Coyotes, Jacks Named To Academic All-League Teams

ELMHURST, IL -- Five South Dakota Coyotes and three South Dakota State Jackrabbits have been honored on The Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Academic All-League Teams.

USD junior Jeff Mettler, sophomore Brant Haase and senior Brandon Kovash reperesent the Coyotes men's team.  Mettler has earned a perfect 4.0 GPA in kinesiology and sports science.  He won his second Summit League championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase last week.  Haase also has a 4.0 GPA in kinesiology and sports science, and has the league's second-best time in the 10,000 this season.  Kovash is a psychology and interdisciplinary studies major with a 3.8 GPA and was part of the Coyotes' Summit League championship 4x100 relay team.

Alexa Duling and Emily Grove were named to the women's honor squad.  Duling carries a 4.0 GPA in the Masters of Business Administration program and won the Summit League title in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.59.  The Gregory native is also the recipient of the prestigious NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship.  Grove, a kinesiology and sports science major with a 3.78 GPA, placed third in the pole vault at the league outdoor championships and currently is tied for the 12th-best vault in the nation with a mark of 14 feet.

SDSU is represented on the honor squads by Luke Leischner, Andrew Thies and Tera Potts.  Leischner carries a 3.508 GPA in wildlife and fisheries. He is a two-time Summit League champion in the 400-meter dash, winning the title last week in a time of 47.08 seconds.  Leischner also anchored the 4x400-meter relay team to a first place finish in 3:14.63.  The Jackrabbit senior was also named to Academic All-League Team during the 2012-13 indoor season.  Thies has a 4.0 GPA in SDSU's pre-pharmacy program.  He was fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:38.44) in the conference meet.

Potts is majoring in nursing and has also earned a perfect 4.0 GPA.  She has qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with her time of 10:34.29.  Potts was fifth in the 1,500-meter run at the Summit League meet with a time of 4:43.26.  She also was named to Academic All-League Team during the 2012-13 indoor season.

To be eligible for the Academic All-League team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 (on a 4.0 scale), completed at least one full academic year at the current institution and participated in 50 percent of their team's competitions. The outdoor track and field Academic All-League Teams are made up of ten student-athletes.

THE SUMMIT LEAGUE OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS
MEN
Brant Haase, South Dakota
Brandon Kovash, South Dakota
Jeff Mettler, South Dakota
Luke Leischner, South Dakota State
Andrew Thies, South Dakota State
Alec Espeland, North Dakota State
Jeff Liles, Western Illinois
Andy Lillejord, North Dakota State
Nathaniel Marshall, Western Illinois
Casey Orgon, North Dakota State
J.D. Smith, IUPUI
Matt Tetzlaff, North Dakota State

WOMEN
Alexa Duling, South Dakota
Emily Grove, South Dakota
Tera Potts, South Dakota State
Leslie Brost, North Dakota State
Brittni Hutton, Oakland
Katie Johnson, North Dakota State
Maddie McClellan, North Dakota State
Maja Mihalinec, Nebraska-Omaha
Brittany Page, North Dakota State
Sami Spenner, Nebraska-Omaha
Kaci Verkamp, IUPUI
Katarina Zarudnaya, Nebraska-Omaha