FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Official USTFCCCA Release

Aug. 3, 2011-- The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its All-Academic Team for 2010-2011 on Wednesday with a record 10 North Central College women's track & field athletes earning the honor.

Lauren Brightmore, Michelle Criscione and Melissa Savino all claim the honor for the fourth straight season while Carolyn Kalafut earns her third All-Academic honor. Amanda Laesch wins the honor for the second consecutive season while Chelsea Armstrong, Kala Bingham, Krista Cota, Amanda Marek and Jocelyn Redlinski earn All-Academic standing for the first time in their careers.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 and have met either the NCAA Division III Indoor or Outdoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard in their respective event. 

A total of 328 student-athletes from 102 institutions were honored as All-Academic, including 24 from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Illinois Wesleyan University had six individuals honored while Augustana College and Wheaton College each had four student-athletes earn All-Academic status.

North Central's 10 honorees was the fifth highest tally, behind only Wartburg College (13), Williams College (12), University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (11) and Ithaca College (11). The Cardinals total eclipses the team's previous high of eight honorees, accomplished during the 2008-2009 academic year. North Central had six individuals earn the award in 2009-2010.

Armstrong earns her first honor after provisionally qualifying for the discus with a school record toss of 140 feet, 11 inches at the CCIW Outdoor Championships on May 6.

Bingham claims her first All-Academic award after earning a pair of All-America certificates at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in March. Bingham ran the 1,200-meter leg of the distance medley relay, helping the team place seventh in 12:04.4 before placing third the following day in the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:52.90.

Brightmore closes her career as a four-time All-Academic honoree after earning All-American status three times in 2011. Brightmore ran the 400-meter leg of the distance medley relay squad that placed seventh at the indoor championships and the 4x400-meter relay team that finished third while also running a leg on the school record setting outdoor 4x400-meter relay squad that placed fourth at nationals in 3:46.08.

Cota lands her first All-Academic award after participating in three relays that earned All-America honors in 2011. Cota ran the 800-meter leg of the distance medley relay squad while also participating on both the indoor and outdoor 4x400-meter relay squads that established school records, placing third and fourth, respectively.

Criscione caps her career as a four-time All-Academic selection, provisionally qualifying for the high jump during the indoor and outdoor seasons. The senior cleared 5' 5 1/4" during both the indoor and outdoor seasons and earned CCIW titles during both competitive seasons, closing her career as an eight-time champion in the high jump.

Kalafut earns her third All-Academic award after claiming the honor in 2008 and 2009. Kalafut provisionally qualified for the pole vault during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, placing 15th at Indoor Nationals with a clearance of 11' 6 1/2".

Laesch captures her second All-Academic award after earning All-American honors four times during the 2011 season. The senior ran the 1,600-meter leg of the seventh place finishing distance medley relay squad at the indoor championships while also finishing sixth in a school record time of 17:05.32 in the 5,000-meters. During the outdoor season, Laesch finished third at nationals in a school record time of 35:28.44 in the 10,000-meters while also finishing third in the 5,000-meters (17:08.24).

Marek claims her first honor after provisionally qualifying in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking an 11:09.35 at the Gregory Invitational on May 17.

Redlinski earns All-Academic honors after provisionally qualifying in three different events in 2011. The freshman provisionally qualified for the pentathlon during the indoor season after amassing 3,081 points at the CCIW Championships on Feb. 25 while hitting the provisional standard in the long jump (18' 0 1/2") and heptathlon (4,088) during the outdoor season.

Savino claims her fourth All-Academic award after provisionally qualifying in five events in 2011. The senior clocked an 8.5 in the 55-meter hurdles while amassing 3,186 points in the pentathlon during the indoor season while hitting the provisional standard in the 100-meter hurdles (14.96), 4x100-meter relay (48.77) and high jump (5' 5") d