Aug. 6, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Nine members of the Nittany Lion track and field team have been named to the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team, announced by national offices on Wednesday. To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either the NCAA Division I Indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard or the NCAA Division I Outdoor regional or national qualifying standard in their respective event.
Seven Nittany Lion women attained the honor, including Gabriela Baiter (Greenlawn, N.Y.), Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.), Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), Heidi Nadeau (North Hampton, N.H.), Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario), Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.) and Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas). On the men's side, James Pagana (Selinsgrove, Pa.) and Clarence Smith (Coatesville, Pa.) made the All-Academic squad. The Nittany Lion women, coming off the program's first-ever Big Ten Outdoor Championships, and a best-ever fourth place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, also earned the All-Academic Team distinction, posting a team GPA of 3.250 for the spring semester.
Baiter, Duncan, and Percival each posted regional-qualifying performances during successful 2008 campaigns, with Baiter competing in the triple jump, Duncan making the standard in the 400-meter hurdles, and Percival providing an NCAA qualifier in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Pagana was also an NCAA regional qualifier, attaining the standard in the triple jump.
Franek, Nadeau, Schmelzer, and Smith all advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships this past spring, with Franek and Smith coming home with All-America finishes. Franek, now a three-time NCAA All-American, recorded the highest-ever NCAA finish from a Nittany Lion distance runner with a third-place standing in the steeplechase, while Smith posted a ninth-place effort in the triple jump to earn his first-career All-America citation. Nadeau finished off her Nittany Lion career with her second-straight appearance at the NCAA Championships, turning in a 22nd-place effort in the javelin, while Schmelzer took 10th in the discus in her first-career NCAA event.
The Lions will be back in action this winter beginning with the Penn State Relays on January 10, 2009.