The Washington University in St. Louis track & field program received multiple U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Academic honors, including the WashU women sweeping the Indoor and Outdoor Scholar Team of the Year Accolades and senior Deko Ricketts sweeping the Indoor and Outdoor Scholar Track Athlete of the Year Awards.
Brandeis University
The Brandeis University track and field teams have been honored by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) as USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams. The award is open to any program that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.00 or above. The Brandeis women compiled a team GPA of 3.39, while the men were at 3.32.
Additionally, three individuals were honored as USTFCCCA All-Academic honorees.
Rising senior Mitchell Hutton was honored for the men, while recent graduate Maddie Dolins and rising junior Emily Bryson were recognized for the women.
"I'm thrilled that so many of our student-athletes are being recognized for their hard work in and out of the classroom," said Director of Athletics Lynne Dempsey '93. "Representing Brandeis in athletics and doing well in school have never been mutually exclusive and these teams prove that year in and year out."
Carnegie Mellon University
The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the 2017 Division III All-Academic Track & Field Teams and Carnegie Mellon University was included on each list for the 11th consecutive year. A total of 111 men's teams and 183 women's teams earned the distinction as a result of a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or better.
The women's track and field team achieved a team GPA of 3.43 for the 2016-2017 school year.
In addition to the team earning the award, seniors Ariel Tian (Acton, Mass./Acton Boxborough Regional) and Grace Yee (San Francisco, Calif./Lick-Wilmerding), junior Sarah Cook (Pittsburgh, Pa./Hampton), sophomore Debarati Bhanja (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany), and freshman Michelle Karabin (Ruffs Dale, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) earned All-Academic honors.
All five individuals qualified for the award by achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better with either competing at the NCAA Championships or finishing the regular season ranked in the national top 50 in an individual event or top 35 in a relay event.
Cook earned the All-Academic honor for the second time.
The men's track and field team achieved a team GPA of 3.34 for the 2016-2017 school year.
In addition to the team earning the award, seniors Owen Norley (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston), Curtis Watro (Audubon, Pa./Methacton), and Brady Wilson(Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep (Wake Forest)), sophomore Isaac Mills (Fairfax, Va./Oakton), and freshman Evan Yukevich (Tokyo, Japan/American School in Japan) were named All-Academic.
All five individuals qualified for the award by achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better with either competing at the NCAA Championships or finishing the regular season ranked in the national top 50 in an individual event or top 35 in a relay event.
Norley earned the All-Academic recognition for the fourth time while Watro earned the honor for the second time.
Case Western Reserve University
The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's track and field teams were recognized as All-Academic Teams by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), while seven members of the team – seniors Nathaniel Wahner, Galen Caldwell and Temi Omilabu, juniors Sam Merriman and Cassandra Laios, and freshmen Jonathan Haling and Brian Holden - each claimed individual All-Academic honors.
The Case Western Reserve men had a team cumulative grade point average of 3.46, the ninth-highest among each of the teams recognized, while the women's team's GPA of 3.54 was the 18th-best among the programs receiving All-Academic status.
In order to receive All-Academic team honors, the program must have a minimum 3.10 team cumulative grade point average. A total of 111 men's teams and 183 women's teams across Division III were recognized with the honor.
Individual All-Academic honorees must be ranked in the top-50 in the nation in an event, while also maintain a GPA of at least 3.3. Wahner fulfilled the athletic requirement during both the indoor and outdoor season, ranking 18th in indoor 200-meter dash (22.23), 10th in the indoor 400-meter dash (48.89), 20th in the outdoor 100-meter dash (10.67), 17th in the outdoor 200-meter dash (21.43), 6th in the outdoor 400-meter dash (47.64) and 6th in the 4x400-meter relay (3:13.62).
Omilabu, Laios and Merriman also fulfilled the athletic requirement during the indoor and outdoor season, with Omilabu ranking 29th in the indoor weight throw (16.27 meters) and 44th in the outdoor hammer throw (49.19 meters), while Laios ranked 44th in the indoor weight throw (15.89 meters) and 23rd in the outdoor hammer throw (51.30 meters). Merriman ranked 41st in the indoor 5,000-meter run (15:01.43) and 23rd in Division III in the outdoor 5,000-meter run (14:29.93). The three other Spartan honorees fulfilled the athletic requirement during the outdoor season, with Caldwell ranking 46th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:25.67), Haling ranking 6th in 4x400-meter relay (3:13.62) and Holden ranking 48th in the javelin throw (56.19 meters).
