Central lands three on academic team

Central College

PELLA—For the fourth straight year, Central College’s Jill Ziskovsky Halcomb (Dallas Center, Dallas Center-Grimes) and Emily Teas (Indianola) have been named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III women’s All-Academic track and field team. Junior Rachel Purdy (Ankeny) also received recognition.

To qualify for the honor student-athletes much achieve a 3.3 or higher cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale) and meet an NCAA automatic or provisional qualifying mark in an individual or relay event.

Central’s honorees competed in the 4×400-meter relay at both the NCAA indoor and outdoor championship. The squad finished fourth at the indoor meet before placing second at the outdoor meet in a school-record time of 3 minutes, 45.3 seconds. Halcomb also finished fifth in both the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon.

Halcomb, a recent Central graduate, compiled a 3.94 GPA with a double major in communication studies and Spanish. She is a two-time Capital One Academic All-America honoree, chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America, and is a three-time academic all-Iowa Conference pick. Halcomb has received all-America distinction seven times and is a three-time team MVP.

Also a recent graduate, Teas had a 3.74 GPA with an elementary education major. She is a three-time academic all-conference selection and has earned all-America recognition three times.

Purdy posted a 3.61 GPA with an elementary education major. She is an academic all-league pick and has two all-America awards.

Eighteen student-athletes in the women’s track and field program have received USTFCCCA all-academic recognition 37 times. This is the sixth straight year a member of the squad has received the distinction.

The men’s track and field individual honors will be announced Friday and the men’s and women’s academic team awards will be announced next week.