📚 Twenty Jayhawks Earn Academic All-Big 12 Honors
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Big 12 conference announced the 2020 Academic All-Big 12 Swimming and Diving Team on Tuesday, and 20 Jayhawks were selected as first and second-team honorees.
First-team honorees include senior Haley Downey and sophomores Kate Steward, Greta Olsen and Kaitlyn Witt who were four of the 10 women’s student-athletes who registered a 4.0 grade point average (GPA).
A total of 129 student-athletes were recognized for their academic achievements, with 87 of them coming from the five women’s programs.
Academic All-Big 12 First Team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA. To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of their team’s scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
"Our team works very hard in the classroom and it shows with our All-Big 12 Academic Team selections. We look forward to starting the Big 12 Championships in the pool."
Head Coach Clark Campbell
Academic All-Big 12 First Team
| Elizabeth Amato-Hanner (Sr.) | Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology |
| Crissie Blomquist (Jr.) | Health & Physical Education |
| Dewi Blose (So.) | Management & Leadership |
| Katie Callahan (So.) | Computer Science |
| Claire Campbell (So.) | Exercise Science |
| Peri Charapich (Sr.) | Exercise Science |
| Haley Downey (Sr. & 4.0 GPA) | Exercise Science |
| Ellie Flanagan (Jr.) | Accounting |
| Alison Grass (So.) | Exercise Science |
| Manon Manning (Jr.) | Business Administration |
| Jenny Nusbaum (Sr.) | Exercise Science |
| Greta Olsen (So. & 4.0 GPA) | Chemical Engineering |
| Paige Riekhof (So.) | Elementary Education |
| Katy Schlies (Sr.) | Strategic Communications |
| Caroline Schultz (Jr.) | Management & Leadership |
| Kate Steward (So. 4.0 GPA) | Elementary Education |
| Carly Straight (Sr.) | Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology |
| Libby Walker (Sr.) | MSJ Digital Content Strategy |
| Kaitlyn Witt (So. & 4.0 GPA) | Mechanical Engineering |
Academic All-Big 12 Second Team
| Lauryn Parrish (Jr.) | Communication Studies |
This announcement comes three weeks after KU was selected to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team for the fall 2019 semester for the 35th-consecutive semester. KU finished the fall semester with a department leading 3.64 team GPA, which ranked 18th nationally amongst Division I women’s programs, and first in the Big 12 Conference.
Next up for Kansas, the team will begin its postseason competition with the Big 12 Championships in Morgantown, W.Va. Feb. 26-29.
