ETSU's Chase Named First Team Capital One Academic All-American
AUSTIN, Texas – Senior track & field/cross country student-athlete Adam Chase was named First Team Capital One Academic All-America on Thursday, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
It’s the third straight year Chase has garnered Capital One Academic All-American status. Last season he was awarded Second Team honors and in 2013 was selected to the Capital One Academic All-District III First Team. Chase is one of nine repeat selections to be placed on the First Team.
The Kingsport native posted a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) while majoring in mathematics. This season he was one of 10 Southern Conference student-athletes to receive a SoCon Postgraduate Scholarship which grants him a $2,000 scholarship to go toward his graduate-level education.
During the cross country season Chase just missed out on All-SoCon cross country honors with a 15th –place finish at the SoCon Championships. He placed 30th overall with a 31:15.20 in the 10K at the NCAA South Regional Championships to help lead the Bucs’ men’s cross country team to a 13th place finish out of 22 teams.
Chase sustained his success into the spring season winning the steeplechase at the SoCon Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The previous season he won the steeplechase at the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Championships with a meet-record time of 9:09.85. He was named the A-Sun Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year twice and was awarded the A-Sun Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2013.
Seniors John Welk of the University of Nebraska and Rebecca Esselstien of the united State Air Force Academy were the recipients of the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year award for the Division I Men’s and Women’s track and field and cross country programs.
Wofford's Justin Whitaker Named Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Recent Wofford College graduate Justin Whitaker has been named to the 2015 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team, which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes from each sport for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. CoSIDA announced its Academic All-Americans in both men’s and women’s track & field/cross country Thursday afternoon.
Whitaker is the first Terrier from the men’s track & field and cross country programs to be named an Academic All-American in school history, and the third Terrier to earn the distinction from the men’s and women’s programs combined – Lauren Bosshardt earned the distinction in 2008, followed by Katie Kessler in 2014. He is also the second Terrier of the 2014-15 academic year to earn the prestigious recognition, joining baseball’s Matt Ramsay, and is the seventh Terrier named in the last seven years. Whitaker is also the only Capital one Academic All-America ® Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country selection from the Southern Conference.
A native of Free Home, Georgia, Whitaker is a part of two school records in both the 4x400 meter relay (3:22.96) and distance medley relay (3:28.48). He was one of three honors graduates and received the Southern Conference’s Dave Hart Graduate Scholarship this year. Whitaker was also elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society in 2014 and earned honorable mention from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. Whitaker graduated with a 4.0 G.P.A. this past May with a degree in physics and mathematics.
Of the 45 members of the Capital One Academic All-America ® Division I Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country teams, 28 have a 3.90 G.P.A or better. Thirteen of this year’s honorees have a perfect 4.0 G.P.A., including Whitaker. The average G.P.A. of Academic All-America ® Division I Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country teams is 3.842.
About the Academic All-America Teams
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.