MOUNT PLEASANT — A combined six student-athletes from the Central Michigan track and field program were recognized for their hard work on and off the track as the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named its men’s and women’s All-Academic Team on Thursday.
Mykal Imbrock (Hamler, Ohio/Patrick Henry HS),
Raeanne Lohner (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids HS) and
Erika Schroll represented the women’s team on the squad while
Marcus Breidinger (Alma, Mich./Alma HS),
Joshua Kettlewell (Croswell, Mich./Cros-lex HS) and
Greg Pilling (London, Ont./Sir Frederick Banting SS) landed on the team from the men’s roster.
Imbrock enjoyed a breakout junior campaign during the outdoor season, qualifying for the NCAA East Region Preliminary meet in the hammer throw on the strength of a career-best throw of 183-2. She also scored in the event at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships, placing seventh among league competitors. Imbrock is a sport studies major who maintains a 3.60 grade-point average.
Lohner won both the 5000m and 10,000m at the MAC Outdoor Championships to earn the MAC Most Outstanding Track Performer award. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native qualified for the NCAA East Region Prelims in the 10,000m, where she placed 18th. She currently sports a 3.85 GPA as an English major.
Schroll was the MAC’s most consistent high jumper all year, winning the event both indoors and outdoors. She qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, where she finished 12th, and took 14th in the event at the NCAA East Region Prelims. Schroll carries a 3.59 GPA as a biomedical sciences major.
Breidinger finished runner-up in the pole vault at both the MAC Championship indoor and outdoor meets. He met the NCAA indoor provisional qualifying mark with a career-best vault of 17-4 1/2 and also qualified for the NCAA East Region Prelims outdoors, where he took 13th. He graduated with a degree in biomedical sciences and a 3.41 GPA.
Kettlewell qualified for the NCAA East Region Prelims in the pole vault, where he placed 24th with a career-best 16-8 3/4. The Croswell, Mich., native scored at both MAC Championship meets, finishing third in the heptathlon indoors and fifth in the decathlon outdoors. He is a health fitness major with a 3.37 GPA.
Pilling earned his second-straight trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the discus, where he finished 10th. The senior defended his MAC title in the event with a season-best throw of 187-3 during the MAC Outdoor Championships. Pilling is a 2009 CMU graduate with a 3.60 GPA as a sport studies major.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either the NCAA Division I Indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard or participated in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships (including preliminary rounds) in their respective event.
The Chippewas’ six combined selection were the second most of any program in the MAC, trailing only Akron’s seven members.
Courtesy: Robert Barclay/CMU
