Complete USTFCCCA Division III All-Academic Awards
NEW ORLEANS – Four Baldwin Wallace University women's cross country student athletes as well as the entire team have received Division III All-Academic honors from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC performer Kelly Brennan (Akron/Walsh Jesuit), junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC performer Bella Pendola (Warsaw/River View), sophomore All-OAC and Academic All-OAC performer Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover) and freshman All-Great Lakes Region perfomer Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain) are four of the 682 Division III student-athletes to be recognized this year.
To be eligible for this distinction, individuals must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher and have finished in the top 25 percent of their respective regional championship meet.
"I am really proud of this group for their accomplishments on and off the course," said Coordinator of Cross Country and Track and Field and Head Cross Country Coach Joe Eby. "It is exciting to see their hard work rewarded."
Brennan is an accounting and finance double major who carries a 3.97 GPA to garner her third career USTFCCCA All-Academic honor. Brennan raced to her third career All-Ohio, All-OAC and All-Great Lakes Region finishes after missing the entire 2018 season with an injury. Academically, she is a two-time Academic All-OAC selection, a Dean's List student, a Jacket Scholar and a member of the Alpha Lambda and Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Societies.
A neuroscience and psychology double major with a 3.70 GPA, Pendola earns her second consecutive USTFCCCA All-Academic accolade. This season, the junior earned All-Ohio, first-team All-OAC and All-Great Lakes Region honors in addition to her second career OAC Runner of the Week accolade. Pendola is a two-time Academic All-OAC selection, a Dean's List student and a Jacket Scholar.
Kile also garners her second straight USTFCCCA All-Academic honor as an engineering major with a 3.99 GPA. As a sophomore, Kile earned her first All-OAC honor while also repeating as an All-Ohio and All-Great Lakes Region finisher. She is an Academic All-OAC selection, a Dean's List student and a Jacket Scholar.
Laughner is a neuroscience and biology major who carries a 3.47 GPA. She had a solid freshman campaign that saw a 34th-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships to earn All-Great Lakes Region honors.
For the fourth consecutive year, the women's team also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors with a 3.53 GPA. For a team to be eligible, it must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional meet and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.10 on a 4.0 scale.
All four student athletes are members of the BW track and field team and will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 16, to compete in the Raider Tune Up, hosted by the University of Mount Union inside the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.
