Kansas Academic Streak Reaches 28 Semesters
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas seniors Laura Bilsborrow, Bryce Hinde, Chelsie Miller and Haley Molden were just beginning their competitive swimming careers as seven and eight-year-olds when the Jayhawk swimming and diving team started an impressive academic run. Wednesday, the quartet and their teammates kept the streak alive as the squad earned its 28th-consecutive Scholar All-America Team recognition from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
KU’s senior class led the Jayhawks to their second runner-up finish at the Big 12 Championship in three years and contributed to the team’s most points ever scored at the league meet. Outside the pool, they helped continue an academic legacy that has spanned head coach Clark Campbell’s 14-year tenure. Kansas combined for a team GPA of 3.27 and has had a 3.0 or better in each semester under Campbell.
Kansas recently wrapped up its best season since the inception of the Big 12 Conference as 25 swimmers turned in top-eight finishes at the conference championship. Miller was named the Big 12 Swimmer of the Year after also garnering All-America First Team honors in the 400-yard individual medley at the NCAA Championship.
While the Jayhawks’ streak of academic success is unprecedented, Kansas isn’t the only swimming and diving team to excel in the classroom as 658 squads posted GPAs of 3.0 or better to qualify for the Scholar All-America award during the 2016 Spring semester. This semester was only the second time in CSCAA’s 30-plus year history that more than 600 teams earned the honor.
To be selected as a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team, programs must have achieved a grade point average of 3.00 or higher over the Spring semester.
Kansas returns 22 team members, including Olympic Trials participant Libby Walker, and will welcome seven newcomers for 2016-17. Walker and Miller are slated to compete among the nation’s best in Omaha, Nebraska at the end of June, with several other teammates close to trials cuts with one swim remaining before qualifying ends.
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