NEW ORLEANS – Coming off its finest year as a program, the Elon University women’s track an field team added another accolade from its 2015 season as the Phoenix received All-Academic Team honors by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as announced on Monday, July 20.
In addition, rising senior Megan Kirschling was honored as a Division I All-Academic individual by the USTFCCCA. Kirschling was one of 838 female athletes from 207 institutions that were honored by the association. This is the second straight year that the West Deptford, N.J., native has received All-Academic accolades from the USTFCCCA.
For the ninth straight year under director of track and field/cross country Mark Elliston, Elon was tabbed as an All-Academic Team by the USTFCCCA. The Phoenix posted a team cumulative GPA of 3.38 from the 2014-15 academic school year and was one of 224 institutions recognized.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met at least one 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 an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP 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).
Kirschling finished as the runner-up in the high jump at the 2014 Colonial Athletic Association Outdoor Championships and aided the Phoenix to its first-ever team title in program history at the league meet. It was also the first team championship overall for Elon in its first year in its new league. Kirschling also qualified for the NCAA East Preliminaries for the second straight season.