Three Flames Named Capital One Academic All-District
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty student-athletes Jacob DeValve, Caleb Edmonds and John Sherret have all been named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District men’s track & field/cross country team for District 3, as voted upon by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
As a result of their inclusion on the Academic All-District team, all three Flames will now appear on the ballot for the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men's Track/Cross Country Team.
DeValve, Edmonds and Sherret are Liberty’s first men’s cross country/track & field student-athletes to earn Academic All-District honors since 2009. That year, current director of operations Daniel Newell and Phil Leineweber were Academic All-District selections for the Flames.
Liberty is one of six NCAA Division I men’s track & field/cross country programs with a trio of Academic All-District team members this season, along with Brown, Drake, Florida State, New Mexico and Utah State.
DeValve began working toward a master’s degree in biblical studies during the spring semester, after graduating with a 3.96 GPA as a religion major. The redshirt senior from Manchester, Conn., was a member of the Big South All-Academic team for men’s outdoor track & field this season.
DeValve scored 17 points at the 2014 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, winning the shot put title while finishing fourth in the javelin and seventh in the discus. He was also the Big South indoor men’s shot put runner-up and placed eighth in the event at this year’s IC4A outdoor meet.
The only Flame ever to qualify for the IC4A meet in both the shot put and javelin during the same season, DeValve finished as one of the top men’s shot putters in program history. He departs Liberty ranked fourth in the outdoor men’s shot put at 56-3.25 and seventh in the indoor shot put at 55-0.25.
Earlier this month, Edmonds graduated with a 3.85 GPA as a biology: pre-med major. The native of Cooperstown, N.Y., was the 2013 Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s cross country and finishes as a six-time Big South All-Academic team member.
Edmonds captured the third Big South title of his career when he was victorious in the outdoor 1,500-meter run final. He also placed second in the outdoor 5K and third in the indoor 3K in 2014, pushing his total of All-Big South honors to 12.
Edmonds is preparing to run the 5K at the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet for the second year in a row, Saturday at 8:05 p.m. With a personal best of 13:57.09, he is one of only three Flames ever to break 14 minutes in the 5K.
Sherret, a junior from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, boasts a 3.91 GPA as a double major in biology: pre-med and chemistry. He is a two-time member of the Big South Presidential Honor Roll.
Sherret enjoyed a breakthrough season on the track in 2014, placing second in the Big South outdoor men’s 800 final and improving his 800 personal best to 1:50.92. That time, which ranks fifth in program history, was the fastest by a Flame since 2010.
Sherret also helped Liberty break the indoor program record in the 4 x 800 relay. He posted an anchor leg split of 1:50.4 during the Flames’ record-breaking 7:29.15 effort at the IC4A meet.
Radford's Williamson Named to Capital One Academic All-District Team
RADFORD, Va. – Radford distance runner Teresa Williamson was selected to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District® Women's Track & Field / Cross Country Team, which was voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and released by the organization Thursday.
Based on securing first-team All-District 3 honors, Williamson advances to the Capital One Academic All-America® Team ballot. First-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be announced in June. Williamson becomes the second Radford women's track and field member to be recognized with this accolade.
Williamson concluded her season with seven program records (four indoor and three outdoor). She was the Big South Indoor Championships Most Outstanding Performer, winning the 3,000 and the mile. The junior went on to capture the 1,500 title at the outdoor conference championships, in addition to her second-place showing in the 800.
On top of being named the Radford University Female Co-Athlete of the Year, Williamson garnered the Big South women's track athlete of the week twice in 2014.
Williamson, who has a 4.0 GPA in Radford's nursing program, was one of 12 student-athletes to make the District 3 first team. District 3 encompasses institutions from North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The Capital One Academic All-District teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their athletic and academic performances.
Willis Named to Academic All-District Team
LEXINGTON, Va. - VMI alumnus Cabell Willis has been named to the Capital One District 3 All-Academic Team for track and field and cross country, according to information released by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Thursday. It is the second straight year in which Willis has earned Academic All-District honors, and he will now be eligible for Academic All-American laurels, which he earned last season.
Willis comes off a year that saw him earn Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in indoor and outdoor track, bumping his career total of such awards to five.
The CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American honorees will be announced during the month of June.