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

NEW ORLEANS – Oliver Aitchison of Adams State, Sedeekie Edie of Lincoln (Mo.), and Cody Thomas of Alaska Anchorage have been named the men’s Scholar Athletes of the Year in NCAA Division II for the 2015-16 track & field season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the association announced Thursday.

Taking into account both their accomplishments in the classroom and in competition during the recently completed academic year, these three men were the most exceptional among a group of 294 men 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.

Aitchison, a junior business administration major with a 3.46 cumulative GPA, swept the Indoor and Outdoor Track awards, becoming the first man since Johnson C. Smith’s Akino Ming in 2012 to accomplish that feat. Hailing from Farnham, England, Aitchison won both the indoor mile and outdoor 1500-meter national titles.

Edie, a sophomore civil engineering major with a 3.33 cumulative GPA, was named the indoor field honoree for his first career Scholar Athlete award. The native of Kingston, Jamaica, claimed the indoor national title in the long jump and was fourth in the triple jump.

His award is the first Scholar Athlete of the Year honor in Lincoln (Mo.) program history.

Thomas, a senior management and marketing major with a 3.47 cumulative GPA, was named the outdoor field honoree, marking his first and UAA’s first Scholar Athlete award. The native of Blenheim, New Zealand, won the NCAA title in the decathlon.

All-Academic Individuals

GVSU Tops the Team List

Including the Scholar Athletes of the Year, a total of 294 men from 90 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 12 honorees, topping Neb.-Kearney and Colorado Mines by two. Adams State and Lewis rounded out the top five with nine and eight, respectively.

Twelve different men recorded a cumulative GPA of 4.0, including six seniors.

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