FERRIS SENIOR JENNY IRWIN CLAIMS ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA KUDOS

Distance Runner Garners ESPN The Magazine First-Team Recognition

Ferris State's Jenny Irwin has earned Academic All-America laurels

Irwin, who previously was honored as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV First-Team pick, was one of 16 first-team national honorees in voting conducted by the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA). The college division includes all National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and III schools, all National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) member institutions and Canadian colleges and universities. Irwin was one of three student-athletes from Michigan to attain first-team accolades along with Christine Hendricks and Missy Smith of Calvin.

Student-athletes must have reached at least sophomore status academically, maintain a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and also be a starter or key reserve for their team to be nominated for consideration. Irwin not only claimed Academic All-America honors this season, but completed a personal sweep with All-America honors in cross country, indoor track along with outdoor track during the 2005-06 campaign.

Irwin also picked up outdoor All-America accolades in the final day of action (May 27) at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Emporia State's (Kan.) Zola Witten Track inside Fran Welch Stadium at Emporia, Kan. She took fourth place overall (4:38.11) in the 1,500 meters in her final collegiate race. Irwin also competed in the 800 meters at the national meet, but failed to advance to the final round of competition.

This year marked the second consecutive year Irwin picked up All-America honors in the 1,500 meters as she posted a fourth-place finish in the event (4:30.60) at the 2005 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships (May 26-28) held at Abilene Christian University's Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene, Texas. This season also represented Irwin's third consecutive appearance in the NCAA-II Outdoor Championships following an 11th place overall showing in the 1,500 meters (4:40.73) as FSU's lone representative at the 2004 NCAA-II Outdoor Championships (May 27-29) held in Walnut, Calif.

Irwin picked up FSU cross country team Most Valuable Runner accolades in 2005-06 after earning All-America honors with a 20th-place finish in the 25th annual NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Championships held last fall (Nov. 19) in Pomona, Calif. Irwin completed the six-kilometer (K) race in a time of 22:11.7 to become the first female women's cross country All-American in Bulldog history. Her performance also represented the highest finish ever for a FSU women's performer at the Division II Women's Cross Country Championships. A four-year letterwinner, Irwin claimed first-team All-GLIAC honors for the third consecutive season during the fall 2005 campaign with a runner-up effort (22:57.6) at the 2005 GLIAC Championships (Oct. 22) in Marquette, Mich.

In addition, Irwin also received Ferris' Most Valuable Runner Award for the women's track and field middle distance/distance events this campaign. She claimed the GLIAC Most Valuable Running Event Athlete Award in the women's competition as she won two individual events and received one runner-up finish at the 2006 GLIAC Outdoor Championships (May 4-5) held at FSU's Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich. Irwin took the 800 meters as she clocked 2:11.44 in the final round and also emerged victorious in the 1,500 meters (4:39.93). She placed second in the 3,000 meters (10:08.63). During the 2005-06 indoor campaign, Irwin earned NCAA-II All-America laurels with a fourth-place overall finish (4:49.13) in the mile run at the NCAA-II Indoor Track and Field Championships (March 10-11) in Boston, Mass.

This season, Irwin also was awarded both the 20th annual FSU Helen Bennett Memorial Award and the school's annual Dean Davenport "Bulldog of the Year" Award for outstanding female student-athlete along with being recognized as a Ferris Scholar-Athlete Award recipient. The four-year letterwinner attained GLIAC All-Academic Team honors for the third consecutive year in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track this campaign. She concluded her FSU career with track records in six different events.

This year marks the 54th anniversary of the Academic All-America program, which was founded by CoSIDA in 1952 to recognize collegiate student-athletes for their outstanding achievements in the classroom and on the playing field. Over the years, the program has grown into one of the most recognized and prestigious collegiate scholar-athlete awards nationwide, honoring student-athletes from all NCAA championship sports. This season marks ESPN The Magazine's second year of sponsoring the Academic All-America program, which was formerly endorsed by Verizon.