June 2, 2011

Four earn CoSIDA Academic All-District

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Four Grove City College student-athletes earned Capital One/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District College Division recognition for cross country and track and field Thursday morning from the region's sports information directors Friday morning.

On the women's side, sophomore cross country runner Mary Kate Breese (Mercer, Pa./Mercer) earned First Team All-District recognition and senior distance runner Emily Pierce (Lisbon, N.Y./Lisbon Central) captured Second Team honors.

Two men's athletes earned Second Team honors: senior cross country runner Garrett Cichowitz (Colorado Springs, Colo./Palmer) and senior track sprinter Kevin Gallagher (Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown West).

Breese earned her first CoSIDA honor after helping the Grove City women's cross country team to one of the finest seasons in program history last fall. Breese helped Grove City placed fifth at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, earning the program's first trip to the NCAA Championships.

She earned Second Team All-Presidents' Athletic Conference honors in 2010 and received First Team decoration in 2009. Breese also helped the 2009 team earn fourth place at the Mideast Championships. She has been a part of two conference championship squads.

In the classroom, Breese has achieved a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in accounting. She is a Dean's List student and has been named to the conference's Academic Honor Roll. Additionally, Breese has earned the College's "Scholar Athlete" award, along with the school's Presidential and Trustee Scholarships.

As a First Team selection, Breese now advances to the nationwide Academic All-America ballot. The Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America Team will be announced later this month.

Pierce earned Second Team All-District after completing a stellar career in both cross country and track and field. She earned four letters in cross country and three in track and field. As a junior in 2010, Pierce earned the PAC's Track Most Valuable Performer award. In fall 2009, Pierce placed 33rd at the Mideast Championships in cross country, earning All-Region recognition.

This year, she helped the cross country team earn its first trip to the NCAA Championships. Overall, she helped Grove City record three straight top-five finishes at the Mideast meet.

Pierce earned First Team All-PAC four times in cross country and helped lead the Wolverines to four conference titles.

An eight-time Dean's List student, Pierce recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She compiled a 3.83 cumulative GPA during her career as a student-athlete. Pierce also earned placement on the PAC's Academic Honor Roll.

Cichowitz concluded his career as one of the most decorated runners in Grove City history. He earned All-Mideast honors in each of his four seasons and qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in each of his final three seasons. Cichowitz took 133rd at the national meet as a sophomore and then finished 70th as a sophomore in 2009.

This season, he earned 82nd at the NCAA Championships in Waverly, Iowa.

Cichowitz earned PAC Most Valuable Performer honors three times and helped lead Grove City to three conference titles. A two-year team captain, he owns the Grove City record for eight kilometers with a time of 25 minutes, 13 seconds. As a member of the Grove City track and field team this spring, Cichowitz qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in the 10,000-meter run. He set a new school record in that event with a time of 31:50.

In the classroom, Cichowitz earned Dean's List distinction eight times while majoring in entrepreneurship and Christian Thought. He compiled a 3.64 GPA during his four years at Grove City. He received his bachelor's degree May 15.

A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, Cichowitz capped his career by earning the College's Sportsman of the Year for 2010-11.

Gallagher also earned his second CoSIDA Academic All-District honor after receiving Second Team honors in 2010. He earned four letters as a sprinter for Grove City. He helped Grove City to conference titles in 2008 and 2009 while competing in the 200, 400 and 4x400 relay.

Gallagher earned a 3.86 cumulative GPA and received a bachelor's degree in political science. He has been inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortar Board. Gallagher also received induction into the Pi Gamma Mu social science honorary, the Pi Sigma Alpha political science honorary and the Phi Alpha Theta history honorary.

Gallagher has earned Dean's List distinction along with a spot on the PAC Academic Honor Roll.

District II includes all non-NCAA Division I colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. To be nominated for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.3 or higher cumulative grade-point average and be a starter or significant reserve.

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