July 27, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Scholar Teams of the Year and All-Academic Team honors for the 2016-17 NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field seasons were announced Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
In order to be in contention for Scholar Team of the Year, a program must finish highly at the respective national championship meet and have at least a 3.00 cumulative team GPA.
Penn State qualified 23 athletes through to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. this past June finishing the meet with four All-Americans in Isaiah Harris who finished second in the 800-meters, Michael Shuey who finished third in the javelin, Tori Gerlach who took third in the steeplechase and Dannielle Gibson who finished sixth in the triple jump. The Nittany Lions also finished top-30 on both sides for the fourth time in program history at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Both Penn State squads earned accolades following successful seasons on the track and in the classroom. The women's team posted a 3.39 GPA while the men's team finished the year with a 3.05 GPA.
All told, 360 NCAA Division I teams were honored for their academics by the USTFCCCA. Breaking it down further, 218 of those were women's teams compared to 142 men's programs.
Click here for a full list of those All-Academic Teams in NCAA Division I Track & Field.
The list of individuals named All-Academic by the USTFCCCA will be released tomorrow afternoon.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.