Jan. 18, 2012

LOGAN, Utah - The Western Athletic Conference announced its fall all-academic teams Tuesday and Utah State had 47 student-athletes recognized from the sports of cross country, football, soccer and volleyball to rank second in the WAC.

Of its 47 academic all-WAC selections, Utah State had 16 student-athletes from football honored, along with 11 student-athletes from soccer, eight from volleyball, and six each from both men's and women's cross country. Football's 16 honorees were the most in the conference in that sport, while volleyball's eight selections were tied for first.

New Mexico State led the WAC with 49 all-academic honorees, followed by Utah State with 47, Idaho with 43, San Jose State with 39, Fresno State with 33, Louisiana Tech with 30, Hawai'i with 28 and Nevada with 20.

Senior Brian McKenna, who competes in cross country, and both indoor and outdoor track, has now earned academic all-WAC honors 10 times in his career, as has senior cross country/track athlete Jessie Chugg. Fellow senior track athlete Ruth Hilton has earned academic all-conference honors nine times, while senior track athlete Daniel Howell earned his eighth academic all-WAC honor.

Student-athletes who are earning academic all-WAC honors for the fifth time include track athletes Brittany Fisher and Kaylee Campbell, while four-time honorees include track athletes Kyle McKenna and Stephanie Burt, volleyball player Liz McArthur, and soccer players Chandra Salmon-Christensen and Summer Tillotson.

Furthermore, of the 47 student-athletes to earn fall academic all-WAC honors, 34 are receiving the accolade for at least the second time.

To be eligible for the fall academic team, a student-athlete must have completed one academic year, have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's contests.

Fall Academic All-WAC Honorees
FootballKeegan Andersen, R-Fr., Undeclared, 3.16Matt Austin, Sr., Interdisciplinary Studies, 3.17McKade Brady, Jr., Exercise Science, 3.41Forrest Dabb, Jr., Business, 3.16Jake Doughty, So., Mechanical Engineering, 3.44Josh Flores, Sr., Psychology, 3.68B.J. Larsen, So., Business Administration, 3.10Tyler Larsen, So., Exercise Science, 3.02Jamie Markosian, So., Civil Engineering, 3.23Nate Needham, R-Fr., Exercise Science, 3.79Jamaine Olson, Jr., Master of Education, 3.59Travis Reynolds, So., Undeclared, 3.33Eric Schultz, So.., Exercise Science, 3.12Michael Smith, Sr., Master of Education, 3.18Brad Theurer, So., Master of Education, 3.78Connor Williams, So., Sociology, 3.03
SoccerShantel Flanary, Sr., Physical Education/Teaching, 3.10Jennifer Flynn, So., Exercise Science, 3.38Shay Haddow, So., Exercise Science, 3.84Molli Merrill, Sr., Family Consumer Science, 3.71Mari Miyashiro, So., Art Education, 3.13Natalie Norris, Jr., Nutrition and Food Sciences - Dietetics, 3.93Kendra Pemberton, Business, 3.43Taryn Rose, Exercise Science, 3.80Chandra Salmon-Christensen, Sr., Physical Education, 3.40Chelsie Sperry, So., Undeclared, 3.46Summer Tillotson, Sr., Exercise Science, 3.58
VolleyballLaurel Bodily, Jr., Communication Disorders & Deaf Education, 3.20Alyssa Everett, Jr., Physical Education, 3.61Nicole Gneiting-Theurer, Jr., Family Consumer and Human Development, 3.28Kassi Hargrove, Jr., Psychology, 3.22Liz McArthur, Sr., Family, Consumer and Human Development, 3.75Paige Neves, R-Fr., Mathematics Education, 3.27Shay Sorensen, Jr., Exercise Science, 3.18Josselyn White, Jr., Exercise Science, 3.69
Men's Cross CountryDavid Cluff, So., Chemistry, 3.19Daniel Howell, Sr., Wildlife Science, 3.96Eric Larson, Sr., Biochemistry, 3.11Brian McKenna, Sr., Psychology, 3.40Kyle McKenna, So., Music, 3.96Hunter Nelson, Sr., Finance, 3.10
Women's Cross CountryStephanie Burt, Jr., Physical Education Teaching, 3.08Kaylee Campbell, Jr., Social Work, 3.36Cherice Chugg, So., Undeclared, 3.43Jessie Chugg, Sr., Nutrition and Food Sciences, 3.77Brittany Fisher, Jr., Elementary Education, 3.32Ruth Hilton, Sr., Mathematics Education, 3.81