College Track & Field News – Guilford’s David Cason Named to Academic All-District Team

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College’s David Cason (Clemmons, N.C./West Forsyth) earned Capital One Academic All-District 5 Track & Field/Cross Country recognition (college division) from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Thursday. He is the first Quakers’ harrier so honored and advances to CoSIDA’s College Division Academic All-America® ballot.

CoSIDA members nominated and selected the academic all-district teams. The squads are comprised of cross country and track and field student-athletes from NCAA Division II and III institutions in the 11-state area from Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia, south to Florida. Nominees were starters or important reserves of sophomore academic standing or above who maintained at least a 3.3 grade point average. As a first-team all-district selection, Cason is eligible for the organization’s Capital One Academic All-America® teams, which will be announced June 19.

David Cason 2014

Cason, a sophomore, won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) 3,000-meter steeplechase title in April after taking second in same race as a freshman. He set Guilford’s steeplechase record two weeks later at the Duke Twilight with a time of nine minutes, 24.48 seconds. Cason also had three of the Quakers’ top outdoor times in the 1,500, including a 4:03.59 mark that ranks fifth all-time at Guilford. During the indoor season Cason ran Guilford’s two best mile times. His 4:27.35 is second-fastest in school history and was sixth-best in the league. Cason had a pair of top-five finishes with the Quakers’ cross country team in the fall. He helped Guilford place second at the ODAC Championships and fourth in the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Championships. His personal-best 26:42.7 over eight kilometers at the Charlotte Invitational Sept. 30 ranks 15th all-time at Guilford.

Cason is also accomplished in the classroom where he double majors in biology and health sciences. He received Guilford’s 2012 George I. Alden Scholarship, which is presented to rising juniors with a 3.25 grade point average or higher. Cason also collected the 2012 Eva Campbell Biology Scholarship and is a four-time member of Guilford’s Student-Athlete Honor Roll. The dean’s list student earned Academic All-ODAC recognition last year and has served as a phone-a-thon volunteer for the college’s Advancement Office.

Coach Danny Cash’s track and field teams placed fifth at the ODAC Indoor Championships and sixth at the outdoor championships this season. The Quakers ranked among the top-25 outdoor teams in Division III for most of the season by the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches’ Association. Cash expects Cason and 12 other letter winners back for the 2012-13 track campaign and seven returning cross country letter winners.