MOUNT PLEASANT — As decathletes in the outdoor season and heptathletes during the indoor season, senior Josh Kettlewell and sophomore Tim Reynolds had to be well rounded in all aspects of track and field during the 2011-12 academic year.
On Tuesday the pair of multi-event student-athletes was rewarded for being well rounded not only in the field of competition, but also in the classroom, as they earned the honor of Division I All-Academic from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
"It is always an honor to be recognized nationally for not only your athletic accomplishments, but also your academic achievements," director of track and field and cross country Willie Randolph said. "Tim and Josh's accomplishment speaks volumes about their dedication in the classroom and on the track, and we're very proud of both of them for earning this distinction."
In order to qualify for the award, student-athletes must have earned a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and either finished the indoor season ranked in the top 96 in the country in an individual event or the top 48 in a relay, or competed in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships during the outdoor season.
Kettlewell’s and Reynolds’ selections to the team were the first for the men’s team since 2010, when Kettlewell, Marcus Breidinger and Greg Pilling were all awarded the honor.
The recognition is just the latest in a string of academic accomplishments for the two, as each earned Academic All-Mid-American Conference honors during the 2012 indoor season, and Kettlewell garnered the award during the outdoor season.
Kettlewell, a health fitness major with a 3.36 GPA, was the CMU State Farm Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Jan. 23. He was the MAC Champion in the heptathlon at the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships (5,465 points) and finished fourth in the pole vault. Earlier in the season he broke the heptathlon CMU school record (5,673 points) at the Penn State National Invitational, and finished the season ranked 17th in the nation, according to the Track and Field Results Reporting System.
He was third in the decathlon at the outdoor conference championship meet, scoring a personal-best 6,881 points. He qualified for the NCAA East Region Prelims in the pole vault, where he finished 27th with a mark of 16-05.5.
Reynolds, an art major with a 3.27 GPA, was the bronze medalist in the heptathlon at the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, and finished third in the heptathlon with a career-best score of 5,187 points at the Penn State National Invitational. He also finished fifth in the decathlon at the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
CMU was one of three MAC institutions represented among the men's honorees, out of six with men's track and field. Four Kent State student-athletes earned the honor, in addition to two from Miami (Ohio).
The women’s honorees will be announced by the USTFCCCA Wednesday, with team awards unveiled Thursday.