NYU
The New York University men's and women's track & field teams have received numerous postseason academic awards from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Both squads were named USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams, with the men's and women's teams posting grade-point averages of 3.358 and 3.393, respectively.
Six Violet athletes also earned Individual All-Academic status. Neil Saddler, Budd Brown, Nick Karam, Caleb Su were four of 402 men's honorees, while Sabrina Herrmann and Simone Cooper were two of 608 women.
The Violet track and field season bore success in competition this season, as well. For the men, Saddler (5,000m) and Jorge Maldonado (10,000m) qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Su set a new 60m indoor school record (6.90), and sophomore William Leewas the University Athletic Association (UAA) high jump champion and tied the 68-year-old outdoor high jump school record of 2.02m (6'7.75"). On the women's side, Dana Placentratied the indoor pole vault school record of 3.30m (10'10"), freshman Evelyn Nkanga was the UAA triple jump champion and competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and sophomore Mimi Conti broke the 400m outdoor school record of 56.55s and competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The USTFCCA awards contribute to a growing number of the squad's academic accolades. Twenty-eight team members (16 men, 12 women) earned UAA Winter Sport All-Academic honors, while 32 (18 men, 14 women) received UAA recognition in the Spring. Additionally, 35 team members (20 men, 15 women) were named to the Intercollegiate Athetics Advisory Committee Spring Honor Roll.
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago men's and women's track & field squads both garnered 2016-17 All-Academic Team distinction from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Additionally, 22 Maroons earned individual All-Academic honors.
USTFCCCA All-Academic teams must post a minimum 3.00 cumulative team GPA to be eligible for recognition. UChicago's women recorded a 3.56 GPA while the men tallied a 3.46 GPA. A total of 294 teams (183 women's, 111 men's) received All-Academic standing.
On the individual All-Academic list, the Maroons were well-represented by 15 women and seven men. To qualify, student-athletes must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.30 and met at least one of the following athletic standards:
- Competed in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship;
- Finished the regular season ranked in the national top-50 in an individual event or ranked in the national top-35 in a relay event on the official NCAA Descending Order List.
UChicago All-Academic Women
- Ade Ayoola (Jr.)
- Claire Costelloe (Jr.)
- Laura Darcey (Fr.)
- Michelle Dobbs (Sr.)
- Angel Fluet (Jr.)
- Isabel Garon (Fr.)
- Eleanor Kang (Sr.)
- Emma Koether (So.)
- Khia Kurtenbach (Jr.)
- Mary Martin (Fr.)
- Jenna McKinney (So.)
- Cassidy McPherson (Jr.)
- Charissa Newkirk (Sr.)
- Robin Peter (Fr.)
- Megan Verner-Crist (Jr.)
UChicago All-Academic Men
- Ben Chaimberg (So.)
- Nathan Downey (Jr.)
- Jeremy Ferguson (Sr.)
- Patrick LeFevre (Jr.)
- Andrew Maneval (Sr.)
- Owen Melia (So.)
- Nick Nielsen (Sr.)
Washington University
The WashU women's team finished the season with a cumulative grade point average of 3.55, which was tied for 21st out of 183 Division III programs, in addition to sweeping the Indoor and Outdoor National Championships. The men's team posted a 3.42 GPA, which was tied for 15thout of 111 programs to qualify with the minimum GPA of 3.00.
Ricketts earned the USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor Scholar Athlete of the year after winning the 800-meter National Titles. He concluded his career with a 3.72 GPA while studying electrical engineering.
The women had 16 student-athletes earn USTFCCCA All-Academic honors while 11 men earned the distinction.
Representing the women were seniors Kelli Hancock, Ashley Knudson, Annie Marggraff, Daisy Ogede and Rebecca Ridderhoff, juniors Alison Lindsay, Annalise Wagner, Aly Wayne and Audrey Western, sophomores Dominique Meyer and Heidi Nassos, and freshmen Nicky Althoff, Caitlin Cheeseboro, Anna Cossio, Elizabeth Hagstrom and Sara Mesiano all earned the USTFCCCA All-Academic honor.
Earning the USTFCCCA All-Academic honor on the men's side were seniors Ethan Brodeur, Conor Cashner, Ricketts and Mike Sullivan, juniors Thomas Gales and David O'Gara, sophomore Jason Singer, and freshmen Jon Fleming, Brandon Hutchison, Nick Matteucci and Eddie Wintergalen.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team as an individual, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30, and have competed in the NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championships or finished the season ranked in the national top-35 in an individual event or in the top-25 in a relay event.