ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's and women's track & field teams received All-Academic Team honors for the 2017-18 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field seasons announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The 36 student-athletes on the men's team garnered a 3.11 grade-point average (GPA), while the 18 women combined for a 3.43 GPA.
In order to be in contention for All-Academic award, a program must finish highly at the respective national championship meet and have at least a 3.00 cumulative team GPA. All told, 291 teams were honored for their academics by the USTFCCCA. Breaking it down further, 185 of those were women's teams compared to 106 men's programs.
Individually, sophomore Grant Rodgers (Oil City, PA/Oil City), junior Haley Yenchik (Cecil, PA/Canon-McMillan) and graduated senior Rachel Pell (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward) were honored for their accomplishments in the classroom and in competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Pell and Yenchik were also an USTFCCCA All-Region selection after making their first appearance at nationals this season.
To qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, student-athletes must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have reached a provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships in either the indoor or outdoor seasons.