MOSCOW - Eight University of Idaho track and field athletes were recognized on Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America and ESPN the Magazine for their pursuits in the classroom with Academic All-District honors.
Five men and three women earned the recognition to give Idaho more track and field All-District selections than any other school in the nation. Idaho also led District VIII, which includes schools from Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai'i, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington, with six selections in 2009.
"That is an awesome accomplishment," Idaho co-head coach Wayne Phipps said. "With the demands that are placed upon them athletically, to be able to balance that out in the classroom is exactly what we look for in a student-athlete."
"Any time we can be recognized at the district or All-America level - academically or athletically - it's a great tribute to the hard work that our student-athletes put in and it means a lot to our program."
Senior Jonathan Marler (Kennewick, Wash.) is a third-time honoree and is a First-Team selection for the second year in a row after compiling a 3.91 grade-point average in Computer Science. The seven-time all-WAC honoree was also selected as the Senior of the Year for the Idaho Computer Science Department and was a Third-Team Academic All-American last season.
Senior Allix Lee-Painter (Moscow, Idaho), Idaho's triple Western Athletic Conference champion in the steeplechase, 5000m and 10,000m events, earned First-Team mention for the second year in a row. She has a 3.86 GPA in English/Secondary Education and was also a Second-Team Academic All-American last year.
K.C. Dahlgren, a senior from Missoula, Mont., earned Academic All-District honors for the second year in a row and was selected to the First Team. The three-time WAC women's pole vault champion and 2009 All-American holds a 3.63 overall GPA in Sport Science.
Junior Paul Dittmer (Hanstedt, Germany), who became just the third three-time 110m hurdles champion in WAC history this season, was a First-Team honoree for the second year in a row with a 3.82 GPA in General Studies.
Senior Maike Holthuijzen (Boise, Idaho) earned First-Team All-District honors for the first time in her career. She is majoring in Ecology and Conservation Biology and holds a 3.94 GPA, which is tied as the highest among Idaho student-athletes. She is a two-time all-WAC honoree and earlier this season ran the 10th-fastest 10,000m time in school history.
James Rogan, a senior from Eagle, Idaho, was a First-Team honoree after compiling a 3.70 GPA in Justice Studies and Sociology. He is a two-time WAC Champion and two-time NCAA Outdoor Championships qualifier, as well as a two-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division I All-Academic selection.
Idaho's six First-Team Academic All-District honorees will now move on to the Academic All-America voting pool along with the other First-Team selections from the seven other national regions. Academic All-America teams will be announced in late June.
A pair of Vandal sophomores earned Second-Team recognition on the men's side. Jeremy Klas (Moscow, Idaho), the WAC's indoor and outdoor pole vault champion and Idaho's school record holder in both events, earned his first career honor after earning a 3.39 GPA in Secondary Education. Markus Geiger (Bad Neustadt, Germany), the 2008 WAC Cross Country and 2008 WAC Indoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year honoree and 2010 WAC 10,000m champion, has a 3.78 GPA in Electrical Engineering.
In addition to being strong academic performers, the group also includes six athletes who were competitors at last weekend's NCAA West Preliminary Round and two, Rogan and Klas, who will be competing at next weekend's NCAA Outdoor Championship meet.
"You just can't say enough about kids like that," Phipps said. "What more can you say about kids who are among the best academically, and also compete at the highest level on the track?"
To be considered for the honor, student-athletes must have achieved sophomore standing both athletically and academically and must have 50 percent participation in the team's contests. The teams are selected by the sports information directors in each respective district. Academic All-America selections are decided by a national committee and the CoSIDA Board of Directors.
