Four men's UAA student-athletes were named to the 2016 Academic All-America® Division III Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Senior Lukas Mees of Emory University was chosen to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team for the second time, garnering first team honors this year after being named a third team honoree in 2015. Mees earned a 3.92 grade point average as a psychology maor. The two-time UAA champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, he placed eighth in the event at the 2016 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Sophomore Daniel Pietsch of the Eagles carries a 3.39 grade point average in economics to earn second team Academic All-America honors. He became just the second Emory man to win a national championship outdoors when he captured the 400-meter dash at the 2016 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Senior Joey Pasque and junior Deko Ricketts of Washington University were both named to the Academic All-America second team for the first time in their careers.
Pasque, who maintained a 4.00 grade point average majoring in computer science, won back-to-back titles in the high jump at the UAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Ricketts ran the third leg of the Bears' Distance Medley Relay that captured the title at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and also placed second in the 800-meter run in the meet. The 2016 UAA Outdoor Track and Field Most Outstanding Performer in Running Events holds a 3.67 grade point average in mechanical engineering.