The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has announced its 2008-09 Division II all-academic teams and both the Miners and Lady Miners were honored for their classroom efforts along with five student-athletes from Missouri S&T.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met the NCAA Division II Indoor or Outdoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard in their respective event.
The Miners and Lady Miners were also cited as a team for its academic performances, The women’s team was one of 64 in NCAA Division II with a grade point average of 3.0 or better, while the men’s team was among 27 honors by the USTFCCCA. The Lady Miners had a team grade point average of 3.28 while the men’s squad – which won the Great Lakes Valley Conference indoor and outdoor championships this season -- had a 3.02 average for the 2008-09 academic year.
All five individuals earned All-America honors on the track for S&T during the past year. Henry won All-America honors at the NCAA Division II Indoor and Outdoor Championships, finishing as the national runner-up indoors and fifth at the outdoor meet in May. Henry, who won the Great Lakes Valley Conference title outdoors and won the indoor heptathlon, earned numerous honors for his efforts, as he was named as the recipient of the GLVC’s Paragon Award and “Student-Athlete of the Year” in track as well as being an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first team selection.
Henry earned his degree in electrical engineering in May.
Groom, a nuclear engineering major, placed sixth in the javelin throw at the national meet this season to earn his second All-America award after placing as the conference runner-up in the event. Hellwig set the school record in the indoor pole vault at 17 feet to win the event at the GLVC Championships and finished in a tie for eighth at the national meet two weeks later.
Hellwig is majoring in computer science at Missouri S&T.
McCaskill set the S&T school record in the high jump at the national meet as she finished third with a mark of 5-8 ½ and also placed third in the conference’s outdoor meet. McCaskill, who is majoring in chemical engineering, was also part of the Lady Miners’ 4x100-meter relay that won the GLVC title at the outdoor championships.
Moore, a chemistry major at S&T, broke the school record in the 400-meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a mark of 54.99 in the preliminaries and earned All-America honors in the event. Moore also took four conference titles in 2009, winning the outdoor 400-meters and as a part of three relay teams at the league’s two meets during the year.