AUSTIN, Texas – The 2017 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country Teams were released Thursday and Gustavus senior Carston Dammann (Lake City, Minn.) was named to the 15-member Second Team. The CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
Dammann boasted a 3.96 GPA and majored in chemistry, and has been a key member of the Gustavus cross country and track teams over the past four years. Dammann started his senior year by claiming All-Conference honors at the MIAC Cross Country Championships, taking 13th place with a time of 26:46.6. Dammann was also honored with the MIAC Elite 22 Award, which recognizes the student-athlete with the highest GPA at the conference championships and is in at least his second season of competition with his current team and recognized as a member of the All-Conference Team. The Lake City native capped his cross country career by taking 43rd at the NCAA Central Region meet with a time of 26:25.4. Dammann helped the Gusties crack the USTFCCCA Division III national poll for the first time since 1990, ranked No. 23 on Sept. 21. He also was a key member of a team that took third place at the MIAC Championships, which was the best finish by Gustavus since 1992.
Dammann and Matthew Lillehaugen of Concordia-Moorhead are the only two student-athletes to represent the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on the All-America Teams. Dammann becomes the 108th Gustavus student-athlete to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America distinction (second this year – Katie Aney), which ranks 11th among Division III institutions and first in the MIAC. Head baseball coach Brad Baker ’80 earned the College’s first Academic All-America award in 1979.