After concluding a solid competition year with an appearance in the 2008 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Katie Hansen () has earned first team recognition on the ESPN The Magazine Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field Academic All-District Team, announced Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Hansen set a school record in the 3000 meter run at the 2008 GNAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing third with a time of 10:03.09. That was good enough to qualify for the national championships in Walnut, , where she advanced to the finals and finished 11th in 10:08.20.
A junior academically, Hansen was the leading distance runner for the Redhawk program throughout the year, beginning in the cross country season. Coming off a foot injury that kept her out of the 2007 track and field seasons, Hansen finished fifth at the 2007 GNAC Cross Country Championships and 23rd at the NCAA West Regional meet with a personal-best time of 21:42. Her performance at the regional meet, along with her solid academic performance, earned her a spot on the USTFCCCA Division II Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Team.
Her exemplary performance continued into the indoor track and field season, where she set school records in the 3000 meter run, 5000 meter run, and one mile run. She set the school record in the 5000 meter run by finishing third at the 2008 GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 18:20.76.
Majoring in biology, Hansen has the highest grade point average on the women’s cross country and track and field teams with a 3.898 GPA. She is a two-time Academic All-GNAC selection in cross country and a 2008 Academic All-GNAC honoree in track and field. She is now eligible to earn Academic All-America honors, to be determined in a couple of weeks.
now has eight First Team Academic All-District honorees in 2007-08: Hansen, swimmer Chris Coley (, ), soccer players Kate Edstrom (, ), John Fishbaugher (, ), Chris Hodges (, ), Mickey Pelland (, ), and Ashley Porter (, ), and softball player Jane Purdy (). Porter earned Second Team Academic All-America recognition for the second straight year, while Coley will find out if he is an Academic All-American on June 10.
The Academic All-America Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America; a 2,000-member organization consisted of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the and .
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.