Four Titans Gather Men's Track & Field All-Academic Honors

UW-Oshkosh had four members of its men's track & field team receive All-Academic recognition by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Selected to the organization's NCAA Division III All-Academic Team for the 2017 season were juniors Garrison Griest and Joe Zack, sophomore Justin Skinkis and senior Danny Trimner. 

Griest, a repeat award winner, owns a 3.765 cumulative grade point average (GPA) as a biology major. He was a member of UW-Oshkosh's 1,600-meter relay team that finished ninth at the NCAA Indoor Championship.

Skinkis, who holds a 3.354 cumulative GPA as a broad field social science major, placed 15th in the 800-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Championship. He also won the 800-meter run at the WIAC Indoor Championship.

Trimner, who possesses a 3.322 cumulative GPA as an environmental health major, finished fifth in the 400-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. He also ran on the Titans' 1,600-meter relay team that placed ninth at the NCAA Indoor Championship. Trimner was the winner of the 400-meter hurdles at the WIAC Outdoor Championship.

Zack, who maintains a 3.557 cumulative GPA as a biology major, finished ninth in the mile run and 13th in the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships, respectively. 

The USTFCCCA recognized 402 student-athletes from 116 NCAA Division III schools, including 19 from Tufts University (Mass.) and 13 from Williams College (Mass.). UW-Oshkosh and the seven other WIAC member institutions combined for 38 All-Academic mentions.

The USTFCCCA selected Theron Baumann of UW-Whitewater, Robert Eason of Rhodes College (Tenn.) and Deko Ricketts of Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) as its Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA's Track & Field All-Academic Team, student-athletes must own a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 and have either competed in an NCAA indoor or outdoor championship or finished the regular season ranked in the national top 50 of an individual event or in the national top 35 of a relay event on the official NCAA Descending Order list.

The USTFCCA also selected North Central College (Ill.) as its Indoor Scholar Team of the Year and UW-Whitewater as its Outdoor Scholar Team of the Year. California Institute of Technology and Middlebury College (Vt.) led all NCAA Division III schools with their 3.62 GPAs during the 2016-17 academic year.

2017 USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Men's Track & Field All-Academic Team