Men's and Women's Track & Field teams earn All-Academic awards

By Steven Wright

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's and women's track & field teams have both been named to the 2009 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III All-Academic Track and Field Teams.

The selection of the All-Academic Indoor and Outdoor Scholar Teams of the Year award is based on a combination of academic and athletic achievements.

In order to be worthy of a nomination, a team must have a minimum 3.1 cumulative grade point average.

The women's team had a cumulative GPA of 3.390, while the men's team also had a solid GPA at 3.260.

Along with the great success in the classroom came a historic year for the Ohio Northern running programs.

ONU was able to pull off the Ohio Athletic Conference triple crown in both men's and women's competition. This includes winning conference titles in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor track & field and men's and women's outdoor track & field.

Also, each squad brought home victory at the OAC Relays during the indoor track & field season.

The success of the ONU running programs also greatly contributed to the Polar Bear men and women each winning the OAC All-Sports Trophy for the third consecutive year.