The Scholar Team of the Year and All-Academic Teams for the 2022 NCAA Division II Women’s Track & Field seasons were announced on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Kentucky Wesleyan College women’s cross country/track and field team achieved the highest team GPA for the academic year.
Minnesota State was named the NCAA Division II Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Scholar Team of the Year, while West Texas A&M was named the NCAA Division II Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Scholar Team of the Year. The Panthers boasted a 3.725 team GPA to edge the University of Mary for the highest GPA this season. Only three schools in the nation featured a team GPA over 3.7.
“The number one academic team in all of Division II for 2022!” said first-year head coach Sol Stephens. “By name Jenna Burns, Emery Crume, Abby Greene, Karlee Hoffman, Kate Keller, Lucy Knutson, Abigail Lesniak, Haley Maguire, Hailey Miller, Yogi McKnight, Sidney, Reagor, Shannon Ruble, Gabrielle Schultz, Rae Sloane, Dosset, Cambria Vincent, Morgan Whittington and Karyn Williams.”
“The ladies have excelled since from August to May,” continued Stevens. “The coaches could not be prouder than the ladies. They have carried each other all season with their energy and attitude. Within the same meeting, we set a point of emphasis and surpassed it. The ladies allowed me to challenge them to raise the standards and this is the result of all their hard work in the classroom within the balance of the sport. What a day for the Panthers! #Proverbs 27:17”
More than 100 teams were honored by the USTFCCCA on Wednesday.
Here is the criteria for a team be named an NCAA Division II All-Academic Team:
- The cumulative GPA (not 2021-22 academic year, not semester) for all student-athletes on the institution’s NCAA Squad List for Indoor and/or Outdoor Track and Field must be 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, certifiable by the institution’s registrar. Institutions utilizing a different GPA scale must convert the GPA to a 4.0 scale using the standard conversion method [GPA/Scale x 4.0].
- Transfer students and/or graduate students are to include only grades earned at the current nominating institution.
- The cumulative GPA of all student-athletes on the institution’s NCAA Squad List for Indoor and/or Outdoor Track and Field must be computed by the following method:
- Total the cumulative number of semester hours or quarter hours earned for all student-athletes on the NCAA Squad List including the most recent grading period;
- Total the cumulative number of quality points (GPA multiplied by the number of credit hours) earned by all student-athletes including the most recent grading period;
- Divide the cumulative number of quality points earned by the cumulative number of semester or quarter hours earned.
