Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

All-Academic Teams
All-Academic Individuals

July 29, 2016 - The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has recognized the North Central College women's track & field team for its success in both athletics and academics, awarding the Cardinals the Team Academic Award for the 10th consecutive season. Six Cardinals received individual All-Academic accolades as well.

The Cardinals earn the honor after posting a team grade-point average of 3.31 for the academic year. North Central is one of five College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) institutions to be honored, joining Augustana College, Carthage College, Illinois Wesleyan University and Wheaton College.

To be eligible for the award, institutions must be USTFCCCA members and compile a team GPA of 3.10 or better. A total of 175 NCAA Division III women's programs made the list this season.

The Cardinals' six individual honorees include seniors Madison Renfro and Jessica Sutfin, juniors Tori Capozziello, Kayla Etherton and Courtney Meyer and freshman Alexis Nelson. To qualify for the individual honor, athletes must have maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA and either competed in a national championship event or been ranked in the top 35 in an individual event or in the top 25 in a relay event in the final indoor or outdoor rankings. In all, 423 student-athletes from 129 institutions made the list, including 23 from the CCIW.

Renfro, who recently graduated with a degree in elementary education, earned three All-America awards in 2016, including an individual national championship in the 60-meter hurdles at the Division III National Championships. She capped her career with All-America awards in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles outdoors, completing a year which saw her claim CCIW individual titles in those three events as well. Sutfin, who graduated with a degree in athletic training, placed third in the CCIW in the heptathlon and qualified for national-championship competition in the 400-meter hurdles outdoors.

Capozziello, a speech communication major, set a new North Central record in the 600-meter run and ran on a CCIW-championship distance medley relay team indoors, then added a fourth-place finish in the 1,500-meter run at the CCIW Outdoor Championships. Etherton, an interactive media studies major, set a new school record in the 20-pound weight throw indoors, placing second in the CCIW, then won a CCIW title in the hammer throw outdoors before placing 14th at the national championships. Meyer, who majors in psychology, finished second in the CCIW in the pole vault outdoors, while Nelson, who has yet to declare a major, won the CCIW indoor pole vault title before placing sharing second place with Meyer outdoors.

North Central placed 22nd at this year's indoor national championships and 12th at the outdoor championship. The Cardinals qualified seven student-athletes for national-championship competition and earned six All-America selections.