Sunday locals: Three Idaho Vandals named academic All-Americans
Two University of Idaho distance runners have been named as academic All-Americans.
Senior Hannah Kiser, of Wenatchee, was named to Capital One Academic All-America women’s track and field/cross country first team, which includes 15 athletes. She was on the second team in 2012. Kiser has a 3.94 GPA in biochemistry.
On the track, Kiser became the first woman in the Western Athletic Conference history to win the 1,500-, 5,000-, and 10,000-meter races at the conference’s outdoor championships.
Fellow Vandal Alycia Butterworth was named to the third team. Butterworth, of Parksville, British Columbia, ran the fastest 3000 steeplechase time in the WAC and 16th in the NCAA. She holds a 3.91 GPA in marketing.
Former Vandal basketball player Alyssa Charlston made the Division I women’s basketball second team in February, making 28 Vandals to earn academic All-America honors since 1970.
College scene
Eastern Washington University had 49 athletes, including several from the local area, named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team for the spring quarter. To qualify, the athletes must maintain a 3.20 GPA or better and play in half of their team’s competitions.
Men’s outdoor track and field honorees included Austen Frostad, a freshman from Spokane; Steven Kutsch, a senior visual communication design major from Mead; Austin Upmeyer, an undeclared freshman from Spokane Valley.
In women’s outdoor track and field, honorees included Samantha Baker, an undeclared freshman from Spokane; Courtney Bray, an undeclared freshman from Mead; Anandae Clark, a sophomore biology major from Nine Miles Falls; Erin Clark, an undeclared freshman from Cheney; Acacia Smith, a junior special-education major from Spokane.
For men’s tennis, Luke Ness, an undeclared freshman from Coeur d’Alene, made the team.
• University of Montana named tennis player Ethan Vaughn, from Mead, the school’s male scholar athlete of the year, the first time a tennis athlete has been given this award.