NEW ORLEANS – Two Baldwin Wallace University men's track and field student-athletes have been honored by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) as All-Academic Individuals.

BW had two of the 402 student-athletes honored in sophomore sprinter Brandon Cole (Vermillion) and freshman thrower Ted Achladis (Avon Lake/Elyria Catholic). 

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

• Competed in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship
• Finished the regular season ranked in the national top-50 in an individual event or ranked in the national top-35 in a relay event on of the official NCAA Descending Order List

"We are very proud of Brandon and Ted," stated Coordinator of Cross Country/Track & Field and Head Track & Field Coach Matthew Cole. "They work extremely hard in the class room as well as in their own events to earn this honor."

Brandon Cole, who transitioned to sprints this season from hurdles, carries a 3.50 grade point average in creative writing and communications.   He was a member of the 4x100-meter relay team that had an outdoor season-best time of 41.96 seconds.   Brandon Cole set season-best times of 11.25 in the 100-meter dash, 22.48 in the 200-meter dash and 57.55 in the 400-meter dash during the outdoor season.  He had indoor season-best times of 7.31 in the 60-meter dash, 23.55 in the 200-meter dash and 52.04 in the 400-meter dash. 

Achladis, a USTFCCCA All-Great Lakes Region selection in the discus, finished his inaugural academic year with a 3.729 grade point average.  He finished the outdoor season 46th in NCAA Division III in the discus with a career-best throw of 155 feet and 11 inches.  Achladis had outdoor career-best marks of 48'9" in the shot put and 135'7" in the hammer throw.  He also posted indoor career-best marks of 48'7.5" in the shot put and 41'4.5" in the weight throw.

The Yellow Jackets finished the 2016-17 season in sixth place at the OAC Championships in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field.