DII Men’s Track & Field Scholar Athletes of the Year & All-Academic Individuals Announced

NEW ORLEANS – Brayden Burleigh of Shippensburg, Johnnie Guy of Southern Indiana, Jeff Piepenbrink of Pittsburg State, Kyle Steinhauser of Ashland and David Reinhardt of Slippery Rock have been named the men’s Scholar Athletes of the Year in Division II for the 2013-14 track & field season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the association announced Tuesday.

Taking into account both their accomplishments in the classroom and in competition during the recently completed academic year, these five men were the most exceptional among a group of 241 men who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors. The full breakdown of All-Academic selections can be found below.

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Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards are determined from among those who earned All-Academic status and placed highest in individual events at the NCAA Championships. Those who earn multiple individual 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.

Burleigh, a junior English/mathematics with a secondary education certification who has earned a 3.38 cumulative GPA, was named the indoor track Scholar Athlete of the Year. The native of Midlothian, Va., claimed the national title in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and is the first male from Shippensburg to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year in track & field since the first award in 2007.

Guy, a sophomore engineering major with a 3.42 cumulative GPA, earned the outdoor track award following a national title at 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Originally from Palmyra, Ind., Guy is the only man from Southern Indiana to have been named Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Piepenbrink, a junior exercise science major with a 3.30 cumulative grade point average, was named the indoor field Scholar Athlete of the Year. The Jasper, Mo., native finished runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the pole vault and is just the second man from Pittsburg State to have been named Scholar Athlete of the Year after Mike Beeler won the outdoor field honor in 2010.

Splitting the outdoor field award were Steinhauser and Reinhardt with identical 3.79 cumulative GPAs.

Steinhauser, going for a Master’s in business administration, earned the honor after winning the discus title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Sandusky, Ohio, native is the second consecutive Ashland thrower to win the honor following Garrett Grey in 2013.

Reinhardt, a sophomore exercise science major, won the javelin title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships en route to earning his share of the award. He is the first man from Slippery Rock to have earned Scholar Athlete of the Year distinctions.

All-Academic Individuals

GVSU Emerges On Top in the Team Race; RMAC and GLIAC Tied as Top Conferences

Including the Scholar Athletes of the Year, a total of 241 men from 73 institutions earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments.

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 reached a provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships in either indoor or outdoor seasons.

Grand Valley State led all teams with 14 honorees, just barely edging out the RMAC duo of Adams State and Colorado Mines with 13 each.

On the conference level, both the GLIAC and the RMAC – home to GVSU and both Adams State and Colorado Mines, respectively – tied atop the list with 42 honorees. The MIAA was third with 34 honorees.

Six different men recorded a cumulative GPA of 4.0.

The full list of All-Academic selections is provided below, arranged alphabetically by team name.