Kingsmen Earn Team, Individual Academic Honors
Kingsmen track & field, three individuals honored
(From Left) Tristan Baer, Conor Finfrock and Matthew Hamlett were among those honored for their academic achievements while the Kingsmen Track & Field team was also honored as a scholar team.
Photo: Tracy MapleNEW ORLEANS, La. – Announced earlier this month, the Cal Lutheran men’s track & field team was named an All-Academic Team by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Cal Lutheran was one of four Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) schools honored as the Kingsmen compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.27 during the 2013 season.
Furthermore, Tristan Baer, Conor Finfrock, and Matthew Hamlett were honored as individuals for their work in the classroom and on the track.
Baer, a senior business major, earned All-SCIAC honors for the third consecutive season after helping Cal Lutheran to a sixth place finish in the 4x 100m relay at the SCIAC Championships. Running the third leg, Baer and his teammates ran a time of 41.63 seconds which was the seventh fastest in school history and good enough to qualify them for the 2013 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Baer was also a part of the Kingsmen 4x 400m relay team that combined to run a time of 3:17.18 earlier in 2013, placing them as the seventh fastest group in school history.
Finfrock, a sophomore history major, overcame injuries during the season to finish sixth in the 200m dash at the SCIAC Championships and earn All-SCIAC honors. The Ventura, Calif. native also ran the opening leg 4x 100m relay race for the Kingsmen at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Rounding out the academic honorees was Hamlett, a senior political science major. Competing in his final year for the Kingsmen, Hamlett earned All-SCIAC honors for the third consecutive season after running the second leg of the 4x 100m relay race and helping the Kingsmen to a sixth place finish at the conference championships meet. The Long Beach, Calif. was also a part of 4x 400m relay team that finished fifth at the SCIAC Championships.
In all, 230 student-athletes from Division III schools across the country were honored. 2013 National Champion UW-La Crosse was honored as the Scholar Team of the Year while Chris Stalder of Haverford, Zach Ferrara of Brockport, Michael LeDuc of Connecticut College and Tom Postema of Defiance were all named as the Track & Field Scholar Athletes of the Year in Division III.
Release: All-Academic Teams, All-Academic Individuals
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