Six track & field Devils earn 'ESPN The Magazine' Academic All-District

June 04, 2010

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) have released the selections for its ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District men’s and women’s track & field/cross country teams and with six members of the Arizona State University program being honored. Three men were chosen for first team honors in District VIII while two women earned first team accolades and one other was selected for the second team. The five Sun Devils that were selected to the first team are now eligible to be selected as ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans.<separator></separator>The men selected include first-team honorees <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/bethke_brandon00.html">… Bethke</a>, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/lewis_jason00.html">Jas… Lewis</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/whiting_ryan00.html">Ry… Whiting</a> while the women include first-team honorees <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/navarro_cj00.html">Cj Navarro</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/spadafino_angela00.html… Spadafino</a> and second-team honoree Dominique’ Maloy. All six carried a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average or better throughout their careers and were selected from ballots in each district in a vote of members of sports information departments throughout the nation.<separator></separator>Lewis and Whiting both were selected to the district team for the third year in a row with Whiting being honored as a first-team selection all three years and Lewis in each of the past two. Bethke and all three women were selected for their first academic honors from CoSIDA. Overall, this is the third year in a row the men’s program has had three selections to the district teams while the women have had at least two honorees in each of the past five years. In the history of the program, the men now have seven all-time district honorees since 2001 while the women, in the same time, have placed 12 on the academic lists.<separator></separator>Whiting, a three-time first-team honoree, was also selected as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American Second Team recipient in each of the past two seasons. The defending national champion in the shot put, Whiting recently was awarded the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for his outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments. Whiting will head to the national finals next week in Oregon where he will compete in the shot put and discus.<separator></separator>Lewis, a 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American Second Team honoree, also was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recently and will continue his education after competing in the shot put, discus and hammer for the second year in a row at the national meet. The 2008 NCAA Indoor Weight Throw Champion, Lewis joins Whiting as the only men in program history to earn district honors more than once in a career.<separator></separator>Bethke is being honored for the first time as a member of the Sun Devil program and is the seventh different man to be selected to the academic lists. Also a senior, Bethke will compete in his final collegiate race next weekend in Oregon where he will look to capture a national title in the 5,000m run where he enters the meet with the second-fastest time in the nation this year.<separator></separator>For the women, Navarro and Spadafino both recently completed their seasons at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds West meet in Austin, Texas, while Spadafino, a senior, also completed her collegiate career. Navarro, a 2009 All-American in the discus, will be back in 2011 with two more years of eligibility. Maloy, a junior, also will be back next season, but before then, will compete in the NCAA finals next weekend as she qualified in the 400m dash and the 4x100m relay.<separator></separator>The NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., will run June 9-12.<separator></separator>2010 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII Selections Women <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/navarro_cj00.html">Cj Navarro</a> - 1st Team <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/spadafino_angela00.html… Spadafino</a> - 1st Team Dominique’ Maloy - 2nd Team<separator></separator>Men <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/bethke_brandon00.html">… Bethke</a> - 1st Team <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/lewis_jason00.html">Jas… Lewis</a> - 1st Team <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/whiting_ryan00.html">Ry… Whiting</a> - 1st Team<separator></separator>

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