Twelve Jayhawks Tapped to USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams

July 25, 2012

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday that 12 members of the 2012 Kansas men’s and women’s track and field teams were named to the All-Academic Honorees list. A total of 1,098 student-athletes representing over 200 institutions composed the group with the Big 12 Conference amassing 121 men and women on the All-Academic lists.

Six KU men were named to the list, which included departing seniors Austin Bussing, Daniel Hitman and Zach Zarda, all of whom maintained above a 3.25 GPA for the year. Each earned trips to the NCAA West Regional Preliminary for the first time in their careers by way of being ranked in the top 50 of their respective events.

Other men to earn the honor included junior thrower Mason Finley and sophomore runner Dalen Fink, both earning the honor for the second-consecutive season. Finley, who majors in theatre, maintained a GPA above 3.50 for the year, while also becoming the national runner-up in the discus and spending the majority of the season ranked as the No. 1 shot putter in the NCAA. Fink also maintained a GPA that was above a 3.50 with his mechanical engineering major.

Josh Munsch saw his name on the list for the first time of his career. The sophomore had a breakout season for the KU men, running to All-American Honorable Mention honors in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Championships.

Six student-athletes on the women’s side also received honors. Senior runner Rebeka Stowe and junior thrower Heather Bergmann saw their name on the All-Academic list for the third time of their careers. Both Stowe and Bergmann were First Team All-Americans while also upheld GPAs above 3.75. Bergmann, who majors in chemistry, collected yet another academic accomplishment in 2012 after being named to the Capital One Academic All-America Second Team in June.

Seniors Cori Christensen and Allison Mayfield were also honored. Both were key members of the women’s team this season, contributing to the scoring effort at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in May. Rounding out the women’s list were first-time honorees Denesha Morris and Jaimie House. The junior Morris was a member of the Big 12 Champion and All-American 4×400-meter relay team. House, just a freshman, was the Jayhawks No. 2 pole vaulter for the majority of the season, scoring in both the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track & Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either of the following athletic standards: for the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org; for the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).