Contact: Kyle Terwillegar USTFCCCA Phone: (504) 599-8905 1100 Poydras St., Suite 1750 New Orleans, LA 70163 ustfccca.org [email protected] DI MEN’S TRACK & FIELD SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, ALL-ACADEMIC INDIVIDUAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA July 24, 2013 MEN’S SCHOLAR ATHLETE NEW ORLEANS – Lawi Lalang of Arizona, Alexander Ziegler of Virginia Tech AWARD HISTORY and Manuel Ziegler of Memphis have been named the Scholar Athletes of Indoor Track the Year in Division I for the 2013 men’s track & field seasons by the U.S. Track 2013: Lawi Lalang, Arizona 2012: Chris O’Hare, Tulsa & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the association 2011: Miles Batty, BYU announced Wednesday. 2010: David McNeill, Northern Arizona 2009: Galen Rupp, Oregon Based on their combination of academic accomplishments and athletic feats, 2008: Jason Richardson, South Carolina these three men stood out among a group of 448 men who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic distinctions. The full breakdown of All-Academic Indoor Field selections can be found below. 2013: Alexander Ziegler, Virginia Tech 2012: Curtis Beach, Duke Lalang, a junior public health major with a 3.356 cumulative grade point 2011: Scott Roth, Washington 2010: Ryan Whiting, Arizona State average, earned both the indoor track and outdoor track Scholar Athlete of 2009: Jason Lewis, Arizona State the Year — the first time a male has swept the two since David McNeill of 2008: Ryan Whiting, Arizona State Northern Arizona in 2010. Sweeping was a common theme to Lalang’s athletic performances this year, as well, as the Eldoret, Kenya native swept Indoor Track & Field the mile and 3000 meters titles at the NCAA Indoor Championships and the 2007: Brad Gebauer, McNeese State 5000 and 10,000 meters crowns outdoors. Outdoor Track Alexander Ziegler, a senior management major with a 3.72 cumulative GPA, 2013: Lawi Lalang, Arizona earned the indoor field award after winning the weight throw, extending his 2012: Amaechi Morton, Stanford streak of consecutive years as a Scholar Athlete of the Year to three following 2011: Amaechi Morton, Stanford 2010: David McNeill, Northern Arizona outdoor awards in 2011 and 2012. The native of Dischingen, Germany, 2009: Galen Rupp, Oregon finishes his career tied with Ryan Whiting of Arizona State as the only three- 2008: Jason Richardson, South Carolina time indoor/outdoor field Scholar Athletes of the Year. Outdoor Field Manuel Ziegler, a sophomore international business major with a 3.79 2013: Manuel Ziegler, Memphis cumulative GPA, claimed the outdoor field award with a runner-up finish in 2012: Alexander Ziegler, Virginia Tech the triple jump. This is the first Scholar Athlete of the Year award for Ziegler, 2011: Alexander Ziegler, Virginia Tech who hails from Neustadt, Germany. 2010: Ryan Whiting, Arizona State 2009: Scott Sellers, Kansas State 2008: Cory Martin, Auburn Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards are determined from among those who earned All-Academic status and placed highest in individual events at the Outdoor Track & Field most recent NCAA Championships. Those who earn multiple individual 2007: Barnabas Kirui, Mississippi championship titles rank higher in the tie-breaking process, and cumulative GPA is weighed as the final tiebreaker to establish a winner. Separate awards are given to track athletes and field athletes for the indoor and outdoor seasons, resulting in four categories. BYU Tops All-Academic Individuals List with 16 Honorees; Big Ten is the Top Conference Including the Scholar Athletes of the Year, a total of 448 men from 149 institutions earned USTFCCCA All- Academic honors for their combined efforts in competition and in the classroom. For the second consecutive PAGE 2 season the BYU men top the list with 16 honorees. Nebraska’s three-year run atop the standings was snapped, but the Huskers claimed the second-most in 2013 with 12. Fellow Big Ten schools Minnesota and Indiana each earned 11 honors, while Arkansas was fifth with nine. As the only conference with multiple teams with 10 or more honorees, the Big Ten led all conferences with 70 total selections — nearly doubling the runner-up ACC (36) and exactly doubling the SEC (35.) 