Willamette Track and Field Teams are Honored as All-Academic by USTFCCCA

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The men's and women's track and field teams from Willamette University have received All-Academic Team honors for the 2023 season as awarded by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Willamette's teams have consistently qualified for these awards under Head Coach Matt McGuirk.

The USTFCCCA honored 219 women's track and field teams and 167 men's track and field teams in NCAA Division III for their academic success. Each All-Academic team registered at least a 3.1 cumulative team grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

The Willamette men's team earned All-Academic recognition with a 3.54 cumulative GPA. The Bearcat women's team recorded a 3.52 cumulative GPA. All nine women's teams in the Northwest Conference and eight of the nine men's teams in the NWC qualified for the award.

Smith College (Mass.) led the list of All-Academic Division III women's teams with a 3.83 cumulative GPA. Pomona-Pitzer College (Calif.) topped the Division III men's teams with a 3.738 cumulative GPA.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was selected as the Men's Outdoor Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year as well as the Women's Outdoor Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year. The Eagles won the 2023 NCAA Championships in both sports. Student-athletes on the Wisconsin-La Crosse women's team attained a 3.45 cumulative GPA while members of the UWL men's team earned a 3.26 GPA.

Scholar Team of the Year honors go to the men's team and the women's team placing the highest at the most recent NCAA Championships while also earning All-Academic status.

Willamette track and field was represented at the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships by Whitley Stepp (Fy., Silverton, OR/Regis HS). Stepp placed 18th in the nation after clearing 5' 3.25".

NOTE:  Academic year listed for Stepp is for the 2023 season.