Horizon League competitors race to Academic All-District track teams
June 5, 2006
Horizon League student-athletes continue to earn recognition for their work in the classroom. The latest chapter comes in the form of the CoSIDA (College Sports information Directors of America) Academic All-District teams---sponsored by ESPN the Magazine---which include seven Horizon League representatives from five different schools.
On the men's side, Youngstown State Universitysenior thrower Jarrod Davis gained a spot on the First-Team men's group in District 4, placing him on the ballot for Academic All-America honors. University of Detroit Mercy sophomore distance runner Andrew Hayner drew Second-Team Academic All-District distinction.
Davis is a three-time Academic All-Horizon League selection and three-time Horizon League Champion. In the recently concluded outdoor season, Davis won the Horizon League individual title in the hammer with a league-record mark and took the top spot in the javelin to earn the meet's Outstanding Field Performer award. He was also named Outstanding Field Performer at the Indoor Championship in February when he broke the Horizon League record in the weight throw and placed second in the shot put. Hs academic resume includes a 3.70 GPA in post-graduate work as a computer information systems major.
Hayner is a political science and history major who has a perfect 4.0 GPA through his first three semesters of college. He was part of the Titans' fourth-place distance medley team at the Horizon League Indoor Championship and concluded his season with a fourth-place finish as part of the 4x400 meter team at the Horizon League Outdoor Championship. His best event is the mile which he has run in a time of 4:27.78.
On the women's side, University of Illinois at Chicago senior thrower Sara O'Mara is also on the Academic All-America ballot after garnering First-Team Academic All-District 5 accolades. O'Mara, who boasts a perfect 4.00 GPA as a pre-elementary education major, is the UIC indoor record holder in the shot put while owning the outdoor school records in the discus and hammer throw. O'Mara is fresh of a stellar performance at the Horizon League Outdoor Championship that saw her tally a trio of top-10 finishes, placing second in the hammer throw, third in the shot put and eighth in the discus.
Four Horizon League distance runners were Second-Team honorees, with Youngstown State senior Emily Cicero and Detroit junior Ashley Gibbs recognized in District 4 plus Loyola University Chicago sophomore Rachel Hansen and Butler Universitysophomore Genni Gardner cited in District 5.
Cicero is a three-time Academic All-Horizon League selection in cross country and a five-time Academic All-Horizon League selection in track and field. She also won two events at the 2005 Horizon League Outdoor Championship and qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in the steeplechase in 2004.
Gibbs is a biochemistry major who graduated in only three years with a 3.95 GPA, and will be attending Case Western's graduate dental school in the fall. She finished in sixth place at the Horizon League Outdoor Championships in the 10,000 meters with a time of 40:36.63. A long distance specialist, the 10,000 meters is her best event with a personal best time of 38:12.89.An Academic All-Horizon League selection in both cross country and indoor track and field, Hansen earned Second-Team All-League honors at the Horizon League Cross Country Championship last fall. The distance runner placed third in the 800-meter run at the League Indoor Championship this year and was also a member of the Ramblers' distance medley team that took home the title.
Gardner placed second in the mile at the League Indoor Championship and took third in the 5,000 meters at the Outdoor Championship. She also was named League Newcomer of the Year in cross country in 2004 and is a two-time Second-Team All-League competitor in that sport. The 2006 Mideast Regional qualifier carries a 3.90 GPA as a communications disorders major.District IV is comprised of all Division I institutions in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. District V includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, plus the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba.
To be eligible for Academic All-District consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.00 scale) with sophomore or higher standing both athletically and academically. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has presented Academic All-America honors to more than 14,000 student-athletes at the Division I, II, III and NAIA levels. The First-Team selections from each of CoSIDA's eight districts are placed on the ballot for Academic All-America consideration. The men's national honor roll will be announced June 20, with the women's team released two days later.
