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Honored as the Conference USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Mehl is a Psychology major with a 4.00 G.P.A. at UAB. The UAB record holder in the high jump, she earned all-conference honors and finished fourth in the high jump. A native of Rottwell, Germany, she won back-to-back Conference-USA titles in the indoor pentathlon.

An honorable mention All-American in the 400-meter hurdles, Persson is a Marketing major with a 3.83 G.P.A. at Mississippi. She also earned All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Meet by finishing third in the 800-meter run. The school record holder in four different events, the Helsingborg, Sweden native was recognized as the top marketing student in the UM Business School.

The winner of the Honda Award for cross country, Reid led Villanova to its second consecutive national championship as a senior. An English major with a 3.37 G.P.A., she was the NCAA individual cross country champion. She also took first place at the BIG EAST Championship and the NCAA Regional Meet. A native of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, she was an 11-time BIG EAST champion and a seven-time All-American for the Wildcats. She also anchored Villanova’s NCAA champion indoor distance medley relay team.

A graduate student with a 4.00 G.P.A. who is working on her Master’s degree in Counseling, Neuenswander won the 2011 Big Ten Conference championship in the pole vault and tied the conference record. A three-time All-American for Indiana, she was the NCAA runner-up in the pole vault in 2009. A native of Jefferson City, Mo., she earned her undergraduate degree in Social Studies and had a 4.00 G.P.A.

A member of Stanford’s back-to-back NCAA champion cross country teams in 2006 and 2007, Niehaus is a graduate student working on her Master’s degree in BioEngineering with a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. The winner of the NCAA Elite 88 Award in 2009, she was a two-time NCAA qualifier for the Outdoor Championship Meet. A native of Columbia, S.C., she was the Pacific-10 Conference runner-up in the 10,000-meter run in 2009.

A two-time All-American pole vaulter at Arkansas, Diebold is a Communication Disorders major with a 4.00 G.P.A. A native of Branson, Mo., she helped the seventh-ranked Razorbacks finish third at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Meet. She was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll twice and finished sixth in the pole vault in the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championship Meet.

The Southeastern Conference champion in the indoor and outdoor 800-meter run in 2011, Price has a double major in Journalism and Electronic Media with a 3.92 G.P.A. A member of Tennessee’s NCAA champion distance medley relay team in 2009 and 2010, she is a six-time All-American. A four-time All-SEC selection, the Easton, Pa. native was the winner of the Lady Vols’ Coaches Award last year.

The 15 members of the Capital One Academic All-America ® Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country University first team have an average G.P.A. of 3.89.

Seven of the first team selections have perfect 4.00 G.P.A.’s.

Senior Darcie Schmitz of Fort Hays State is the only repeat selection on the Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s Track & Cross Country College Division first team. Seniors Erin Beattie of Seton Hill, Katie Navarre of Denison, Christina Rhodes of Bridgewater and Jill Ziskovsky of Central (Iowa), who were named to the second team last year, earned first team honors in 2011.

A pair of third team selections last year, senior Morgan Achterhoff of Taylor and graduate student Jen Harpp of Slippery Rock, also moved up to the first team in 2011.

Seniors Kristi Buerkle of Bemidji State, Joanna Johnson of Oberlin, Monica Kinney of Grand Valley State and Kristen McGlynn of Adams State were also named to the Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s Track & Cross Country College Division first team.

Juniors Whitney Bishoff of Anderson (S.C.), Simone Childs-Walker of Carleton and Liz Phillips of Washington University round out the first team.

A seven-time All-American in track and field, Schmitz is an Art major with a 3.84 G.P.A. and a minor in Graphic Design. The NCAA Division II indoor national champion in the long jump, she holds the Fort Hays State records in the indoor and outdoor triple jump and long jump. At the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championship, she finished sixth in the long jump and eighth in the triple jump. A native of Baileyville, Kan., she won Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association outdoor championships in the long jump and the triple jump.

A Mathematics and Actuary Science major with a 4.00 G.P.A., Beattie led Seton Hill University to its first West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) championship. Selected as the Most Valuable Performer at the WVIAC Championship Meet, she won the WVIAC titles in the pole vault and the triple jump. A native of Latrobe, Pa., she owns school records in the pole vault, shot put, javelin and heptathlon. Beattie was also the WVIAC champion in the heptathlon in 2008 and 2009.

A four-time All-American at Denison University, Navarre is an English major with a 3.95 G.P.A. The winner of an NCAA post-graduate scholarship, she earned All-American honors in cross country twice. Honored as the NCAA Great Lakes Runner of the Year as a junior, she finished sixth in the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship Meet. Named as the North Coast Athletic Conference Runner of the Year in 2009, the Upper Arlington, Ohio native earned All-American honors in the 5K run and 10K during her career.

A Liberal Studies major with a 4.00 G.P.A., Rhodes won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor pole vault championships four consecutive years at Bridgewater College. A two-time selection as the ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Outdoor Track, she won the Elite 88 Award at the 2010 and 2011 NCAA Championships. A native of Dayton, Va., she earned All-American notice at the 2010 NCAA Championship Meet by finishing sixth in the pole vault.

