KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Junior defender Sarah Gatehouse (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) of the top-ranked Kutztown University Field Hockey team has been a standout in the classroom, and her hard work was recognized as Gatehouse earned the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Field Hockey Champion Scholar award, announced by the league office on Friday, Nov. 18, prior to Kutztown's semifinal game against East Stroudsburg.
 
Gatehouse is the second Golden Bear to achieve the feat, joining Hannah Shirk, who won it in 2019.
 
The PSAC Champion Scholar Awards are modeled after the NCAA's Elite 90 award and honor the student-athlete with the top-grade point average who is competing at the site of each of the PSAC's finals sites. The selection criteria for the Champion Scholar Awards is identical to that of the NCAA Elite 90 awards, which honor the student-athlete with the top GPA at each of the championship finals sites of the 90 NCAA championships across all three divisions – I, II, and III.
 
Gatehouse, a sport management major, is a multi-year PSAC Scholar-Athlete, D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award winner, NFHCA Scholar of Distinction and NFHCA National Academic Squad and Dean's List member, boasting a perfect 4.0 GPA. She has been the rock of the defense, starting all 18 games as a center back. Gatehouse has a career-best 10 assists this season, which ranks second in the PSAC. She also has scored two goals. Gatehouse has been the PSAC and NFHCA Defender of the Week twice this season.