All-Academic Individuals & Scholar Athletes of the Year – NCAA DI Women’s Track & Field

NEW ORLEANS – Karissa Schweizer of Missouri, Keturah Orji of Georgia as well as Allie Ostrander of Boise State and Charlotte Taylor of San Francisco were named the Female Scholar Athletes of the Year in NCAA Division I Track & Field on Friday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Combining their accomplishments in the classroom and in competition during the recently completed academic year, these four women were the most exceptional among a group of 752 women who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.

Scholar Athletes of the Year were selected as the highest finishing performers at the NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships who achieved All-Academic status. Those who won individual championship titles ranked higher in the tie-breaking process and cumulative GPA is weighed as the final advantage.

Separate awards are given to track athletes and field athletes for the indoor and outdoor seasons, hence the four categories.

Schweizer, a junior majoring in Health Sciences, maintained a 3.373 GPA while starring for the Tigers on the track and was named the Female Indoor Track Scholar Athlete of the Year. The native of Urbandale, Iowa, won the 5000 and finished runner-up in the 3000 at the 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. Schweizer is the first Missouri athlete to be honored and is the sixth distance runner to win this award in the past seven years.

Orji, a junior majoring in Financial Planning, held down a 3.96 GPA and was named the Female Indoor and Outdoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year. The native of Mount Olive, New Jersey, swept the triple jump crowns and finished in the top-3 of both NCAA long jump competitions. Orji was also named Female Outdoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2015 and is the first Bulldog bestowed with the indoor honor.

Ostrander and Taylor share the Female Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year honor after they both maintained a cumulative GPA of 4.0 and won NCAA titles in Eugene, Oregon, last month.

The former, a native of Kenai, Alaska, is a freshman majoring in Kinesiology. Ostrander is the second steeplechase champion in a row to be named Female Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year (New Mexico’s Courtney Frerichs won this award last year).

Taylor is a graduated senior who majored in International and Developmental Economics and won the 10,000-meter crown outdoors. She is the first 10,000-meter champion since Iowa State’s Lisa Koll (2010) to win this award.

All-Academic Individuals

Including the Scholar Athletes of the Year, a total of 752 women earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors during the 2016-17 track & field seasons.

To qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have met at least one of the following athletic standards:

• For the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org.
• For the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).

Stanford had the most individuals honored with 16.

There were 26 women who earned a cumulative GPA of 4.0 or better.