Complete USTFCCCA Division III All-Academic Individual Awards (.pdf) | Complete USTFCCCA Division III All-Academic Team Awards (.pdf)

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).

Senior All-American and All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC performer Kelly Brennan (Akron/Walsh Jesuit), junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC runner Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover), junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC competitor Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) and sophomore All-OAC and Academic All-OAC performer Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain) are four of the 378 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. 

Brennan, who garners her fourth USTFCCCA honor, is the 2019 Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Runner of the Year.  She was tabbed as the BW Most Valuable Runner Awards recipient. Brennan is an USTFCCCA All-American (top-40), two-time All-OAC first team (top-9) and second team selection (top-18), three time Academic All-OAC selection, a four-time All-Great Lakes Region (top-35) and All-Ohio finisher (top-35). The four-year letterwinner spearheaded the BW runners in six races this season, placing eighth at the All-Ohio Division III Championships, third at the OAC Championships, fourth at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships, and 31st at the NCAA Division III National Championships. She earned season and career-best times of 21.17.8 in the 6k and 18:16.9 in the 5k. The accounting and finance double major is a Dean's List student, Jacket Scholar, member of Alpha Lambda and Chi Sigma Alpha honoraries, and boasts a 3.97 grade point average.

Kile, who earns her third USTFCCCA honor, is an engineering major who carries a 3.953 GPA. She is a Dean's List student and Jacket Scholar. Athletically, the two-year letterwinner has earned three career All-Ohio and All-Great Lakes Region honors, and two career All-OAC honors. Kile has also garnered career-best times of 15:37.1 in the 4k (2017), 18:51.3 in the 5k (2019), and 22:25.1 in the 6k (2019).

Marek, who garners her first USTFCCCA accolade,  is a three-year letterwinner, a two-time All-Ohio, a 2019 All-OAC second-team selection and an Academic All-OAC selection.  She was tabbed as the BW Grindstone Award recipient this season. Marek finished 17th at the All-Ohio Division III Championships, 11th at the OAC Championships, 19th at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships, and 110th at the NCAA Division III National Championships. She also attained season and career-best times of 22:03.4 in the 6k and 19:31.1 in the 5k. The applied mathematics major is a Dean's List student and holds a 3.5 grade point average.

Laughner, who earns her second USTFCCCA honor, is a two-year letterwinner, a two-time All-Great Lakes selection, an All-Ohio selection, an All-OAC first-team selection and Academic All-OAC selection.  She was selected as the BW Strength Training Award recipient. This season, Laughner placed third at the All-Ohio Division III Championships, eighth at the OAC Championships, 10th at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships, and 67th at the NCAA Division III National Championships in 2019, and also earned season and career-best times of 23:17.9 in the 6k and 19:13.7 in the 5k. The neuroscience and biology major is a Dean's List student and carries a 3.73 grade point average.

For the fifth consecutive year, the women's team also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors with a 3.5 GPA. The Yellow Jackets were one of 212 Division III teams to be recognized.  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 Friday and Saturday, February 7-8 when the team travels to Hillsdale, Michigan for the Hillsdale College Wide Track Classic.