GREENVILLE, South Carolina ---  Daniel Francken of the University of Mount Olive Men's Track and Field team was named the Conference Carolinas Winter Scholar-Athlete of the Year as announced by the conference office on Friday morning. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards are voted on by the Student-Athlete Affairs Committee and is presented annually to one student-athlete in each sport for recognition of their outstanding performance both on the field and in the classroom.

Francken was named the 2020 Winter Scholar-Athlete for Men's Track and Field after a stellar indoor season for the senior. Francken is a senior member of the men's track and field team from New South Wales, Australia. The Biology major has a 3.508 GPA and has amassed numerous honors throughout his indoor season and career. He was a Conference Carolinas All-Conference 2nd-Team honoree (twice) and 3rd-team selection this season and was named to the all-conference team six times during his career. Francken was also a Conference Champion in 2018 in the 3000m. He has also been a part of four consecutive Indoor Track & Field Conference Championships. The senior was also a Conference Carolinas Academic All-Conference team member in 2019 and 2020.

Candidates are submitted by member institutions for each of the conference's twenty-three sponsored sports. To be considered for the honor, the student-athlete must have been named Academic All-Conference, which entails having attended their member institution for at least one year and having reached junior or senior standing with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher on a 4-point scale. Scholar Athletes of the Year must also be represented on their sport's First, Second, or Third All-Conference Team, the rosters of which are chosen by coaches at the end of each playing season.  This spring's class of honorees holds an impressive average GPA of 3.80.