Cross country runner Katie Rodden leads Nittany Lion Fall Student-Athletes with a 4.0 GPA
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Seventy-two Penn State student-athletes have earned Fall Academic All-Big Ten honors as announced by the conference. Senior women’s cross country runner Katie Rodden (Ardmore) is among the fall student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
Head coach James Franklin’s football team had 20 Academic All-Big Ten honorees, Bob Warming’s men’s soccer team tallied 13 and Char Morett-Curtiss’ field hockey team garnered 12. Coach Erica Walsh’s women’s soccer team had 11 honorees, Russ Rose’s women’s volleyball had six, and Coach John Gondak’s women’s cross country (6) and men’s cross country teams (4) bring Penn State’s honorees to 72.
In its 22nd year of full membership in the Big Ten Conference, Penn State has had a total of 4,834 Academic All-Big Ten honorees through this fall. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten consideration, student-athletes must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
Last year, Penn State had a total of 285 Academic All-Big Ten honorees, its second-highest total all-time. The school record is 296 honorees, set in 2012-13.
Penn State is nearing completion of another outstanding fall season as the No. 5 women’s volleyball team prepares for the NCAA semifinals on Thursday in Oklahoma City. Penn State will battle top-ranked Stanford Thursday at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The football team is prepping for a trip to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27, taking on Boston College at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN from Yankee Stadium.
The men’s soccer team advanced to the NCAA Championships, taking down Hartwick in the first round, and the field hockey team earned another trip to the NCAA tournament, downing Boston College in the first round. Penn State’s women’s soccer team won its 16th Big Ten Championship and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. Senior Matt Fischer (Kennett Square) won the 10,000-meter run at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional and was selected the Mid-Atlantic Region Men’s Athlete of the Year.
Overall, the Big Ten Conference recognized a total of 977 fall sports student-athlete who were named to the Academic All-Conference team.
In October, the NCAA reported that Penn State student-athletes continue to graduate well above their peers nationwide, earning outstanding academic performances. The NCAA’s annual study of institutions across the nation revealed Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 89 percent compared to the 82 percent average for all Division I institutions for students entering from 2004-05 through the 2007-08 academic year. The 89 percent figure was just one point off Penn State’s 90 percent record mark from the 2010 NCAA report.
Penn State’s Fall 2014 Academic All-Big Ten honorees:
Field Hockey (12)
Katie Andrews, Sr. Agricultural and Extension Education — Lancaster, Pa.
Sarah Bates, So. Division of Undergraduate Studies — Woodbine, Md.
Katie Breneman, Sr. Recreation, Park and Tourism Management — Washington Boro, Pa.
Natalie Buttinger, Sr. Journalism — Waterloo, Ontario
Carly Celkos, So. Division of Undergraduate Studies — Berlin, N.J.
Jenna Chrismer, Sr. Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management — Columbia, Pa.
Amanda Dinunzio, Sr. Spanish — State College, Pa.
Emilee Ehret, So. Division of Undergraduate Studies — Philadelphia, Pa.
Laura Gebhart, Sr. Community, Environment, and Development — Mount Joy, Pa.
Kirsten Gochnauer , So. Health and Human Development — Mount Joy, Pa.
Taylor Herold, Sr. Recreation, Park and Tourism Management — Fredericksburg, Va.
Haley Kerstetter, Jr. Advertising/Public Relations — Selinsgrove, Pa.
Football (20)
Brad Bars, Gr. Finance — Nashville, Tenn.
Kyle Carter, Sr. Kinesiology — Bear, Del.
Parker Cothren, So. Communications — Huntsville, Ala.
Jesse Della Valle, Gr. Labor Studies and Employment Relations — Pittsburgh, Pa.
Miles Dieffenbach, Gr. Labor Studies and Employment Relations — Pittsburgh, Pa.
Jordan Dudas, Jr. Kinesiology — Lake City, Pa.
Sam Ficken , Sr. Finance — Valparaiso, Ind.
Brian Gaia, Jr. Management — Pasadena, Md.
Chris Gulla, So. Business Administration — Toms River, N.J.
Albert Hall, Jr. Supply Chain & Information Systems — Warwick, N.Y.
