POULSBO — The stereotypical dumb jock is becoming an anomaly at North Kitsap High School.

At the conclusion of the 2006 fall sports season, all six of NKHS’ programs were commended by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Academic Awards Program for Scholastic Achievement.

What’s more, the girls cross-country squad had the top team GPA average in the state for their sport, while the Vikings were second in state for volleyball.

In addition to those achievements in the classroom, the Vikings also made their first volleyball trip to the district tournament in three years, while the girls XC squad finished one place outside of state competition.

“I think that academics will always come first, but sports, on my list, are pretty high as well,” said junior Jennifer Gregg, a member of the NK girls cross country team.

“Overall, people that play sports know what it takes to do well academically,” said senior volleyball 2006 co-captian Katie Richards.

North Kitsap’s cheer, football, girls soccer, girls swim and boys tennis teams each earned the WIAA’s distinguished scholastic award honors for hoisting a combined team Grade Point Average between 3.0 and 3.49.

North’s boys and girls cross country teams and the Viking volleyball squad each earned the outstanding scholastic award for a combined team GPA better than 3.5.

“I am just amazed at the caliber of students at North,” NKHS principal Kathy Prasch said. “They are not only highly achieving academically and athletically, but they are just really genuinely nice kids. All of that means something to me.”

Both grades and sports seem to mean a lot to North Kitsap athletes as their incentive to achieve in either comes largely intrinsically. Other than support from parents and coaches, students aren’t given any lucrative motivation to make the grade. Nor do many teams host organized study sessions unless they are in dire need.

Regardless, the Vikings are preparing themselves for post-high school.

“It’s setting me up for my future,” Richards said. “(Sometimes) it’s really challenging, but the big thing is to prioritize.”

With only so many hours in a day, student-athletes’ days are chalk full during their respective sports seasons. Between the school day, one to two-hour long practices and bundles of homework, NK student athletes are building habitual foundations for life.

“The time commitment is huge, and I also think the parental guidance must be very strong,” Prasch said. “Teenagers are learning to manage time, they are learning what they are going to be when they are adults.”