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Subject:
Alum Ross Isaak named to Silver Anniversary Team
Submitter:
Donald W Stoner, Sports Information Coordinator, Public Relations and Communication
Message:
Augsburg alum Carolyn Ross Isaak named to USTFCCCA Silver Anniversary Team for NCAA Division III women's outdoor track and field
http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/sportsnews/061406ross.html
MINNEAPOLIS (6/14/06) -- Augsburg College track and field alum Carolyn Ross Isaak '89 was named as one of the outstanding performers during the last 25 years in NCAA Division III women's outdoor track and field, as a member of the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association Division III Silver Anniversary Team, it was announced on Tuesday.
A panel of USTFCCCA coaches selected an outstanding individual performer in each of the women's outdoor track and field events during the last quarter-century to the Silver Anniversary Team, following the Division III outdoor championships in May in Lisle, Ill. The team was named as part of the NCAA's 25th anniversary celebration of its women's championships.
Ross Isaak was named as the outstanding performer of the past quarter-century in the women's 400-meter hurdles. She won titles in the event in both 1988 and 1989, and her 1989 championship time of 58.99 seconds in the event is still the NCAA Division III national meet record.
The most decorated individual student-athlete in Augsburg history, Ross Isaak earned five individual national titles, nine All-American honors and 13 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference individual championships in track and field. In addition to the 400-meter hurdles titles, she also earned NCAA Division III individual titles in the indoor 400-meter dash in 1988 and 1989, and in the outdoor 400-meter dash in 1989.
She was Augsburg's Women's Honor Athlete in 1989. She was a medalist in the 1990 U.S. Olympic Festival and was a U.S. Olympic Trials participant in 1992. A Cum Laude graduate, she served as an assistant track and field and cross country coach and admissions counselor at Augsburg from 1990-92. From 1992-99, she served as an assistant track and field and cross country coach at Purdue University. The Boilermakers won the Big Ten track team championship in 1999, and while there, she coached an NCAA and Pan Am Games heptathlon national champion, as well as the current American record-holder in the indoor 60-meter dash.
She returned to Minnesota in 1999, when she began working at Gustavus Adolphus College as track and field associate head coach and assistant director of admissions. She and her husband, Jim, now live in Rochester, Minn. She was inducted into Augsburg's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
Ross Isaak is one of four MIAC athletes to be included on the USTFCCCA Division III Silver Anniversary Team. Also included from MIAC schools:
Kelly Copps of St. Thomas (10,000-meter run), three-time champion in 10,000-meter run (1993, 1994, 1995) and 1994 champion in 5,000-meter run;
Kristal Grigsby of St. Thomas (long jump), two-time champion (2004, 2006) and third-place (2005) finisher in the long jump;
Kristin Kuehl of Concordia-Moorhead (discus), three-time champion and current record-holder (55.02 meters) in discus throw (1990, 1991, 1992), and a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team in the event.
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Subject:
Augsburg's Ryan Valek named Academic All-America
Submitter:
Donald W Stoner, Sports Information Coordinator, Public Relations and Communication
Message:
Augsburg's Ryan Valek named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Men's At-Large First Team
http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/sportsnews/061306valek.html
MINNEAPOLIS (6/13/06) -- For the second year in a row, Augsburg College wrestler Ryan Valek (Sr., Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) was named to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Men's At-Large Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), it was announced on Tuesday.
A third-team selection last year, Valek was one of 15 student-athletes named to the first team this year. A total of 48 male student-athletes were named to the three Academic All-America teams.
A three-time All-American wrestler for the Auggies, Valek repeated his individual national runner-up finish at 165 pounds in the 2005-06 season, finishing 41-4. His lone losses on the season came to a defending Division I All-American, the 2006 Division II national champion and the 2006 Division III national champion. Valek had a 28-match winning streak during the season.
Valek also finished second nationally in 2004-05 with a 34-7 record, while finishing seventh nationally in 2003-04 with a 38-10 record. He finished his career with a 133-39 record, accumulating 39 pins, four technical falls and 20 major decisions, and was a part of Auggie teams that won a national title in 2004-05, while finishing second twice (2002-03, 2003-04) and third this season.
Academically, Valek is an accounting major with a 3.74 grade-point average. He earned National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Scholar All-America honors in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and was named an Augsburg Senior Honor Athlete (the highest honor Augsburg gives senior student-athletes) in 2006. Valek was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V first team for the second year in a row in May.
Since 1981, Augsburg student-athletes have earned 18 Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA, including seven first-team selections. Valek is the fourth Auggie to ever earn two Academic All-America honors, joining Josh Cagle (wrestling, 1999-2000), Scott Hvistendahl (football, 1997-98) and Karen Sterner (women's track and field, 1986-87).
The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program is administered by CoSIDA. Top student-athletes from non-Division I programs, who have already earned Academic All-District first-team honors, are eligible for inclusion on the team. Student-athletes must have a grade-point average above 3.20 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. The Academic All-America ballot is voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members. The men's at-large team awards student-athletes in 12 sports -- golf, rifle, volleyball, gymnastics, skiing, water polo, fencing, ice hockey, swimming, wrestling, lacrosse and tennis.
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