Sophia Thomas, Women's Tennis. These students have been honored for their commitment to earning their undergraduate degree, the ability to maximize their academic potential, and their dedication to academic improvement and growth.
 
These students have been chosen by their counselors on the C.A.T.S Academics staff: Brittney Crawford, Beach Volleyball, LeAnne Shoemaker, Track and Field, Sarah Howard, Cross Country, and Andy Salgado, Women's Tennis.

Caroline Cordes is heading into her sophomore year as an Arizona Wildcat, following in the footsteps of her dad who played football for Arizona and her older brother who was a swimmer. She is from Naperville, Illinois and previously attended Waubonsie Valley High School. Her junior year of high school Cordes was named the Most Valuable Player on her team as well as being named All-Conference and All-District. Caroline was named Academic All-Conference all four years at Waubonsie and is currently an undecided major but has a strong interest in photography. Her academic counselor Brittney Crawford said that Caroline, "Had a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA in her first year as a Wildcat. She is a bright student and a self-starting problem solver. Whenever she is faced with a challenge she looks to find a solution and tackles issues head-on, which is an impressively mature trait for a college freshman."

Viktor Gardenkrans is a junior from Helsingborg, Sweden. He attended high school at Malmö Borgarskola where he was a member of the track and field team, competing in the shot put, discus throw, and hammer throw. To this day he holds the youth record for discus in Sweden. Now as a Wildcat, Gardenkrans is majoring in sociology and has been a key member of the track and field team. He finished third in the 2017 Pac-12 Championships and qualified for the first round of the 2017 NCAA Track and Field Championships. His academic counselor, LeAnne Shoemaker had only great thing to say about Viktor. She said, "Viktor is a discus thrower from Sweden, who has been a phenomenal student since he got to the University of Arizona. Currently a junior majoring in Sociology, Viktor had his first perfect semester during spring 2017. He excels athletically and academically, Viktor is certainly going to do great things!"

Collins Kibet is a recently graduated senior who will be pursuing a second bachelor's degree this upcoming year. He is from Eldoret, Kenya and graduated from Patrick's High School. Before coming to Arizona Kibet had no competitive running experience. In 2016 he was named Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention, in 2015 he was Pac-12 All-Academic Second team, and in 2014 he was named Pac-12 All-Academic First team. Kibet also excels on the track, earning a personal record of 1:48.04 in the 800-meter race, 4:09.93 in the indoor mile, 47.95 in the 400-meter sprint, and 3:43.86 in the 1,500-meter race. His academic counselor, Sarah Howard said, "Collins Kibet is an international student-athlete who was able to graduate this past spring and will be pursuing another bachelor's degree in his last year of eligibility. He has worked very hard since stepping foot on campus and continues to stay focused. He will find success in whatever he chooses to do."

Sophia Thomas is entering her junior year at Arizona. She joins the Cats from Bexley, England and had been the country's top-ranked player for the previous three years. During the 2014-2015 season while still competing in England, Thomas had been placed in the top-10 women's tennis players in the nation. During her freshman season at Arizona, Thomas earned her first career regular season high victory when competing against UTEP's Matilda Tench. Her academic counselor, Andy Salgado said, "Sophia recorded a fantastic semester GPA during the spring of 2017 and has excelled this summer during her Pre-Session class. Her goal is to graduate in three years so she can begin graduate school. Sophia continues to do well academically each semester and has really pushed herself as a student athlete."