College Sports Information Directors of America

2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams release dates:

College Division Teams: PDF | doc
NCAA Division III Teams: PDF | doc
NCAA Division II Teams: Thursday, June 22
NCAA Division I Teams: Friday, June 23

Academic All-America® Program Index Page

Maryann Gong and Arinze Okeke of MIT Headline CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III Track & Field/Cross Country Teams

AUSTIN, Texas — Maryann Gong and Arinze Okeke of MIT headline the 2017 Academic All-America® Division III Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
The CoSIDA Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-American of the Year, Gong earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science with a 4.00 G.P.A. A native of Livermore, California, Gong is currently pursuing her master’s degree of engineering in artificial intelligence. She is a repeat selection as the CoSIDA Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-American of the Year and won the overall Division III Academic All-American of the Year award in 2016. She is the first two-time recipient of the CoSIDA Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-American of the Year award since its creation in 2011-12. Gong also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America® first-team honors for the third-straight year.
 
A biological engineering major from Hawthorne, California, with a 4.00 grade-point average, Okeke was named the Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-American of the Year. Okeke picked up first team honors for the second-consecutive year.
 
The CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2016-17 Division III Academic All-America® teams program.
 
Gong is a 15-time NCAA Division III All-American in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field. She received the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Elite 90 award at the 2017 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
At the 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, Gong finished third in the 3,000-meter run and sixth in the one-mile run. She also ran as a member of MIT’s distance medley relay team that placed second to earn three All-America honors at the event. Gong qualified for the 2016 NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championships and competed in the 5,000-meter run at the 2017 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Okeke won the triple jump title at the 2017 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships and placed second in the long jump at the conference championships. The 2016 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) New England Region Field Athlete of the Year, Okeke garnered All-America recognition in the triple jump at both the 2016 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Among the 45 student-athletes on the Division III Men’s Academic All-America® Track & Field/Cross Country Team, seven have a 4.00 grade-point average. The 16 members of the men’s track & field first team carry an average G.P.A. of 3.83. There are 15 women among the 45 selections on the Division III Women’s Academic All-America® Track & Field/Cross Country Team that have a G.P.A. of 4.00. The 15 student-athletes selected to the women’s track & field first team carry an average G.P.A. of 3.95.
 
Twelve men and 16 women are repeat CoSIDA Academic All-America® selections. Three women earned their third-straight CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors.
                                                                      
Deko Ricketts of Washington (Mo.) is a repeat CoSIDA Academic All-America® honoree on the men’s track & field team. Ricketts, a first-team selection this year, was a second team member in 2016. The senior is an electrical engineering major from Kansas City, Missouri, with a 3.74 G.P.A. He won the men’s 800-meter run at both the 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships and earned five All-America honors in his career.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan’s Garrett Sellhorst of Dodge, Nebraska, picks up first team recognition in 2017 after earning second team honors in 2016. A graduate student, Sellhorst holds a 4.00 G.P.A. and is pursuing his master’s degree in business administration. A three-time qualifier for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the men’s triple jump, Sellhorst is a two-time All-American in the event, placing seventh at the Division III Outdoor Championships this season.
 
Isaac Smith of Augustana (Ill.) is on the first team this year following second team recognition in 2016. Smith is a chemistry major from Marion, Iowa, with a 3.53 G.P.A. Smith placed sixth in the 400-meters and the 4X400-meter relay to earn All-America recognition in both events at the 2017 Division III Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships. A 10-time All-American, Smith won eight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) titles in his career. He was twice named the Track Athlete of the Meet at the CCIW Indoor Championships.
 
David Busby of SUNY Oneonta earns first team CoSIDA Academic All-America® recognition in 2017 following third team honors in 2016. A senior in 2016-17, the environment science major from New Paltz, New York, owns a 3.96 G.P.A. Busby earned All-Atlantic Region honors in cross country from the USTFCCCA in 2016, helping lead the Red Dragons to their first-ever appearance at the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championships.
 
Colin Godwin of MIT picks up first team honors this year, following second team recognition in 2016. The chemical and biological engineering and biology double major from Cary, North Carolina, owns a 3.76 G.P.A. Godwin qualified for the 2014-15 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in the one-mile run.
 
Matthew Lillehaugen of Concordia-Moorhead is a first team CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection this year following third team honors in 2016. A political science and global studies major from Moorhead, Minnesota, Lillehaugen holds a 4.00 G.P.A. He posted the top performance for the Cobbers at the 2016 NCAA Division III Central Region Cross Country Championships.
 
Illinois Wesleyan’s Eric Rydell of St. Joseph, Illinois, picks up first team recognition in 2017 after third team honors in 2016. A psychology major, Rydell holds a 3.94 G.P.A. A 2016 Division III Indoor Track & Field All-American in the high jump, Rydell was named Illinois Wesleyan’s Most Valuable Performer in men’s track & field in both 2016 and 2017.
 
