NEW ORLEANS—Distance runners Hannah Kiser and Alycia Butterworth racked up yet another academic honor for 2013-14 season. The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) released its list of 727 women who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors last week, including the two Vandals.
This is the second academic honor bestowed to the two runners in the past month. Kiser and Butterworth were voted First and Second Team Capital One Academic All-Americans, respectively, in June. Both athletes finished the year with a 3.92 GPA.
Kiser, a biochemistry major, became the first woman in Western Athletic Conference outdoor track history to win the 1,500-, 5,000- and 10,000m races on her way to becoming the Women's Outstanding Track Performer of the Year at the 2014 Championships. She is a two-time WAC individual cross country champion, helping her team to four straight conference titles. Kiser is a three-time conference indoor 3,000m champion and two-time USTFCCCA All-American in the event. In her time at Idaho, Kiser has never lost a race at an Indoor or Outdoor WAC Championship and her team has never lost at a WAC cross country championship. This marks Kiser's sixth career USTFCCCA All-Academic honor.
Butterworth, an eight-time WAC All-Academic selection, was big piece of the four-straight WAC Championships won by the women's cross country team. Butterworth was a three-time WAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week in 2014. She ran the fastest 3000m steeplechase time in the WAC, sixth fastest in the West Region and ranked 16th in the NCAA. The marketing major and three-time NCAA steeplechase quarterfinalist, won the 2014 WAC steeplechase title and scored bronze in the women's 5000m. Butterworth scored the bronze in the 2014 Indoor 5000m and ran the seventh fastest mile in the conference. In her career she has earned 10 First Team All-WAC selections and three Second Team honors.
To qualify for the honor, 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 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).
The USTFCCCA also announced the 2014 Division I All-Academic Track and Field teams last week. Both the Idaho women's and men's teams were honored. In all, a total of 208 women's teams and 116 men's teams earned the distinction as a result of earning a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or higher. The Vandal women finished the year with a GPA of 3.06. The men notched a 3.37 GPA.
