WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK TEAM HAS HIGHEST GPA IN THE NATION

ADRIAN, Mich. - The 1999 Adrian College women's indoor track team combined both athletic skill and academic prowess. The team recently reaped the rewards of their effort, as the Bulldogs earned All-Academic Team honors from the United States Track Coaches Association. Adrian had the highest cumulative grade-point average among all the NCAA Division III team honorees with a 3.460 average. No Division I teams met the association's criteria, and no Division II team awards were announced. According to co-head track coaches Forest Haines and Riki Carson, achieving a balance between athletics and academics is a priority. "There are three things we try to stress to our students-athletes," Carson said. "We not only work daily on their physical skills -- running, jumping and throwing -- but also heavily stress academics and strength of character." To qualify for all-academic honors, teams must have a minimum of a 3.100 cumulative grade-point average. Members of the 1999 Adrian College women's indoor track team are: Nicole Baumann (Carleton/Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central H.S.), Stacy Connell (Kawkawlin/Bay City Western H.S.), Marianne Crego (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.), Janice Denney (Clawson H.S.), Jennifer Dzieciolowski (Warren/Cousino H.S.), Aimee Fink (Reading H.S.), Heather Garland (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead H.S.), Aericka Gay (Akron, Ohio/Coventry H.S.), Erica Jacobs (Amanda, Ohio/Bloom-Carroll H.S.), Jessica Lytle (Monroe Jefferson H.S.), Sara Owen (Lapeer East H.S.), Meredith Pelty (Onsted H.S.), Aubrey Repicky (Walled Lake Western H.S.), Linda Risner (Pittsford/Freedom Farm Bible Church H.S.), Allison Valko (Clawson H.S.), Julie Smith (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph H.S.). 1999 ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM AWARDS DIV. III College/Univ. GPA Adrian 3.460 St. Catherine, Minn. 3.416 MIT 3.395 St. Lawrence, N.Y. 3.390 Tufts, Mass. 3.370 Williams, Mass. 3.370 Concordia-Moorhead, Minn. 3.341 Wartburg, Iowa 3.296 Augustana, Ill. 3.260 Haverford, Penn. 3.254 Wisconsin-La Crosse 3.230 Baldwin-Wallace, Ohio 3.210 Springfield, Mass. 3.166 Beloit, Wisc. 3.160 Wisconsin-Oshkosh 3.140 DePauw, Ind. 3.100 Wisconsin-Stevens Point 3.100