Willamette Track and Field Teams Achieve All-Academic Honors

By Brandon Chinn, Athletics Communications Writer

NEW ORLEANS, LA. -- TheWillamette University men's and women's track and field teams have earned All-Academichonors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 2013 season.

Members of the Bearcats women's team earned a 3.48 cumulative team grade point average for the second consecutive year. The men's team finished the year with a 3.21 cumulative GPA.

A total of 148 women'strack and field teams and 80 men's track and field teams received All-Academic honors in NCAA Division III. In order to be eligible forsuch honors, each team mustrecordat least a 3.1 cumulative GPA (4.0 scale).

Pomona Pitzer (Ca.) ranked atop the list of Division III women's teams academically with a 3.68 cumulative GPA. California Institute of Technology led all men's teams for the second year in a row with a 3.53 cumulative grade point average.

After winning the indoor NCAA Division III title, the women's track and field team at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh was named the indoor Women's Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year with a 3.15 cumulative GPA.

The outdoor Women's Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year honors went to Wartburg College (Ia.) as a result of the team claiming its second outdoor title in as many years. The Wartburg women's team maintained a 3.27 cumulative team grade point average for the 2012-13 academic year.

After sweeping the NCAA Division III indoor and outdoor championships in 2013, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was selected indoor and outdoor Men's Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year. The Eagles finished the year with a cumulative team GPA of 3.20.

The Scholar Team of the Year awards go to the men's team and the women's team placing the highest in the most recentNCAA Championships while also claiming All-Academic honors.

In addition to the Bearcats earning team All-Academic honors, five members of the Willamette track and field program were selectedto the 2013 NCAA Division III All-Academic Teams as chosen by the USTFCCCA.

Bekah Daniel (So., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS), Michaela Freeby (So., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS), Carson Kennedy (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS), Taylor Ostrander (Fr., Soldotna, AK/Kenai Central HS) and Erynn Rebol (Sr., Cottonwood, CA/Red Bluff Union HS) each receivedAll-Academic honors for the Bearcats. See the article about Daniel, Freeby, Kennedy, Ostrander and Rebol.

In 2013, both the men's and women's teams from Willamette once again finished in second place at the Northwest Conference Track and FieldChampionships. At the NCAA Championships, the Bearcats were represented by four athletes each competing in a single event.