2015-16 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA DIVISION III M/W TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS
MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College women's cross country/track and field athlete
Mary Cornelius (SR, Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins HS) was named to the Academic All-America Division III Women's Track and Field/Cross Country Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), it was announced on Wednesday. A third-team Academic All-America honoree, Cornelius is an English major with a 4.00 grade-point average.
This season, Cornelius was Augsburg's No. 2 runner on the cross country squad, finishing in 34th place at the
2015 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships (24:20.8 6,000 meters) and 88th place at the
NCAA Division III Central Regional (24:34.3). She recorded three top-50 finishes on the year, including a 44th-place finish at the
Wisconsin-La Crosse Invitational on Oct. 17 in a season-best 23:19.89. She was Augsburg's No. 2/3 runner throughout her cross country career, setting a personal-best 23:12.14 6,000-meter time in the 2013 season.
In track and field this season, Cornelius finished ninth in the mile run (5:22.34) and 12th in the 600-meter run (1:42.17) at the
2016 MIAC indoor championships, while just missing out on All-MIAC honorable-mention honors with a seventh-place finish in the 1,500-meter run (4:54.47) at the
2016 MIAC outdoor championships. She recorded top-20 finishes 12 times in MIAC individual and relay competition in her career, including a sixth-place, All-MIAC honorable-mention finish as part of the distance medley relay at the 2013 MIAC indoor championships.
She has earned Academic All-MIAC honors each of the last three years. Cornelius was also named to the
CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Track and Field/Cross Country squad in May.
Augsburg student-athletes have now been honored 35 times with CoSIDA Academic All-America honors since 1981, including 22 honors since 2005.
TheÂ
CoSIDA Academic All-America program is administered by theÂ
College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Top student-athletes, who have already earned Academic All-District first-team honors, are eligible for inclusion on the Academic All-America team. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their current institutions, have a grade-point average above 3.30 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. The Academic All-America ballot is voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in NCAA Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.Â
The Division III Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2015-16 Division III Academic All-America teams program. This is the fifth year of the expanded Academic All-America program, as CoSIDA has moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I), doubling the number of scholar-athletes honored. The teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools. First-team Academic All-District members advance to the Academic All-America ballot, voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members.
Augsburg College's All-Time CoSIDA Academic All-Americans:
Mary Cornelius, women's track and field/cross country, 2016 (third team)
Erika Allen, women's ice hockey (women's at-large), 2016 (second team)
Zach Swingen, football, 2015 (first team)
Chris DeVet, football, 2014 (first team)
Zach Swingen, football, 2014 (second team)
Lauren Rice, women's track and field/cross country, 2014 (first team)
Elianna Bier, women's swimming and diving (women's at-large), 2014 (second team)
Chad Thompson, football, 2013 (second team)
Chris DeVet, football, 2013 (second team)
Bri Dorale, softball, 2013 (first team)
Chad Thompson, football, 2012 (first team)
Tony Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2012 (first team)
Tony Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2011 (first team)
Alex Hildebrandt, men's soccer, 2009 (second team)
Alex Hildebrandt, men's soccer, 2008 (third team)
Nick Manders, men's soccer, 2007 (second team)
Andrew Neumann, football, 2006 (second team)
Ryan Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2006 (first team)
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)Â
(Note: This release includes information taken from Augsburg's CoSIDA Academic All-District release and previous Augsburg Academic All-America news releases.)
