2014 Fall Academic All-Mountain West Honorees

The Mountain West announced its fall all-academic teams Wednesday and Utah State tied for the conference lead as it had 61 student-athletes recognized from the sports of cross country, football, soccer and volleyball.

Of its 61 academic all-Mountain West selections, Utah State had 21 student-athletes from football honored, along with 15 student-athletes from soccer, nine from both women's cross country and volleyball, and seven from men's cross country. The nine honorees from women's cross country were tied for first in the conference, while football's 21 selections were second and soccer's 15 selections were tied for second. Volleyball's nine honorees were the third-most in the Mountain West and men's cross country's seven selections ranked fourth.

Utah State and New Mexico tied for the Mountain West lead with 61 all-academic honorees each, while Fresno State was third with 51 honorees and Wyoming was fourth with 50. San José State was fifth with 49 academic all-Mountain West performers, followed by Boise State (42), UNLV (39), Colorado State (38), Nevada (38), San Diego State (33), Air Force (29) and Hawai'i (19) who is a football-only affiliate.

Five of Utah State's 61 student-athletes from its fall sports to earn academic all-Mountain West honors carried a 4.00 grade point average including football players LT Filiaga (physical and sports education), B.J. Larsen (physical and sports education) and Brian Suite (physical and sports education), cross country runner Diane Leach (elementary education) and soccer player Erin Rickenbach (physics teaching).

Senior Eric Shellhorn, who competes in cross country, and both indoor and outdoor track for Utah State, has now earned academic all-conference honors nine times in his career, including four times in cross country. Senior volleyball/track athlete Rachel Orr earned her eighth academic all-conference honor this fall, including her fourth in volleyball. Senior cross country/track athletes Tom Derr and Kade Jensen have now both earned academic all-conference honors six times, including three times in cross country, and junior cross country/track athlete Amanda Stoudt earned her fifth academic all-conference honor and her third in cross country.

Student-athletes who are earning academic all-conference honors for the fourth time include football player B.J. Larsen, cross country runner Mike Bills, soccer players Lexie Morgan and Taryn Rose, and volleyball players Paige Neves, Ashlan Rogers-Court and Kaitlyn VanHoff. Three-time honorees include football players Jaron Bentrude, Jordan Nielsen, Travis Seefeldt and Brian Suite, cross country runners Joanna Boyd, Karlee Deeter, Tori Parkinson and Colby Wilson, and soccer players Kylie Dibb, Maris Hamblin, Lexie Henrie and Brooke Larsen-Leavitt.

Furthermore, of the 61 student-athletes to earn fall academic all-Mountain West honors for Utah State, 35 are receiving the accolade for at least the second time.

To be eligible for selection, student-athletes must have completed at least one academic term at the member institution while maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better, and be a starter or significant contributor on their athletic team.

Fall Academic All-Mountain West HonoreesFootballRicky Ali'ifua, So., Undeclared, 3.22Jarom Baldomero, Jr., Accounting, 3.31Jaron Bentrude, Sr., Master's - Business Administration, 3.50Austin Cheney, So., Undeclared, 3.26LT Filiaga, Jr., Physical & Sports Education, 4.00Tyler Floyd, Jr., Sociology, 3.08Salanoa Galea'i, Jr., Exercise Science, 3.00Daniel Gray, So., Sociology, 3.48Deshane Hines, Jr., Sociology, 3.80Wyatt Houston, So., Sociology, 3.42B.J. Larsen, Sr., Physical & Sports Education, 4.00David Moala, Jr., Sociology, 3.00Kent Myers, Fr., Undeclared, 3.10Jordan Nielsen, Jr., Pre-Physical Therapy, 3.18Michael Okonkwo, Jr., Master's - Accounting, 3.67Travis Seefeldt, Jr., Management Information Systems, 3.15Jake Simonich, So., Sociology, 3.11Brian Suite, Sr., Physical & Sports Education, 4.00Zach Vigil, Sr., Business Administration, 3.11Bryce Walker, Sr., Exercise Science, 3.01Tyler Weese, Fr., Undeclared, 3.11
SoccerJessica Brooksby, So., Exercise Science, 3.42Karlee Campbell, So., Exercise Science, 3.92Kylie Dibb, Sr., Exercise Science, 3.64Maris Hamblin, Jr., Exercise Science, 3.52Wesley Hamblin, Fr., Undeclared, 3.45Bailee Hammond, Fr., Undeclared, 3.49Lauren Harmon, So., Family, Consumer and Human Development, 3.17Lexie Henrie, Jr., Family, Consumer and Human Development, 3.53Brooke Larsen-Leavitt, Sr., Journalism, 3.62Lexie Morgan, Sr., Exercise Science, 3.86Danielle Nowers, Fr., Undeclared, 3.36Erin Rickenbach, Fr., Physics Teaching, 4.00Jayne Robison, So., Undeclared, 3.26Taryn Rose, Sr., Master's - Human Resources, 3.74Jeannie Woller, Jr., English, 3.92
VolleyballMaddie Day, Fr., Family, Consumer and Human Development, 3.66Rachel Gale, Fr., Exercise Science, 3.78Hannah Gleason, So., Exercise Science, 3.93Kaylie Kamalu, So., Health Science, 3.17Paige Neves, Sr., Communication Disorders and Deaf Education, 3.65Rachel Orr, Sr., Exercise Science, 3.41Ashlan Rogers-Court, Sr., Family, Consumer and Human Development, 3.16Hannah Smith, Fr., Art, 3.06Kaitlyn VanHoff, Sr., Art, 3.69
Men's Cross CountryMike Bills, Sr., Accounting, 3.91Sander Brouwers, So., Interdisciplinary Studies - Agriculture, 3.59Tom Derr, Sr., Environmental Studies, 3.55Kade Jensen, Sr., Family, Consumer and Human Development, 3.25Eric Shellhorn, Sr., Civil Engineering, 3.81J.D. Thorne, Fr., Business, 3.14Colby Wilson, So., Undeclared, 3.00
Women's Cross CountryJoanna Boyd, So., Statistics, 3.78Karlee Deeter, Jr., History Teaching, 3.42Jackie Heaps, Fr., Nutrition Science, 3.93Diane Leach, Fr., Elementary Education, 4.00Hannah Malone, Fr., Nutrition Science, 3.80Tori Parkinson, So., Exercise Science, 3.68Amanda Stoudt, Jr., Pre-Physical Therapy, 3.74Caroline Weiler, Fr., Undeclared, 3.71Kelsey Yamauchi, Fr., Undeclared, 3.82