June 27, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sophomore Robby Creese(Mount Airy, Md.) has been named the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America Team , announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday. Creese, who was a two-time USTFCCCA All-American on the track this year, was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America Third Team, to become Penn State's seventh Academic All-America honoree this year alone, as well as the Nittany Lions' 182nd selection all time - the third-highest total among Division I programs.
A sophomore with a 3.59 GPA in Mathematics, Creese had another year for the record books in 2013, highlighted by All-America finishes at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Indoors, the sophomore anchored the Nittany Lions' NCAA runner up distance medley relay, and followed up with a sixth-place finish, individually, in the 1500-meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Creese was on fire throughout the indoor season, beginning with a school-record run of 3:57.11 for the mile at the Husky Classic at the University of Washington. The sophomore would go on to help the Nittany Lions to a sizzling Penn State record 9:26.60 for the DMR at the Alex Wilson Last Chance at Notre Dame. The performance, which included teammates Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio), Brandon Bennett-Green (Philadelphia, Pa.), and Za'Von Watkins (Liverpool, N.Y.) is the second-fastest ever run by a collegiate foursome indoors. The Mount Airy, Md., native also enjoyed outstanding success at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, taking home an individual title in the mile, to go along with Penn State's second-straight victory in the DMR.
Outdoors, Creese was once again one of the Nittany Lions' most reliable relay legs, helping his team to a pair of "Championship of America" victories at the prestigious Penn Relays Carnival. The sophomore anchored the winning DMR, which clocked a school-record 9:24.68, and led off the victorious 4x800-meter relay. On the Big Ten level, Creese finished second in the 1500. Creese would also clock a career-best 3:41.03 in the event at the NCAA Eastern Preliminary Round - the fourth-fastest effort in school history.
Creese was also a member of the Capital One All-District Academic Team, along with current sophomore Lauren Kenney (State College, Pa.).
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
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