TEMPE, Ariz. - The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) have announced those athletes earning a place on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America teams for men's and women's track and field Wednesday with three members of the Arizona State University program earning the national honor, including April Kubishta, who was selected to the first team. Kubishta, who also was voted as the Women's Track & Field Academic All-American of the Year, was joined by teammates Sarah Stevens and Ryan Whiting, both of whom earned second team accolades.
Kubishta, who carried a perfect 4.00 GPA this year after graduating last year, becomes just the second Sun Devil woman to be named Academic All-American of the Year, following Gea Johnson in 1990, who was selected Women's At-Large Academic All-America of the Year (CoSIDA did not have a separate track & field division until 2002). The duo join former Sun Devil Casey Myers as the lone Sun Devils earning that distinction as Myers was named the Academic All-American of the Year for baseball in both 2000 and 2001. Kubishta also became just the third track and field athlete at ASU to earn Academic All-America first team honors, joining Johnson in 1990 and Lisa Aguilera in 2001 (cross country).
A senior from Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Kubishta earned a pair of All-America honors in the field this season as she placed second in the pole vault at the NCAA Indoor Championships before taking second at the NCAA Outdoor Championships two weeks ago. The Pac-10 runner-up in the pole vault this season, Kubishta also was honored academically by the Pac-10 Conference (first team) and earned ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-District VIII honors as well.
Stevens, the 2007 USTFCCCA Women's Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year, had a productive year as well as the junior claimed the 2008 NCAA title in the discus while also placing third in the hammer throw and sixth in the shot put to earn All-America honors in all three events and help the team to a national runner-up finish. Stevens was an Honorable Mention Academic All-Pac-10 honoree this season after winning the hammer at the Pac-10 Championships and earning All-Region honors in all three throws.
Whiting's honor as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team honoree makes the sophomore the first Sun Devil male in program history to earn the accolade and just the second male in program history (includes cross country) to garner the award from CoSIDA. The first to do so was Garrett Jensen, who was selected the at-large second team in 2001. Whiting capped his second season with the Sun Devils as the indoor NCAA shot put champion with a collegiate-record toss of 21.73m before finishing second outdoors. Whiting earned All-America honors in the discus as well this outdoor season and was an Academic All-Pac-10 Second Team honoree.
All three honorees, as well as several other current and former Sun Devils, will travel to Eugene, Ore., this weekend to being competing in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field that will be held at Hayward Field June 27-July 6. The Top 3 finishers in each event will earn a place on the U.S. Olympic roster and will compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in August.