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 either of the following athletic standards: for the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org; for the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds). The full list of All-Academic selections is provided below, arranged alphabetically by team name. Cumulative Name School Major GPA Matthew Bell Air Force 3.51 Environmental Engineering Jeremy Drenckhahn Air Force 3.79 Biology Brian Ford Air Force 3.67 Computer Science Jake Hawkins Air Force 3.49 Physics Kobi Rex Air Force 3.65 Management, Legal Studies Bryan Dowdell Akron 3.83 Biology Jake Hiltner Akron 3.52 Social Studies Education Bjorn Johansson Akron 3.63 Corporate Finance Bryan Jones Akron 3.56 Middle Childhood Education Bryce Lemon Akron 3.33 Civil Engineering Alex McCune Akron 3.44 Geology Tyshaun Peoples Akron 3.28 Physical Education Kamal Fuller Alabama 3.26 Civil Engineering Lawi Lalang Arizona 3.36 Public Health Sam Macaluso Arizona 3.47 Management Information Systems Edgar Rivera-Morales Arizona 3.62 Industrial Engineering Dylan Austin Arizona State 3.61 Industrial Design Garrett Baker-Slama Arizona State 4.00 Kinesiology Nick Happe Arizona State 4.00 Finance Cameron Efurd Arkansas 3.25 Kinesiology Brede Ellingsen Arkansas 3.39 Supply Chain Management Nathanael Franks Arkansas 3.96 Chemistry and Physics Eric Janise Arkansas 3.66 Business Economics Noah Kittelson Arkansas 3.35 Biology Anton Kokorin Arkansas 3.83 Supply Chain Management Kevin Lazas Arkansas 3.46 Finance Andrew Pisechko Arkansas 4.00 Accounting Tomas Squella Arkansas 3.29 Geology Lucas Bateman Arkansas State 4.00 Sports Administration Joseph Meyer Arkansas State 3.59 Radiological Sciences Chris Nicasio Arkansas State 3.28 Mathematics Will Oliver Arkansas State 3.41 Exercise Science Niklas Buhner Auburn 3.53 Marketing Marcus Popenfoose Auburn 3.82 Human Development and Family Studies Blake Mayberry Baylor 3.33 Speech Communications David Elliot Boise State 3.56 Engineering Will Lohman Boise State 4.00 Criminal Justice Tyler King Boston College 3.63 Master of Finance FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JULY 24, 2013 MORE PAGE 3 R.J. Page Boston University 3.49 Economics/Business Administration & Management Zach Ray Boston University 3.81 Criminal Justice Austin Price Buffalo 3.47 Biomedical Science Kodi Mullins Butler 4.00 Spanish and Business Studies Kyle Baker BYU 3.32 Exercise Science Brayden Bringhurst BYU 3.62 Media Arts Studies Daniel Carney BYU 3.81 Open Curtis Carr BYU 3.33 Economics Russell Taylor Farnsworth BYU 3.39 Exercise Science Stephen Flint BYU 3.78 Actuarial Science Thomas Gruenewald BYU 3.54 Family Life Erik Harris BYU 3.81 Open Cade Lindahl BYU 3.63 Professional Accountancy Conner Peloquin BYU 3.64 Pre Management Core Samuel Rockwood BYU 3.70 History Tylor Thatcher BYU 3.32 Chemical Engineering James Tracy BYU 3.58 Exercise Science Ryan Waite BYU 3.46 Communications Jared Ward BYU 3.34 Statistics Jason Witt BYU 3.36 Statistics Devin Bennett Cal Poly 3.55 Mechanical Engineering Sean Davidson Cal Poly 3.35 Business John Guerrero Cal Poly 3.79 Civil Engineering David Namnath Cal Poly 3.35 Biochemistry Aaron Radden Central Connecticut State 3.33 Psychology Ethan Lievense Central Michigan 3.49 Health Fitness Elias Still Charlotte 4.00 History Ty McCormack Clemson 3.75 Language and International Trade (Chinese) Corey Hackett-Greene Coastal Carolina 3.42 Business-Marketing Matt Biegner Colorado 3.61 Finance and Management Seth Butler Colorado State 3.50 Human Development and Family Studies Andrew Goodman Colorado State 3.98 Health and Exercise Science Josh McMillin Colorado State 3.60 Civil Engineering Tyler Schultz Colorado State 3.72 Undeclared Connor Claflin Columbia 3.39 Computer Science Nico Composto Columbia 3.38 History Brandon Fish Columbia 3.59 Computer Science Johnny Gregorek Columbia 3.69 History Harry McFann Columbia 3.38 Film Studies Mike Murphy Columbia 3.27 Economics Thomas Butler Cornell 3.26 Natural Resources Brett Kelly Cornell 3.33 Mechanical Engineering Steven Pawlak Cornell 3.61 Hotel Administration Will Weinlandt Cornell 3.26 Biological Engineering John Bleday Dartmouth 3.47 Economics Jon Gault Dartmouth 3.65 English Brett Gilson Dartmouth 3.47 Environmental Studies Phil Royer Dartmouth 3.33 Engineering Silas Talbot Dartmouth 3.49 Engineering Stephen Bowe Delaware State 3.45 Accounting Brogan Austin Drake 3.70 Math Justin Amezquita Duke 3.67 Mechanical Engineering Tanner Anderson Duke 3.86 Biology Brian Atkinson Duke 3.61 Biology Curtis Beach Duke 3.46 Psychology James Kostelnik Duke 3.87 Master’s in Management Studies Tommy Meister Duke 3.41 Undeclared Mike Moverman Duke 3.70 Master’s in Management Studies FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JULY 24, 2013 MORE PAGE 4 Bryce Basting Eastern Illinois 3.28 Business Michael Viken Eastern Illinois 3.37 Kinesiology and sports studies with a teachers certification Sean Wiggan Eastern Illinois 3.43 Masters in Business Marketing Ole Hesselbjerg Eastern Kentucky