NOTRE DAME, Ind..— April Kubishta (Lake Havasu City, Ariz.), a graduate student from Arizona State University, and Rachel Anderson (Clinton, Ill.), a senior from Illinois Wesleyan University, earned top honors on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All–America® women’s track & field and cross country teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Kubishta and Anderson earned Academic All-America of the Year honors in the University and College Divisions, respectively, and both were named to the Academic All-America first team.
Kubishta, one of the nation’s top pole vaulters, won the 2007 NCAA outdoor title in the event and finished as runner-up at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships. She also won the pole vault title at the 2008 MPSF Indoor Championships. She was ranked among the top three pole vaulters nationally all year. Kubishta holds the ASU school mark with a vault of 14-feet, 2-inches. A graduate student, Kubishta is a three-time Academic All-Pac-10 selection. She earned a degree in mathematics in 2007 and begins teaching high school math in the fall.
Joining Kubishta on the first team were Jenny Barringer (Colorado), Morgan Bonds (Kansas State), Brenna Burns (Davidson), Lamarra Currie (Charlotte), Marissa Daniels (Rice), Lindsay Donaldson (Yale), Jillian Drouin (Syracuse), Genni Gardner (Butler), Sherlenia Green (Virginia Tech), Jenna Griffin (Ohio State), Laci Heller (Kansas State), Lisa Koll (Iowa State), Kim Shubert (Nebraska) and April Thomas (Colorado State).
Eleven of the university division selections were honored a year ago, with eight of the 2008 first-team selections being repeat honorees. A pair of Academic All-Americans, Kansas State’s Heller and Yale’s Donaldson, were named to the team for a third straight year.
Anderson, one of 11 candidates for the 2007-2008 Division III Athlete of the Year sponsored by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards and American Honda Motor Co., Inc., is a two-time Academic All-America First Team honoree. A NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient, Anderson was also named 2008 NCAA Division III Female Track Athlete of the Year as she helped the Illinois Wesleyan University women's team win the national indoor and outdoor championships as well as the school's first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin track title. A 15-time NCAA Division III All-America in her career, she was the national indoor and outdoor champion in the 400 this year, the 200 outdoor champion, and ran on the indoor 4x400 relay team that placed first nationally.
Joining Anderson on the first team were Holly Andrews (Nebraska Wesleyan), Meagan Bauer (Doane), Natalie Calderon (Redlands), Naomi Christensen (Houghton), Liz Faller (Wisconsin-Eau Clair), Erin Fisher (Elizabethtown), Tanya Gaurmer (Adams State), Jennifer Hansen (Slippery Rock), Amber Hines (Wingate), Morgan Leonard-Fleckman (Washington), Jessica Pixler (Seattle Pacific), Marcia Taddy (Wisconsin-Platteville), Sarah Wittingen (Calvin) and Sarah Zerzan (Willamette).
Eleven of the college division selections were honored a year ago as well. Anderson, Bauer, Gaurmer and Zerzan were each first team honorees with Calderon, Faller and Wittingen each being second team choices in 2007. Two other first team selections this year were Erin Fisher (Elizabethtown) and Amber Hines (Wingate), both of whom were named to the third team a year ago. Also repeating as national selections in 2008 were Amber Hackenberg (Bloomsburg) and Erin Richard (Clarion), a pair of third team choices in 2007.
Eight of the 30 first-team selections have perfect 4.0 GPAs for their collegiate career, and 28 of the 91 total selections have been perfect in the classroom. Combined, the average GPA for the 30 first-teamers was a remarkable 3.913.
Plattsburgh State (SUNY) led all institutions, regardless of division, with three Academic All-America selections. Seven University Division schools placed two selections each on a national team, including Arizona State, Butler, Coastal Carolina, Kansas State, Minnesota, North Dakota State and Washington State. Three College Division schools also had a pair of choices, including Adams State, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Texas Lutheran.
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.
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For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, please visit
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