
Falcons Place 45 on Academic All-MW List
7/19/2021 12:23:00 PM | Track and Field
More than half of the record-setting group (24) were named Mountain West Scholar-Athletes.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A program-record 45 members of the Air Force track and field team were recently named to the Mountain West Academic All-Conference Team, the conference office announced last week with the release of its academic awards for the Spring of 2021. The men led all Academy teams with 29 selections.
Highlighting the track and field team's list of representatives were recent Academy graduates – Hunter Boyer (3.75, aeronautical engineering), Addison Brown (3.15, computer science), Colin Dwyer (3.40, geospatial science), Scott Johnson (3.56, operations research), Mitch Lipe (3.70, aeronautical engineering), Kathleen Medill (3.75, electrical engineering) – who captured academic all-conference accolades for the fourth-straight year.
With these six additions, 73 Falcons have earned academic all-MW honors in all four years.
Classmates Maria Mettler (3.22, behavioral science) and Greg Skage (3.39, management) captured their third academic all-MW distinction, while Meghan Carbiener (3.27, biology) and Alec Schrank (3.25, operations research) earned their second academic award and Zachary Dicken (3.00, management) picked up his first.
Garrett Blenkush (3.51, aeronautical engineering), Ethan Gardner (3.28, mechanical engineering), Sean Geither (3,95, aeronautical engineering), Kendra Middleton (3.64, aeronautical engineering), Brid O'Connell (3.36, operations research), Michelle Roca (3.83, biology) and Erika Willis (3.81, biology), who recently completed their junior year at the Academy, received academic all-conference recognition for the third time in as many years. Classmates Mikayla Gallagher (3.78, astronautical engineering, applied mathematics), Ryan Ioanidis (3.36, foreign area studies, political science), Jenna Kill (3.79, applied mathematics), Will Kitzhaber (3.51, legal studies), Frank Rossi (3.96, applied mathematics), Adrianna Wilder (3.14, systems engineering) and Matt Zacharias (3.17, cyber science) picked up their second conference honor, while Calvin Ciganik (3.05, civil engineering) and Joseph Wittig (3.93, geospatial science) claimed their first.
Following their sophomore season, Ben Bi (3.79, management), Aidan Boyle (3.77, management), Niko Fraser (3.60, biology), Ben Leicht (3.78, aeronautical engineering, physics) and Katie Van Havel (3.66, biology) were named to the academic all-conference list for the second-straight year, while Ally Stauffer (3.18, biology) earned her first academic certificate.
Twelve Falcons – Eli Bennett (3.38, undeclared), Jackson Connelly (3.32, undeclared), Amanda Fraga (3.21, undeclared), Brian Hubbard (3.54, undeclared), Philip Hundl (3.53, undeclared), Zoe Iwu (3.09, undeclared), Brandon Lindner (3.61, electrical engineering, computer engineering), Connor Ohlson (3.35, astronautical engineering), Nick Scheller (3.08, management), Gerrit Tamminga (3.13, undeclared), Katie Thompson (3.96, biochemistry) and Rebecca Wusinich (3.96, undeclared) – claimed academic honors from the conference during their initial collegiate campaign.
With matching GPAs of 3.96, Rossi, Thompson and Wusinich are tied for the second-highest GPA among all of the 148 Air Force cadet-athletes honored during the 2020-21 academic year.
A league-record 2,045 student-athletes were named to the Mountain West's academic all-conference team for the spring semester, which included baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's soccer, softball, women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's track and field. To be eligible for 2021 Spring Academic All-Conference honors, student-athletes must have completed at least one academic term at the member institution, while maintaining a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.0 or better. The athletic participation requirement has been omitted for the award this year due to the impact of COVID-19.
MOUNTAIN WEST SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
In addition, 24 of the squad's academic all-conference selections – Bi, Blenkush, Boyer, Boyle, Fraser, Gallagher, Geither, Hubbard, Hundl, Johnson, Kill, Kitzhaber, Leicht, Lindner, Lipe, Medill, Middleton, Roca, Rossi, Thompson, Van Havel, Willis, Wittig and Wusinich – were recognized with Mountain West Scholar-Athlete honors for maintaining a GPA of 3.50 or higher during the 2020-21 academic year.
