MINNEAPOLIS (6/21/05) -- Augsburg College student-athlete Riley Conway (Sr., Lake City, Minn.) was named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Second Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), it was announced on Tuesday.

Conway, a senior, had a perfect 4.000 grade-point average and graduated summa cum laude with an English major in May. He was an Academic All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection his junior and senior years in both track and field and cross country, and earned NCAA Division III Cross Country Coaches Association Scholar All-America honors his senior year. He was named an Academic All-District V first-team selection by CoSIDA earlier this month.

Conway was named to the 15-member Academic All-America second team. A total of 45 student-athletes were named to the three Academic All-America College Division men's track and field/cross country teams.

Four Augsburg student-athletes were named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America teams by CoSIDA this school year, the most in a single year in school history. Last week, wrestlers Mark Matzek (Sr., Ellsworth, Wis., first team) and Ryan Valek (Jr., Belle Plaine, Minn., third team) earned Academic All-America men's at-large honors, and in May, Darren Ginther (Jr., Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) earned Academic All-America first-team honors in baseball. Since 1981, Augsburg student-athletes have earned 17 Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA.

In cross country, Conway was the Auggies' top runner in all seven competitions in 2004, establishing a personal best in his final competition, earning all-region honors with a 29th-place, 26:21 finish (8,000 meters) at the 2004 NCAA Division III Central Regional in November. At the MIAC championships in October, he earned all-conference honorable-mention honors, finishing 16th with a 27:28.8 time over 8,000 meters. He missed 15th place, and All-MIAC honors, by just three seconds. He was the team's No. 2 runner in 2003 and No. 4 runner in 2002.

In track and field, Conway earned All-MIAC honors with a third-place finish in the men's 10,000-meter run (32:20.63) at the 2005 outdoor conference championships in May. He also had a second top-10 finish for the Auggies with an eighth-place finish in the 5,000-meters (15:28.50). In the indoor season, Conway finished 12th at the conference championships in the 3,000 (9:01.53), while setting a school record as part of the distance-medley relay squad (10:47.17).

In addition to the indoor distance-medley relay squad school record, Conway set a school record in the indoor 3,000-meter run (8:51.73) this season. He also is part of an outdoor distance-medley relay school-record time (11:07.54).

The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program is administered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (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.

Conway was the lone Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's track and field/cross country athlete named to the Academic All-America team. From other Minnesota colleges, Ryan Koch of St. Cloud State was named Academic All-American of the Year and made the first team. Nate Beerling of Minnesota-Duluth also was named to the first team.

Augsburg College's All-Time CoSIDA Academic All-Americans:
Riley Conway, men's track and field/cross country, 2005 (second team)
Mark Matzek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2005 (first team)
Ryan Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2005 (third team)
Darren Ginther, baseball, 2005 (first team)
Brent Peroutka, football, 2001 (second team)
Josh Cagle, wrestling (men's at-large), 2000 (first team)
Brian Jones, wrestling (men's at-large), 2000 (second team)
Josh Cagle, wrestling (men's at-large), 1999 (second team)
Jim Peterson, wrestling (men's at-large), 1999 (second team)
Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1998 (second team)
Ted Schultz, football, 1997 (first team)
Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1997 (second team)
Dan Lewandowski, wrestling (men's at-large), 1997 (second team)
Andrea Haight, softball, 1991 (second team)
Karen Sterner, track and field (women's at-large), 1987 (second team)
Karen Sterner, track and field (women's at-large), 1986 (first team)
Paul Elliot, football, 1981 (only one team selected)