July
15, 2008
HIAWATHA,
IOWA . . . Fourteen Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(IIAC) student-athletes and four teams were named to the United
States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
(USTFCCCA) 2008 Division III Men's All-Academic Track and Field
Team.
Simpson
College, with a 3.185 cumulative team GPA was the highest ranked
Iowa Conference team award recipient, followed by Luther (3.170),
Cornell (3.020) and Loras (3.020).
In
addition, Wartburg's Andy Hodge has been named
the 2008 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track Scholar Athlete of
the Year by the USTFCCCA. Hodge capped an outstanding 2008 campaign
a win in the 1500m at the 2008 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track
and Field Championships in May. He also led off Wartburg's distance
medley relay team that finished fourth at the 2008 NCAA Division
III Indoor Championships. A business administration major at
Wartburg, Hodge has compiled a 3.325 cumulative GPA.
"Andy
has truly committed himself as a student athlete over the course
of his four year career," said Knights head coach Marcus
Newsom. "As a senior he committed himself to accomplish
very high goals - becoming an Indoor and Outdoor Academic and
Athletic All-American and winning an individual National title,
as well as helping our men's team accomplish its highest finish
in the history of Wartburg Track and Field - 5th place. To receive
this award, in my opinion, completes a very special senior year,
and the Wartburg family is very proud of him."
To
qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team,
the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point
average of 3.25 and have met the NCAA Division III Indoor or
Outdoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard in their
respective event. For a team to be nominated, it must carry
a minimum 3.000 cumulative grade-point average.
A
total of 159 student-athletes representing 71 Division III colleges
and universities made up the 2008 All-Academic team. Wartburg
College had seven members on the list, tied with Tufts for second-most
in Division III behind the University of St. Thomas (nine).
There were 56 Division III men's track and field programs recognized
as 2008 USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Teams. The Centennial
Conference led all conferences with five teams selected as All-Academic
Teams for 2008, followed closely by the College Conference of
Illinois & Wisconsin, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference, and the Northwest Conference with four team selections
each. Haverford College led all institutions with a 3.461 team
cumulative GPA, followed by Carnegie Mellon (3.40) and Pomona-Pitzer
Colleges (3.391).
2008
USTFCCCA Division III Men's All-Academic Track and Field Team
Team
Honorees - Cornell College, Loras College, Luther College,
Simpson College
Individual
Honorees
Buena
Vista (2) - Justin Bauer, Chris Rowedder
Central (1) - Guy Dierikx
Loras (1) - Cody Dreyer
Luther (1) - Tyler Sherden
Simpson (2) - Robert Best, Eric Patten
Wartburg (7) - Kevin Balster, Brian Chenoweth,
Andrew Hodge, Jacob Hommer, John Kuckelman, Kyle Peters, Derek
Peth
Note:
Wartburg's Hodge named 2008 Division III Outdoor
Track Student-Athlete of the Year.
USTFCCCA
Release -- Individuals
USTFCCCA
Release -- Teams
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