Men's and Women's Track and Field Teams Recognized for Academic Excellence
August 7, 2008
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has released its 2008 All-Academic Teams and both the Luther College men's and women's track and field teams earned this distinguished honor.
To earn this award, a team's entire roster must have accumulated a grade-point-average of 3.0 or great. The women's team accumulated a gpa of 3.45 and ranked 14th in the nation, while the men's team ranked 24th with a gpa of 3.18. There are over 300 Division III track and field programs. The women's team consisted of 57 student-athletes on its active roster and the men's team had a total of 56 student-athletes.
The USTFCCCA also released the list of student-athletes who were named 2008 Scholar Athletes of the Year.
To qualify for this award, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.25 or higher and have met the NCAA Division III Indoor or Outdoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard in their respective events.
Jess Jewell '08 (Decorah, Iowa), Ericka Sell '11 (Duluth, Minn./East) and Tyler Sherden '08 (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) all earned this honor.
Jewell, who was named the team Most Valuable Performer of Field Events, qualified outdoors in both the shot put and discus, earning All-America honors in both events. She placed eighth in the discus with a throw of 151-10 and fourth in the shot put with a mark of 45-8.
Sell was crowned the Iowa Conference outdoor champion in the 10,000 meter run posting a provisional qualifying time of 36:43 and did not compete at the national championships.
Sherden qualified for the national championships for a third time in the 400 meters. A 2004 All-American in this event after placing fourth, attempted to qualify for the finals at the national finale but a hamstring injury brought his stellar career to a conclusion.
