K-State Track and Field Earns USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State men's and women's track and field teams earned All-Academic team recognition, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Thursday, the second-consecutive year both teams were awarded for academic excellence.

The Wildcat men's and women's teams were among 361 Division I teams (220 women's teams and 141 men's teams) honored for academic excellence, which requires a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 during the 2017-18 season. The women's team garnered a 3.37 GPA, while the men's team earned a 3.14 GPA.

The K-State program was just one of five Big 12 schools to earn the recognition for both their men's and women's teams, including Oklahoma State, Texas, Iowa State and Baylor.

In addition to the team recognition, 14 Wildcats were recognized as individual USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, including senior Mitch Dixon, junior Brett Neelly and junior Kurt Loevenstein on the men's team and junior Morgan Coffman, senior Kayla Doll, freshman Clare Gibson, sophomore Helene Ingvaldsen, sophomore Gabby Lavington, junior Ranae McKenzie sophomore Wurrie Njadoe, sophomore Konstantina Romaiou, sophomore Lauren Taubert, freshman Shaelyn Ward and senior Morgan Wedekind on the women's team.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, the student-athlete must earn a 3.25 GPA and met at least athletic standard, which includes finishing the indoor regular season ranked in the national top-96 in an individual event, ranking in the national top-48 in an indoor relay event or participating in any round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Of the Wildcats earning USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, four individuals earned their third-career honor (Doll, McKenzie, Neelly, Wedekind), six individuals earned their second-career honor (Dixon, Coffman, Ingvaldsen, Njadoe, Romaiou, Taubert) while four earned their first-career honor (Loevenstein, Gibson, Lavington, Ward).

The USTFCCCA All-Academic honors come after the Wildcats placed 35 individuals on the Academic All-Big 12 team earlier this season. Among the selections, Coffman and redshirt freshman Cayli Hume were honored for earning 4.0 GPAs.

In addition, Neelly was later named the Co-Big 12 Conference men's track and field Scholar Athlete of the Year, becoming the first Wildcat to ever win the award, while senior Jeff Bachman and junior Emma Wren were selected to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District First Teams.

USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals
Mitch Dixon, Organizational Management
Kurt Loevenstein, Kinesiology and Gerontology
Morgan Coffman, Life Sciences
Kayla Doll, Kinesiology
Clare Gibson, Nutrition and Kinesiology
Helene Ingvaldsen, Marketing
Gabby Lavington, Management
Ranae McKenzie, Nutrition and Kinesiology
Brett Neelly, Mechanical Engineering
Wurrie Njadoe, Business Administration
Konstantina Romaiou, Hospitality Management
Lauren Taubert, Family Studies and Human Services
Shaelyn Ward, Nutrition and Kinesiology
Morgan Wedekind, Communication Sciences and Disorders

For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.

K-State Track and Field Earns USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors

Players Mentioned

Jeff Bachman

Morgan Coffman

Mitch Dixon

Kayla Doll

Clare Gibson

Cayli Hume

Helene Ingvaldsen

Kurt Loevenstein

Ranae McKenzie

Brett Neelly

Wurrie Njadoe

Konstantina Romaiou

Lauren Taubert

Gabby Tozer

Shaelyn Ward

Morgan Wedekind

Emma Wren

Kansas State University Athletics