New Orleans – Gustavus Adolphus College track and field athletes Cameron Clause (Mankato, Minn.) and Steve Groskreutz (Faribault, Minn.) have been named to the 2012 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III Track & Field All-Academic Team.
Headlining this season’s academic awards was UW-Stout’s Tim Nelson, UW-Eau Claire’s Tyler Genovese, and Rutgers-Camden’s Tim VanLiew being name Scholar Athletes of the Year in Division III. Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards are determined from among those who earned All-Academic status and placed highest in individual events at the most recent NCAA Championships. Those who earn multiple individual championship titles rank higher in the tie-breaking process, and cumulative GPA is weighed as the final tiebreaker to establish a winner. Separate awards are given to track athletes and field athletes for the indoor and outdoor seasons, resulting in four categories.
In addition to the Scholar Athletes of the Year, the USTFCCCA also announced the men’s 2012 Division III All-Academic Track & Field team. A total of 226 student-athletes representing 84 institutions compose the group.
Cameron Clause, a to-be junior majoring in chemistry, carries a GPA of 3.758. Clause earned All-Conference marks during the indoor season when he placed third in the heptathlon at the MIAC Championships after compiling 4,564 points. Steve Groskreutz, who graduated this spring with a 3.75 GPA in chemistry, became the 2012 MIAC Outdoor Champion in the 400-meter hurdles after crossing the finish line in 53.51. After placing ninth in the 400-hurdles at the NCAA Championships, Groskreutz was named Male Student-Athlete of the Month for May, and received CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 and have met either of the following athletic standards: a student-athlete must have competed in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship or finished the regular season ranked in the national top 35 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 25 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org.
Clause and Groskreutz are two of 15 total athletes from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) to earn a spot on this year’s USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. St. Thomas led the way with eight representatives, followed by St. Olaf (2), Bethel (1), Concordia (1), and Hamline (1).