Central foursome on academic squad

Central College

PELLA— Four Central College student-athletes have been named to the women’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team.

Central’s honorees include Morgan Sharp (senior, Grinnell), Rachel Northrup (sophomore, Griswold), Rachel Purdy (senior, Ankeny) and Miranda Wehde (junior, Tipton).

To qualify for the award, a student-athlete must compile a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or better (4.0 scale) and meet one of the following criteria: compete in an NCAA Division III indoor or outdoor championship or finish the regular season ranked in the national top 35 in an individual event or ranked in the top 25 in a relay event.

Sharp posted a 3.54 GPA with a major in elementary education. She closed the outdoor season ranked 35th in the heptathlon with 4,155 points, a personal best. Sharp is a two-time all-Iowa Conference honoree.

Northrup compiled a 3.85 GPA with a psychology major while Purdy had a 3.72 GPA with an elementary education major and Wehde posted a 3.63 GPA with a double major in political science and history. The trio finished the indoor season ranked 25th in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:59.04. The mark is fifth on Central’s all-time indoor leaderboard.

Purdy, a two-time all-America honoree, is receiving the award for the second consecutive year.

The Dutch women took runner-up honors at the league outdoor meet and placed third at the indoor meet. The squad finished tied for 20th at the national outdoor championships, its eighth time in the top 20.

Central’s women’s track and field program has had 23 athletes earn USTFCCCA all-academic distinction 42 times.