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

NEW ORLEANS – Amy Cymerman of Grand Valley State, Emily Oren of Hillsdale, and the Central Missouri duo of Erika Kinsey and Brittany Kallenberger have been named the female Scholar Athletes of the Year in NCAA Division II for the 2014-15 track & field season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the association announced Friday.

Considering both their accomplishments in the classroom and in competition during the recently completed academic year, these three women were the most exceptional among a class of 450 who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors. The full breakdown of All-Academic selections can be found below.

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Scholar Athletes of the Year were selected as the highest-finishing performers at the NCAA Indoor & Outdoor Championships who also achieved USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual status. Those who earned multiple individual championship titles ranked 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.

Cymerman, a graduate student studying higher education with a cumulative 4.00 GPA at Grand Valley State, was named the indoor track honoree for her first career Scholar Athlete award. A native of Pittsford, New York, Cymerman won the 5000 meters national title at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 16:36.10 and finished sixth at 3000 meters.

She is the fourth woman from GVSU to earn track & field Scholar Athlete of the Year honors.

Oren, a junior economics major with a 3.419 cumulative GPA, was named the outdoor track winner for her first career Scholar Athlete award. A native of Holland, Michigan, Oren emerged victorious both in the steeplechase and at 5000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, running 9:54.43 in the former to become just the third woman in DII history to break the 10-minute barrier.

She is the second woman from Hillsdale to earn track & field Scholar Athlete of the Year honors.

Kinsey, a first-year exercise science major with a cumulative 3.41 GPA at Central Missouri, was named the indoor field winner for her first career Scholar Athlete award. The native of Nalden, Sweden, won both the high jump and triple jump titles at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and finished fourth in the long jump. Her winning high jump clearance of 6-2¾ (1.90m) tied her for second among all collegians indoors in 2015.

Kallenberger, a sophomore drafting major with a 3.84 cumulative GPA, was named the outdoor field winner for her first career Scholar Athlete award. The Lee’s Summit, Missouri, native won the pole vault title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a clearance of 13-1½ (4.00m), defeating indoor champion Rebecca Preisler of Lewis on misses.

This marks the third year in a row Central Missouri field athletes have earned female Scholar Athlete of the Year honors, and this year’s duo brings the women’s program total to five honorees.

All-Academic Individuals

GVSU Leads the Way with 18 Honorees; MIAA Tops the List by Conferences

Including the Scholar Athletes of the Year, a total of 450 women from 108 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 18 honorees, ahead of Winona State with 15 and indoor/outdoor national champion Central Missouri with 12. Four more teams reached double-digits in All-Academic representation.

The MIAA led the way on the conference side with 72 awards earned by its member institutions, followed closely by the duo of the GLIAC with 70 and the NSIC with 63.

Twenty-four different women recorded a cumulative GPA of 4.0.

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

2015 USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals
NCAA Division II Women’s Track & Field