Seven Women and Four Men Make the List

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth had seven women and four men named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic teams this week.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 and have met an NCAA automatic or provisional qualifying mark in an individual or relay event at some point in either indoor or outdoor seasons. Participation in an NCAA Championship also fulfills the athletic component of All-Academic qualification.

The seven Pirate women who made the list, and their NCAA qualifying events, are: Erica Cox (Sr., Parma, Idaho / hammer and discus throws), Jheri Gates (Fr., Cedaredge, Colo. / high jump), Elizabeth Mattila (Sr., Ferndale, Wash. / 400 hurdles), Dana Misterek (Sr., Gig Harbor, Wash. / 800 run), Cassidy Stevick (Fr., Olympia, Wash. / javelin) and Tonya Turner (Sr., Spokane, Wash. / 1500 run, 3000 steeplechase). Mattila and Turner both turned in All-American finishes at this year's NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Ohio.

A total of 328 student-athletes representing 102 institutions compose the entire Division III women's All-Academic team.

The Whitworth men who made the list, and their NCAA qualifying events, are: Brett Bajema (Fr., Lynden, Wash. / javelin), Alex Couette (Sr., Yakima, Wash. / hammer throw), Frank Lima (So., Half Moon Bay, Calif. / high jump) and Jacob Pierce (Jr., Twin Falls, Idaho / hammer throw). Lima finished 8th in this year's high jump at the NCAA meet.

A total of 200 student-athletes representing 72 institutions compose the entire Division III men's All-Academic team.

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