Orcutt named Student Athlete of the Month

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Joel Orcutt isn’t just a standout basketball player.
He is also an artist.

“I enjoy doing art a lot,” he said. “I take pride in my work.”

Orcutt, who was named SJO’s male Student Athlete of the Month for January, had 18 points against Prairie Central on Jan. 25 and 12 points against Monticello on Tuesday night, and was nominated by SJO boys’ basketball coach Kiel Duval for the honor.

Duval said Orcutt has been the most consistent player for the Spartans for the past month.

“He’s getting better every day,” Duval said.

Orcutt was honored to be nominated.

“It feels good knowing that my hard work and performance is being noticed,” he said.

Orcutt said balancing athletics and academics is a tough concept, but one he thrives at.

“The most difficult part is keeping up with grades and still performing well,” Orcutt said. “And being an athlete almost year-round.”

Orcutt, who is going to attend St. Ambrose University to play football and plans on majoring in either biology or business, said he loves playing sports at SJO.

“The best part is the bonds that you create between you and your teammates,” he said. “Also, just playing the sports that I love at the school that I love is awesome.”