Emporia State places 7 on Academic All-District team
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Emporia State continued its run as one of the top athletic programs in academics on Monday by placing seven athletes on the Academic All-District team.
ESU punter Johnny Torres and ESU softball players Miranda Campbell and Jill Peters all made the first team. Fellow ESU softball player Linda Ketter made the second team, along with ESU baseball players Kevin Wempe and Caleb Williamson and ESU soccer player Marcie Fundis.
Emporia State ranks 10th in the nation in producing Academic All-Americans named by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) since 2000. Hornet student-athletes have been named Academic All-America 16 times in the last nine years and that number could increase to 19 if Torres, Campbell and Peters make the All-American team.
On the conference level, the MIAA easily has outdistanced its closest peers, with 187 total CoSIDA Academic All-America winners this decade. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is second with 109 honorees, while the Great Lakes Valley Conference had 93 honorees.
“Once again, the entire conference should be very proud of its success in producing top-level student-athletes —- both on the field and in the classroom,” MIAA Commissioner Jim Johnson said. “The MIAA stands out among Division II conferences in many areas, but none speak better than the commitment to graduating highly successful young men and women from our institutions.”
The Hornets have had multiple Academic All-Americans in two of the last three years and now wait to see whether they can make it three of four.
To be eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must first earn first-team All-District honors following a vote of CoSIDA members in each district. To qualify for nomination to the all-district ballot, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better, have attended the school at least two terms, be at least a sophomore in athletic eligibility and be a starter or key reserve in their respective sport.
Top DII CoSIDA Academic All-America Producing Schools since 2000
1. Pittsburg State 46
2. Truman 45
3. Wingate 34
4. Missouri S&T 31
5. Indianapolis 30
6. Adams State 23
7. Barry 20
8. Abilene Christian 18
8. Central Missouri 18
10. Emporia State 16
10. Missouri Southern 16
ESU Academic All-District Selections in 2008-09
• Johnny Torres, Football, 1st-Team
• Miranda Campbell, Softball, 1st-Team
• Jill Peters, Softball, 1st-Team
• Linda Ketter, Softball, 2nd-Team
• Marcie Fundis, Soccer, 2nd-Team
• Kevin Wempe, Baseball, 2nd-Team
• Caleb Williamson, Baseball, 2nd-Team
ESU Academic All-Americans since 2000
• 2000 Emily Bloss, Women’s Basketball
• 2001 Pat Amon, Football
• 2001 **Emily Bloss, Women’s Basketball
• 2002 Tyler Paul, Football
• 2003 Brad Johnson, Football
• 2003 Kadri Kelve, Women’s Track & Field
• 2003 *Tyler Paul, Football
• 2003 Josh Stratman, Baseball
• 2003 Sarah Wuertz, Women’s Track & Field
• 2004 Rachel Goetz, Track & Field
• 2005 Melissa Stevens, Softball
• 2006 Bree Beattie, Softball
• 2006 Kristen Larson, Women’s Track & Field
• 2006 Melissa Stevens, Softball
• 2008 Michelle Stueve, Women’s Basketball
• 2008 Brian Majors, Baseball
**D-II Academic All-American
of the Year
*D-II Football Academic
All-American of the Year