Official CoSIDA Release
Men // Women
The College Sport Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Tuesday the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District Team for men’s and women’s cross country and track & field. The Mid-American Conference has five student-athletes receiving recognition for their work on the field and in the classroom.
Akron's Matt Ludwig, Eastern Michigan's Jordann McDermitt and Janina Pollatz, Kent State's Sam Tollerud, and Bowling Green's Rachel Walny each maintained a 3.30 GPA while participating in at least 50 percent of competition. They are now on the ballot for Academic All-America accolades, which will be announced in June.
Matt Ludwig, Akron
Junior, Biomedical Engineering, 3.83
The 2017 NCAA Outdoor National Champion in the pole vault, Ludwig will seek to defend that title at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 6 in Eugene, Ore. He placed sixth at NCAA East Preliminary Round on May 24 with a qualifying mark of 17-6.50 (5.35m).Ranked third in the NCAA in the pole vault in 2018, Ludwig captured his third- and fourth consecutive Mid-American Conference championships in the event at the indoor and outdoor league championships, respectively.
Jordann McDermitt, Eastern Michigan
Senior, Exercise Science, 3.97
McDermitt had another outstanding campaign, finding success in cross country, as well as both the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. To start, McDermitt served as a pivotal piece in EMU capturing its third consecutive Mid-American Conference Cross Country title. In that title meet, McDermitt finished fourth with a time of 20:57.0, earning First Team All-MAC honors. From there, she paced the Eagle harriers in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional with a fifth-place finish, ultimately earning all-region honors. Finally, she ended her cross country career at the NCAA Championships in familiar style, leading the Green and White with a team-best finish of 78th.The senior captain was also a significant contributor to the program bringing home its fifth MAC Indoor Championship, earning Second Team All-MAC honors after placing second in the 5000m. McDermitt then went on to have an outstanding performance in the 5000m at the outdoor championships, placing fourth with a time of 16:15.52. Although she missed out on bringing home a medal in the outdoor title meet, that time advanced her to the NCAA preliminaries, where she finished 15th in a strong pool of competitors. An exercise science major, McDermitt has one of the highest GPAs on the team with an impressive 3.97.
Janina Pollatz, Eastern Michigan
Senior, Electronic Media, 4.00
A fellow senior captain and ideal role model for upcoming student-athletes, Pollatz has a perfect 4.00 GPA while studying electronic media. On top of excelling in the classroom, Pollatz had strong outdoor regular and post seasons. In the regular season, the Grand Rapids, Mich. native recorded the third-best pole vault in program history with a height of 4.17m, which won the event title at the prestigious Jesse Owens Track Classic. That mark was also strong enough to send her to the NCAA preliminaries, where she closed out her exceptional career as an Eagle with a 17th-place finish.
Sam Tollerud, Kent State
Senior, Exercise Science, 4.00
Tollerud won her second consecutive Mid-American Conference indoor pole vault title in February and finished runner-up at the outdoor conference meet for the second year in a row earlier this month to. She ranked 27 nationally (13'-9") during the indoor season and 32nd (13'-8.5") during the outdoor season. Tollerud earned four individual titles throughout her senior year and placed in the top-3 in 12 of 17 meets. The top pole vaulter in Kent State history, Tollerud owns the indoor (13'-9.25") and outdoor (13'-10") program records. She qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Championships in each of her four seasons and concluded her career as a four-time All-MAC honoree.
Rachel Walny, Bowling Green
Grad, Exercise Science, 3.99
In competition, Walny is one of the nation's top distance runners. She placed second at the MAC Championships in the 10,000m and finished fifth at NCAA Regionals, qualifying for the field of 24 at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Championships for the second consecutive year. Walny is the school record holder in the event, posting the five fastest times in school history.
Write-ups courtesy of MAC Sport Information Departments
