NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) awards for the 2014-15 Division II  track & field season were announced on Friday. 

NEW ORLEANS – Amy Cymerman of Grand Valley State, Emily Oren of Hillsdale, and the Central Missouri duo of Erika Kinsey and Brittany Kallenberger have been named the female Scholar Athletes of the Year in NCAA Division II for the 2014-15 track & field season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the association announced Friday.

Scholar Athletes of the Year were selected as the highest-finishing performers at the NCAA Indoor & Outdoor Championships who also achieved USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual status. Those who earned multiple individual championship titles ranked higher in the tie-breaking process, and cumulative GPA is weighed as the final tiebreaker to establish a winner.

Cymerman, a graduate student studying higher education with a cumulative 4.00 GPA at Grand Valley State, was named the indoor track honoree for her first career Scholar Athlete award. A native of Pittsford, New York, Cymerman won the 5000 meters national title at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 16:36.10 and finished sixth at 3000 meters.

She is the fourth woman from GVSU to earn track & field Scholar Athlete of the Year honors.

Oren, a junior economics major with a 3.419 cumulative GPA, was named the outdoor track winner for her first career Scholar Athlete award. A native of Holland, Michigan, Oren emerged victorious both in the steeplechase and at 5000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, running 9:54.43 in the former to become just the third woman in DII history to break the 10-minute barrier.

She is the second woman from Hillsdale to earn track & field Scholar Athlete of the Year honors.

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All-Academic Individuals - Women

GVSU Women Leads the Way with 18 Honorees

Including the Scholar Athletes of the Year, a total of 72 women from 11 institutions earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have reached a provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships in either indoor or outdoor seasons.

Grand Valley State led all teams with 18 honorees. The MIAA led the way on the conference side with 72 awards earned by its member institutions, followed closely by the duo of the GLIAC with 70 and the NSIC with 63.

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All-Academic Individuals - Men

GVSU Men Tops the Team List

Including the Scholar Athletes of the Year, a total of 30 men from seven institutions earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have reached a provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships in either indoor or outdoor seasons.

Grand Valley State led all teams with 13 honorees, topping Colorado Mines by two. On the conference level, it was the MIAA that came out on top with 43 honorees between its member institutions. Next up were the GLIAC with 30 and the RMAC with 29.

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NEW ORLEANS – Scholar Team of the Year and All-Academic Team honors for the 2014-15 NCAA Division II Track & Field season were announced Friday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Findlay men delivered a sweep of the Scholar Team awards with a pair of runner-up national team finishes.

Findlay's men posted a cumulative team GPA of 3.08 during a 2014-15 campaign that saw the Oilers finish tied for second place with Grand Valley State at the NCAA Indoor Championships and an outright second place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Findlay edged out GVSU for the indoor Scholar Team honor, 3.08 to 3.03.

The Oilers came within five points of the indoor national team title with 40 points, and came even closer to the outdoor title with a 50-point effort to fall just short of the 53 posted by champ Saint Augustine's. 

Four Oilers earned All-Academic individual honors, including two-time shot put national runner-up Taylor Miller.

Findlay becomes the second GLIAC team in as many years to sweep the indoor/outdoor men's Scholar Team of the Year award, following in the footsteps of rival Ashland from a year ago.

Overall, 20 GLIAC teams earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors, including the Michigan Tech (3.56) women who boast the fifth overall GPA in the country.