Men's All-Academic Athletes | Men's All-Academic Teams | Women's All-Academic Athletes | Women's All-Academic Teams
NEW ORLEANS – The Baldwin Wallace University men's and women's track and field teams were named as 2021 United States Track and Field and Cross County Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Teams while six student-athletes were tabbed as All-Academic Athletes.
In order to earn the team recognition, a team must have a cumulative team grade point average of all student-athletes who used a season of eligibility must be at least a 3.1 on a 4.0 scale through the most recent semester/quarter. To qualify for the individual honor, a student-athlete must have a student-athlete must have at least a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.30 and above and either accepted into the NCAA Indoor Championship or finishing the regular indoor season ranked in the national top-50 in an individual event or ranked in the national top-35 in a relay event.
The BW men were recognized as it carried a 3.13 GPA. The Yellow Jacket women were honored as it carried a 3.29 GPA.
Sophomore distance runner Kyle White (Mount Gilead) was one of 450 male student-athletes that were named All-Academic Athletes in NCAA Division III Track & Field. White, who earns his first accolade, is an integrated science teaching major that carries a 3.36 GPA. He had a breakout season as he set career bests indoors in the 1,000-meter run, 1-mile run and 3,000-meter run and outdoors in the 800-meter run, 1,500-meter run, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 5,000-meter run and the 1-mile run. White is also a member of the cross country team and an athletics event intern.
Senior All-American, All-OAC and Academic All-OAC thrower Brooke Buckhannon (Collins/Western Reserve), junior All-American, All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain), senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial), freshman All-OAC distance runner Hope Murphy (Mogadore) and senior All-OAC distance runner Molina Otte (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) were five of the 650 female student-athletes that were named All-Academic Athletes in NCAA Division III Track & Field.
Buckhannon, who garners her third honor, was a public relations and marketing double major that carried a 3.90 GPA. She is a three-time national qualifier, 12-time All-OAC thrower and five-time OAC champion. For her career, Buckhannon competed in the shot put, weight throw, discus throw, and hammer throw en route to five additional All-Ohio honors, two OAC Field Athlete of the Year accolades, nine U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Great Lakes Region selections and BW's 2021 Clyde Lamb Award winner. In the classroom, she is a three-time Academic All-OAC honoree, a Dean's List student, a Jacket Scholar, a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies and a member of the Public Relations Society of America.
Laughner, who earns her second honor, is a neuroscience and biology double major that carries a 3.624 GPA. She is a three-time Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection (one in cross country and two in track and field), Dean's List student and Jacket Scholar. Athletically, Laughner is the 2021 OAC Outdoor Distance Runner of the Year, 2021 Division III Outdoor All-American in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, a 2021 and 2019 national qualifier, seven-time USTFCCCA All-Great Lakes Region selection, six-time All-OAC performer, and three-time OAC champion.
Marek, who garners her first accolade, was a mathematics and sustainability double major that carried a 3.512 GPA. She is an All-Ohio, All-OAC, All-Great Lakes Region and school-record holder distance runner. For her career, Marek is a two-time All-Ohio performer; a six-time All-OAC performer, including three OAC titles; and a four-time USTFCCCA All-Great Lakes Region performer. She holds the school record for the indoor 1,000-meter run, which she broke twice during her senior season, and she is also the 2021 OAC Indoor Distance Athlete of the Year and BW's 2021 Marcia French Most Outstanding Female Athlete Award recipient. In the classroom, Marek is a two-time Academic All-OAC honoree, a Dean's List student and a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society. She is also a three-time varsity letterwinner on the women's cross country team.
Murphy, who earns her first accolade, is an early childhood education major that carries a 3.97 GPA. She made an immediate impact in her first season as she qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships and placed 15th in the 1,500-meter run. Murphy was three-time OAC Champion by earning two indoors and one outdoors. She earned three USTFCCA All-Great Lakes Region accolades by claiming two indoors and one outdoors.
Otte, who garners her first honor, was pre-physical therapy major that carried 3.40 GPA. She is an All-OAC and All-Great Lakes Region distance runner. For her career, Otte is a four-time All-OAC performer with all four honors coming in her senior season and a USTFCCCA All-Great Lakes Region honoree in the distance medley relay. Academically, she is a Dean's List student and a member of the Pre-Physical Therapy Club. Otte is also a three-time letterwinner on the women's cross country team.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The organization represents thousands of coaching members encompassing NCAA track & field programs (DI, DII, and DIII) and includes members representing the NAIA and NJCAA, as well as a number of state high school coaches associations. The USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as a lobbyist for coaches' interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field.