Honored as a seven-time All-American at Central College, Ziskovsky is a Communication Studies major with a minor in Spanish and a 3.94 G.P.A. Honored as the Dutch’s Most Valuable Performer three times, she was a four-time Iowa Conference event champion and won the 2011 heptathlon title. A native of Dallas Center, Iowa, she was a ten-time NCAA Indoor and Outdoor track qualifier and earned Central’s Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

A Biology and Pre-Med major who graduated with a 4.00 G.P.A., Achterhoff set the Taylor University record in the 400-meter run. Honored as an NAIA Scholar-Athlete, she owns the fourth-best mark in school history in the long jump. A native of Orange City, Iowa, she also played basketball for the Trojans and helped them earn a berth in the NAIA national tournament team.

A graduate student who is working on a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Slippery Rock, Harpp has a 4.00 G.P.A. in grad school. She graduated from Slippery Rock with a degree in Physical Therapy and a 3.94 G.P.A. One of the top runners for the Slippery Rock cross country team, she was injured for most of the season. However, she finished fourth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship meet and earned All-American honors by finishing 15^th at the NCAA Division II cross country championship. A native of Highland Heights, Ohio, she was the PSAC runner-up in three events at the PSAC indoor meet.

An Elementary Education major with a 3.86 G.P.A., Buerkle was a six-time All-American at Bemidji State. Named as the Bemidji Female Athlete of the Year twice, she was the 2011 USTFCCCA Central Region Track Athlete of the Year. At the 2011 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference meet, she won the 200-meter and the 400-meter runs. The top runner for the Beavers’ cross country team, the Stacy, Minn. native graduated with six individual school records.

Chosen as the North Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Distance Runner of the Year twice, Johnson has a double major of Biology and French with a 3.68 G.P.A. at Oberlin College. A seven-time All-American, she was a four-year runner for the cross country team. As a senior, she helped Oberlin place second at the NCAC Championship Meet, finishing second in the 10K run and winning the 5K run in record time. Named as the Great Lakes Region Runner of the Year twice, the Chico, Cal. native graduated with five school records.

A member of three NCAA Division II national championship teams at Grand Valley State this year, Kinney is a Biomedical Science major with a 3.75 G.P.A. She helped the Lakers achieve a unique feat as they won NCAA Division II titles in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track and field. At the NCAA Indoor Meet, she led the Lakers to their first-ever NCAA indoor crown by winning the one-mile run and the 5,000-meter run. In cross country, she finished 30^th while helping the Lakers win their first title. A native of Walker, Mich., she earned three All-American honors in her senior year.

A six-time All-American for Adams State College, McGlynn has a double major of English and Creative Writing with a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. As a senior, she led the Grizzlies to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor track championships. A three-time RMAC champion, she was the RMAC Scholar-Athlete for cross country, indoor and outdoor track. At the RMAC indoor meet, she won the 3K and the 5K titles, setting a conference record in the 5K. A native of Bailey, Col., she finished fourth in the 5K and ran the anchor leg on the distance medley relay team that finished second at the NCAA Indoor Meet. At the NCAA Outdoor Championship, she was honored as the winner of the Elite 88 award.

An Education major with a 4.00 G.P.A., Bishoff led Anderson to the South Atlantic Conference cross country championship by winning the individual title. Named as the SAC Runner of the Year, she was named All-Region. The NCAA Elite 88 award winner for track and field, the Winder, Ga. native owns school records in the 3K, 5K, 6K and 10,000-meter runs. An NCAA qualifier in the mile run, she is a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma athletic honor society.

A ten-time All-American at Carleton College, Childs-Walker is a Philosophy major with a 3.99 G.P.A. In 2011, she was named as the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outstanding Track Athlete. A native of Seattle, Wash., she helped the Knights finish tenth at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track Championship by placing fourth in the 5,000-meter run and fourth in the 10,000-meter run. A three-time All-MIAC selection in cross country, she has won 13 MIAC championships in her first three seasons.

The winner of the NCAA Elite 88 Award at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track Championship, Phillips is a Biomedical Engineering major at Washington University with a 4.00 G.P.A. Honored as a first team All-University Athletic Association selection in cross country, she led the Bears to the UAA championship by finishing fourth. She also helped Washington to a second place finish at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship Meet. A native of Homer Glen, Ill., she earned indoor track All-American honors in the distance medley relay. She was also an outdoor All-American in the 800-run and the 1500-run.

The Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country College Division first team has six student-athletes with a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. The eleven members of the first team have an average G.P.A. of 3.93.

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Jordan Hasay, Shannon Gagne Lead Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s Track Teams – page 6

About Capital One      

Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $122.2 billion in deposits and     $197.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of December 31, 2010. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week. In 2010, Capital One launched the Capital One Cup, a prestigious new program rewarding NCAA Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men’s and women’s sports. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot Team, all 88 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Dan O’Connell, Towson University (doconnell@towson.edu) (410) 704-3102

Academic All-America ® Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications

Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University (Jeff.Schwartz@ndsu.edu) (701) 231-8332

2011 Capital One Academic All-America®

as selected by CoSIDA

FIRST TEAM