The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Thursday, July 26, its academic awards for the 2017-18 NCAA DIII Track & Field season - including All-Academic and Scholar of the Year awards. 

Sophomore TORI BOWEN (Wapakoneta/Elida) is just the second Bluffton University track and field athlete to earn this prestigious honor. She follows in the footsteps of fellow Heartland Conference champion pole vaulter Terrill Webb who broke the ice for Bluffton in 2015-16. 

The Bluffton women were also recognized as a team for their outstanding work in the classroom. 291 teams were honored for their academics by the USTFCCCA with 185 of those being women’s teams compared to 106 men’s programs. A team must have a minimum GPA of 3.10 which was no problem for the Beavers who finished with a sterling 3.28 GPA! 

Bowen established a new outdoor championship meet record with her winning clearance of 11' 8.50" en route to First Team honors. She also won the pole vault at the HCAC Indoor Championships. 

Including the Scholar Athletes of the Year, a total of 627 women earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors during the 2017-18 track & field season. 

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track & Field  Team, the student athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.3 and have met at least one of the following athletic standards: 
*Competed in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship
*Finished the regular season ranked in the national top 50 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 35 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA Descending Order List.