Kyle Steinhauser was one of five individuals who were named as Division II Scholar Athletes of the Year. The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced the standouts Tuesday (July 21).
The four other recipients were Brayden Burleigh of Shippensburg, Johnnie Guy of Southern Indiana, Jeff Piepenbrink of Pittsburg State and David Reinhardt of Slippery Rock.
The Sandusky, Ohio native is the outdoor field co-scholar athlete of the year. He and Reinhardt both finished the year with a 3.79 GPA. Steinhauser won his first national championship in the discus throwing a distance of 189.5 feet (57.74m). He is the second consecutive Ashland thrower to win the scholar athlete award after Garrett Grey in 2013.
Steinhauser was a member of the GLIAC Men's Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field All-Academic Excellence Team, as well as a 2014 All-American.
Scholar Athlete of the Year awards are determined from among those who earned All-America status and placed highest individual events at the most recent NCAA Championships. Those who earn multiple individual championship titles rank higher in the tie-breaking process and cumulative grade point average is weighed as the final tiebreaker to establish a winner. Separate categories are given to track athletes and field athletes for the indoor and outdoor seasons, resulting in four categories.
Additionally the USTFCCCA named the Ashland University Men's Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Programs as the Division II Scholar Teams of the Year.
AU's cumulative 3.04 GPA helped the Eagles finish first in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Seven members of the men's track and field team were named to the All-Academic list. Those participants are Brian Baum, Jacob Cook, Joshua Davis, James Clay Harris, Zaan Janse, Kyle Steinhauser, and Mack Taylor.
The Eagles were third place finishers at both championships this year. The last time the team awards were swept was by Ashland. They won both awards in 2009 and 2010.
A total of 105 women's teams and 50 men's team earned the distinction of being named as All-Academic Teams as a result of earning a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or higher.
AU's women's team finished seventh, of the 105 schools listed as All-Academic Teams. Ten individuals finished the season with All-Academic honors for the Eagles. Those competitors include, Kylee Bernthisel, Jennifer Bjelac, Macy Caldwell, Jennifer Foster, Kim Habegger, Anna Mion, Delainey Phelps, Jamie Sindelar, Abby Strock, and Shaunisha Winter. AU finished the year with a team GPA of 3.41.
A full list of men's, women's, and team All-Academic awards can be found here.
AU/TRACK
ROC