Academic All-American trio for Central track squads
Central Dutch Athletics
PELLA — Three members of the Central College track and field program landed slots on the 2017-18 Google Cloud Academic All-America Division III Cross Country/Track & Field teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Tuesday morning.
Mark Fairley (senior, Dubuque) and Will Daniels (sophomore, Geneseo, Ill.) were first team selections on the men’s side while Kate Patton (senior, Murray) landed on the women’s third team.
The trio now gives Central a total of 57 Academic All-Americans since 1979. The men’s track and field/cross country programs have had seven while the women’s teams have had six.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity contributor, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better and have reached sophomore standing. CoSIDA members first submit ballots for a district team before selected nominees advance for consideration on the national squad. Selections were made based on accolades from the cross country and track and field seasons.
Fairley is an exercise science major with a 3.83 GPA. A member of the Dutch cross country and track and field teams, Fairley is a three-time All-American, including in cross country and outdoor track and field this academic year. The senior won the 3,000-meter steeplechase national title at the 2018 NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships and finished 26th in cross country.
Daniels is a biology major with a 4.0 GPA. He was the national champion in the heptathlon at 2018 indoor national meet and took third in the decathlon at the outdoor meet. He was named the USTFCCCA Central Region Athlete of the Year for the indoor season and the outdoor season. He scored 26 points individually at both conference meets, helping Central win the outdoor team title.
Patton is a psychology major with 3.96 GPA. She’s a two-time All-American having earned the honor at the 2015 indoor and 2016 outdoor national meets. She also earned all-Iowa Conference honors five times, most recently at the 2018 indoor meet. Scoring 13 points at the indoor league meet and 11 outdoors this year, Patton was named the team’s Most Valuable Performer.
