LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's time to highlight KTNV's July Academic Athlete of the Month.
Parker Wittmayer is a 4.0 GPA student at Calvary Chapel Christian School and has excelled on the track, football field and basketball court.
He's a busy guy — a multi-sport athlete being a standout football and basketball player. He is also the captain of a state championship-winning track team.
Wittmayer also excels academically, alongside a high GPA, he is also the president of the National Honors Society. He says being a good student goes hand-in-hand with being a great athlete.
"You can't just be playing sports, failing everything," he said. "You have to get good grades. I think it just translates over."
At 5'6", he is considered an undersized player in basketball and football standards. Despite this, he has been recruited to play football for Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. He was also named Defensive Player of the Year in basketball."
His coach, Judson Stubbs, and his teammate and close friend, Jaylen Shelton says one of Wittmayer's biggest strengths is his work ethic. Both say it inspired them.
"I remember last year, him being in the weight room, just putting in the work, really seeing him develop his muscles and his body," Stubbs said. "It made me go like, 'woah, this kid is on to something.'"
"Growing up with Parker since 6th grade, he's actually been one of my best teammates that I've ever had," Shelton said.
Wittmayer says it takes a lot of work to get to where he is, but with the right mindset, he says anyone can do what he is doing.
"You just have to keep studying, keep doing stuff, even when something goes bad," he said. "When you have a bad game, you have a bad season or class, you just have to keep working on it because it's just one class, one game."
Academic Athlete of the Month is sponsored by Centennial Subaru. Find more stories like this one at ktnv.com/academicathletes.