Chris Schwab of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a first team CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection this year following third team honors in 2016. Schwab is a graduate student in electrical engineering, with a 4.00 G.P.A after earning his bachelor’s degree with a 4.00 G.P.A. The Holliston, Massachusetts native was named the 2015 RIT Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar by the school. 
 
Rose-Hulman’s Brendan Smyth of Antwerp, Belgium, gains first team recognition in 2017 after third team honors in 2016. A senior in 2016-17, Smyth holds a 3.89 G.P.A. as a biomedical engineering major. Smyth is a two-time USTFCCCA All-Region honoree in the triple jump. He is a three-time Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Champion in the triple jump and won four CCIW Titles on the Rose-Hulman 4x400-meter relay team.
 
There are six first-time selections on the first team this year, led by Sam Merriman of Case Western Reserve with a 4.00 G.P.A. He is joined on the first team by Capital’s Logan Allison, Matthew Deyo of MIT, Tobias Muellers of Williams, Mount Union’s Tyler Neff and Tim Nichols of Tufts.
 
Tim Moses of Messiah is on the second team this year, following third team honors in 2016. Moses is a biology major from Palmyra, Pennsylvania, with a 3.43 G.P.A. He finished fifth in the pole vault this year at both the Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships to earn All-America recognition. He is the first Division III pole vaulter to earn eight All-America certificates, with four indoor honors and four outdoors.
 
Matthew Vitagliano of RPI is a repeat honoree. Vitagliano, a junior, is a second team honoree this year following third team recognition in 2016. He is an electrical engineering major from Clear Brook, Virginia, with a 3.94 G.P.A. Vitagliano won the men’s long jump at the 2017 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships and finished second in the event at the conference’s indoor championship event.
 
Mitchell Johnson of Augustana (Ill.), is a first-time selection on this year’s second team with a 4.00 G.P.A. He is joined on the second team by Olivet’s Connor Bauserman, Alex Bourzutschky of Caltech, Carston Dammann of Gustavus Adolphus, Tyler Denlinger of Eastern Mennonite, Tanner Dewey and Zach Holka of Nebraska Wesleyan, Peter Hale of Williams, RPI’s Sam Keller and Michael Pesanello, Calvin’s Jordan Kramer, Tanner Osing of Augustana (Ill.) and Leif Van Grinsven of Wheaton (Ill.).
 
Junior Geoffrey Carney-Knisely from Wooster is a third team selection and holds a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. on this year’s team. Also on the third team is Patrick Bell and Jaryd Flank of Muhlenberg, Rory Beyer of MIT, Joshua Blome from Rose-Hulman, Allegheny’s Dan Cheung, SUNY Cortland’s Connor Christopherson, Brian D’Amore of WPI, Rochester’s Eric Franklin, Jacob Gallagher of St. Scholastica, Zach Hird of North Central (Ill.), Cameron Magee from UW-Whitewater, Harley Moyer of Washington & Jefferson and Loras’ Timothy Sevcik.  
 
Alma’s Kaitlyn Arnold is a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection in women’s track & field and cross country; she earned first team honors this year and in 2016 with third team recognition in 2015. Arnold is an integrative physiology and health science double major from Jackson, Michigan, with a 4.00 G.P.A. She was the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 Award at the 2016 NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championship. A two-time qualifier for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, she was awarded a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship this fall.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan’s Katie Krick, a three-time honoree, is a first team selection this year to go with first team honors in 2016 and third team recognition in 2015. Krick is a communication major from Lincoln, Nebraska, with a 4.00 G.P.A. An eight-time Division III All-American, she was a member of Nebraska Wesleyan’s National Champion 4X400-meter relay team at the 2017 Division III Outdoor Championships and placed second in Division III in the 400-meter dash.
 
Madeline Dery of RPI is a first team selection for the second-consecutive year. Dery holds a 3.99 G.P.A. as a chemical engineering major from Mahopac, New York. She qualified for the 2017 Division III Outdoor Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, winning the Liberty League Championship in the event. She competed for RPI at the 2016 Division III Cross Country Championships and earned USTFCCCA All-Region recognition in cross country.
 
University of Chicago’s Michelle Dobbs is on the first team this year after earning second team recognition in 2016. Dobbs is a computer science major from Rochelle, Illinois, owning a 3.62 G.P.A. An eight-time Division III All-American, Dobbs was the 2016 NCAA Division III Champion in the indoor 800-meter run. She earned her final career All-America recognition this year in the women’s 4X400-meter relay at the Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Kimber Meyer of Macalester is on the first team this year after earning second team honors in 2016. Meyer is a biology major from Naperville, Illinois, with a 3.96 G.P.A. A five-time All-American in track and cross country, she qualified for her fourth NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship in 2016. In track, Meyer won both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter races at the 2017 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Championships.
 
Lauren Strohbehn of Calvin is a first team selection in 2017, following second team recognition last year. Strohbehn holds a 3.97 G.P.A. as a biology major from Stillwater, Minnesota. Strohbehn qualified for the Division III Championships this year in both cross country and the 10,000-meters at the outdoor championships. The 2015 MIAA Most Valuable Runner in women’s cross country, she earned All-America recognition in 2016 in the 10,000-meters at the Division III Outdoor Championships.
 