Highlighting the track and field team's list of representatives were recent Academy graduates – Hunter Boyer (3.75, aeronautical engineering), Addison Brown (3.15, computer science), Colin Dwyer (3.40, geospatial science), Scott Johnson (3.56, operations research), Mitch Lipe (3.70, aeronautical engineering), Kathleen Medill (3.75, electrical engineering) – who captured academic all-conference accolades for the fourth-straight year.
With these six additions, 73 Falcons have earned academic all-MW honors in all four years.
Classmates Maria Mettler (3.22, behavioral science) and Greg Skage (3.39, management) captured their third academic all-MW distinction, while Meghan Carbiener (3.27, biology) and Alec Schrank (3.25, operations research) earned their second academic award and Zachary Dicken (3.00, management) picked up his first.
Garrett Blenkush (3.51, aeronautical engineering), Ethan Gardner (3.28, mechanical engineering), Sean Geither (3,95, aeronautical engineering), Kendra Middleton (3.64, aeronautical engineering), Brid O'Connell (3.36, operations research), Michelle Roca (3.83, biology) and Erika Willis (3.81, biology), who recently completed their junior year at the Academy, received academic all-conference recognition for the third time in as many years. Classmates Mikayla Gallagher (3.78, astronautical engineering, applied mathematics), Ryan Ioanidis (3.36, foreign area studies, political science), Jenna Kill (3.79, applied mathematics), Will Kitzhaber (3.51, legal studies), Frank Rossi (3.96, applied mathematics), Adrianna Wilder (3.14, systems engineering) and Matt Zacharias (3.17, cyber science) picked up their second conference honor, while Calvin Ciganik (3.05, civil engineering) and Joseph Wittig (3.93, geospatial science) claimed their first.
Following their sophomore season, Ben Bi (3.79, management), Aidan Boyle (3.77, management), Niko Fraser (3.60, biology), Ben Leicht (3.78, aeronautical engineering, physics) and Katie Van Havel (3.66, biology) were named to the academic all-conference list for the second-straight year, while Ally Stauffer (3.18, biology) earned her first academic certificate.
Twelve Falcons – Eli Bennett (3.38, undeclared), Jackson Connelly (3.32, undeclared), Amanda Fraga (3.21, undeclared), Brian Hubbard (3.54, undeclared), Philip Hundl (3.53, undeclared), Zoe Iwu (3.09, undeclared), Brandon Lindner (3.61, electrical engineering, computer engineering), Connor Ohlson (3.35, astronautical engineering), Nick Scheller (3.08, management), Gerrit Tamminga (3.13, undeclared), Katie Thompson (3.96, biochemistry) and Rebecca Wusinich (3.96, undeclared) – claimed academic honors from the conference during their initial collegiate campaign.
With matching GPAs of 3.96, Rossi, Thompson and Wusinich are tied for the second-highest GPA among all of the 148 Air Force cadet-athletes honored during the 2020-21 academic year.
A league-record 2,045 student-athletes were named to the Mountain West's academic all-conference team for the spring semester, which included baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's soccer, softball, women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's track and field. To be eligible for 2021 Spring Academic All-Conference honors, student-athletes must have completed at least one academic term at the member institution, while maintaining a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.0 or better. The athletic participation requirement has been omitted for the award this year due to the impact of COVID-19.
MOUNTAIN WEST SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
In addition, 24 of the squad's academic all-conference selections – Bi, Blenkush, Boyer, Boyle, Fraser, Gallagher, Geither, Hubbard, Hundl, Johnson, Kill, Kitzhaber, Leicht, Lindner, Lipe, Medill, Middleton, Roca, Rossi, Thompson, Van Havel, Willis, Wittig and Wusinich – were recognized with Mountain West Scholar-Athlete honors for maintaining a GPA of 3.50 or higher during the 2020-21 academic year.
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