DENVER - Five WAC student-athletes were named to the Capitol One Academic All-District at-large first teams. To be nominated, the student-athlete must have completed at least one full academic year, must be a starter or significant reserve and must have at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA. The honor is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Seattle U placed three student-athletes on the District VIII teams. Erik Barkhaus, the 2012 WAC Cross Country champion, was voted to the first team. Barkhaus crossed the finish line in Ruston, La., four seconds faster than the runner-up back in October's championship. Currently the senior holds a 3.50 GPA, majoring in business administration/finance.
Seattle U scored two women runners on the District VIII second team. Sprinter Meeghan Bergmann and 2013 Steeplechase champion Hannah Mittelstaedt each earned votes for the Redhawks. Bergmann graduates from Seattle U as a member of three record holding relay teams. She was a part of the 4x400m indoor relay and both the 4x100m and 4x400m outdoor relay teams. In the classroom, Bergmann recorded a 3.84 GPA with a degree in social work.
Mittelstaedt edged out UT Arlington's Katelyn Hayward in the women's steeplechase, beating her across the finish line in one of the closest races of the 2013 Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Redhawk junior holds a 3.55 GPA, working on her degree in environmental science.
Utah State's Kyle McKenna, put together a 3.97 GPA, helping him get voted to the District VIII first team. The junior music major earned first team All-WAC honors after finishing second at the 2012 WAC Cross Country Championships, second in the 5,000m at the 2013 WAC Indoor Championships, and second in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2013 WAC Outdoor Championships.
Fellow Aggie, Jodi Williams, was voted to District VIII's second team. She excelled in the high jump this season, earning second team All-WAC honors on the high jump with her sixth-place finish. Of the field, the sophomore human movement science major has worked to a 4.00 GPA.