SPOKANE, Wash. - Four Whitworth University student-athletes have been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country college division teams.
Cody Stelzer has been selected to the men's team for the second year in a row, while Tonya Turner, Joanne Mayer and Kathryn Williams are all making their first appearance on the women's team. Stelzer (Jr., The Dalles, Ore.) is a high jumper and biology major with a 3.47 grade point average (GPA). During the 2008-09 season he won an NCAA Division III indoor title in March, earned his third straight Northwest Conference title and finished sixth (All-American) at the NCAA Division III outdoor championships last month. He is a six-time NCAA Division III All-American (three indoor, three outdoor) and two-time NCAA Division III national champion (once each indoor and outdoor) in the high jump during his three seasons of competition. In 2008 he was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree. Mayer (Jr., Spokane, Wash.) is a math major with a cumulative GPA of 3.95. She earned Second Team All-Northwest Conference honors in cross country with a 12th place finish at the NWC Championship meet in November. She earned All-West Region with a 26th place finish at the NCAA Division III West Region race. In April at the NWC Track and Field Championships, Mayer finished third in the 10,000 meters. Turner (So., Spokane, Wash.) has a 4.0 GPA as a health science major. She finished second in the 10,000 meters at this spring's NWC track and field meet, and fourth in the 5,000 distance. In cross country she was 15th at the NWC Championships and 28th at the NCAA Division III West Region meet (All-Region). She accomplished all of that in her first season as a competitive runner after participating in cheerleading and as a pole vaulter in her first year at Whitworth. Williams (So., Colorado Springs, Colo.) is a peace studies and Spanish major with a 4.00 cumulative GPA. She earned Second Team All-NWC honors in cross country, finishing 11th at the conference meet. She added a 20th-place finish at the NCAA DIII West Region championships (All-Region). In track and field this spring she finished 7th in the 5,000 meters at the conference meet in April. The Academic All-District VIII Track & Field/Cross Country teams included ten individuals each for men and women. The individuals are nominated by their institutions' sports information directors and the 10 selections are made by a subsequent vote of district SIDs. District VIII in the college division comprises all non-NCAA Division I institutions west of the Rocky Mountains. This year marks the 77th year of the Academic All-America program. Over 15,000 students have been named Academic All-America team members at colleges and universities at all levels for every recognized NCAA sport. |
