MORGAN BUCKNER EARNS VERIZON ACADEMIC HONORS

Ferris Hurdler Named Third-Team Academic All-America College Division Pick

Senior Morgan Buckner of the Ferris State University women’s track and field team has been named to the third-team 2001-02 Verizon Academic All-America College Division Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country Team, which was chosen and announced today (June 20) by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

A speech communication major, Buckner was among 14 third-team selections and joins Grand Valley State University’s Christy Tedrow (third team) and Adriane Blewitt of Ashland (first team) as the only Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)-member institution representatives named to one of the three Verizon teams. To be eligible, 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. 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. Buckner, who compiled a 3.66 cumulative grade point average, previously (May 23) was named to the first-team 2001-02 Verizon Academic All-District IV College Division Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country Team.

Buckner, who participated in the 21st annual NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships (May 23-25) at Angelo State University’s Multipurpose Sports Complex in San Angelo, Texas, reached the 100-meter hurdle national provisional qualification mark with a first-place school-record time (14.48) at the 2002 GLIAC Outdoor Championships (May 3-4) held at Northwood University’s Fisher Track in Midland, Mich. A second-team 2001 Arthur Ashe Jr. Track and Field Sports Scholar, she finished sixth overall (14.49) in the second heat of the 100-meter hurdle national preliminary round but failed to advance to the national finals.

A seven-time all-conference track and field performer, Buckner earned NCAA-II Indoor All-America recognition this season with an eighth-place (8.86) 60-meter hurdle performance at the 2002 NCAA-II Indoor Track and Field Championships (March 8-9) in the Reggie Lewis Center at Boston, Mass.

Buckner, Ferris’ 2001-02 Helen Bennett Award (outstanding female student-athlete) recipient, registered 10 combined first-place finishes this year in both the indoor and outdoor campaigns. The three-time (2000-02) conference outdoor 100-meter hurdle champion also claimed her second consecutive league indoor 55-meter hurdle title at the 2001-02 GLIAC Indoor Championships (Feb. 22-23) held at Hillsdale College’s Jessie Phillips Arena in Hillsdale, Mich. A second-team 1999 All-GLIAC volleyball selection, Buckner was named to the 2001-02 GLIAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field All-Academic Teams.

Ferris State, under sixth-year head coach Jeff Kavalunas, placed third (123 points) of nine teams at the 2002 GLIAC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships and recorded the program’s best national meet finish ever (15th place - 12 points) at the 2002 NCAA-II Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The Verizon Academic All-America Teams Program honors college athletes who excel both on the playing field and in the classroom. The program, which originated in 1952, is in its 50th year of existence. Verizon, in cooperation with CoSIDA, has been the exclusive sponsor of the Verizon Academic All-America Teams Program since 1985. As part of an overall expansion of the program, the 2001-02 campaign marks the first time in history a men’s or women’s track and field/cross country team has been selected. Previously, athletes honored in either sport were named to the fall or spring at-large teams.

2002 VERIZON ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA
WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY THIRD-TEAM

Click Here For The Complete List Of Verizon Teams

Name, School, Year
Jennifer Amoyst, Rensselaer (N.Y.), Sr.
Julia Bensen, Williams (Mass.), Sr.
Morgan Buckner, Ferris State, Sr.
Jody Butkowski, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Sr.
Sara Byrd, Emory (Ga.), Sr.
Sue Denigris, North Central (Ill.), Sr.
Amanda Laytham, Ithaca (N.Y.), So.
Jessica Marx, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Sr.
Kelli Miller, Wingate (N.C.), So.
Cheyenne Oldham, McMurry (Texas), Sr.
Jennifer Seminerio, Heidelberg (Ohio), Jr.
Mariko Tansey Holbrook, Brandeis (Mass.), Jr.
Christy Tedrow, Grand Valley State, Sr.
Healy Thompson, Williams (Mass.), Jr.