Amber Celen of Bridgewater is a first team CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection this year after earning third team honors in 2016. Celen, a junior, is a sociology and communications double major from Townsend, Delaware, with a 4.00 G.P.A. The 2017 USTFCCCA Division III National Track Athlete of the Year for indoor track & field, Celen won indoor Division III Championships in the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. In the outdoor season she won a National Championship in the 100-meter dash and placed second in the 200-meters.
 
Lindsay Cheu of Johns Hopkins earns first team honors this year following a third team nod in 2016. She is a neuroscience major from Glenmont, New York, with a 3.99 G.P.A. Cheu garnered All-America honors at the 2016 Division III Indoor Championships in the distance medley relay. In 2017, Cheu anchored Johns Hopkins’ 4x400-meter relay to first-place finishes at the indoor and outdoor Centennial Conference Championships.
 
Erin Kasper of Baldwin Wallace earns first team honors this year following a third team nod in 2016. She is an exercise science major from Amherst, Ohio, with a 4.00 G.P.A. Kasper qualified for the Division III Outdoor Championships this year in the high jump, while also earning USTFCCCA All-Region recognition in both in the indoor and outdoor seasons. She is a 2016 indoor All-American in the high jump.
 
Alison Lindsay of Washington (Mo.) is on the first team this year after earning third team recognition in 2016. The junior is a political science and French double major from Alexandria, Virginia with a 3.98 G.P.A. Lindsay finished 14th at the 2016 Division III Cross Country Championships for All-America honors. She also earned All-America recognition in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in second place at the outdoor championships and was a member of the Bears’ All-American distance medley relay at the 2017 Division III Indoor Championships.
 
Junior Amelia Glueck of Illinois Wesleyan is a first team selection this year with a 4.00 G.P.A. Emily Richards of Ohio Northern, Rebecca Ridderhoff of Washington (Mo.), and Katelyn Senger of Bridgewater round out the first team.
 
Daisy Ogede of Washington (Mo.) is on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team for the second consecutive year, earning second team honors in 2017 and 2016. Ogede, a native of Richton Park, Illinois, owns a 3.69 G.P.A. as a biology and neuroscience double major. She was named the 2017 Midwest Region Track Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA in the indoor and outdoor seasons. She earned six total All-American honors in 2017 with three indoors and three outdoors.
 
Holly Denfeld of MSOE is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection, earning second team honors this year, following third team recognition in 2016. She is also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection in women’s basketball. Denfeld is a biology major from Edgar, Wisconsin, holding a 3.98 G.P.A.
 
Lebanon Valley’s Olivia Jendrzejewski is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection, earning second team honors this year, following third team accolades in 2016. Jendrzejewski is a health science major from Hanover, Pennsylvania, with a 3.45 G.P.A. A three-time All-American in the high jump, Jendrzejewski finished third in the high jump at the 2017 Division III Indoor Championships.
 
Widener’s Samantha DeCapua, Taylor Gibson of St. Scholastica and Kristi Luna from Gallaudet each hold a 4.00 G.P.A in earning second team recognition this year. Gabrielle Alguire from Susquehanna, Kylee Bartlett of Rochester, Mary Kate Duncan of Moravian, Sarah Fowler of Ohio Wesleyan, Elizabeth Jones of Nebraska Wesleyan, Hannah Chen and Nneoma Okonkwo from MIT, and the pair of Kelli Hancock and Ashley Knudson from Washington (Mo.) round out the second team.
 
Misericordia’s Amy Viti is a two-time honoree, earning third team recognition in 2017 and first team honors in 2016. A speech language pathology major from Sugar Notch, Pennsylvania, Viti holds a 4.00 G.P.A. She was honored as the 2016 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Women's Cross Country Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
Jaime Lord of RPI is on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team for the second consecutive year as a two-time third team honoree. Lord, a native of Stony Point, New York, owns a 3.78 G.P.A. as an aeronautical engineering and mechanical engineering double major. She was 19th at the 2016 Division III Cross Country Championships for her third career All-America recognition.

Jessica Bilskie of MSOE, Christine Harper of Rose-Hulman, Casey Hovland from St. Scholastica and Amy Kaschak of Susquehanna and MIT’s Leandra Zimmerman are first-time selections on this year’s third team; and each of them has a 4.00 G.P.A. Alicia Belko of Stockton, Natalie Deacon from Lynchburg, Katie Goedecke of Mount Union, Nebraska Wesleyan’s Kaylee Jones, Allison Kosobud of Saint Benedict, Khia Kurtenbach from University of Chicago, Loras’ Audrey Miller and Reilly Wagner of Misericordia round out this year’s third team selections. 

 
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University
Academic All-America ® Co-Director for Publicity/Communications 
Jeff.Schwartz@ndsu.edu
(701) 231-8332          
 
Brett Marhanka, Wheaton College
Academic All-America ® Coordinator of Publicity
Brett.Marhanka@wheaton.edu
(630) 752-5747