June 8, 2009

Kruse, Seward earn Academic All-District

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Two Grove City College student-athletes recently earned ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) College Division Academic All-District II honors for cross country and track and field through voting by the region's sports information directors.

Junior middle distance runner Derek Kruse (Middlefield, Ohio/Cardinal) earned First Team Academic All-District while senior Julia Seward (Elizabethton, Tenn./Science Hill) is a Second Team All-District selection.

Kruse is a three-year letterman and has helped Grove City capture three consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference titles. In 2009, Kruse won the conference title in the 1500-meter run while also taking third in the high jump and fourth in the 800 at the PAC Championships. He scored 22 total points at the conference championships.

Kruse also set a new Grove City record in the 1500 this year with a time of 4 minutes, 2.97 seconds. He qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships in the 1500 and high jump in 2009.

A Dean's List student, Kruse has earned a 3.96 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in biology. He has also been named to the PAC Academic Honor Roll.

As a First Team selection, Kruse will now advance to the national CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. The Academic All-America squad will be announced later this month.

Seward earned her second Academic All-District honor after a strong senior season. In fall 2008, Seward qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships and placed 38th. She earned All-Mideast Region honors along with First Team All-PAC recognition this season. Seward won the individual title at the Waynesburg Invitational September 14.

Seward earned All-Mideast twice in her career and landed on the PAC's First Team three times. She helped Grove City win four consecutive conference crowns.

In track and field, Seward qualified for the NCAA and ECAC Championships in the 10,000 in 2008.

Seward graduated with a bachelor's degree in English. She compiled a 3.96 GPA as a student-athlete at Grove City. Seward earned Dean's List recognition eight times and also qualified for the PAC Academic Honor Roll. Seward also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2008.

Nineteen Grove City student-athletes earned Academic All-District honors in the 2008-09 academic year. The school record is 22, set two years ago.

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 3.2 or higher cumulative grade-point average and be a starter or significant reserve.

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