NEW ORLEANS – The Plattsburgh State track and field programs hauled in some five All-Academic Awards from the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Both the men's and women's teams earned a spot on the USTFCCCA's list of 2013 Division III All-Academic Track and Field Squads.
On the men's side, the Cardinals were one of 80 track and field teams across the nation that recorded a cumulative team GPA of 3.10 or higher in the 2012-13 season. With a team GPA of 3.15, Plattsburgh State served as the sole representative from the SUNYAC on the USTFCCCA's list of 2013 Division III All-Academic Track & Field squads.
Among the women's track and field teams, Plattsburgh State – in addition to four other SUNYAC schools - checked in as one of 148 institutions that posted a cumulative team GPA of 3.10 or higher this past season. The Cardinals' cumulative 3.27 GPA was the third highest out of the sampling of five SUNYAC teams.
In addition to the team laurels, three individual members of the Plattsburgh State track and field program – seniors Ben Depo and Kristie Pageau as well as sophomore Amanda Gadway – each earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for their tireless work in the classroom.
Depo was one of six male SUNYAC track and field athletes who claimed the honor by way of his 3.69 GPA in accounting. The Saranac, N.Y., product capped off his senior year by capturing his third SUNYAC Outdoor Track and Field decathlon title in four seasons. By achieving that feat, he was named the SUNYAC's Outstanding Field Athlete of the Year.
In May, Depo traveled to La Crosse, Wis., to take part in the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships where he finished 12th out of 20 competitors in the decathlon with 6,207 points.
Hailing from Dannemora, N.Y., Pageau boasted a 3.76 GPA in biology during her final season of competition. The senior etched her name in the Plattsburgh State track and field record books with a trio of school record performances during the indoor and outdoor track and field campaigns. By putting up 3,065 points in the pentathlon on February 3, Pageau reset the school record and needed to wait just 20 more days to set another.
At the SUNYAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 20, Pageau set a new school record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.66 seconds. On May 4, she set a new school record in the heptathlon at the SUNYAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships by amassing 4,297 points. That particular finish was good for second place and helped the senior earn a spot on the All-SUNYAC Second Team.
With exactly one-half of her collegiate career in the books, Gadway – a native of Malone, N.Y. – was the recipient of her first USTFCCCA All-Academic award after registering a 3.67 GPA in childhood education. Week by week, Gadway made it a point to break her own school records in a variety of field events.
On February 16, she entered the Plattsburgh State record books by recording a 20-pound weight throw of 15.08 meters. Gadway continued to excel well into the indoor track and field season where she set a new school record in the discus throw on March 30 (40.34 meters) before setting another record mark in the hammer throw on April 27 (46.93 meters).
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 and have met either of the following athletic standards: a student-athlete must have competed in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship or finished the regular season ranked in the national top 35 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 25 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org.
