TUCSON, Ariz. – The Pac-12 Conference announced today the 24 outstanding Pac-12 student-athletes who have been named recipients of Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarships for the 2017-18 academic year. The scholarships, worth $9,000 each, are awarded to up to two student-athletes from each Pac-12 school annually. These worthy student-athletes maintained a minimum 3.0 grade-point average and demonstrated a commitment to education, campus and community involvement, and leadership.
 
Arizona's two recipients both represent Track & Field as Aaron Castle and Alyssa Thompson will receive the scholarship. Castle is studying Physical Therapy at Eastern Washington University while Thompson is studying Medicine here at the University of Arizona.
 
To be selected for a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athlete must have:

• Maintained an overall undergraduate minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 (based on a 4.00 scale);
   
• Completed his/her final season of intercollegiate athletics eligibility in all sports or be in his/her final year of undergraduate study, having exhausted athletics eligibility in all sports;
   
• Been accepted to or already be enrolled as a full-time student in a graduate or professional program at an accredited institution, or in a postgraduate program for which an undergraduate degree is required for admission;
   
• Performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team; and
   
• Exemplified behavior, both in competition and beyond, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution, and intercollegiate athletics. 

Castle was a consistent standout in the classroom during his time at Arizona. Following the conclusion of his senior year in 2017, he was named a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American after earning a 3.78 GPA while studying Biology, making him a two-time Academic All-American as he was a third-team selection in 2015. Castle was also named to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team four times and finished out his college career as a four-time All-American in the shot put.
 
A senior from Tucson, Thompson was a USTFCCCA Academic All-American and a first-team Pac-12 All-Academic selection for the 2018 season. She held a 4.0 GPA as a physiology major and was named the athletics department's Valedictorian. Thompson is a two-time All-Pac-12 performer and earned second-team All-America honors in the heptathlon in 2016.
 
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