Scholastica Track Teams earn Honors

NEW ORLEANS (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men’s and women’s track & field teams were both selected as U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III All-Academic Teams; it was announced Monday.

Along with both teams being nominated, five Saints earned individual All-Academic laurels from the USTFCCCA. Those five included Bre Adams (Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS), Taylor Gibson (La Crescent, Minn./La Crescent HS), Becky Huberty (Lena, Wis./Lena HS), Chelsea Johnson (North Branch, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) and Jeremy Peterson (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS).

The USTFCCCA Academic honor for the men’s squad is its fifth consecutive and sixth overall. The Saints were the only Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s team to earn the accolade. The Saints finished with a team grade-point-average of 3.21.

Peterson, a Hermantown, Minnesota native, becomes just the third CSS male track & field athlete to earn individual academic honors from the USTFCCCA. The sophomore qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the hammer throw this spring and placed 19th.

The CSS women’s track & field team earns All-Academic accolades for the seventh straight season. The Saints had the best team GPA in the UMAC this spring at 3.51 and tied for 20th best in all of NCAA Division III. The University of Minnesota Morris was the only other UMAC women’s squad to earn the honor.

The CSS women tied a program-high with four individuals earning academic accolades. Huberty earned the honor for a second time (2011). She finished her career as a three-time All-American for the Saints, capping it off with a third place finish in the hammer throw at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in May.

Johnson earns academic honors for the first time in track & field after receiving USTFCCCA academic laurels twice for cross country, including being named Scholar-Athlete of the Year last fall. Johnson became the women’s track & field program’s first indoor All-American when she placed seventh in the 5000m run at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in March.

Freshman Taylor Gibson (La Crescent, Minn./La Crescent HS) was one of 10 women named as individuals who recorded a 4.0 GPA.

To qualify for the academic team as an individual, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 and have met either of the following athletic standards: a student-athlete must have competed in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship or finished the regular season ranked in the national top 35 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 25 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org.