DaeSean Hamilton, So. Communications — Fredericksburg, Va.
Mike Hull, Gr. Finance — Canonsburg, Pa.
Ryan Keiser, Gr. Kinesiology — Selinsgrove, Pa.
Angelo Mangiro, Sr. Criminology — Succassunna, N.J.
Carl Nassib, Sr. Biology — West Chester, Pa.
Andrew Nelson, So. Health and Human Development — Hershey, Pa.
Deron Thompson, Gr. Business Administration — Lititz, Pa.
Von Walker, So. Communications — Mill Hall, Pa.
Tyler Yazujian, Jr. Security and Risk Analysis — Royersford, Pa.
Matt Zanellato, Sr. Human Development and Family Studies — Burke, Va.
Men’s Cross Country (4)
Glen Burkhardt, Sr. Mechanical Engineering — Kennett Square, Pa.
Robby Creese, Sr. Mathematics — Mount Airy, Md.
Ean DiSilvio, So. Division of Undergraduate Studies — Pittsburgh, Pa.
Matt Fischer, Sr. Marketing — Kennett Square, Pa.
Women’s Cross Country (6)
Stephanie Aldrich, So. Engineering — West Chester, Pa.
Leigha Anderson, Sr. Labor Studies and Employment Relations — Carlisle, Pa.
Abbie Benson, Sr. Nutritional Sciences — Elma, N.Y.
Lauren Mills, Sr. Nutritional Sciences — West Chester, Pa.
Katie Rodden, Sr. Kinesiology — Ardmore, Pa.
Cara Ulizio, So. Business Administration — Redondo Beach, Calif.
Men’s Soccer (13)
Samuel Bollinger, So. Engineering — State College, Pa.
Eli Dennis, Sr. Meterology — Easton, Md.
Randy Falk, Sr. Marketing — Lebanon, N.J.
Evan Finney, So. Division of Undergraduate Studies — Hillsborough, Calif.
Michael Gonzalez, Jr. Economics — Berwyn, Pa.
Christian Kaschak, Jr. Kinesiology — York, Pa.
Mason Klerks, So. Science — Corona, Calif.
Drew Klingenberg, Jr. Marketing — Gibsonia, Pa.
Kyle MacDonald, Sr. Architectural Engineering — Yardley, Pa.
Michael Robinson, Sr. Mechanical Engineering — Lansdale, Pa.
Danny Sheerin, Sr. Supply Chain and Information Systems — College Park, Md.
Mark Wadid, So. Science — Mississauga, Ontario
Andrew Wolverton, Sr. Management — Atlanta, Ga.
Women’s Soccer (11)
Brittany Basinger, Penn State So. Health and Human Development — Purcellville, Va.
Kori Chapic, Penn State Sr. Architectural Engineering — Russell, Ohio
Teddy Chase, Penn State Jr. Animal Science — Wayne, Pa.
Britt Eckerstrom, Penn State Sr. Geography — Germantown, Md.
Emily Hurd, Penn State Gr. Higher Education — Sammamish, Wash.
Meghan Kaminski, Penn State Jr. Aerospace Engineering — Doylestown, Pa.
Kindrah Kohne, Penn State Sr. Marketing — Homer, N.Y.
Mallory Peterson, Penn State Jr. Biomedical Engineering — Clinton Corners, N.Y.
Raquel Rodriguez Cedeno, Penn State Jr. Recreation, Park and Tourism Management — San Jose, Costa Rica
Mallory Weber, Penn State Jr. Recreation, Park and Tourism Management — Novi, Mich.
Angela Widlacki, Penn State So. Health And Human Development — Naperville, Ill.
Women’s Volleyball (6)
Megan Courtney, Penn State Jr. Kinesiology — Dayton, Ohio
Lacey Fuller, Penn State Sr. Journalism — Cardiff, Calif.
Nia Grant, Penn State Sr. Communication Arts and Sciences — State College, Pa.
Taylor Krause, Penn State So. Education — Allentown, Pa.
Carley Muller, Penn State So. Communications — Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Kendall Pierce, Penn State Jr. Health Policy and Administration — Eden, N.Y.
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