NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Graduate students Donovan Kilmartin of the University of Texas and Fritz Nugent of the University of Redlands head the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Nugent becomes the first college division men’s track & field/cross country student–athlete to repeat as Academic All–American of the Year. He topped a list that included more than 300 finalists from more than 160 NCAA Division II, Division II and NAIA colleges and universities.
The 2007 NCAA Division III decathlon champion, he earned his second NCAA title by winning the long jump in 2008. More impressively, he carries a 3.95 grade point average as a studio art/higher education master’s candidate at Redlands.
Nugent was one of 12 repeat selections among college division winners. He and Evan Knight of Nebraska Wesleyan University were the only student–athletes to make the first team both years. It was Knight’s third Academic All–America® award. He was a second team pick as a sophomore in 2006.
Adams State led all college division schools with three winners. Aaron Braun and Matt Gersick earned first team honors while John Ybarra was a second team selection. Nebraska Wesleyan had two picks—Knight and second teamer Derek Carson—as did Stevens Institute of Technology, with first team honoree Michael Hoffman and second team selection John Hoffman.
Kilmartin is a three–time NCAA indoor heptathlon champion Kilmartin was selected from over 300 nominations from among NCAA Division I programs. Kilmartin is the only man in NCAA history to win three national heptathlon titles (2004, 2006, 2007). The six–time All–American also boasts Big 12 crowns in the decathlon (2006, 2008) and indoor heptathlon (2005, 2006, 2007). He ranks second in Texas' history with a career–best 7,897 points in the decathlon.
Now pursuing his Master's degree, Kilmartin earned his diploma last fall with a 3.55 grade point average in petroleum engineering. The three–time Academic All–America first team selection led a host of repeat selections on the 2008 squad. Brett Ferrier of Weber State and Greg Liebl of North Dakota State both became three–time Academic All–Americans, while another trio, Jangy Addy of Tennessee, Javier Garcia–Tunon of Florida State and David Kinsella of Portland, were named to the team for the second time. Garcia garnered the most votes overall with 50, one ahead of Kinsella.
The team also included 2008 NCAA 10,000 meter champion Shadrack Songok. The senior from Texas A&M–Corpus Christi won the 10,000 for the second straight year and was named to the Academic All–America third team.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
ESPN The Magazine – winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence – is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, please visit
www.cosida.com or e-mail
rlipe@bentley.edu.
View Complete College and University Teams