St. Peter, Minn. – Two Gustavus Adolphus College student-athletes earned a place on the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America Division III Track & Field/Cross Country Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Earning a place on the second team was senior pole vaulter Allyson Voss (Wausau, Wis.), while taking home third team honors was senior cross country and track & field runner Beth Hauer (Little Falls, Minn.).
A two-time Academic All-District performer, Ally Voss makes her first appearance on the Capital One Academic All-America Team. With a cumulative grade point average of 3.94 in Spanish and sociology and anthropology, Voss made an impact in both the academic and athletic arenas. She was the recipient of a prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship – one of 29 winter sport athletes from across Divisions I, II, and III to receive such an honor – and earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Grant to Spain for 2013.
The most decorated pole vault specialist to ever come through the Gustavus track and field program, Voss finished her collegiate career a three-time All-Conference performer at the MIAC Indoor Championships and a four-time All-Conference performer at the MIAC Outdoor Championships. This season, Voss took gold at both the MIAC Indoor Championships with a height of 12-feet 4.5-inches and MIAC Outdoor Championships with a height of 12-feet 5.5-inches. At the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships her junior season, Ally became the school’s first All-American in the pole vault, placing seventh with a height of 12-feet 7.50-inches.
Voss graduated in June as the only Gustie to ever win two MIAC indoor and two MIAC outdoor pole vault titles. She owns the indoor school record and MIAC indoor meet record (12′ 4.5″) and outdoor school record (12’ 7.5”) and MIAC outdoor meet record (12’ 5.5”).
After receiving Academic All-District honors for the first time this season, Beth Hauer puts the finishing touch on her Gustavus career with an appearance on the Academic All-America Team. As a senior member of Dale Bahr’s cross country team, Hauer turned in one of the best seasons of her career. She captained the Gusties to an MIAC Cross Country Championship last fall, the program’s first MIAC title since 2003, and recorded career-best finishes at both the MIAC Championships and NCAA Central Region Championships. Hauer placed 12th in 23:01.9 at conference and 16th in 22:24.5 at regions. The Little Falls product capped her cross country career with a team-leading 56th (22:24.5) place finish at the NCAA Championships.
For all four years of her Gustavus tenure, Beth Hauer would also compete for the indoor and outdoor track and field teams. This season at the MIAC indoor meet, she finished fourth in the 5,000-meter run (18:21.93) and eighth in the 3,000-meter (10:40.01). At the outdoor meet, Hauer went fifth in the 10,000-meter (37:56.51) and seventh in the 5,000-meter (18:36.03). Over her track career, Beth was a seven-time All-MIAC Honorable Mention runner.
Beth earned a degree in music education after achieving a cumulative grade point average of 3.96. She was also awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship after her cross country season last fall, becoming one of just 29 female athletes from across the country to garner such an accolade.
Voss and Hauer are two of four female athletes from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) to earn a place on the 2013 Capital One Academic Women’s Track and Cross Country Team. They join Becky Culp of Hamline and Kaari Jensen of Concordia who both earned a place on the first team.
Ally and Beth are also the first female athletes from Gustavus to earn Academic All-American status on the track/cross country team since Hailey Harren garnered first team distinction in 2006 and 2007.
The Capital One Division II and III Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2012-13 DII and DIII Academic All-America teams program.
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 19,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.