Five Bison Women Named to USTFCCCA All-Academic Team

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Five members of the North Dakota State women's track and field team were named to the 2011 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic team.  Junior Leslie Brost, senior Whitney Carlson, junior Brittany Page, senior Brittany Schanandore and senior Christine Schmaltz all earned the honor.

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 of the following athletic standards: for the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in any individual event or ranked in the national top 48 in a relay event on the official NCAA proof of performance list provided by TFRRS.org; for the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).

Brost has a 3.71 GPA in exercise science.  She qualified for both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the pole vault.  She set a new school record of 14 feet 1 1/4 inches at the Summit League Indoor Championships.

Carlson finished her career with a 4.00 GPA in zoology.  She earned first team All-America honors in the heptathlon after setting a school record score of 5,556 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.  She was a second team All-American in the long jump both indoor and outdoor and was a second team honoree in the indoor pentathlon.

Page was a member of the 4x400 relay team that ran in the outdoor NCAA West Region Preliminary Round.  The team posted a time of 3:41.49, which ranks fifth all-time at NDSU.  She has a 4.00 GPA in exercise science.

Schananadore finished the indoor season ranked 38th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:07.47. She has a 3.31 GPA in child development and family studies.

Schmaltz advanced to the semifinals in the 800 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.  She clocked in at 2:05.09 to finish ninth and just miss out on a spot in the final.  She later advanced to the final at the U.S. Championships where she set a new school record of 2:01.17.  She finished her career with a 3.52 GPA in business management.